Martin 000-15S

I bought my 00015 S as I was waiting for surgery on trapped tendons and nerves in both shoulders and needed a smaller guitar.
On this score it hit the mark 100%
Forget all the boutique items and fancy inlay, its a guitar and it does the job as designed

As a later guitar, mine is Sappele, ( Farmed African mahogany) which is fine by me, matt finish, with fittings in keeping with its price range. The case is an economy ply job with leatherette covering, in keeping with the price if a bit heavy.

At the time I bought the guitar it cost me ??899, some ??500 less than any comparable not far east solid wood guitar fitting the same spec.

From day one the guitar has had a warm sound, with volume. It has bite and snap when pushed but is velvety soft and warm when picked gently. With 3 years use it has opened up, each new set of strings is a joy as it noticeably develops.
This sound translates well when recorded, with no hidden wolf notes or undesirable overtones.
The guitar is fantastic for accompanying a song, or playing in a session, despite the warmth, picked notes stand out and have definition on all strings and on all the frets up to the 14th.
I have replaced the nut and saddled with TUSQ and used TUSQ bridge pins which has improved sustain and definition.
The guitar works exceptionally in DADGAD down to CGCGBD with a light action and 53 to 12 strings. This is very rare at any price. Tune up to concert and it sounds a dream with plectrum or nails.
There is no such thing as one guitar that does all things, but this gets very close.

This guitar attracts comments whenever it comes out of the case.
The back to basics look has a great attraction and means that there is less to go wrong.
I can buy an arguably fantastic looking guitar with inlay and lots toys for the same money but I would rather the money go into wood and skills. In this area the 00015 S does not disappoint. All the basics are spot on with no defects out of the box or in use. The changes to nut saddle and bridge pins reflect my choice and not as a result of any defects.
On a personal level I love the attention to detail in the way that the machine heads are bushed, rather simply left to run on bare wood. However it???s a crying shame that the heads themselves are of poor quality and 12/1 ratio. If anyone can recommend a set that will fit without re work I would love to hear from them.

The case is showing signs of wear, however FOC case at this price range I dont have a huge issue. It means I love playing the guitar and taking it out to play.

I use this guitar out of the house at least once a week without fear.
The build quality is above average, however any unbound instrument needs respect.
Mahogany has a reputation for splits, but I have no experience of this. Possibly living in the temperate climate of the UK helps. If you get extremes of temperature or humidity you need to take more care or get a Carbon or plywood guitar ( Both are good in their own way and for the right job).
If gigging I use the Martin for dropped tunings and a Fylde Ariel (00 sized) for concert pitch.
Long term the machine heads will have to go. Once in tune the guitar never slips, it???s just that they lack fine feel and to my taste are the wrong ratio for open tuning work. The case is fine for now, but will be replaced when funds allow for a lighter and more durable Hisock case.
All in all, for the cash paid it is hard to find fault with the standard spec.

I have had no need to talk to Martin. My Dealer is good.

Arguably a good product needs little support

I have had a number of guitars over the years and I am guilty of wasting a lot of money on frills and trends. I have been playing for 35 years.
Due to health problems I swapped a Davidson Super Jumbo (J200 sized with 26 in scale neck) for the Martin, a decision that pained me at the time but one I am glad I made. I have since got rid of a Santa Cruz in favour of another simpler small bodied guitar, a Fylde Ariel. I also have a late 1960???s EKO Ranger 6 string as a kick around, a Flying V uke and a Buchannan Bouzouki.
To my mind the 00015S and my Fylde share the basic
characteristics. ???A lot of guitar with the minimum of fuss or decoration???. Unless my tastes change dramatically or injury forces me to change the way I play I think I will be sharing the rest of my life with these guitars.
As with everything in life you think of things you would like to add, in my case 18/1 machine heads and a lighter thermoplastic case, a pre war style V profile neck, bone fittings all round, satin finish and possibly very simple yew purfling and sound hole decoration. However this guitar is factory made, to a price and having one made to spec would double or treble the price for little if any significant gain. I would happily replace the guitar with the same if the worst ever happened. If I get rich I may have the bits and pieces done but the guitar will still be basically the same.
The 00015 S is a joy to take out of its case, a joy to accompany songs with and a joy to play instrumentals on. The warmth and definition rewards accurate playing and has made me concentrate on musicality rather than speed and flash. I have grown to love its simple uncomplicated looks, but I always preferred Ingrid Berman to Angelina Jolie.
Yes I would recommend to anyone.

This 12-fret slot-head has a classic Martin look. The wood work, finish work is excellent, love the satin finish. All-Sapele wood looks great. The tuners are the only thing that are cheap, closed case Schallers tht functionally work ok but look cheap. Their gone and I had Waverly open 3 on a plates put on and they look fantastic and are smooth. Now this guitar looks 100 years old. Also, I replaced the plastic bridge pins with bone and the tusc saddle with bone. The set up did need a little tuning in and man o man did the bone make an already great sounding guitar much better. There was a noticable improvement in clarity and volume with the bone saddle and pins. The nut is Corian and that's fine, though it will wear out faster than bone and my luthier did make a couple cuts because D A and E strings were a little high. I will give the features an 8 because I like the simplicity. The herribone rosette looks good too. The 1 3/4" nut is perfect for finger picking. Just wish it came with the upgrades I made.

AWESOME!! The tone is very warm and has that mahogany topped tone. Hogtop and Saptop heaven. The volume is a lot, as most 12-fretters enjoy a boost in volume. The tone is perfectly balanced through the highs, lows, and mids. The clarity is amazing, I cannot overpower this guitar with strumming which totally caught me by surprise. She sounds great for finger picking, flat picking and for any kind of strumming. Doesn't have the sustain of a spruce top, perfect for the blues. The tone could not be better.

All great quality.

Called regarding replacement tuners that will fit and got a call back right fast with the info.

Saptop tone, simplicity, playability, slot-head, 12-frets. All for a great price. Heaven!

Not a lot of features, but who needs features ? uitar that sounds I want a guitar that sounds great and is easy to play.

Sound ? Phenomenal. Look, I went to Leo Kottke concert in 2003. He came out on stage carrying a 000-15S in his hands. Need I say more ?

No problems, fit, finish and setup were fine. I may upgrade it to a bone saddle and pins for a little extra clarity.

Well, it dings easily, being mahogany, especially on the edges (no binding) as mentioned elsewhere, but my favorite remedy (put a drop of olive oil on the ding) works because the finish is satin and rather thin. I don't gig (terminal stage fright) but I'd playing it sitting down fingestyle, which is what I do all the time anyway.

Never tried it. Hear its good.

Playing 5 years, 4 other Martins and a Gibson. This guitar is the best and the least expensive.

If it had anything more it wouldn't be the 000-15S.

You can get the specs on the Martin page if you need details. Essentially this is a 000 (auditorium, or relatively small) sized body with a 12 fret neck, "slot" head and really basic appointments. The primary difference between this and the regular 000-15 is a slightly wider neck profile. I own a 000-15 and a 000-15S and it's not a huge difference but the wider neck does help with certain fingerpicking stuff. While basic, the 15 series is a HUGE bang for the buck, I can't think of an instrument in this price range ~ $1000 that comes close to the tone and workmanship.

Simple but awesome. Fingerpicking is really what this guitar is all about. It has a ton of volume and a really "chimey" tone, although the bass can be "whumpy" if you hit certain notes too hard. Personally, I'd rather modulate the bass response via playing than not have it available. If you are primarily a flatpicker and strum chords, I'd opt for a dreadnought of some sort since you will have a tendancy to over drive the smaller body. This is the type of guitar you can pick up and strum a simple chord and just be awed by how good it sounds. Very deep and harmonically rich.

Martin's are usually WAY off from the factory. Most people need an action of closer to 3/32 (.090) at the bass side 12th fret, but these always are on the high side. It's a good idea to get it professionally set up and use light gauge strings, or even get a bone nut and saddle if you can afford it. The workmanship is basic but flawless as is usual from Martin.

These guitars are not designed to be durable but they are reliable. Mahogany is going to be softer than some other hardwoods and the satin finish will show shiny spots and scuffs after awhile.

Martin is generally good, however the warranty is only valid for the initial owner and I have had several guitars require complete neck resets and major body surgery. Still worth it to me, all things considered.

These guitars are just brilliant. They are timeless and just so amazing to play and look at. Some people get all geeked up over fancy woods and inlays and tricks, but to me a guitar is just a tool that creates sound. The 000-15S is the ultimate utilitarian acoustic guitar.

Mostly I love the aesthetics. I love the open headstock and the classic look.
Features:
1. Open headstock
2. Unique color
3. 12 fret neck
4. 000 body
5. Void of pretensiousness
6. Rare styling - one of a kind
7. Draws attention
8. Simple design
9. Ornamental & fancified free
10. Conjures basic and traditional elements of playing and listening

Sounds like all the guitars I play-crappy. But that's just me. :-)

The wood is soft. Seems like I get dings and dents way too easily. Especially the edges. Subtract 2 point for less than fabulous density on the edges, add one point for the overall strength of mahogonay.

The body cracked on me at about 6 months. For no reason. Just all of the sudden KaPoW! A 14" crack on the top of the side. Subtract 10 for craftmanship add 5 points for the loud crackle that scared the living heck out of my girl and everyone else when it seemingly exploded.

After the crack, I sent it to Martin. They checked it out and wanted to charge me about $400. Luckily for me , my dealer ripped their a55e5. H.o.T. Music is the number #1 Martin dealer in the state, and they threatened to cancel all orders. (yeah-I know-wow!) The thing is-H.o.T. had seen FIVE(5) 000-15s with split sides. It is a common issue and Martin didn't want to admit it. Note--the splits have only occured on this model.

Anyways, Martin didn't fix the guitar, they sent me a new one. But what a hassle, what a battle. End result: They did replace it, but I never could have done it without back up. Shipping $50 each way. Downtime: 3 months. Subtract 10 for the hassle add 5 for them seeing the light and replacing the 6 month old guitar.

The 000-15S guitar is not durable or as dependable as I would like. Kinda soft on the edges. It had split and this model has a history of it, and I dread dealing with Martin. My dealer tried talking me out of this model. I stuck it out. I feel it only adds character. I sure love it. I'd buy an identical replacement any time. Subtract a half point for customer service, and a half point for the soft density of the wood.

000-15S, made in 2006 I presume, All Genuine Magogany, Neck is hardwood low oval profile, Rosewood fingerboard, Corian nut, Tusq saddle, Schaller Chrome tuners, 1 3/4 inch wide at the nut. No electronics wacked into the side of it. Came with a sturdy Martin wood case that fits perfectly.

I play acoustic guitar solo, some singing, some originals fingerstyle guitar pieces and flatpick.
Sound? Very very nice. Please understand I'm not working under any illusions here. My main guitar is a D28 and have owned a half dozen various Martins. The first thing I did was order some bone bridge pins from Bob Colosi. The guitar played very evenly balanced the new pins just bought it more to life and seemed to add some depth. Cant explain it. I put Bobs fosilized walrus pins and saddle in my D28 after having it for about 5 years. Cant say enough about this modification.

The guitar was set up perfect. Not as high of action as some Martins I've got out of the box. The frets were perfectly finished. (Unlike a some I've got that will bloddy your hand sliding up the neck) The overall apperance of the wood and smell was too good to write about. The only real factory flaw was the rosette decal had a small ding blemish in it. (Makes it distinct). Someone complained about the tuners in a review. I find them very easy to tune and keep in tune. Also in a review someone took off the pickguard. Well I just had to do it also. The guitar looks very retro or classical without it. A hair dryer on low and slowly removing it left no sticky stuff on the guitar whatsoever. Its weird but the guitar looks twice as good with out it.

Well it will have to withstand live playing. And probably a bit more agressive than most. A friend has a Mahagony martin and the satin finish gets a shine where your arm rests and on the neck. Which is nice. As for backup, no problem but I usually bring a few anyways. The guitar is a little light in weight and with the light guage strings you could play it for hours.

I've called and mailed Martin with some pretty dumb questions. They are very forgiving.

I've been playing for many many years. Own lots of nice acoustics and too much stuff to go into. If it were lost I'd get another. To my ears is one of Martins best buys for $1000 or less. I doubt I'll put any electronics in this one, at least for now. I really did'nt need another guitar but thought I'd try this one after reading the countless positive reviews. This thing could'nt be that good. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. My first love is the D28 but boy for a small body, short neck guitar this thing is right in there.

The features are somewhat plain-mahogany top with artificial herringbone rosette. However, the guitar's appearance grew on me and I have come to like the looks. It looks like a classic blues guitar from the 1920's.

The sound is terrific and maintains its intonation as you move up the neck. The only drawback is that it is a smaller body guitar so the volume, power and depth is somewhat thinner than a larger/deeper body guitar. I have installed a pickup (K&K) where I can alter the sound and get more power and depth.

With light strings the action is incomparable. The short neck coupled with low action makes this guitar play smoother than any other that I have played over the years - amazing.

The guitar is well made, however, I would treat it with care. It is by no means a heavy duty acoustic that could sustain a lot of abuse.

I bought it new and haven't had to deal with Martin at all. New it comes with the standard warranty. I have had it for a while and treat it well so I don't expect any significant problems with the manufacturer.

I have been playing electric and acoustic off and on for about 20 years. I play solo country blues/ragtime, classic rock stuff now as a hobby. If it were stolen I probably would buy another and I like the guitar a lot but I would not say I love it. In the years to come I will likely upgrade to a larger deeper sounding 12 fret 000 at some time, maybe the Martin 000-28vs. In the meantime this is a great substitute. The action and sound stand out as the best features.

I bought my 000-15S just about 2 months ago, brand new. The wood still smelled fantastic. I was a bit hesitant about the 12 fret neck but once I started fingerpicking a tune in DADGAD tuning I was totally sold. This guitar sounded gorgeous, I jumped up, said I'll take it and handed over my credit car. At first I had to look past the plain brown finish, and the kind of slope shoulders, but now I love the plain features of this guitar.

I really love acoustic guitar playing, fingerpicking, celtic-drop d or dadgad tuning, some basic travis style, chords, dissonant stuff. I'd love to be Tony Rice but gave up on that. Before I got this guitar I did not ever know what people meant when they said that after a guitar had been played a while the sound really opened up but man, did I become aware of that with this guitar. It took about 2 months of daily playing for the sound of this guitar to REALLY open up. Once I put on D'Addario phospher bronse light gauge strings I was in heaven. They really made the sound of this guitar shine. I sent the guitar in to a great shop in SF (to have some custom work done) where the head tech does guitar work for Joe Satrianni and he said this guitar sounded great (which I already knew.

When I first got the guitar I took it into a local Martin certified luthier and he said this guitar was set up nearly perfectly. He did a minor truss rod adjustment. The one thing I would change, and I might eventually do so, are the tuners. I want tuners with a greater ration than the ones the guitar come with. There is nothing wrong with them but I want to have a tad more flexibility with the fine tuning. I absolutely love the look of this guitar now. The finish knocks me out. At first I had to look past it. I really like the slotted top. I love looking at this guitar. I could not find a single flaw on this guitar.
I believe it is true what people say, having experienced it with this guitar. There were a handful of the 000-15s in the shop I bought this from, I tried a few and really felt a difference with this one.

I am having some custom work done on this guitar, buzz feiten tuning system (http://buzzfeiten.com) and had the guitar "flek'ed" I can't wait to get it back, I'm chomping at the bit to hear it. After spending about 65% of what I paid for the actual guitar to have these both done I am planning on keeping this guitar for life! The guitar does seem quite fragile so beware. I leaned it up against a chair (stupidly) on the neck and just the guitar's own weight against the back of a chair put a ding in the back of the neck. I might replace the tuners from the plastic ones that come with the guitar to something more durable.

I have not had to deal with Martin with this guitar but I have dealt with them in the past and they were always very responsive.

I've been playing guitar, on and off, since 1963. The past year has seen a great resurgence in my interest in playing and most days I get at least an hour in. My only regret is that I have not played consistently all these years. I wish I had not sold me Fender Jazzmaster, purchased in 1964 and my Gibson ES-335, purchased in 1968, and my Fender Deluxe Reverb amp purchased in 1964. I've had Fenders, a Gibson Hummingbird (which was stolen from me), Martin D-28 (stupidly sold it, great guitar), Taylor 355 12-string, and this Martin 000-15S is absolutely my favorite. It gets better with each playing.

This has been mentioned in detail in the other reviews.
It's a great reproduction of an early 20th Century instrument. The big Mahogany top, short scale and the bridge centered in the lower bout is the secret to it's sound and feel.

It has a wonderful warm but articulate voice. A near perfect fingerstyle guitar. The short scale makes the strings nice and rubbery. Makes me think of Blind Blake. Great for Old-Timey stuff. I added a Fishman with a pre-amp and its got awesome bottom through a PA.

I liked the matte finish but the more I played the guitar, the more my skin and clothes were buffing the finish in places. This gave me the brazen (for me)idea to get some 0000 steel wool and polish it-- the whole thing. Within a half hour it had a nice gloss. Not a mirror finish but a nice gloss. I could have gone farther but kept it at the level that my clothing had done in the other areas. The back of the neck got a nice high gloss(be sure to move the steel wool in small circles or a tight figure eight). I was so impressed on it's transformation that I asked the tour guide at the Martin factory if that was the only difference between a matte finish and a gloss finish and he said yes it's the degree of buffing.

Limited Lifetime warranty to the original owner.

I've been playing 40 years and have quite a few guitars both acoustic and electric. If you want a nice little fingerstyle guitar that has a nice thumpy bottom when muted and retro looks this is a great deal.
The dreadnaught is nice too.

Just got it the other day...2001, made in USA of course, 12 fret, mahogany sides and top, rosewood bridge and fingerboard w/ satin finish. Upgraded to bone nut, saddle is stock. No electronics (looking at pickups to install). Smaller, auditorium style body...I got this guitar on EBAY, as awful as it sounds I got it for $655 and the thing looks and smells like I just ordered it from the factory. The guy got it brand new in '01 and I don't think he played it too much. I bought this guitar on intrigue alone, I had never played one, but I have played and listened to other all-mahogany bodied guitars and decided I had to have one, and I also decided it had to be Martin w/ a 12 fret scale. Anyways, it is very plain looking, except for the slotted headstock, which looks kind of fancy. No electronics, I am planning on installing a preamp, probably a fishman, but not sure exactly which model yet. Anyways, except for the slotted headboard there are really arent any special features to speak of. That's a good thing because it would only make the guitar more expensive. Simple is good.

Because I hadn't played one before I got it, I was actually expecting a more brittle sound. When I got and tuned it up I was really suprised by how soft it sounded strummed. Not soft as in hard to hear, but soft as in not brittle. (You'll have to excuse me, I'm not an expert when it comes to talking about how a guitar sounds. I just know if I like it or not.) Anyways, you can get that brittleness I was talking about by picking instead of strumming. It has a nice deeep resonance and is quite a contrast to my Ovation 1867 Legend. I like the sound, I'd actually have to do a side by side comparison, but I think I have played guitars that sell for 2-3 times as much as I paid for this that don't sound as good. I should note that I have only had it for 2 days and am still getting accustomed to it. Plus I just get the feeling that this guitar hasn't been played all that extensively. I see it getting better with age. I don't have any dislikes with the sound yet, I feel like I got a guitar that I will have for the rest of my life at a discount price.

Guitar was detuned for shipping. I never asked previous owner what tuning the guitar was set up for, I tuned it to standard tuning and the action was a little high, but in order to compensate for my attempt at singing I tuned down 1/2 step anyway, so after I did that it was a lot better. I really ought to take it in and get a pro setup for Eb, but I think I will wait until I decide on a preamp to install. The neck is wider and more square than I'm used to. My Ovation has a more rounded neck and I also play Rickenbacker electrics with narrow necks so this is a change of pace, but it I am able to play it without too much difficutly. No flaws on the guitar that I can see. Satin finish isn't real great, but I think satin finish looks better on the mahogany than gloss. I've heard that satin finishes may eventually require refinishing, but we'll cross that road when we get there.

This guitar is very lightweight. It does feel solid, however, with the satin finish I think you have to use caution about the conditions you are playing in. I think if you use common sense and treat it like you are supposed to it will last as long as you want it. It only has the endpin, it does not have a strap button on the heel, and there really isn't much room to put it there. I think I would just use a string on the headstock right above the nut if I were going to play with a strap. The guitar seems dependable and it is a Martin (although I don't have the lifetime warranty since I bought it used). I don't know anyone personally who has had trouble with their Martins.

Never dealt with them. Warranty is void because I am the second owner. I guess if anything breaks I will just cough up the money for repairs. Hopefully it will last me a long time.

Playing for about 6 years. Own a 2001 Ovation 1867 Legend, my first guitar - a Yamaha APX4, which I still own, and a Steel String Martin Backpaker. The latter 2 are stored away at my parents house and don't see much playing time unless I go home to visit. I also have a variety of electrics, but I guess it's kind of a vanity thing because I am not really that great of a player. I just like guitars. I am in the military and spend much of my off time taking college courses so I spend most of my guitar playing doing what I know, and not as much as I should practicing to get better. Anyways, this Martin is very unique and I am really excited about it. I hope it brings me years of pride and joy.