Overview of Martin guitars: 15 & 15M series

This overview provides an explanation of the new 15 series from 1997 to 2009 (D-15, 00-15, 000-15, J-15, J12-15, OM-15, etc) and the 15M series (D-15M, 00-15M, 000-15M, etc) from 2010 onward.

[@nellatrab]

One thing I will mention is Martins series designations were born by what they sold for at the time released...15 sold for $15.00/18 sold for $18.00/28 sold for $28.00...etc.

[@coopercoopercooper]

This is exactly what i was looking for. You have really helped me. Thanks

[@gs3173]

Thanks for taking the time to make this

[@organjoe]

Excellent demo - great, Thanks!

[@con6164]

Thanks for taking time out to explain that to us. I have just purchased the 00015m and love it. I also own a D28 and D35 and I find the 00015m better when I sing without a mike at our weekly Jamming sessions here in Adelaide Australia. The D35 and D28 tend to drown my voice out so I am forced to sing louder.

[@brownmonkeybananayellow]

nice to see them side by side. Thanks!

[@jeffallenfrance]

+ascott51088 you are welcome.

[@Doxtoro]

Great video! Thankyou!

[@manchiloco]

great review! i really like your vids, keep them coming

[@jeffallenfrance]

Thanks manchiloco. A few new videos have been added over the past month or so, both Martin and Taylor guitars. Also need to finish up a first video on the before/after comparison of giving a ToneRite treatment to the guitar.

[@jeffallenfrance]

+manchiloco More videos have been coming out on this channel. And more are planned, including comparisons of types of flatpicks on different guitars.

[@jeffallenfrance]

Thanks Jonathan for your comment about the J12-15. I was testing a J-21 yesterday evening, and the guy also had a D-15 from 2000. He said his was definitely all mahogany although the inside label says Mahogany Top. I'm going to contact the editor of Martin's Sounding Board magazine with the link to this video, with references to pages of their magazine issues, mention these two guitars that seem to contradict the story. Will see if they can clarify it more. Stay tuned here.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Jezzabell4, I also have the HD28 and 000-15M combo. The sounds are complementary. The 000-15M and 000-17SM are different. First, the S model is a 12-fret guitar which exists on the 15 series (000-15SM) and the new ltd edition 17 series which is a resurrection of that model which first appeared in the 1930s. The only real differences between 000-15SM and 000-17SM are mahogany (15) vs shaded spruce top (17) and no binding (15) vs tortoise binding (17). Bracing is same. components are same.

[@jeffallenfrance]

Glad it helped you Matthew

[@jeffallenfrance]

I also have a Rode Videomic pro shotgun microphone, but realized during the first tests of using it in combination with a new camera that it requires a bit of configuration both on mike and camera. Since I use the camera in different video recording environments both at work and for these guitar videos, it hasn't yet seemed worth the value to tinker with settings. Another team at work has used a similar combo and done all the config settings, so to test that in the future with other videos.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Jonathan, only recently (end April 2013) did I get the answer to this from Martin Ambassador Diane Ponzio at a Martin salesperson training workshop I happened to be invited to. I specifically asked her this question. Her answer is that mahogany must to used immediately after being cut. If there was a temp lack of supply of sapele for back and sides, then they likely just used mahogany back and sides to make up for it. This makes sense and explains the ad-hoc examples here and there.

[@LegendarySuperJeppe]

Thank you!

[@waterinthewhiskey]

so useful thanks

[@cyberstace58]

I got a 000-15M in November 2020 after a long wait because of covid-19 . I absolutely love it. Please stay safe and be well. 62 from Newfoundland Canada here. If you do read this is my model sold mahogony or Sapele or Sipo.? Whatever it is it sounds awesome. I love it.

[@jeffallenfrance]

Hi Wayne, the new 000-15m is usually sipo. The stopped putting on the 15 series in 2010 when they released the 15m series. Sapele continued on the Road Series that year.

[@cyberstace58]

@@jeffallenfrance From what i have read the sipo is the better quality wood . Thank-you so much for taking the time to reply to me sir . Please stay safe and be well. PS I'd love to get in that store of yours to sample some of those awesome guitars i see there. :)

[@jeffallenfrance]

@@cyberstace58 This is actually a local music store and I’m just a customer. The 000-15m is mine (and I found a 5-15 a year or so later). The J-15, 00-15m and D-15 sizes were guitars that the store found for sale on the local used market, bought them, and cleaned them up for resale. I did the overview video and the separate review videos of each guitar as a way to just get this new little store get going in a very small town and be known. It also provided a way to get info out such guitars. There was definitely a bit of missing info in the publishes documentation about the 15/15m series. These types of video gather collective knowledge through comments to clear up issues on discrepancies on details.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Mr634smash, the fret buzz is simply because the guitar had arrived just the previous day in the shop. The owner was still making slightly progressive neck adjustments, but we only had a small window of opportunity to do a video with 3 different 15/15M guitars in the store on the same day. The fret buzz was corrected shortly afterward.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@mikl1987, thanks for the feedback. Yes, in principle your 00-15 from 2005/2006 would be all mahogany. Yet, also see my reply (just last week) to the specific comment of JaykobMatteo in this list of comments to the video. It gives some additional info on exceptions. In general, if the wood looks like it has the same grain, then it is the same.

[@jeffallenfrance]

It is actually a dual input mic on a camera used for all kinds of professional video work. The poor sound is likely due to the sound set-up you are listening through (small 1watt computer speaker, mobile phone speaker, or earbud headset), often the case for those who comment on KZbin sound quality. Try using full stereo (enclosed ear) headphone or studio monitor speakers. Also, synchronizing separate video & audio files requires much editing time to make up for differing device playing speeds.

[@mikl1987]

thanks for this very educational video. just to be clear (as I'm about to trade my 00-15 for a D28 plus money and an epiphone casino): my 00-15 is either from 2005 or 2006 (I can't remember from the top of my head), so it should be an all mahogany guitar, right? thanks!

[@JohnCaseSlingIn360]

Thank you

[@mikl1987]

thanky you so much, that was the way I understood it as well, just wanted to make absolutely sure cause I want to do an honest deal. I'm pretty positive that it is an all mahogany, and it's in extremely good condition. what do you think the trading price would be? - around 1000 Dollars? I'm in Europe, so maybe the price is a bit higher than in the US? best Mikkel

[@jeffallenfrance]

Jonathan, I've just checked 2 online sources for the serial number of your guitar which both indicate that it was manufactured in 2006. I tested a Martin J12-15 in 2011 but couldn't it then, yet would have. A 12-string guitar has bright sound due to dual strings at 2 octaves (top 4 strings). An all-mahogany construction (body, neck, headstock) balances this out by the dark wood (limited frequency sprectrum explained in my review of the 000-15M). Few guitar makers have an all-mahog 12-string.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@JaykobMatteo, only recently (end April 2013) did I get the answer to this from Martin Ambassador Diane Ponzio at a Martin salesperson training workshop I happened to be invited to. I specifically asked her this question. Her answer is that mahogany must to used immediately after being cut. If there was a temp lack of supply of sapele for back and sides, then they likely just used mahogany back and sides to make up for it. This makes sense and explains the ad-hoc examples here and there.

[@GINVUR2STEP]

I purchased a J12-15 but can't find much info on it, even from Martin. As I watched this video, he says the J's started in 2000 with a mahogony top. Mine is solid genuine mahogany in absolutely pristine condition. Can I find out what it originally retailed for, and is there a huge difference in quality or price when it is solid mahogany (J-14 fret size)? I've tried to find another available for sale everywhere, but no identical guitar is out there. It looks too nice to endanger by playing!

[@jeffallenfrance]

For a more fully mic'd version, we have done this just recently in order to specifically test an entire range of different acoustic guitar pick-ups and pre-amps on a single acoustic amplifier (Tanglewood T6 amp). See that video on this KZbin channel when it comes out. All of the additional video & audio synchronization work of that one video was proof enough to show that it is not worth doing it, or else creating such videos ends up taking 5 times more work than it does with a single device.

[@GINVUR2STEP]

Thanks for your response. I feel ashamed; I received a history of my guitar from Martin. The email included a rather harsh legal warning not to forward, copy, share, or otherwise distribute the communication in that message. Whatever the construction, when I strum this guitar the sound is akin to angelic music in a chapel. It is such a piece of art, I am fearful when it is out of it's case. I just got an 000C-RGTE Aura cutaway 6-string that is now my favorite guitar! Bon chance! Jon

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Crist, the perception of sound is quite subjective. The 15 series all mahogany is very medium freq heavy, but balanced, and missing very bass and very treble freq. The rosewood (RW) used in both the 28 and 35 series covers a much wider freq spectrum incl bass and treble, with a noticeable dip in mid-range freq. In general, singers like a guitar with RW or maple back/sides as these woods compete less with voice freq. My 15M is only play, not for singing. Yet, sound is subjective.

[@guitarsid]

the open tuners on my 000-15M are Grovers, not Gotohs Martin made a 2-17 all mahogany guitar beginning in 1922, before the Great Deprssion began (10/1929). Jimmie Rogers was a famous artist who used one as seen in early photos.

[@jeffallenfrance]

hello guitarsid, yes, that is the 17 series. The 15 series was introduced to be the new entry level affordable guitar.

[@TheSteveBoyd]

Clear as mud. Is a 2000 D-15 all mahogany or not? What's with all the zeros? I'm looking to buy one used, and it says D-15 Mahogany top on the label.

[@greenbuildingimac]

@jeffallenfrance thanks alot for your info.. really appreciated !

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Sharon Wu, if you go watch the individual videos on this same channel that I've done on each of these guitars, including the 000 and 00 sizes, I recall having compared the sizes in those videos.

[@FranciscoMJesus]

hi. what's the brand and model of the piano/keyboard at the left? thanks in advance

[@jeffallenfrance]

Francisco MJesus, it looks like a Casio since the Casio brochures on the piano's sheet holder. Likely a 600, 700, or 800 series. See the piano review videos I've also done on this channel and you might see it there.

[@FranciscoMJesus]

jeffallenfrance i meant the one behind HARTKE amp! (04:08). near the guitar hardcases

[@tracikennedy4345]

I recently bought a second hand martin 00-15e Mine hasn't got volume or readout buttons on the top of the guitar there is an 'enhance' dial in the sound hole.

[@jeffallenfrance]

More recent versions of various Martin guitars have the other types of Fishman electronics which were introduced years after I made the video.

[@danielmassey3732]

I have a 00015s dating from ~2007 or so. Anyone have any idea how I can tell if it's all solid 'hog? I often think about selling it, but have no idea what it's worth. Whilst there are often 00015m's for sale, you rarely see the 00015s. Does that mean the 12 fret is worth more?

[@jeffallenfrance]

It is either solid mahogany or solid sapele. Some of the earlier solid hog models indicated mahogany top on a label in the guitar, but not all of them. Send an email to Martin to clarify if it is mahogany or sapele. As for the 00015s vs the 00015sm, both of those models were scarce because a 12-fret slotted head model wasn't as popular back then as it is today among various manufacturers. The 12-fret models sold for a little more than the 14-fret models but the general value would be about the same.

[@aninstrumentalvision]

I am monitoring on Bi-amped Dynaudio BM5A speakers with Apogee Duet 2 converter. You don't need to use a double recording system which requires syncing. Just get a decent condenser microphone or two, worth more than $200 and run the mic cables directly into the camera's external mic input. Re-syncing with a separate sources is not efficient for this kind of demo. In any case, different audio devices, if digital, will not have different speeds as they are running on a digital clock.

[@antoineperier3789]

Thanks for the clarification. However, I am still confused. I have a D-15 made in 2009 (1370431). Is it all solid mahogany?

[@nathanfender7635]

Antoine Périer yes

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Antoine, I made a follow up video in this same channel to give more details including your question. Any D-15 with a sticker that says mahogany top, then yes. If no sticker, then it could be all solid mahogany or all solid sapele. See that other video for more info and the references consulted for the info.

[@greenbuildingimac]

hi sir pardon me.. what is the different 00-15m and 000-15m ? and which one better? thanks in advance greet from bali indonesia

[@jeffallenfrance]

The size. OOO15m is slighly larger than its smaller OO sister.

[@padmarley]

I just bought 000-15. Would you recon a K&K trinity pro systems, LR Baggs anthem or Fishman Infinity for this? Help! :)

[@jeffallenfrance]

Hi padmarley, there are many great pickup out on the market now. The K&K has been mentioned for years, but I'm seeing more people installing the LR Baggs anthem in general on their acoustics.

[@Cactustone]

Thanks, but for us on the other end of your microphone, you have to use something other than the crappy in-camera mic to actually hear the differences in these guitars, um-kay? Cheers

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Ben, this and several guitar review videos were made in a very small music store during business hours. Customers would walk in. Set up had to be immediate to start and stop. Some demo videos were done using a much better mic set up without the constraints of being in the music store.

[@Mr634smash]

the 0015m is not so clear when u strum?? u can hear some buzz??

[@jeffallenfrance]

That used 00-15m had just come into the store and was being checked at the same time. We wanted to get a video with all these used guitars together before they starting selling within days of this and the individual guitar review videos being made.

[@joeferris5086]

I thought that i read that the 000 and the 00 were the same body shape and size but the nuts were different sizes

[@jeffallenfrance]

Joe, the 00 and 000 are different body sizes. I have compared them in-person with both guitars. They are also up in the Martin size charts as different sizes.

[@GINVUR2STEP]

Thanks. Do please keep me posted. My research from Martin shows the solid mahogany body was offered in 2000, the year of manufacture according to my serial #1158101. I can't find any indication it's a 'top'. Martin has not been so quick to respond to my inquiry even though I provided serial and original order numbers. It's sound is as angelic as any guitar I've heard. Pretty new to 12-string, but when I search the J12-15 online, it seems to get an overall bad rap.

[@jeffallenfrance]

My replies to you appeared as separate entries in this thread.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@LegendarySuperJeppe, It's a bit difficult to find a 0-15 to review since there are all vintage and very expensive. A 0-15 on the used market sells for twice as much as a brand new 00/000/D-15M. Some info: The 0-15 is a 12 fret size, 24.9 short scale whereas the 00-15 is 14 fret size, full 25.4 scale. In principle, the 0-15 corresponds to the 00-15MS (the S indicates a 12 fret, slotted head type). Shorter scale, less tension on strings, more sound projection for a smaller guitar.

[@layahma]

okay

[@jeffallenfrance]

Some people get caught up with filler words in natural speech. It's a common occurrence in all databases of such types of unscripted natural utterances.

[@aninstrumentalvision]

As I noted before, you should not have to be double recording this stuff. That DOES take too much work! Just use external mics and can sound good, if you are careful.

[@pascalcolomb3807]

Due to older strings, the second guitar tested here doesn't sound as bright as it would normally sound. Great, lovely girlfriends indeed. Didn't meet J yet ;)

[@jeffallenfrance]

Yes Paco, the 2nd guitar, the OOO-15m, did not have new strings on it because it is my guitar on which I was conducting bridge pin comparison tests at the time. I keep old strings on guitars during such tests in order to avoid introducing a new variable which can influence the tone and affect the baseline comparison.

[@jeffallenfrance]

***** Only in a few examples of these reviews does the guitar have old strings, and I usually mention it.

[@jamesadcock5235]

are the guitars in this video solid tops and solid body

[@jeffallenfrance]

all solid - tops and bodies for all guitars

[@jeffallenfrance]

The marketing documentation by Martin in Wood & Steel was unclear on this, but I did clarify that.

[@LegendarySuperJeppe]

How do the 00-15m compare to the 0-15? Great video BTW.

[@jeffallenfrance]

LegendarySuperJeppe, my original answer to you appeared elsewhere in this thread. Also see the follow-up video on the comparison of these models in this same channel where I gave more details.

[@mustsilm]

Beautiful chocolate color

[@jeffallenfrance]

@greenbuilding, see this link for specification details: go to vintagemartin PERIOD com FORWARDSLASH sizes sound difference: there is 1 inch of difference in the lower bout 00 and 000, with normally a perceivable difference in bass sound. However, it really depends on your playing style. My advice is to test and compare both together and choose based on the immediate comparison. If not possible to test one or the other, than 00 or 000 are similar (and very different from a D or Jumbo size)

[@walterbrancatisano8598]

I believe most of the sound differences comes from your hand's different attitude in order to prove your sound theories :)

[@jeffallenfrance]

Walter Brancatisano , these are not my sound theories, but are actually the same explanation given in roadshows, Find-your-fit clinics, sales training, and other sessions offered by various guitar brands. In fact, Taylor redesigned their entire bracing on the GO and 800 series models (and do videos on this) in order to allow larger body guitars to respond better to fingerstyle playing. Also, if you play with very heavy strumming on a fairly new small bodied guitar, the sound often gets muddy by the time it leaves the sound hole. The larger body guitars (dread, jumbo) are more adapted to heavy strumming and volume projection. This is the reason that CF Martin created the Ditson size dread in 1916 and improved it and made it become the reference size for acoustic steel strings in the 1930s with onstage playing for large audiences, whereas previous generations of guitars were parlor size instruments played by women in small room settings. These are the basics of acoustic guitar history which can be found in many published materials and videos by many guitar manufacturers.

[@walterbrancatisano8598]

I didn't mean these were just "your" theories or wrong theories, just I believe you tend to validate them even more with a different touch to make seem the difference more evident than it really is.

[@jeffallenfrance]

@LegendarySuperJeppe, see this link for specification details: go to vintagemartin PERIOD com FORWARDSLASH sizes

[@jeffallenfrance]

@Sharon, this link gives a very detailed overview and answered to your question: go to vintagemartin PERIOD com FORWARDSLASH sizes

[@phineus8397]

Is the 00015M good for strumming?

[@jeffallenfrance]

you can strum with it. Look at my review of the 000-15m on my KZbin channel

[@phineus8397]

@@jeffallenfrance Yeah thanks. How easy to put electrics in that guitar?

[@jeffallenfrance]

@@phineus8397 Many people put the K&K pure mini (or the similar JJB pickup). Those are passive pickups. Other people like to consider the LR Baggs systems (there are several). A luthier should look at it because sometimes the 000 and 00 models of 15 and 15M with A-Frame bracing that needs to be adapted to fit some of the pickups. Do the research carefully. There are many options now compared with a decade ago.

[@phineus8397]

@@jeffallenfrance thanks Jeff much appreciated there's no way I'm putting any holes in my new triple O 15

[@jeffallenfrance]

@@phineus8397 if you make no holes at all, even a very small hole in the bridge for an undersaddle transducer, then the only option you have is the K&K pure mini, the JJB equivalent, or something like the sensors made by Petermann Acoustics in Australia.

[@marcscordato4385]

What about the 00015SM?

[@jeffallenfrance]

Marc, yes there is the 000-15sm. In general, a 000 would already have short scale, but since the 000-15 and 000-15m have the standard neck scale, they created the s for a short-scale model. I see these pop up from time to time. Few on the market compared to other models of the 15m series

[@marcscordato4385]

@@jeffallenfrance The 00015 Sm is my favorite such a rich warm sound from a small body guitar . The braces are not scalloped not forward shifted but it sounds amazing !

[@jeffallenfrance]

@@marcscordato4385 Those 15 and 15m models are great guitars.

[@jwtre]

@@jeffallenfrance the 00015SM is widely regarded as the cream of the crop. They’re the best of the 15s. It’s the same long scale length as all the other 15s, Martin instead elongated the body to make it a 12 fretted guitar. The ‘s’ means ‘standard’ which Martin uses to means 12 frets with a slotted head stock. Much richer sound. Check them out!

[@twilliamsusmc]

My 1999 000-15m has ivory bridge pins. Now I Have 5 mahogany Martins. 0015, 00015,00015sm

[@danielkrawiec9859]

Okay!

[@jeffallenfrance]

Some people get caught up with filler words in natural speech. It's a common occurrence in all databases of such types of unscripted natural utterances.

[@danielkrawiec9859]

I know.

[@JaykobMatteo]

Thank you, this video is very helpful! I just bought a 00-15 from early 2000. The buyer told me that the top, back & sides are all mahogany. I trust him, and the the sticker says "Mahogany Top". It is possible that it is all mahogany without being an "M", correct? Thank you! @jeffallenfrance

[@jeffallenfrance]

Yes, if the sticker says mahogany, it is all solid mahogany. See my follow up video on this same channel for more details in that.

[@richardwright4148]

Clear as mud

[@jeffallenfrance]

and then there are the other 100+K viewers of which the majority of comments say it help them.

[@buckjohnson]

Good explanation, but if I had a shot of whisky for every time I heard the word "okay," I'd be drunk and on the floor.

[@jeffallenfrance]

buckjohnson , it's probably because I don't draft up and memorize canned scripts of these reviews. I walk into the store and say "let's do these today". For this comparison, the only prepared part is the history of the two series. I give many conference topics on technology related topics and they contains less OK and ums because they involve a bit more forethought, for example the video on Demystifying MT at Univ of Gdansk in this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLdABKB0CMCgbjdz5Fj62Xufshyzw8N1t2

[@Pasillas916]

Sounds like the teacher from South Park. Mmmmmkaaaay

[@buckjohnson]

Regardless, I do appreciate the video and the work it took to put it together.

[@Bheckel169]

Sapele. The accent is on the 2nd vowel, not on the first. Just thought you might like to know. Enjoyed your presentation.

[@jeffallenfrance]

+Bruce Heckelman Yes, this happens often with odd names of woods and guitar brand names which I have learned in French, not directly in English. Thanks for the comment.

[@jima9487]

This isn't a criticism, but I had to watch this whole explanation a couples times until I got used to the quaint French accent that kept creeping in. BTW, most folks place the accent on the second syllable of "Sapele"

[@jeffallenfrance]

No problem Jim. I'm used to it, and am actually a trained linguist (phonetician and phonologist) at that. I learned the pronunciation of the word from French sapélé and tend to adopt it. I did English and French versions (back and forth) of several product reviews each day to make this entire series of dozens of product reviews. The cameraman was French and all the supplier catalogs of datasheets across me were in French (except for the Martin Sounding Board magazine), so there is always the risk that some French creeps in. One of my professors of linguistics in grad school 25 years ago at a univ in France said I had a charming anglophone accent while speaking French. Guess I'll never be able to completely get rid of it in either direction ... LOL

[@jima9487]

jeffallenfrance A trained linguist? I'm a trained rhetorician with an emphasis in semiotics, so I can empathize ;) And as Italian is my adopted lingua madre, I'm sure I'm guilty of the same dynamic.

[@jeffallenfrance]

I studied a series of doctoral level classes in semiotics at the Université Lyon II in Lyon, France in the early 90s. Decided to focus on word borrowing from English into the French Creole languages of the Caribbean. Gave a talk at Microsoft HQ Research bldg in 2010 about creating language technologies for minority languages. Easy to find on the internet by looking up my name +creole +translation

[@jima9487]

jeffallenfrance You'll have to share how you've found to the time to learn to play so well. I haven't improved a lick since I first began studying for my PhD.

[@jeffallenfrance]

Hi again Jim. I started playing at age 15, got involved very quickly in a band and played with them regularly for least 2-3 events per week + practice. Took my guitar with me to high school every day. Participated in an album at age 18. During last year of college, had a ton of elective courses to take, so was in 3-4 music classes per term over the year. During Masters and doctoral studies, I played less because I didn't have a guitar with me, but picked mine up in the US after finishing the studies and got involved in groups again. For 30 years, played at about 900-1000 events in several bands. Now play regularly in anywhere from 2-4 bands. Practice & play, practice & play, etc. Now funding and creating a series of videos on learning the guitar with a great guitar player and singer in Paris.

[@jwukulele]

Trying to recap: 0:37 00-15M, 000, J15 1:00 Martin introduces 15 & 17 series 1:26 1997 reintroduce 15 series w a “D” dread version w sapele back sides. 6m later 00-15, 000-15 & DC 15E 2:05 1998 reintroduce 000, 1999 jumbo (sap b&s) 2:35 2000 12 string all Mahogany, 2001 JC-15E, OM-15, 2010 D-15 M, 000-15M, 6m later 00-15M

[@jeffallenfrance]

Simple storytelling just like Martin Ambassador Diane Ponzio does it in her guitar clinic sessions.

[@justsayn839]

1997-2009 Martin D-15 14-Fret is all solid mahogany.

[@jeffallenfrance]

As explained in the video, and confirmed with Martin and with a luthier who specifically works with Martin on mahogany guitars, there were also all-solid sapele 15 series models during that time period, especially with the D-15. This led Martin in 2010 to separate the 2 into the mahogany models with the 15m series and the sapele models with the RS series, starting with the DRS1.

[@TheMetalguitarguru]

I like the 000-15m. the jumbo sounds bad.

[@jeffallenfrance]

TheMetalguitarguru , the action on the Jumbo is very low for my playing style at that point in time a couple of years ago when I did the video. The shop had just received the guitar and was still doing some readjustments and set-up to resell it. From what I heard, the buyer of the jumbo really liked it.

[@startreker8591]

All sapele all mahogany all business they all sound one tonally it’s all business…but ty for breakdown …I remembered drs 1 y the last thing I know they rid of the layered neck to unknown wood y totally discontinued that that specific dreadnaught size…y then they mixed spruce with sapele y ‘some hog ‘ with “selected wood” fr Santos y fr Africa y Indonesia y Philippines but it is still unknown ‘selections’…

[@jeffallenfrance]

Yes, there have been many additional changes to the 15M series and RS series after this video. neck wood types (stratabond to selected wood) and the fretboard wood too.

[@aninstrumentalvision]

Interesting review. But I wish you had taken the time to properly mic the guitars, rather than using the tinny on-camera mic. But thank you for the review.

[@jeffallenfrance]

All of my video reviews made in a music store were during regular business hours when any other customer could walk in at any moment. The set up had to be simple start and stop at any moment. I did have a Rode shotgun mic that plugs into the camera but we had issues getting good sound with it. We finally found the appropriate settings for that mic after doing quite a few of these short videos. For some videos like the bridge pin sound comparisons, there was a much better mic set up.

[@vinterterroristen]

Isn't sapele just a type of mahogny? :|

[@jeffallenfrance]

+Teodor Molander Yes, it is type of African mahogany. There have been very detailed discussions about different varieties of mahogany over in the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum (UMGF).

[@sc12100]

@@jeffallenfrance African Mahogany is not Mahogany. Sapele is not in any way a part of the Mahogany family or species.

[@rabvek]

Skip to 4:34

[@jeffallenfrance]

Except for Europeans who do not ignore and neglect their history.

[@runnningonempty]

Are you saying O.k. to us or you?

[@jeffallenfrance]

Some people get caught up with filler words in natural speech. It's a common occurrence in all databases of such types of unscripted natural utterances.

[@sc12100]

The 15M does not use Genuine Mahogany. They use Sipo. Very similar in tone, but not a true Mahogany species. Martin uses the term "Mahogany" pretty loosely, which they shouldn't. Unless it is labeled in the description as "Genuine or Honduran Mahogany", its not Mahogany.

[@jeffallenfrance]

This video was originally recorded in late 2011/ early 2012 which was before started mentioning sipo more openly. Yes, Sapele is a different species. I used some of the terminology regularly used by Martin and Taylor who explain the similarity of the tonewoods in a general way. Sapele is a more sustainable wiod for the moment. I also made a follow up video to explain more about the confusion about when sapele had been used on the 15 series. Martin did make some changes about woods on its website starting in 2012, mainly about necks, but they could indeed more transparent regarding the exact species in the guitar soec data sheets that are in the website.

[@sc12100]

@@jeffallenfrance I didnt check the date - which I should have. Its nice to talk to someone who knows what they're talking about. Kudos to you. Yeah dont get me started on " Select Hardwood" necks. I love Martin but honesty and transparency is becoming a victim of profit.

[@fendafred]

Hey, first viewer!!!!

[@adriannasanchez468]

Not “zero”.. it’s AUGHT. Double or triple AUGHT

[@jeffallenfrance]

Sorry but both conventions are used today even if it was aught 200 years ago. Language and conventions evolve over time.

[@bobaldo2339]

Okay!

[@jeffallenfrance]

Some people get caught up with filler words in natural speech. It's a common occurrence in all databases of such types of unscripted natural utterances.