With a design that dates to the dawn of
the 20th century, the Martin 000 is about
as venerable as a guitar gets. And the 000-
15SM in particular looks as natural and
timeless as a centuries-old evergreen. Apart
from five diamond inlays at the 5th, 7th,
and 9th frets, a pinstripe rosette, and a dark
tortoise pickguard that blends beautifully
into the chocolate-colored mahogany top,
the SM is gorgeously free of adornment. And
with the exception of the hardware, ebony
bridge pins, and East Indian rosewood fret-
board, bridge, and headstock veneer, the gui-
tar’s exterior is entirely mahogany. The visual
simplicity highlights the just-about-perfect
proportions of the 000 silhouette. But even
casual Martin spotters may notice the body’s
elongation that results from joining to the
neck at the 12th fret. This design gives the
guitar an almost Spanish classical profile.
The 000-15SM is flawlessly built inside
and out. The spruce bracing and kerfing
are super tidy and precise. And no matter
how deep you look into the recesses of
the body, you won’t find a hint of
cutting corners.
The most significant visual dif-
ference between the 000-15SM
and a standard 000 (apart from
the elongated body) is the
slotted headstock, which adds
another touch of European classicism, while
evoking the earliest incarnations of the 000.
It’s a feature that many flattop connoisseurs
consider the ticket to optimum resonance.
It also accounts for perhaps the only elements of glitz on the guitar—polished
nickel open-gear tuners, that for all their
shining elegance are practically invisible as
you view the guitar from the front.
Cultured and Down Home
Few guitars can simultaneously conjure airs
of refined civility and down-home simplicity quite like a mahogany Martin 000. This
version is no different. The overall sense of
balance in this instrument begins with how
it feels—compact, yet substantial enough
to respond to a dynamic touch and a little
neck-flexing body language. With 1 3/4"
string spacing at the nut and 2 1/4" string
spacing at the bridge, the neck feels more
spacious than a standard 000—which will
please hardcore fingerstylists and OM players looking for those shadier mahogany
tones. But the neck also feels a little slimmer and flatter than most contemporary
Martin 000s and 00s. It’s a great feel for
bend- and hammer on-heavy country
blues picking and fingerstyle moves in the
Graham/Renbourn/Jansch vein, but a little
less comfortable and quick for flatpicked
Byrds/R.E.M.-style arpeggios.
REVIEW > MARTIN
Sonically speaking, the 000-15SM seems
born for fingerstyle too, whether you play
with or without fingerpicks. Exhibiting a
glow and detail that’s typical of mahogany,
as well as sweet touch sensitivity, the 000-
15SM is an able vehicle for fingerstyle
explorations. It also has an unmistakable
low-end richness and resonance that you
can chalk up in some percentage to the
12-fret design, which moves the bridge closer to the center of the soundboard, drives
the top more efficiently, and makes you feel
like you did some overnight refinement to
your thumb technique.
The additional bass resonance does not
necessarily translate to volume. This is still
a small-bodied guitar when stacked up
against a dreadnought or jumbo, and you
won’t be overpowering any D-28s around
the campfire. But you do get enhanced
sustain that actually works better for being
quieter and lends a lot of expressive potential without sacrificing balance. That recipe is ideal for dropped tunings and compositions that rely on drones and ringing
doubles and octaves. And when you apply
the darker mahogany voice to Celtic and
Eastern tunings and styles, the 000-15SM
takes on a smoky, mysterious character
1 3/4" string spacing at nut
Slotted
headstock
Exhibiting a glow and detail
that’s typical of mahogany, as
well as sweet touch sensitivity,
the 000-15SM is an able vehicle
for fingerstyle explorations.
