Tips & Tutorials | February 7, 2024
The Martin Concert & Grand Concert Buying Guide
When finding the perfect guitar, body size plays an important role in determining the instrument’s sound, comfort, and playability. There’s a lot to choose from out there, but luckily Martin Guitar offers a wide range of acoustic guitar body sizes that cater to every kind of style and player.
In this buying guide, we’ll focus on the Concert (0) and Grand Concert (00) body sizes—two smaller sizes that are sometimes overshadowed by their larger family members, like the iconic Dreadnought and 000.
This is our fourth body size buying guide, so if you’re interested in the other Martin body sizes, make sure to check out our Grand Performance (GP), Auditorium (000), and Dreadnought buying guides as well.
What are Concert (0) & Grand Concert (00) Style Guitars?
Concert and Grand Concert guitars are the smallest full-sized guitars available in the Martin lineup. Both have smaller bodies than a 000 and are ideal for players who want a more comfortable experience that comes from a smaller profile.
Concert models, more commonly referred to as 0 (pronounced single-oh), are the smallest and softest guitars in the spectrum, providing clear, crisp trebles with delicate bass. Grand Concert models, or 00 (pronounced double-oh), have a slightly larger body with the same scale length—usually 24.9”—and provide a bit more volume and warmer bass.
These guitars are perfect for fingerstyle playing and genres that require precise and clear note definition, but they’re also versatile enough to be a great strummer. 0 and 00s are well-suited for those who appreciate a more intimate and controlled sound without compromising on tone—making them a popular choice for solo performers, songwriters, and recording artists.
If these guitars sound right for you, let's check out the 0 and 00 models that are currently available in the Martin lineup.
X Series 0 & 00 Models
Durable and affordable without sacrificing tone, Martin X Series guitars are made to play, giving musicians the freedom to play how, where, and when they want without breaking the bank. They deliver legendary Martin tone and can easily make the transition from the couch to the stage.
The newly remastered X Series is available with solid wood or high-pressure laminate (HPL) tops and HPL backs and sides in a variety of eye-catching patterns. These acoustic-electric guitars have long been revered for their affordability, durability, and versatility, making them a top choice for both aspiring musicians and seasoned professionals.
They combine tradition with modernity, providing players of all skill levels with the perfect tools to create, perform, and inspire.
0-X2E
The 0-X2E is a Concert sized acoustic-electric featuring a hand-rubbed satin spruce top with an elegant abalone pattern rosette and cocobolo pattern HPL back and sides. Playability enhancements include a thinner fingerboard with a gently beveled comfort edge, refined string spacing, and a modernized bridge contour. It also features a select hardwood neck, fingerboard, and bridge, satin tuners, and Martin E-1 electronics with a built-in chromatic tuner and volume, tone, and phase controls.
00-X2E
The Grand Concert sized 00-X2E has the same specs and appointments as the 0 model with a slightly larger body size. It also features a hand-rubbed satin spruce top and cocobolo pattern HPL back and sides for added durability and looks, without sacrificing that classic Martin tone. The 00-X2E provides clear trebles complemented with warm bass, unplugged or plugged in, letting you play how you want, wherever you want. All X Series models come with a softshell case.
15 Series 00 Model
A guitar built to go the distance; something you’ll play and prize from your first lesson to your weekly gigs and beyond. Martin 15 Series models are well-crafted, versatile workhorses that deliver classic tone anywhere you play—home, stage, studio—and they sound even better to players on a budget.
15 Series guitars are new and vintage at the same time, featuring traditional all wood construction and a satin finish. They’re fresh off our workbench, but their look and feel makes them seem as if they’ve been played for decades. And one of the best things about the 15 Series is the easy price that puts it within reach of anyone who wants a guitar they’ll enjoy for years.
00-15M
The Nazareth-built 00-15M continues the Martin tradition with a 00-14 fret body size, solid mahogany construction, and a rich satin finish. Available for both righties and lefties, this Grand Concert sized model features a dark mahogany body and neck, East Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, a longer 25.4” scale length, and non-scalloped spruce X-bracing. Satisfy your desire with an affordable solid wood guitar that is visually distinctive and innovative.
Standard Series 0 & 00 Models
Play the guitars that shaped modern music. They’re the backbone of Martin; distinguished instruments that created the template for the American acoustic flat top guitar. Standard Series models embody nearly two centuries of craftsmanship and technique—history made from wood and wire. These legendary guitars and the artists who played them helped establish country, folk, bluegrass, and rock. Today, you’ll hear their ringing tone echoing across the American soundscape and in music around the world.
These classics are handmade in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, from solid wood, using time-honored construction such as dovetail neck joints and X-bracing. If you want to play an American classic with a long, distinguished pedigree, a guitar your musical heroes likely used to create your favorite songs, an instrument whose impact on music is far too big to be calculated, a Standard Series model is for you.
0-18
The 0-18 has a scallop-braced spruce top with mahogany back and sides that serve as the foundation for this Concert sized model. The combination of a short, expressive 24.9” scale length with a modified low oval neck shape and the high-performance parallel taper allows for easy action and fast playability. Nickel open gear tuners with phosphor bronze strings and an ebony fingerboard and bridge complete the look of this classic parlor guitar.
00-18
A spruce top and mahogany back and sides are the foundation for this classic Grand Concert sized model. A modified low oval neck with high-performance taper, East Indian rosewood headplate, and ebony fingerboard and bridge complete the 00-18 and make it a guitar you will treasure for years to come.
00-28
Classic looks and classic tone. The 00-28 features the rich sound of authentic East Indian rosewood back and sides paired with a spruce top, bound in bold herringbone with vintage appointments. Resonant scalloped bracing helps make natural harmonics and woody tone bloom with every note. This 28 Style model comes with a molded hardshell case.
Modern Deluxe 0 & 00 Models
The Modern Deluxe series balances today and yesterday. You'll love the traditional appointments like complementary wood binding, a dovetail neck joint, gold open gear tuners, and elegant pearl inlay.
Modern Deluxe tops are made using our VINTAGE TONE SYSTEM® that ages the wood to reproduce the sound and beauty of a century-old Martin. Enjoy modern touches like a carbon fiber bridge plate for boosting volume, Liquidmetal® bridge pins, and a Vintage Deluxe shaped neck for comfort.
Whether you're playing on stage or in a studio, you'll sound amazing. Modern Deluxe guitars offer the best of the past with the best of today.
012-28 & 0012-28 Modern Deluxe
The 12-fret 012-28 Modern Deluxe and slightly larger 0012-28 Modern Deluxe are packed with custom features and modern technology that you must see, feel, and hear for yourself. Vintage appointments include the spruce VTS top, dovetail neck joint, and natural protein glue construction that gives it the rich, fully aged Martin tone that has inspired generations. They also look unlike anything in our production line with European flamed maple binding, stylish gold frets, and a unique 1930s style script logo inlaid in pearl on the headstock.
00-28 Modern Deluxe
The 00-28 Modern Deluxe is a new take on Martin vintage. Similar only in shape to its Standard Series counterpart, the Modern Deluxe model includes all the vintage appointments listed above, as well as the ultra-modern features like Liquidmetal® bridge pins with red dots, a composite carbon fiber bridge plate that boosts volume, and a new neck shape that’s slightly asymmetrical for maximum hand comfort up and down the fretboard. This guitar is anything but standard and comes with a hardshell case.
Special Edition 00 Model
If you’re looking for something outside the scope of our classic range of acoustics, Martin also offers plenty of custom and special edition models, including a unique Grand Concert sized model.
CEO-7
The CEO-7 features an Adirondack spruce top that’s slightly heavier and stiffer than Sitka spruce, which results in a louder, more complex tone, paired with mahogany back and sides for a bright treble response and punchy midrange. It’s slope shoulder body shape gives players a different kind of look and feel, with rounder, curvier upper bouts, and its gloss autumn sunset burst finish is sure to turn heads. These guitars also come with a numbered label, Golden Age relic nickel tuners, and a modified V neck shape.
By understanding your playing style, comfort preferences, tonal expectations, and budget, you can now confidently choose the Martin guitar that fits you best!
And whether you’re looking for your first guitar or want to add some variety to your acoustic arsenal, Martin 0 and 00 models are a great place to start.
Visit your local Martin dealer or explore our full range of acoustic guitars to experience the craftsmanship and sonic excellence of these instruments firsthand.
Happy playing!