2001 Martin 00-15 Flattop Guitar

This is just a quick post with a video link to give people an idea of what these newer Martin 00-15 models are like. If you've walked into a decent new-gear guitar store in the past 20 years, something like this 00-15 will have been among the other Martins on the racks.

They're like a much-simplified take on the older mahogany-top guitars with less bracing, a bolted-on/tenon neck joint, and plainer "satin" finish than even the oldies. While they're still x-braced, there's much removed bracing on the lower bout which gives them a more open, warmer tone vs. newer vintage-authentic mahogany-top Martin clones. Ironically, this change gives them a sound closer to 1930s and 1940s mahogany-topped Martins as those had more but much lighter bracing than later versions. These are not nearly as nuanced, though, tonally.

That's all to say: I like these guitars and they hold-up decently well (except for the truss rods which, like this one, are often maxed-out). I've heard a lot of them through the shop in for setups and the vast majority of them sound pretty good. This one has been brutally played-in and so it, of course, sounds really good for one of these. It's loud, proud, and grumbly in a good way.

The one change that I'm not overly-fond of (because I like the chunk of a short-scale guitar) is the long scale vs the old 24.9" -- this one specs-out as: 25 5/16" scale, 1 11/16" nut width, 1 1/2" string spacing at the nut, 2 1/8" spacing at the bridge, 14 1/4" lower bout width, 10 3/4" upper bout, and 4 1/16" side depth at the endblock. The neck is a mild C-shape and the fretboard is fairly flat with something like a 14-16" radius.