2006 Martin D-15 Custom Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya!

Today we are looking at a 2006 Martin D-15 Custom dreadnaught acoustic guitar. This model is on the lower end of the Martin spectrum, but is still a pretty nice US-made guitar. The custom part is that this instrument have a spruce top and rosewood sides and back, unlike other Martin D-15 guitars that are made of solid mahogany. These were only made for a few years and were distributed exclusively through Musician’s Friend.

Indeed it is made of some nice woods! It has a mahogany neck, Sitka spruce top, and East Indian rosewood sides and back. The bridge is made of East Indian rosewood too. I am not sure where the fretboard came from, but it is rosewood too. Inside there is D1 A-frame bracing, if you have any idea what that means. Ornamentation is sparse -- the body has a matte finish, a simple rosette and body binding, and a nice-looking faux tortoiseshell pickguard. Unfortunately, it looks kind of cheap if you think about it too much.

The neck is pretty sweet. It has a smooth oval profile, and has a glossy finish. It has the traditional 25 1/2-inch scale 1 11/16-inch width nut. 14 of the 20 frets are clear of the body, and they are well-finished and pretty level. The neck is capped by a rosewood headstock overlay, a gold foil logo, and nice quality chromed sealed-back tuners.

This one is in pretty good shape on its 8th birthday. It just has a few marks, dings, and nicks, and the matte finish has been worn shiny in a few places. The frets are still in great shape, and it sets up nicely with a very low action on light gauge strings. Somewhere along the line someone professionally installed a bone nut, which is not a bad thing. It weighs in at around 4 pounds, 6 ounces in case you are keeping track.

How does it work? Despite its entry-level cost it has a definite Martin character and tone. The dreadnaught body style allows for sufficient power, and the low oval profile neck is fast and easy to handle. The bass is loud and full, and the midrange detail is sweet with a good balance between the two. It is fun to play, and is nice for songwriting, fingerpicking, folk, country and bluegrass. Don’t get me wrong – it is not in the same league as my D-18GE, but it is pretty darned good.

I guess the important thing is how much these things cost. Back when they were new, they had a list price of $1499, and a street price of $999, which included a nice-quality hardshell case. These days they are $500 to $600 used guitars, which is not too bad for a US-made Martin that is built with nice woods. Plus, they have all been getting older and the tops have been loosening up, so they sound better than ever.

Check one out, and if you can get put up with the Spartan appointments, they are a pretty good deal. If appearance is important, save up and buy a D-28. It might take a while…

Mahalo!

Guitar Center

I have a real love/hate relationship with Guitar center, which is probably the largest musical instrument retailer in the world. They have stores all over the US, which always give me a welcome place to go if I am out of town and need to kill some time.

Guitar Center stores vary quite a bit, but generally they have a very diverse inventory so there are quite a few instruments to choose from. They have had a long-standing policy that you can sit down and play pretty much any instrument on the walls for as long as you like. The idea is that all of the wanky 15-year old kids that come in will eventually buy something, so they make it a place that is friendly to them. This makes for a handy place for me to practice while I am on the road. The down side to this policy is that some instruments get a lot of wear and tear, and generally they will not discount instruments for this. They USED to, though (more about this later).

One thing that you will find is that Guitar Center does not carry instruments and accessories from every major manufacturer. If you need a Mesa Boogie or Genz Benz amplifier, you will have to go elsewhere. Until recently they did not carry any ESP guitars. These brands are popular, dammit.

Guitar Center made a few changes after they were acquired by Bain Capital in 2007 (for an astounding 2.1 billion dollars). By far, my least favorite change was their “guaranteed lowest price” policy, which pretty much took away my ability to negotiate pricing on instruments.

The “guaranteed lowest price” policy means that they will match any other retailers lowest advertised price. Many manufacturers and distributors set a minimum advertised price, so they prices are the same everywhere you look. Generally, Guitar Center will not negotiate below these minimum advertised prices, even if instruments show a lot of wear or are (GASP!) damaged. In the good old days, if you were a good customer they would negotiate the prices below the minimum advertised price, and closer to their cost for the item. Nothing good lasts forever, I guess.

Fortunately, they always have a large selection of used instruments that are in very good condition. These are generally available for a little more than ½ of what you would pay for a new instrument, and there is usually some negotiating that can be done. Also, during their yearly sales, they will still discount equipment to stupidly-low clearance prices, which can make for some lucrative eBay reselling.

By the way, Guitar Center also owns Musician’s Friend, which is probably the largest online retailer of musical instruments. In the past few years they have bought out Music & Arts Center and Music 123.