Martin 000-15M StreetMaster - Mahogany Burst Review

Bought it for blues!

This guitar is definitely special. The tone is amazing. I've had it for a little over a month now and play it everyday. I have a Gibson Hummingbird and it has taken me a little while to get used to the 1 11/16 nut. However, the playability of this guitar is great. It doesn't have the volume of a dread, but that's not why you buy this guitar. Although it's plenty loud to sing along… read more with. In my opinion it's the perfect guitar for any setting except for maybe a live bluegrass jam. This is that guitar you can sit down on the couch and play for 3 or 4 hours and never grow tired of it and not get uncomfortable. Pull the trigger if you're contemplating it. You'll be glad you did.

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Absolutely love this guitar.

I don't even know where to begin. It's beautiful. It is impecably finished. It is the sweetest sounding guitar I have ever played!

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000-15M StreetMaster

This is a amazing guitar. I was intrigued by it appearance and the pre-distressed finish... I looks like grandpa's old worn, much loved guitar. I own several really nice Martins and I'm a little paranoid about dings and dents when playing out. So I thought no worries with this one! Then I played it and fell in love! Love the warm Mahogany sound, it very loud to be a 000 size body,… read more the neck is very comfortable to play. This one is a keeper!!

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Sweet Streetmaster!

Each time I pick up this Streetmaster it sounds richer and mellower than the first time I held it. It came perfectly set up right out of the well packaged box (after the required 24 hour wait for acclimation). The mahogany is beautiful and I feel like I play better, although not sure it is my playing or just the playability of this instrument. I would bet the latter! Needless to… read more say, I love this guitar. Thanks to Mike Brandt for his continued great advice on each purchase with Sweetwater. They are my go to retailer for anything instrument related as they always provide great customer service.

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Beautiful, quiet, compressed sound

I recently bought (and now returning) this beautiful 000-15 streetmaster guitar. First, this guitar looks fantastic. Martin did a great job with the worn, woody look. Just love it. Second, it has a lovely Martin sound and stays in tune as expected. Third, it shines at finger picking style. With the mahogany tone wood, you get a compressed sound which results in every note sounding… read more out with approximately the same volume even when not picking consistently. So the dynamics is more controlled where in a spruce top, you might have to be a better player to really play consistently as notes can be relatively soft and loud depending on how you play. This guitar minimizes that effect...where the volume is more consistent regardless of plucking - that may be a good or bad thing depending on you. I like it. It’s more forgiving when finger picking pretty lines. Now why am I returning? After playing it for a couple weeks, (and comparing with my own collection of guitars), I’m noticing that I really want more volume and bass and richness that I can hear. When I record bits on my phone for sharing with friends, I can barely hear myself where with other acoustics, it’s not really an issue. For studio recording this would not matter as you can control gain and signal. But for playing around the fire or the living room, it’s not ideal especially for strumming. Finger picking in a quiet room is quite blissful. But I’m currently looking for a good strummer with more dynamics, volume, and bass. Secondly, I already have a Taylor with 1 11/16 like this one. I’m really looking for a 1 3/4 nut now as I love finger picking and with my bigger hands, I want a bigger nut for for better accuracy and comfort. Lastly, when comparing to a small body (spruce top) Taylor Academy 12E, which has similar dimensions, the Martin is ever so slightly (just barely) a little more difficult to play chords cleanly and changing shapes with complete ease. It’s not so much the setup (possibly) as the setup is really good. For example, I have to apply slightly more pressure for barre chords close to the nut to get a clean strum and further up the neck. Notes and chords in the middle of the fretboard are similar to the Taylor. But all guitars are different and have a different feel so I’m giving this 5 stars as it is a 5 star guitar in my mind. My preference now is for a louder acoustic, wider nut, with a high tolerance for playability. I’m eyeing a D18. Hope this review helps. And what a beautiful looking guitar this is.

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