D-15 Owners

infoghost · Post by **infoghost** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:12 am

I am seriously thinking about taking the plunge and getting one of these. I'll probably wait until after Christmas, and still have some wife-convincing to do, but I am pretty certain I'll be picking one up soon. At least, I hope.

Any thoughts from current owners? What about string brand/guage, what are you guys using? I currently use 12-16-24-32-42-53 elixirs on my Alvarez, but have been thinking of going a bit lighter.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Push me over the edge on this.

hd28v · Post by **hd28v** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:45 am

Any thoughts from current owners?

Glad to hear you are considering the D-15. I am a Martin fan so I may be biased here so take that into consideration.

Many say that the D-15 is the best all solid wood guitar you can get from Martin for the money. I agree 100%. I have owned mine now for about 4 months and we are doing great together. I bought it as a substitute for my other Martin while it is in the repair shop for the lifting bridge.

I bought mine from maurysmusic.com for $599. This price included a free bone upgrade, setup and case which all Martin guitars come with. The owner, Maury, is a great guy to deal with and does a solid shipping job. To get the free bone upgrade you have to be a member to umgf.com. I had my action lowered and I am glad I did. Play smooth and fast. It is a bassy guitar, when compared to others, but it still blends well with the treble to produce a nice Martin sound.

As for strings I use mediums on it. I like a loud guitar and I personally find that light and extra light stings dont do it for me. I have been using D'Addario EJ17's. Not saying their the best but I like them, expecially when I can get a set for around $5.50. I am sure though that lights would work on the D-15 so give them a try if you want to go lighter.

Finally, I will say that the D-15 is not an incredibly bright guitar when compared to solid spruce top guitars. It has more of a mellow sound. It does still have the capibility to do all that you want it to. Try a few out.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

infoghost · Post by **infoghost** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:52 am

Awesome. My biggest problem is that nowhere around here sells them, so I need to go with recommendations. I hate buying a guitar without playing first, but I really want a Martin, and the D-15 is in the right price range. I've not seen any negative comments yet, just plenty of positives. I am going to try and hit the local shop that does sell Martins and see if they have any in yet. They are kind of small, so who knows what they get.

Thanks for the info, I look forward to more comments.

paywad927 · Post by **paywad927** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:15 am

infoghost wrote:Awesome. My biggest problem is that nowhere around here sells them, so I need to go with recommendations. I hate buying a guitar without playing first, but I really want a Martin, and the D-15 is in the right price range. I've not seen any negative comments yet, just plenty of positives. I am going to try and hit the local shop that does sell Martins and see if they have any in yet. They are kind of small, so who knows what they get.

Thanks for the info, I look forward to more comments.

i have heard from quite a few people that martins are inconsistent from guitar to guitar. so playing the one you buy (if possible) would probably be your best bet. i havent noticed very much inconsistency but i have heard from other players (much more experienced than me) that they tend to be. if at all possible play as many as you can and pick the one that you think sounds best. hopes this helps a little.

infoghost · Post by **infoghost** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:22 am

I am hoping to find a place that has one.

I am sure that if I order it, I'll get the local shop to do a setup to my liking. I've found that even though many play differently from each other, most just need a good setup to get them to your liking. That is true with most any guitar.

fatjack · Post by **fatjack** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 10:51 am

what kind of alvarez do you have?

DO NOT GET A D-15!! IT IS THE MOST UNPLAYABLE GUITAR I HAVE EVER LAYED MY HANDS UPON!

infoghost · Post by **infoghost** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:00 am

I have http://www.alvarezgtr.com/heartprodpgs/ ... 20SSB.html

It's ok but I really want something more. I picked it up because it was the best sounding in my then-price range, and I didn't want to spend a ton, since I was not sure how much I wanted to go acoustic. Since I've gotten it, I've decided I want to go 100% acoustic, so I want to move up a level or two.

DO NOT GET A D-15!! IT IS THE MOST UNPLAYABLE GUITAR I HAVE EVER LAYED MY HANDS UPON!

Are you serious, or are you trying to rile up someone that plays one?

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:03 am

fatjack wrote:DO NOT GET A D-15!! IT IS THE MOST UNPLAYABLE GUITAR I HAVE EVER LAYED MY HANDS UPON!

I love it when people who know absolutely nothing of what they're talking about jump into threads where they have nothing to contribute and act like 11-year-olds. Oh, and it's 'laid'.

On a brighter note, I've loved my D-15 for about a year and 3 months now, and I couldn't live without it (well maybe I could...but I wouldn't want to). V's post pretty much sums it up - I ordered mine from musician's friend, and while I had a perfect experience, I recommend buying from maury's based solely off of their initial setup - maury's is known to make the best bone saddles for Martins, and the D-15 has a slightly high action, so lowering it initially makes sense. I don't think the 'belief' (falsehood) about Martin's inconsistency holds any water - I have played probably 100s of Martins in various locations and have yet to hear a bad one. I think the thing that people confused with inconsistency is the wood 'opening up', which Martins do so well. I use D'Addario EJ16's on mine, and installed a B-Band A1+AST pickup into it by hand. Anyway, I've rambled for a while; I highly recommend the D-15, but as is my recommendation with all guitars, if at all possible, get to a store and play as many as you can. You don't want to regret your decision because you don't like the tone of a guitar (which you won't have a problem with with the D-15, but do it anyways).

Coldchillin · Post by **Coldchillin** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:09 pm

Alvarez's are pretty nice guitars. You might even consider keeping what you have, saving more money (and your wife's anger

) and waiting until you can buy a higher grade martin...I personally have never played a D-15, so I can't contribute that way. I was just offering a suggestion since you aren't 100% sure. It might be better to save the $600 or so for now...

fatjack · Post by **fatjack** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:10 pm

TrippnBill686 wrote:
fatjack wrote:DO NOT GET A D-15!! IT IS THE MOST UNPLAYABLE GUITAR I HAVE EVER LAYED MY HANDS UPON!
I love it when people who know absolutely nothing of what they're talking about jump into threads where they have nothing to contribute and act like 11-year-olds. Oh, and it's 'laid'.

On a brighter note, I've loved my D-15 for about a year and 3 months now, and I couldn't live without it (well maybe I could...but I wouldn't want to). V's post pretty much sums it up - I ordered mine from musician's friend, and while I had a perfect experience, I recommend buying from maury's based solely off of their initial setup - maury's is known to make the best bone saddles for Martins, and the D-15 has a slightly high action, so lowering it initially makes sense. I don't think the 'belief' (falsehood) about Martin's inconsistency holds any water - I have played probably 100s of Martins in various locations and have yet to hear a bad one. I think the thing that people confused with inconsistency is the wood 'opening up', which Martins do so well. I use D'Addario EJ16's on mine, and installed a B-Band A1+AST pickup into it by hand. Anyway, I've rambled for a while; I highly recommend the D-15, but as is my recommendation with all guitars, if at all possible, get to a store and play as many as you can. You don't want to regret your decision because you don't like the tone of a guitar (which you won't have a problem with with the D-15, but do it anyways).

i'm not acting like an 11 year old, and where do you get off telling me that i don't know what im talking about? you are the one with a bias because you own one. i have played many D-15 and i have disliked all of them.

and i thought the fact that you try to refute my claim by correcting my spelling was rather, how should i say, "11 year oldish"

i'm not mad that you disagree with me, you are entitled to your opinion, but instantly saying i have no idea what i'm talking about what pretty damn sorry.

hd28v · Post by **hd28v** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:37 pm

I love it when people who know absolutely nothing of what they're talking about jump into threads where they have nothing to contribute and act like 11-year-olds. Oh, and it's 'laid'.

Fatjack, I read these boards just about every night and I can say with certainty that your post are usually around 1 line which talk about how you disagree with someone or something. The original poster asked about D-15 and stings and you reply with -- D-15's are the most unplayable ..... DOnt get one------You never go in to details. These post make you seem to be "11-year-oldish"!!!

fatjack · Post by **fatjack** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:45 pm

hd28v wrote:
I love it when people who know absolutely nothing of what they're talking about jump into threads where they have nothing to contribute and act like 11-year-olds. Oh, and it's 'laid'.

Fatjack, I read these boards just about every night and I can say with certainty that your post are usually around 1 line which talk about how you disagree with someone or something. The original poster asked about D-15 and stings and you reply with -- D-15's are the most unplayable ..... DOnt get one------You never go in to details. These post make you seem to be "11-year-oldish"!!!

fine then, you want me to be more specific?

i dont mind the sound of the guitar, but the neck and its wood just feels like crap to me, the action was so high i could barely play it. the neck was just slow and they just seem "blah", no qualities about it that really stood out.

if you want my suggestion, i would go for a higher end alvarez, i like how they sound better anyway

and my posts may be one line, but at least i'm not afraid to express my opinion. i hardly ever do any post like my previous one above because i usually dont want to end up looking like Jason, but i did this one because i thought it best expressed my distaste for this guitar.

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:16 pm

fatjack wrote:you are the one with a bias because you own one.

That doesn't make me biased, that makes me informed about a particular guitar, while you are uninformed about it.

fatjack · Post by **fatjack** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:22 pm

TrippnBill686 wrote:
fatjack wrote:you are the one with a bias because you own one.
That doesn't make me biased, that makes me informed about a particular guitar, while you are uninformed about it.

i dont understand why you keep saying that i'm uninformed about it...

is it because i dont like the guitar or something? why do you keep assuming that i have no idea what i'm talking about?

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:37 pm

I personaly prefer the D-18 more (and d-28 over all). Also, if you are playing a Martin, it's best not to use elixers. You should get strings that will bring out the bass and low ends in the guitar. Elixers are focusing on the high end, and d'addarios are over rated, I always say, I have NEVER liked d'addarios. you should get low end ones, and full ones. Those would be Martin, Dean Markley, DR, and Guild's aren't bad. Martins focus onthe low end, so if you get strings like elixers you won't bring out the full sound of the guitar.