In yesterday’s Catch of the Day, we looked at a 1952 Gibson J-45 that was very similar to the one played by Joey Ryan of the Milk Carton Kids. So today we thought we’d look at a Martin 0-15, the model played by Kenneth Pattengale, the other member of the duo. Pattengale was inspired to get his 1954 0-15 after spotting a similar guitar in the Country Music Hall of Fame museum that once belonged to Kitty Wells. In the article about the Milk Carton Kids in Issue 30 Pattengale says he like the 0-15 because “the low E string can never get too bassy and too punchy and the high strings can never get as bright and crystalline as many other guitars. I swear by them. Those little 0-15s are something else.”

The all-mahogany 0-15 was one of Martin’s most modest instruments, and consequently it has been overlooked by many players in search of a little more visual flash. Happily, because they have slipped under the radar, nice vintage examples can be had for a relatively reasonable price. This very clean 1951 version, for example, is listed at  $1750 as a Buy It Now on eBay, and you can see it in person at the Memphis branch of Lane Music.

In every issue of The Fretboard Journal, we feature some of the most beautiful fretted instruments known to humanity. Sadly, most of the time they belong to someone else and aren’t for sale. With our new Catch of the Day column, we scour the web looking for world-class instruments that you can actually buy for yourself, right now.