Martin OOO-15 SM

Warblington

Thanks Andy,
I saw this and contacted this guy and discussed the possibility of selling his guitar without the pickup as I don't need it etc. Since then I've been contacted by and had a good long chat with a fellow Fretboarder who also has one of these guitars.Unfortunately he also lives too far away for me to go and check it out which would be a 240 mile round trip.What has emerged ,that I wasn't aware of ,is that the depth of these guitars is not the 4 1/8 in I expected them to be like the OOO-18.They are 3.5 ins.I've decided to find one closer to home and try it before committing to buy from anyone a long distance away.I am looking for as big a sound as I can find for the gentle fingerpicking style (nails only) that I play.I'm not looking to go over a OOO size or below a OO.I'm fairly certain one of these will emerge within a reasonable distance of Birmingham although I am now looking at alternatives with a greater body depth.

Shadow

@Warblington you might have seen my thread about my trip to Richards Guitars in Stratford-upon-Avon. It might be worth looking at what they've got in stock. I know they've got an all mahogany Furch. You can book a 2 hour slot with them and try any guitar that takes your fancy. 

Warblington

Yes I did see your thread and enjoyed reading it.Unfortunately ,some time ago I asked the proprietor for his best price on a guitar in terms of a price match with a leading retailer. He went off on one and although he did later apologise (i won't go into detail) I had heard enough never to do business with him.What I am going to do though, is look beyond my preconceived ideas of the only brands to go for.Thanks anyway for the heads up and I'm pleased you found a great guitar.

Shadow

Ah that's a shame, they stock guitars which can be hard to find elsewhere. I'm aware he can be pretty forthright shall we say, and has upset others though many have had a great experience. I didn't see him at all while I was there. Good luck!

terada

My advice would be to hunt a couple down to try. I bought a 00015 through the first lockdown and can't speak highly enough about them. Such a great instrument. After getting it set up by feline it got even better. Not bad looking either...

Warblington

Shadow said:

Ah that's a shame, they stock guitars which can be hard to find elsewhere. I'm aware he can be pretty forthright shall we say, and has upset others though many have had a great experience. I didn't see him at all while I was there. Good luck!

Thanks,

Warblington

terada said:

My advice would be to hunt a couple down to try. I bought a 00015 through the first lockdown and can't speak highly enough about them. Such a great instrument. After getting it set up by feline it got even better. Not bad looking either...

Yes they certainly are handsome guitars.I am prepared to travel to try one out but the two above examples are in Bishop's Stortford and Southend which is too much of a hike from Brum.

Pjon

I was playing one of these 12 fret all mahogany Martins last weekend. It belongs to a friend, so I spent quite a long time playing it over a couple of days. It really was very nice. He's recently had it setup, so it played very nicely, albeit not massively better than my Cort, which is about half the price. Having said that, I'd be happy if I owned the Martin.

scanbran

I had a Martin 000-15SM for a while. Lovely guitar, but I didn't bond with it and sadly moved it on.
A good friend of mine bought an Atkin 000 Essential from GuitarGuitar Glasgow at the weekend, and I got to play it at length in store. What a superb guitar it is - great, mellow sound and very comfortable to hold and play. It does retail at almost twice the cost of the Martin though, but I'd thoroughly recommend it.

Warblington

I have a WTB ad for the Atkin OOO Essential languishing in the classifieds.I'd love to acquire one albeit a used one.I've seen one but it has a pick up and is a bit top heavy on price for me.I keep looking.I have been looking for something in the interim to 'fill the gap' and ended up on the Martin trail. I appreciate your experience with the Martin and I guess I'll never know until I try one out.

Mellish

@Warblington ; if a chunky neck and 1.75" nut doesn't bother you, a Martin is a good choice.

I just found it a bit too much and headed down  the Gibson trail  

Warblington

The 1.75 nut is a must. Necks don’t bother me , I have big hands and I’m used to playing classical guitars.

malcolmkindness

I have a Recording King 616 which I use for travel and gigging.  It's 000 size, all mahogany, wide nut and string spacing and a lot cheaper than the Martin. They are not made anymore but if you could find one second hand you should give it a try.

Warblington

malcolmkindness said:

I have a Recording King 616 which I use for travel and gigging.  It's 000 size, all mahogany, wide nut and string spacing and a lot cheaper than the Martin. They are not made anymore but if you could find one second hand you should give it a try.

Thanks for that,I certainly will. I'm quite open to trying other makers and I'll take a look.

Warblington

Andy79 said:

Just find one and buy it. For a finger guy the 000-15sm is bloody fantastic. All the mahogany Martin Guitars are worth every penny. I’ve had a few and they are constantly great

Maybe just buy a used one. Mahogany takes a while to break in. 

Sorted! I saw a Custom Westside Edition (15 Series Model) Edition VII on the bay and after asking a couple of questions bought it.The seller said it was an O-15 M and had a rosewood fingerboard.The photographs said otherwise.I haven't been able to find out anything about this model on the internet.Any way ,it turns out the guitar is OOO sized ,made in 2012 and in superb condition, no fret wear at all.It plays beautifully and has an ebony board (it's pitch black, no way it's rosewood imo).It plays superbly, a low action.Very responsive to the touch ,plenty of volume when you dig in.Its very light ,1.75 in nut ,14 fret and has the more subtle rounded sound that you get with all mahogany.it is superb.I got it at an excellent price as well.

My idea was to find an interim guitar while I waited for an Atkin Essential OOO to become available.I regularly scoured the dealers but they never had one in stock.Another contributor to this thread told us how his friend had just bought one in Glasgow from GG.I know it never appeared on their website so I called GG to see if they had another in stock.Yes they had and it wasn't on the website as it had only come in 4 days previously.They sent me photos and I bit the bullet and bought it.What a guitar.I can't believe the sound ,the quality, the playability it's got the lot.In the space of a week I've gone from zero to two amazing guitars.I'll probably find a new owner for the Martin in time as the Atkin is just incredible.Thanks to all who chipped in on this thread with your thoughts and suggestions.

Mellish

@Warblington ; sounds like you've scored there mate.

Enjoy your new guitar  

Warblington

Mellish said:

@Warblington ; sounds like you've scored there mate.

Enjoy your new guitar  

Thank you .

Andy79

Glad your happy. It’s what it’s all about 

Warblington

Andy79 said:

Glad your happy. It’s what it’s all about 

Cheers Andy.

Soupman

@Warblington ; - Pics! Pics! ??