Rare is the guitarist who hasn’t at some point lusted after a Martin—the flattop acoustic whose sound is at the heart of American music, heard on the recordings and seen in the concerts of everyone from Joan Baez to Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan. But many players have found Martin guitars to be out of their reach. Long the company’s most popular model, the standard D-28, presently lists for $2,999; a more faithful reissue, the D-28 Museum Edition 1941, lists for $14,999; and in decent condition a prewar original can fetch in excess of $100,000.

A new guitar, the D-15M, potentially makes owning a Martin possible for the cash-strapped guitarist. Listing for only $1,499 ($1,149 street) with a deluxe hardshell case, the D-15M offers an unbeatable value in an all-solid-wood guitar. And unlike most affordable instruments, which are imported from overseas, the D-15M is American-made—built alongside more costly models at Martin’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania headquarters.

Since it was founded in 1833, C.F. Martin & Co. has been the world’s premier manufacturer of steel-string guitars. The popularity of the brand is in part due to the maker’s major innovations of the early- to mid-1900s, all of which are now standard in guitar building: the 14-fret neck (where the neck joins the body at the 14th fret), which granted players access to the highest register; scalloped bracing, which improved the guitar’s resonance and structural integrity; and the dreadnought body, named after a battleship, whose larger size made for enhanced volume and projection.

Naturally, the D-15M (the D stands for dreadnought and the M for mahogany) features all three of these features. As opposed to the D-28, which has rosewood back and sides and a spruce top, the D-15M is all genuine mahogany save for its East Indian rosewood fretboard, headplate, and bridge. That the world’s supply of mahogany is dwindling potentially makes this guitar even more of a value—perhaps a very sound investment.

Fig. 1: A traditional looking guitar with a modern feel.

Cosmetics and Craftsmanship
With its dark-stained mahogany body and neck, tortoise-shell-style pickguard, diamond-and-square fret markers, vintage-style peghead decal, and open-geared butterbean tuners, the D-15M has got a nice old-fashioned vibe (see Fig. 1). It lacks binding, back purfling, a heelcap, and other ornamentation, lending an appealingly Spartan appearance while helping keep the instrument’s price tag minimized. This design should appeal both to those with a penchant for the straightforwardly traditional and the minimalistic modern.

Craftsmanship on the D-15M is consistent with that found on considerably more expensive Martin guitars. The frets appear well-seated and carefully polished, without any jaggedness at the edges of the fingerboard. The bone nut and 16-inch radius compensated bone saddle has been meticulously cut. And the guitar’s rich stain and satin lacquer finish were applied in a perfectly even way.

Things were similarly clean inside the D-15M. Nowhere could evidence of glue be found and the solid Sitka spruce 5/16-inch bracing, as well as the kerfing, were for the most part sanded smoothly. I’ve encountered a number of guitars with twice the price of the D-15M but not near the level of integrity in craftsmanship.

The Sound and Playability
The D-15M felt comfortable straight out of the box thanks to its low-profile neck shape and 1-11/16-inch nut width—a spec that electric guitarists will appreciate, since it’s the same width found on many solidbodies. It was equipped with a set of medium gauge (0.13–0.56) Martin SP phosphor bronze strings and set up with an agreeable medium action.

I strummed some barre chords for a spell, and experienced none of the fret-hand fatigue associated with certain traditional acoustic guitars. It felt equally easy to play single-note lines up and down the neck, from the open position to the upper regions of the 20-fret, 25-3/8-inch scale-length fingerboard. The neck’s satin finish also added a bit of extra comfort, as did the guitar’s satin body and overall lightness—just four pounds, seven ounces on a digital scale.

Guitars in this price range can sound a bit constricted. But unmistakably a Martin, the D-15M possessed the sort of booming voice befitting of a dreadnought. When I strummed some basic open chords with emphasis, I could literally feel the instrument’s power—the back and sides vibrated like crazy. The bass was crisp, the midrange assertive. And the guitar had just as commanding of a presence when I played some chords in tunings slacker than standard: drop D, double drop D, open G, and Csus2.

Back in standard tuning, a very mild treble deficit was detectable when I flatpicked some bluegrass and swing phrases on the first and second strings. But on these single-note lines, a cool effect was apparent—the D-15M has an attractive natural reverb, of which a listener remarked, “Wow, you can hear three notes ago.” The tone of the lines had a bit of warmth and sweetness, too, likely due to the guitar’s mahogany construction.

Next I tried fingerpicking—some basic Travis picking and a few Bach arrangements. With its 2-1/8-inch spacing at the bridge, there was ample room between the strings for this approach. But when fingerpicked, the D-15M was not quite as vibrant and responsive as it was strummed or flatpicked. Then again, dreadnought guitars are designed for strummers, and given the quality of this instrument, I suspect that one of Martin’s smaller-bodied versions, the identically priced OO-15M or OOO-15M, would be superb for fingerpicking.

I wanted to hear how the D-15M sounded in a strictly unplugged accompanimental setting and was lucky to have at my disposal a singer and multi-instrumentalist. The instrument held its own when strummed against some crashing piano chords and it pleasantly complemented a flute in a modal improvisation. And although the D-15M isn’t really a jazz guitar, it also blended nicely with some vocals on some jazz standards rendered with walking bass lines.

The Bottom Line
With the D-15M, guitarists can get an all-solid-wood guitar with that famous Martin sound for just over $1,000. But the instrument’s top-notch craftsmanship, handsome, old-school appearance, attractive tone, and penetrating sound make it a total winner at any price.

Pros: Excellent value in an all-solid, American-made guitar. Outstanding build, playability, and sound.

Cons: Not the ideal guitar for fingerpicking. Treble register is slightly lacking.

Adam Perlmutter in a New York City-based guitarist/transcriber/arranger/music writer. He contributes articles to Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Aficionado, Premier Guitar, and other magazines. He is the author of several Hal Leonard guitar method books including Jim Hall Signature Licks.