Martin 000-42 Modern Deluxe Acoustic Guitar Natural

Echoing the comments left by Linda a couple years ago. It's a beautiful guitar. It will feel like a child sitting in your lap wanting to be nourished. Resonance, sustain, tone and volume put out by the 000-42 Modern Deluxe are wonderful. it's so easy to play. The guitar will set you back a step. You'll be asking yourself, "All that? From this?" The 000-42 Modern Deluxe is an heirloom. Like it more than the OM models. And (hush) my D-45. Highly recommend it if you're on the fence. And major kudos to my Guitar Center on-the-phone guy, Meta Hickman. Took his time in letting me decide to buy. No pressure. We were on the phone for over 30 minutes. "Take your time. Let's get this right." It's the 2nd guitar I've purchased from him. Thanks, Meta.

I feel so lucky to have found this guitar at the Hollywood, CA store. The moment Alan handed it to me I was stunned by how light weight it was. I just knew it was going to be a super resonant guitar with tons of sustain. And then I took a look at the beautiful VTS spruce top. The extreme "silking" of the spruce told me this was a very special cut of wood. The overall beauty of the predominantly blue/green abalone 42-style inlay blew me away, then the abalone "Torch" inlay on the head plate finished me off! The gold "liquid metal" bridge pins also have gorgeous abalone inlay. Physical beauty is one thing, but sound, response and playability are most important. I couldn't wait to play this beauty. First open E chord just jumped out of the guitar. This is the "cannon" of 000-size guitars! I don't believe it is any one of the components that creates the spectacular sound of this instrument. I think it is the sum of the high end parts. It is the loudest of any 000 I have ever played in my very-long lifetime. The resonance and sustain are phenomenal. It rings forever. It accomplishes this with the lightest touch. I had a severe case of carpal tunnel impingement of the left wrist to the point where my left fingers were perpetually numb, so I needed to find an instrument that would be easy to play and which would give me the sound and response my musician's ears crave. I was hoping to find a guitar that would have light action so that after the upcoming hand surgery I would be able to play without much effort and pain. My hand surgeon said I should be able to play in about 2-3 weeks. Whaaatttt?!? 2-3 weeks?!?!? 😳 I have been playing open chords and fingerstyle tunes in first position on this fabulous guitar since two days after surgery! I still have too much pain for 1st position F chord or to do up-the-neck bar chords, but it won't be much longer before I can do those things. That is how perfect and easy-playing the action is. Historically Martins are not known for easy action, but the PLEK method of setting up Martin employs when they build their instruments made for VERY easy action on this wonderful guitar. I suspect they go the extra mile in setting up the higher end models like this 42. All I know is it is one of the easiest playing guitars I have ever laid hands on, and there is absolutely no loss of volume or tone which often accompanies easy action. Speaking of tone…this guitar's timbre (tone) is sooo sweet, rich and vibrant with very full resonant bass response on the 6th (low E) string. So often when playing most guitars up the neck, the low E string response begins to be more of a "thump" beginning on the 3rd fret (G in standard tuning) than a nice full resonant tone. When testing a new guitar that is one of the first things I check out. I like being able to have a nice rich full sound on the lower A and E strings when playing chords with the bass note in the root position. It gives a nice foundation to the chord and melody line. This guitar delivers in spades. That said, for obvious reasons, it is not as deep as a Dreadnaught guitar, but this particular guitar with whatever Martin did to it - is a very close second. It is very balanced with plenty of low end and sweet top end. It is a fingerstylist's dream! If one wants to wail on it with a flat pick, the guitar will deliver. It is a great all-around guitar. I play fingerstyle - often playing classical guitar literature - and I couldn't ask for more than what this great instrument delivers. One other thing…the intonation (scale) is fantastic. No more having to do tempered tuning (except for ever-so-slight adjustments when using a "cheater" [capo] - I have to do this because of my left hand problems) to accommodate intonation problems. Anyone who might be on the fence wondering if this guitar is worth the investment need not worry. Once they play it, they won't be able to put it down!