Martin 0-16NY
I've been playing since I was 11-years old. I'm now 57. I've had a couple of longish periods where I didn't play much at all, but mostly I've played casually since age 11. Before the 0-16 arrived in my life I played a student/beginner classical, a '72 Telecaster Thinline, and a Yamaha dread. I loved them all, but they are just guitars.
The 0-16NY was bought for my sister who was 13 years older than I am by her then boyfriend (later husband and later ex). I really loved both my sis and her husband. Along with my parents and my wife, they were my favorite people.
The 0-16NY was a gift of love for my sister when love was in bloom. Unfortunately she hated it (she thought it wasn't big enough and was hard to play) but my brother-in-law took that in stride and bought her a dread Yamaha, which she liked better and played with him for years during their courtship and early marriage. When my sister's interest in playing waned she gave me the Yamaha and I played that until a roommate snapped its neck. (I still have it. I always thought I'd make a clock out of it...)
All this time the 0-16ny sat in her basement closet. It was flooded and left in its chipboard case, beaten on by a toddler with drumsticks, and lived without strings or a saddle on it for 30 years - sad and forlorn. At one point it was moved to an unheated barn in upstate NY and lived 8 or 9 winters and summers there piled among the acquired possessions of several family members lives.
When my sister died, I was her executor. And in the will she specified that this guitar should go to me. I'm not sure why, she didn't really like it. In fact she apologized to me in another document, wishing she could give me something better, but she knew I loved guitars so it was what she picked for me out of all her possessions. Even though she didn't think it would be this way, I can assure you that she couldn't have picked anything I would love more.
I took it home and put it in a storage facility for a several years. I figured someday I'd get a saddle, string it up and see if it worked.
My lovely wife had heard me mention that I might take it to a local guitar guy to see if it was worth fixing. So she called an old friend of mine to ask his advice. He worked on it and used parts left to him by another old friend who passed too early and who had a great guitar shop here. And that is how one birthday I received the 0-16 in playing order. When I went to pick it up the friend who fixed it and set it up said he was blown away how great a guitar it was. A travelling musician who was in his shop when he was working on it begged him to persuade me to sell it. He said there was no way I would because of all the sentimental and personal value it held for me.
He was right.
I took it home and was amazed at its playability and sound.
Here are the things I LOVE about it.
1) The Wide neck 1 7/8! Up until I had this guitar I'd never had any wide nuts, in fact I wouldn't have considered them. It took a few weeks of getting used to it, but once I did, I LOVE the wide neck.
2) Short scale Easy to play and stretch.
3) Braced lighter than any other Martin since the 1930s.
4) Silk and steel strings. Due to the light bracing Martin recommended low tension strings. They are a revelation on the 0-16. THe top is easily drive-able despite a short scale and low tension strings.
5) It is a beautiful object. It's shape is perfect. It is unadorned but attractive. It is like a beautiful woman without makeup or pretense.
6) If it wasn't the cheapest Martin made in 1965, it was close. Yet all the materials are outstanding. It withstood all the weather abuse, flood abuse, toddler drumming abuse without a crack or structural damage.
7) It is light as a feather yet tough as nails. I dig in, it answers.
8) It is responsive as hell. From the lightest touch to strongest pluck it responds.
9) There are so many voices to coax from it depending on your technique or aggression.
10) Most importantly, it is teaching me to play. I've played for almost 50 years, but this guitar has ways it wants to be played. It rewards you for doing what it wants and doesn't reward for what it doesn't like. You can use a pick, but it doesn't want to. Really. I used a pick all my life and it converted me to bare fingers. I didn't do lessons. Or look things up until recently. It changed me organically by its nature. It's amazing how an inanimate physical object teaches me. It is a weird feeling but wonderful. And it continues to instruct me every time I play. I know it has a lot more secrets to reveal.
11) I has so much sentimental value. I know I will have it until I die, or it does, or it is stolen. But who would steal it? It is a weird little thing whose charms are so subtle that only a connoisseur would quickly spy them. Anyone else would think it is a cheap, dilapidated, worthless thing. In fact, I thought it was a crummy guitar for years..... Every time I pick it up it reminds me of my sweet sister and also my old friend who owned the best guitar shop ever in my town.
12) It was the first "re-issue" guitar ever made.
If the house was on fire and everything that breathes was safely outside, the first thing I'd grab is my 0-16NY.
I love playing now more than I ever did. I play all the time when I'm home. I'm still a terrible player, but I am worlds better because of this guitar and I get better every day. But most importantly, playing the 0-16NY brings me great joy in a world where pleasure and joy are ever more fleeting.