DOUBLE-O MODEL

My Double-O model was initially conceived for customers who required a physically smaller guitar which didn't sound small, and this design certainly doesn't. The small body gives a very concentrated, focused sound which projects beautifully even outside the parlour! Basses are lighter and more separated than larger guitars but stand out very strongly for a different type of balance.

This is a fantastic guitar for fulfilling modern players' needs of a balanced sound during recording and an easy to work with tonality and size for live work.

My favourite uses for this guitar are celtic fingerstyle when made from rosewood (as chosen by Stuart Ryan recently) and blues tinged styles when built from mahogany.

I've named this guitar using the Martin tradition based on it's dimensions but it is actually quite similar to some early Gibson flat-top shapes.

Here are some of the most common combinations of materials used for this model and their suggested uses. 'Standard', 'Deluxe', 'Abalone' or any custom form of decoration scheme can be combined with any of the versions. See 'Prices' and 'Decoration Schemes' for details.

Spruce and Mahogany
Traditional scalloped strutting gives this guitar an old-fashioned tone ideal for explosive fingerstyle playing and blues. The rich edge cuts through strongly across all the strings making a small guitar that always makes its presence felt.

Spruce and Indian Rosewood
Classic versatile tone combining clarity, depth and bright ringing overtones:- working well from folk to old-time to vocal accompaniment to celtic fingerstyle.

Cedar and Indian Rosewood
Smooth, warm midrange and rich, flowery overtones for a contemporary slant on the parlour guitar. Suits gentler players very well.

Cedar and Mahogany
Rich, explosive sound suiting modern fingerstyle players, giving an almost 'chorus' type effect when played hard in slacker tunings.

Adirondack Spruce and Brazilian Rosewood
The ultimate vintage experience! Ideal for celtic fingerstyle where great clarity is required for ornaments and complex multi-part harmony. Other combinations including Alpine or Englemann spruce and Amazon rosewood or Cocobolo also give very nice variations on this type of sound.

 

Top: Double-O in figured Brazilian rosewood and 'bearclaw' Alpine spruce with 'Deluxe' decor. This guitar has a tone very reminiscent of small turn-of-the-century Martins I have heard, all be it without a hundred years of aging.

Right: Stuart Ryan with his Alpine spruce and Amazon rosewood Double-0, Nov. '05.

Dimensions