Martin D15, made on July 16, 1999, at the historic factory in Nazareth (Pennsylvania, USA) and personally purchased by Norman’s Rare Guitars, the famous Los Angeles shop, which I selected from among many others for its truly exceptional sound.

Built entirely of solid mahogany, with an Indian rosewood fretboard, abalone dots, a “modern belly” bridge with a compensated bone saddle, a 42.86mm nut width, and a 645mm scale length. It features six chrome-plated Grover tuners branded by Martin and has a beautiful tortoiseshell pickguard.

It immediately proves to be very responsive to touch, with excellent dynamic response. The tonal range is complete and free of frequency gaps. The tone is rich and warm, yet without excess, with the fundamental clearly prominent. A touch of natural reverb and good sustain round it all out, resulting in a balanced, resonant, and extremely versatile instrument. It also has a perfect weight balance: the guitar can be harnessed without any problem whether seated or upright, and, aided by the shape of the case it is immediately comfortable.

It is amplified by the excellent K&K Pure Mini passive system, equipped with three separate piezo sensors that allow for rich, faithful, and natural sound transmission. The absence of a battery makes it a truly reliable system in all conditions.

This gem once belonged to a great American guitarist named Calvin Keys (the certificate I received upon purchase is available), who chose it and used it as his “workhorse” in the studio and on stage. It is a “player-grade” guitar, with widespread signs of wear and a beautiful patina from nearly 30 years of living and breathing music professionally.

Original hard case included, professionally set up with new strings (Elixir).

Hand delivery in person or I can ship anywhere with careful packaging.