1959 MARTIN 0-15

A beautiful Martin 0-15 from 1959, in stunning original condition.

This guitar left the Nazareth workshops two years before the model was discontinued and comes to us superbly preserved. Introduced in 1948, the 0-15 replaced the older style 0-17 which was until then the most basic model offered by Martin. Like its predecessor, style 15 features an all-mahogany body construction, and is the implementation of a careful study in minimalism: all standard Martin finishing elements are reduced as much as possible, and the guitar has no ornamentation apart from a simple three-ply binding around the soundhole, a celluloid tortoiseshell pickguard and a gold decal with the manufacturer’s name on the headstock.

Despite its small body size, the guitar gives off a surprisingly strong and rich voice, and sounds just as good for fingerstyle or pick playing. Sold in 1959 for the modest price of $92, this economical model for the time had all the makings of a high-end instrument: the wood chosen for its construction is excellent, the mahogany body having a superb grain and being cut in very thin thicknesses makes the instrument light as a feather. We find beautifully figured Brazilian rosewood on the fingerboard and bridge of the instrument. The neck, a slight V-shape, is very comfortable over its entire length. Only 701 of these little mahogany marvels were shipped out of Nazareth in 1959, and this one has perfectly survived the 6 decades since. It wouldn’t seem like it, but we put in a lot of work in order to restore this guitar, as beautiful as it is, to its full playability: we carried out a neck-reset, followed by a complete refret with vintage-spec wire and making a new bone saddle. The original ebony nut has been readjusted and preserved, as well as the original Waverly 5038D tuners. The setup of the instrument has been optimized to obtain low action, spot-on intonation, and perfect playability.

Sold in a Martin shaped case dating from the 80s.

SOLD