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In this forum and sites of luthiers I see s/j and jumbos very often listed ir discussed. Why not martin0000. Are the others better. Is there something wrong with 0000

the jumbos are a shape totally unlike the martin 5-000 series so 0000 would not be an appropriate designation for them. and since martin started the nomenclature and stopped at ooo for their biggest box in that series, i guess no one else has ever wanted to try and create an addition.

bother, crow tastes awful.

just went to martin's site on another mission and noticed they list specs for a 0000. i'd never seen or even heard of one before. no photos that i could find so assume it is not an oft produced item.

I find the flowing geometry of the small jumbo bodies very esthetically pleasing more so than the Martin. I say that and yet I build more OM’s than any other sizes. This is because most players I deal with that want a small to mid size bodied guitar naturally gravitate to the OOO and OM because they are very familiar with their characteristics.

it's strange how what is pleasing to one eye is not to another.

i have never liked the jumbo shape; it sort of reminds me of the michelin man, bulbus and bloated rather than flowing and graceful. never greatly cared for the 000/om shape either but it has been a standard for so long given martin's pervasive influence that it is hard to get away from. i rather prefer something along the lines of taylor's ga and gc shape, or the gibson oo for smaller bodies.

would be a rather boring,uninteresting world if we all liked the same thing.

Michael I need to build a mold and forms for a Grand concert I do like that body as well. Especially in a soft cutaway. I am not that crazy about full jumbo size but do like SJ.

In answer to your question, there is nothing wrong with the 0000's. There is some confusion with the term "jumbo" since different manufacturers have used it to refer to a lot of different body shapes over the years. A lot of luthiers today are making "mini-jumbos" which may be similar in shape to Gibson's J-185 or Martin's J. Gibson’s SJ or Southern Jumbo is another shape altogether and is really a round shouldered dreadnaught. Martin's 0000's (which they also describe as an M or Grand Auditorium size) is the same shape as their J or Jumbo size except that the J is 4 7/8" deep (the same as their D-dreadnaugtht) and the 0000 is 4 1/8" deep.    Taylor’s 314, by the way, which they call a Grand Auditorium, is more of a Jumbo according to Martin’s terms because it is the same depth as Taylor’s dreadnaught size. The best way to find out what works for you is to go to music stores and play a lot of different size guitars. Take a tape measurer along and check the dimensions.

If I remember correctly, the M/0000 was born outside the Martin factory. People began putting flat tops on existing Martin archtop instruments, which, it seems, almost nobody liked. The rest of the guitar was typical Martin quality, and had a flat back (some Brazilian). Reportedly, a wide flat top on that shallow body gave it a loud, balanced, sound.

Martin picked up on it, and the rest, as they say, is history. Anybody know if I'm correct?

Carlton

You are correct. The guitar in question was modified for Dave Bromberg at Umanov's in NYC. It started a spate of conversions and led Martin to the, I believe, M-38.

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Mark Joy

mjoy Guitars

that archtop must have been as popular as their brief, unlamented foray into building electrics, or the not so brief fling with mandolins. did they ever try a banjo? crazymanmichael38484.733900463

don't know I knew they tried mandolins but did not know they tried electrics

the electric thing was very brief; whilst they built mandolins from back in the mandolin band era of the teens to twenties up to the 60's or so.

There is nothing wrong with the 0000 Martin. I have the M36 model and it has a great sound.It works well for someone wishing to flatpick and finger pick, responsive to a light touch yet can stand up to flatpicking without being overdriven.

Thank you all, very much,