Martin 12 fret vs 14 fret 

“What are we doing? Oh we are rolling?” Dude knew they were rolling.

Great video as always! I have both 12 and 14 fretters and love them. My favorite, tho, is my 1995 Martin 12 fret HD 28 with a slotted headstock. Killer instrument.

I have a Martin Custom Shop 12-fret 0-15. LOVE that little guitar!!!

I am Team 12-fret all the way. ❤

This 12-fret has a standard headstock. That's very nice, and I don't think it was mentioned. I prefer the 12-fret because it just has a resonance not present in the 14-fret version. One also has to realize that most Martin guitars will need a professional setup to gain the playability that most players are looking for. However, once you do that, you will have a guitar that you'll probably keep forever. Another superb and entertaining demo. Thanks.

Both great guitars. I’d go for the 12-fretted with no pickguard or the OM-teardrop.

Okay, I am ready to take a road-trip and meet these two guys!

The 12-Fret guitar has a more open, resonant low-end. I've always been surprised by 12-Fret guitars despite being a 14-Fret guitar player. Very good demonstration, thank you both, Paul & Quinton.

I love the Martin 12 fret guitars. I own a 00015sm 12 fret and preferred it to my standard 00015 14 fret. Just a different sound. But nothing wrong with the 14 fret. The standard headstock is nice but after many years of owning slotted heads I don’t mine them. Thank you for the video. Excellent guitars and excellent playing

Now take that 12-fret and add a large sound hole I like the 12-fret better. Thank you, Quinton and Paul.

Back in 1933 the first year of the Martin Dreadnought the Orchestral and string swing players in NYC complained about not being able to comfortably reach the upper C scale, so in 1934 Martin released the 14 fret models. The Ditson Company made the prototypes 1 and 2 of the 12 fret models. One being mahogany and 2 being rosewood. They became the 18 and 28 respectively. A luthier named Jan Burda had copy of the layout from the original Ditson prototype. He made me a guitar from that layout. Slotted head, red cedar top, 3 piece solid walnut back and sides, mahogany neck(no trussrod), scalloped bracing, rosewood pickguard and headstock laminate, ebony bridge and fretboard, bone pins and pre-ban ivory nut and compensated saddle, herringbone and maple trim. Open tuners...don't know what brand, but they were good ones with pearl buttons. Best sounding guitar I ever heard. Had to sell it when in a financial bind in 1989. If you see it rs to this post. I'd like to get it back if possible.

I would just have to buy both

I love a 12 fret but they're quite limiting if you like to capo. I regularly capo up to and including the 10th fret which simply isn't possible on the 12th fret guitar. But purely based on tone alone, the 12 is what I'd buy. Either one gets the job done wonderfully though

12fret 3:14 3:52 5:28 strumming 5:52 finger 14fret 2:57 4:48 5:15 strumming 5:40 finger

The 12 fret would definitely be my pick. Thanks

Def seems like more low resonance with the 12 fret. Both will be loved by 99 out of 100 when played well.

The 12 must be easiest to play with more a little bit clarity in it. Tha's my choise nice video a always thank you a lot👍😉

One guitar is a (round) shoulder model and they other is square shoulder. So there should be some difference that goes beyond 12 or 14. The Slope shoulder would give more focused controlled sound and will be braced differently than the other guitar. So just my observation.

I’m lucky enough to own my own Martin 000 14- and 12-fret pair. In my case an 000-28MD and a 000-15SM. I love them both but if I was told I could only keep one, it’d be the 15SM because it’s so comfortable and sounds killer, even though the 28MD is the “nicer” guitar.

Is there any martin guitar with golden era bracing but also with sitka spruce ?all the martin guitar with golden bracing I ever seen is with adi top.💁I'm sooooo curious about the sound of sitka with GE bracing.

Both are really great - for me personally I was very interested in the 14 fret as I have the Eastman equivalent which stands up very well but has a more broken in sound even though I didn't get the terrified top option. Very interesting comparison.

Larrivee makes a 12-fret dreadnaught. I honestly don’t understand why there aren’t more available. Did they used to exist and there was not enough demand?

The 12 fret is warmer sounding, the 14 a little brighter to my ear

Could you explain the difference of body shape ? This 12fret looks slim and long size . Thanks a lot

Yep, the 12 is the better sounding.

If you do custom shops, and go to 12-fret join, go ahead and do a pyramid bridge. Go old school. I wouldn't cost any more for Martin.

Am I the only one who thinks these two guitars sound a bit tinny? Maybe they need a few years to ‘open up’. I have a 000-18 that sounds so warm and rich and you can hear the wood like you would on an old Martin. But these two, both of them, sound like I can only hear the strings. I wonder if this might be because of the Adirondack tops.

No question- much more warmth and bottom end on the 12th fret

Wordsmith? Nah... I'd say you're a poet.

The 12 fret sounds sweeter to my ear.

Are they the same scale length?

12

14 fret looks better.

12 fret seems bassier.

12 fret

12 fret.

touch of grey, huh?

The 12 fret sounds better to me.