c.1954 Martin 0-15 Guitar

Oh, heart be stilled!!!
This is an all-solid mahogany, 14-fret neck, 0-sized guitar (13 1/2" lower bout), made by Martin in 1954. It's essentially identical to the older 1930s Martin 0-17s, save that the rosewood binding is dropped and the bracing is "straight style" (postwar) Martin stock.

This particular guitar is in excellent shape with nary a crack to be seen (though there is a hairline on the lower bout that doesn't go through the wood to the inside), and after a bridge-reglue, cleaning, setup, and a light fret dress... it plays excellently and sounds downright powerful and sweet.

This is an excellent fingerpicking or old-timey instrument, and is ideal for vocal accompaniment, though it flatpicks like a dreadnought, too.

The 0-15 was among Martin's most popular models as it was also one of their least expensive instruments at the time. Still the same sweet quality, though.

Brazilian rosewood headstock veneer, fretboard (flat profile), and bridge. Tuners are original. Bone (or ivory?) nut is not original (these originally had ebony ones) but is also an improvement.

Frets are in super shape -- they're essentially full-height and barely used. Check out the cute white dots on the board.

Gorgeous deep-brown mahogany on this fella. These mahogany-top guitars have a certain woody sweetness that emphasizes balance and response vs. their spruce cousins. Check out the nice original pickguard as well.

The bridge had been shaved some, so I reprofiled it a little bit, reinstalled the original saddle lower, and installed some new ebony pins to replace the missing white plastic originals.

I love the simplicity of these guitars. 0-15s are my favorite "player's Martin" as they sound and feel a zillion times better than newer models but also don't cost $5k on entry.

Nicely functional original tuners. The neck profile is a soft V shape that feels great.

Good strong neck joint.

Only light buckle scuffing on the back and general use wear. The all-original nitro finish looks fantastic all over.

New ebony end pin, too (the original plastic one was missing as well).

This guitar glows in the sun quite nicely!

Such a pretty little thing!

...and it has a brand-new quality, plush Canadian case to go along with it (slightly roomy, though, as it looks like a 00 case to me).