2003 Martin D-15S 12-Fret Dreadnought Guitar

I remember when this 12-fret version of the popular D-15 came out and I was intrigued because I'm a fan of the old Norman Blake 12-fret dreadnought sound and I'm also a fan of hardwood (in this case, mahogany) tops on guitars. I never got a chance to play one until years later and, just like this one, that first pick on one of these was an eye-opener. The sound is fantastic -- big, woody, warm, lush, and full -- but without hyped lows or highs. That mahogany "compression" is lovely to have on such a big guitar.

This particular example has been ridden hard with what looks like years of gigging fun but, after mild service, plays like a champ and sounds as-described above (excellent). For a moment I owned a 2011 Martin D-18VS and I adored that guitar's sound but didn't bond with the feel due to the vintage-y neck profile. This guitar, however, has a modern 1 11/16" nut width and slim-C profile and it plays fast as heck. It's also lightweight, too, for its size.

Repairs included: a mild fret level/dress and setup work.

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x, light

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: 14"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 23/32" (right in-between 1 11/16" and 1 3/4")

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 4 3/4"

Weight: 4 lbs 3 oz

Condition notes: well, let's see -- it has a bunch of mild usewear throughout (scratches, scuffs, nicks, dings) the body plus some mucked-up finish along the top center seam from a center seam repair (it's cleated and good to go and pictured in glare). There's a non-original, oversize pickguard installed (likely to hide a worn top and rosette like all these style 15s get from this time). The sides have two repaired, mid-size hairline cracks (pictured). The bridge's front is lightly-shaved and the saddle is low but has a little bit of airspace for adjustment (it's also summer as of this post, so all the adjustment needed will be in summer when the action drops from dryness instead and shims will be needed to jack the action up). The string ramps from the factory have been expanded a bit to help with back-angle on the saddle. It plays fast and easy and spot-on as it should, however.

It comes with: a good hard case.