I love the look of the solid mahogany guitar ,and have thought about searching for one . But the spruce top is definitely better sounding to my ears ,I thought this video was very helpful to me , thank you .
@@shorttime1351 personally I prefer the smaller body 000. Also the OMC-15M is nice, it adds a cutaway, electronics and a hard case (only available used).
D15 sounds like your girlfriend when she was 15: pretty, bright, bouncy. The 15M sounds like the 38 year old divorcee you met at 1 a.m. at Johnny's Bar and Grill: throaty, complex, and full of cognac
This is easy with acoustic guitars..the mahogany tops LOOk darker and they also SOUND darker..The mahogany top guitars are very good for blues -like lightning hopkins finger picked stuff..the spruce tops ring more and they are brighter and good for strumming and plectrum-picked , articulate scales and runs
Pretty simple... the mahogany is deeper sounding than the spruce top. I've got both. For me the mahogany is a better fit. You CAN change the tone on both a bit by changing strings to a brighter or less bright set of strings. Bottom line, it's what your ear tells you, not me or a guy on a utube video. Just know you can change the tone... a bit.
@@mikesquires101 well after 5 years of daily playing my D15m is sounding better and better and when I let my friend play it( he is a guitar teacher) it sounds out of this world, especially going thru a pa , I wish you could hear it somehow , just really amazing more focused and deeper tone,
@@jixxxxer17 I’ve had mine 8 years. I like it don’t get me wrong. It’s a wrestling match I guess. I play it often but ya...I need to make it a daily thing. What kind of pic do you use w it?
@@mikesquires101 I use cheap Fender mediums , I have tried heavier and thinner picks of higher quality but the Fender Mediums work best for me or i use the top of my finger nails but not consistently or they will disappear lol I'm going to find the video of my friend playing my D15m it's amazing sound you will like it i think , and will see the potential of these guitars, for the money i don't think there is a better quality sounding instrument out there, Peace !
@@mikesquires101 ok I found it I forget we put it on YT, this is my Martin D15m and my friend is playing it, we used a simple 7 band EQ ( Ibanez GE10 ) and went straight into a small Yamaha pa, it was recorded with a Canon G15 digital camera with video features, nothing special at all although I think it has a stereo mic, but that's it , and I think the guitar sounds pretty darn good for a lower level Martin ruclips.net/video/fGiMnrcuQng/видео.html
David - nothing better or worse off here between these two wonderful guitars...just different sounds. Useful and applicable in different scenarios too :) But I guess you like it better with the spruce top :)
yep, the action and playability is what you need. as long as they have a good sound, there is nothing wrong with either. but... I have a d15m and have never played the other one but out of the sound I heard on the video, the d15m sounded less muddy for me,so better in my opinion :)
Everyone has their own description. I always felt that a guitar with a hardwood top like mahogany or koa has a deeper, punch her tone. A tad heavier on the mids with less harmonic overtones. It's subtle but mahogany top guitars can cut through a mix a tad better when recording. The sound is a bit more rustic like a parlor guitar with more volume. It lends itself to jazz chording because the voicings are clearer.... and acoustic also lead guitar lines from Irish reels and jigs to gypsy guitar. Spruce has a tad brighter and dryer sound. Probably better for bluegrass sound and solo folk singers who want a fuller sound backing them. An interesting economics phenomenon is the fact that mahogany is a far more expensive lumber than spruce. It is a rarer, imported wood....while spruce is domestic and more plentiful. The odd thing is that all mahogany guitars have historically been marketed as lower end models with a lower price (the lowly "15" label compared to a spruce top guitar labeled 18 and up....with spruce being the more common wood on higher end Martins) This is a good marketing demonstration on how public demand drives the price of an item more than cost of manufacture. It's a very common phenomenon in guitar pricing.
Quite verbose for not knowing what the hell you are talking about...lol. Mahogany is found all over North America. One of the oldest in the world was found in Canada. Imported? Also, the 'lowly' 15 series is an incredibly well selling series in Martin's lineup, so your point of marketing and cost of manufacture is convoluted at best, and idiotic at worst. I have rarely read something so off the mark, written with so much confidence. You are truly special. SMH
Thanks for watching and commenting. The streetmaster is a variation on the 15 series line with a distressed look. Tonally it would not sound differently since the tonewoods, size and bracing structure are the same. However, when we have one available I will do a review on it. ;)
I have the D15 special and main difference, that I can tell, is the D18 has scalloped bracing and hand-fitted neck joint (vs the "simple" dovetail of the D15, which is production line). That said, all solid wood guitars have their own character. At the place I bought it, I tried the few available Martins and Gibsons with spruce/mahogany, including D16 and 18. The D15 seemed louder with more bottom end than the D16, and was more similar to the D18 in tone/volume (to my ears). For the value, the price of the D15 special was incredible. At a place as well stocked as Alamo, this sort of comparison would be even more fun.
No, this wasn't that helpful. please play the same thing on each guitar back to back. THAT would be helpful. I'm riding the fence on these guitars and have been looking for info and feedback on them for months, but nobody actually has both guitars in stock for me to do a comparison.
My D-15 Custom (w/ spruce top) sounds better than both. :) Seriously, The Spruce Top makes it sparkle more and the Mahogany is totally warm across all the strings though you can dig in and get some spice.. I've had mine for 16 years and love it.
Special better strummer, mahogany better finger picker, special is more bright more overtones, mahogany sounds more balanced and focused and sounds more like wood, both are equally amazing for different reasons
The spruce has a brighter tone. The Mahogany has a deeper tone. This particular spruce top sounds far more tinny than any real Martin dreadnaught that I have ever played or owned. Sounded more like a cheap Jasmin.
What a horrible mic for those guitars. There are some great demos out there. These both sounded pretty rubbish (especially with what sounded like an airplane or truck in the background.
Spruce sounds brighter but that mellow bluesy melancholy of the Mahagony gets me every time
Oh I love that mahogany sound, it’s different and bold
I love the look of the solid mahogany guitar ,and have thought
about searching for one .
But the spruce top is definitely better sounding to my ears ,I thought this video was very helpful to me , thank you .
great idea. i loved it. I'd love to hear more of these examples i.e. spruce vs cedar, maple vs spruce, cedar vs sapele, etc. Thanks!
I have a D15m, which I'll never get rid of. I love its warmth, round tone, and even tone through low, medium, and high ranges.
How do you think it compares to the 000-15m?
@@shorttime1351 personally I prefer the smaller body 000. Also the OMC-15M is nice, it adds a cutaway, electronics and a hard case (only available used).
D15 sounds like your girlfriend when she was 15: pretty, bright, bouncy. The 15M sounds like the 38 year old divorcee you met at 1 a.m. at Johnny's Bar and Grill: throaty, complex, and full of cognac
The Spruce Top is bright and of course has more projection.
The Mahogany Top is warm with somewhat less projection. (My preference)
Good comparison. Is the D-15 special sounhole decoration real inlay, or a transfer?
I love em both
Seagull Original S6 BEST of THE BEST !!!
I don't know the tune you played @ 2:44 but i really like it. Would love to hear the whole thing...
So what exactly is the difference between the D15 Special and the D18?
Great Job Chris!
Great info. I was about to order a Mahogany D15 and now I'll be looking for Spruce!
This is easy with acoustic guitars..the mahogany tops LOOk darker and they also SOUND darker..The mahogany top guitars are very good for blues -like lightning hopkins finger picked stuff..the spruce tops ring more and they are brighter and good for strumming and plectrum-picked , articulate scales and runs
I can’t find the individual review that you mentioned of the D-15 Special
Pretty simple... the mahogany is deeper sounding than the spruce top. I've got both. For me the mahogany is a better fit. You CAN change the tone on both a bit by changing strings to a brighter or less bright set of strings. Bottom line, it's what your ear tells you, not me or a guy on a utube video. Just know you can change the tone... a bit.
How have those guitars been since you posted this comment 2 years ago?
When you say change the tone of the strings do you mean the diameter from a light to medium
I like the Spruce top better.
my Martin D15-M sounds totally different from both of these demos . damn !
Me, too. His playing is certainly better than mine but that NIc is helping as well I think.
@@mikesquires101 well after 5 years of daily playing my D15m is sounding better and better and when I let my friend play it( he is a guitar teacher) it sounds out of this world, especially going thru a pa , I wish you could hear it somehow , just really amazing more focused and deeper tone,
@@jixxxxer17 I’ve had mine 8 years. I like it don’t get me wrong. It’s a wrestling match I guess. I play it often but ya...I need to make it a daily thing. What kind of pic do you use w it?
@@mikesquires101 I use cheap Fender mediums , I have tried heavier and thinner picks of higher quality but the Fender Mediums work best for me or i use the top of my finger nails but not consistently or they will disappear lol I'm going to find the video of my friend playing my D15m it's amazing sound you will like it i think , and will see the potential of these guitars, for the money i don't think there is a better quality sounding instrument out there, Peace !
@@mikesquires101 ok I found it I forget we put it on YT, this is my Martin D15m and my friend is playing it, we used a simple 7 band EQ ( Ibanez GE10 ) and went straight into a small Yamaha pa, it was recorded with a Canon G15 digital camera with video features, nothing special at all although I think it has a stereo mic, but that's it , and I think the guitar sounds pretty darn good for a lower level Martin ruclips.net/video/fGiMnrcuQng/видео.html
thanks . good info . I'm going to buy a drs2 next month . not a drs1. . I can. hear the difference here .
David Coleman why you talk like an ad bot though
David - nothing better or worse off here between these two wonderful guitars...just different sounds. Useful and applicable in different scenarios too :)
But I guess you like it better with the spruce top :)
yep, the action and playability is what you need. as long as they have a good sound, there is nothing wrong with either.
but... I have a d15m and have never played the other one but out of the sound I heard on the video, the d15m sounded less muddy for me,so better in my opinion :)
fishgutt242 but mahogany makes more muddy? How can spruce be more muddy.
The background rumble made this hard to hear as a comparison...
Nice demo ..ear the difference Mahogany abit sweeter in the bass .Both beautiful guitars ..would have the all Mahogany one ..
Everyone has their own description. I always felt that a guitar with a hardwood top like mahogany or koa has a deeper, punch her tone. A tad heavier on the mids with less harmonic overtones. It's subtle but mahogany top guitars can cut through a mix a tad better when recording. The sound is a bit more rustic like a parlor guitar with more volume. It lends itself to jazz chording because the voicings are clearer.... and acoustic also lead guitar lines from Irish reels and jigs to gypsy guitar. Spruce has a tad brighter and dryer sound. Probably better for bluegrass sound and solo folk singers who want a fuller sound backing them.
An interesting economics phenomenon is the fact that mahogany is a far more expensive lumber than spruce.
It is a rarer, imported wood....while spruce is domestic and more plentiful.
The odd thing is that all mahogany guitars have historically been marketed as lower end models with a lower price (the lowly "15" label compared to a spruce top guitar labeled 18 and up....with spruce being the more common wood on higher end Martins)
This is a good marketing demonstration on how public demand drives the price of an item more than cost of manufacture. It's a very common phenomenon in guitar pricing.
I’m just commenting to say that this is an awesome comment 😂
Quite verbose for not knowing what the hell you are talking about...lol. Mahogany is found all over North America. One of the oldest in the world was found in Canada. Imported? Also, the 'lowly' 15 series is an incredibly well selling series in Martin's lineup, so your point of marketing and cost of manufacture is convoluted at best, and idiotic at worst. I have rarely read something so off the mark, written with so much confidence. You are truly special. SMH
Can you review the Streetmaster?
Thanks for watching and commenting. The streetmaster is a variation on the 15 series line with a distressed look. Tonally it would not sound differently since the tonewoods, size and bracing structure are the same. However, when we have one available I will do a review on it. ;)
What was the last song you played? It sounds kind of familiar?
I don’t really understand this guitar, for all intents and purposes its a d18?? Right??
Without taking a look at the bracing, D18 has ebony bridge and fingerboard.
I have the D15 special and main difference, that I can tell, is the D18 has scalloped bracing and hand-fitted neck joint (vs the "simple" dovetail of the D15, which is production line). That said, all solid wood guitars have their own character. At the place I bought it, I tried the few available Martins and Gibsons with spruce/mahogany, including D16 and 18. The D15 seemed louder with more bottom end than the D16, and was more similar to the D18 in tone/volume (to my ears). For the value, the price of the D15 special was incredible.
At a place as well stocked as Alamo, this sort of comparison would be even more fun.
No, this wasn't that helpful. please play the same thing on each guitar back to back. THAT would be helpful. I'm riding the fence on these guitars and have been looking for info and feedback on them for months, but nobody actually has both guitars in stock for me to do a comparison.
dlzannini1 he played the same thing back to back 😂
@@brettgarlick5252Not the same exact section.
My D-15 Custom (w/ spruce top) sounds better than both. :) Seriously, The Spruce Top makes it sparkle more and the Mahogany is totally warm across all the strings though you can dig in and get some spice.. I've had mine for 16 years and love it.
mahogany : warmer darker more mellow
Something about aged strings sounds much better on the d15 special imo
Compare between a D15 Special vs. D18
You have to dig a little harder on the all Mahogany,
Special better strummer, mahogany better finger picker, special is more bright more overtones, mahogany sounds more balanced and focused and sounds more like wood, both are equally amazing for different reasons
The spruce has a brighter tone. The Mahogany has a deeper tone. This particular spruce top sounds far more tinny than any real Martin dreadnaught that I have ever played or owned. Sounded more like a cheap Jasmin.
Rude.
Mahogany all the way...
What a horrible mic for those guitars. There are some great demos out there. These both sounded pretty rubbish (especially with what sounded like an airplane or truck in the background.
I want to like the hog but there is a reason 99% of professionals play Spruce.
Hahaha that's funny. Where did you come up with 99%. ?
Recording a review with an awful mix, new (and very light) strings, and no flatpicking to fingerpicking comparison is not terribly helpful.