OM’s up to price of OM28 Reimagined - your experiences?

noisepolluter · March 2023

I’m hoping to get an OM-type this year - very drawn to the 000-15m, but there’s a chance I might be able to push the budget. Looking for 25.4 scale length so it can handle drop tunings and strumming better, and have liked various other Martins I’ve played so I guess I like the general Martin sound and feel (if there can be said to be one).

Anyone else been down this road already? What did you end up with, and what else did you try?

bertie · March 2023

about to - but if your budget is £3.5k - the first word has to be Atkin, surely

guitarjack66 · March 2023

bertie said:

about to - but if your budget is £3.5k - the first word has to be Atkin, surely

With 3.5k it has to be a hand made brand at least.

daveyh · March 2023

My son has an OM-28, it’s a couple of years old and it’s a thing of beauty. Worth every penny IMHO.

bertie · March 2023

guitarjack66 said:

bertie said:

about to - but if your budget is £3.5k - the first word has to be Atkin, surely

With 3.5k it has to be a hand made brand at least.

are Atkin not "hand made" ? certainly more hand made then a £3.5k Martin Id wager

Id say (obviously) Brook, but Im not sure how "american" their Lamorna model is,

thomasross20 · March 2023

If you like the Martin sound and feel... I'd get a Martin.

Mellish · March 2023

I have a Martin OM-28 Re-imagined. Not had it long but long enough to know it's up there with the best Martin/Gibson I've had.
Low action, good bass, glass-like trebles... Comfortable to play all day. It'll do me.

I'd say try one. But try any other OM, too.

DavidR · March 2023

Concentrating on OM's for a minute. I Bought OM28 Reimagined in July 2018 for £2,899 from Peach in Colchester. It's a very good guitar. I love it and it has matured well. It has the characteristic top-end Martin tone which my ears/brain conceptualise a a sort of woody/crisp 'Woodstock' character. Plays beautifully. And yes, there is a characteristic Martin tone even though they're all different.

Since 2018 all has not been well from a UK perspective with Martin pricing. The current exactly equivalent Martin is the OM28 'Standard' which is simply the Reimagined spec renamed Standard because their current 'top' OM28 is the Modern Deluxe. The Standard currently costs £3,875 at Peach...
Martin Standard Series | OM-28 Sunburst - Peach Guitars
....and the Modern Deluxe costs £4,499
Martin Modern Deluxe Series | OM-28 Modern Deluxe - Peach Guitars

Putting my original 2018 purchase price into the Bank of England Inflation Calculator £2,899 is now £3,500 at Feb 2023 levels. There are other factors at work here such as forex rates and the desirability of the OM28 but Martin is still an expensive option imho.

If I was now buying an OM it would not be from Martin. The market has many fine cheaper OM's and I would be trying them out. Furch, Yamaha, Dowina, Eastman etc. Take a look at the recent @thomasross20 tFB thread on his new Larrivee too. It sounds like a great buy.

The world is now much cheaper than Martin for similar OM's to the OM28 if you are prepared to buy on tone and quality and not brand. It's a competitive market.

All that being said, the OOO15M is at a lower price and would be very nice too I'm sure. Or second-hand OM28 Reimagined?

Good Luck on your quest!

Th4fonz · March 2023

000 15m is nothing like a 000 28 reimagined or om28 reimagined.

the reimagined are a great line if you like the slim modern necks. And if the Martin sound is a requirement then a trip to a Martin dealer to try them all is the only way.

otherwise as mentioned Atkin are worth a try furch also can be picked up cheap. They both don’t sound like a Martin though

woody · March 2023

At your budget i would be looking at Atkin, If secondhand guitars are a condideration,I would personally go Bourgeois,but would also check out Santa Cruz,and possibly collings if it falls within your budget..There are lesser known brands like Boucher and Bsg that will give you re imagined quslity and tone at a lot less money.I wont even get into all of the fantastic uk based builders that are out there.

Winny_Pooh · March 2023

00015m is a very cool guitar
But not that similar to a rosewood/Spruce OM

You say down tuning? How far down?
The DADGAD players love a huge body Lowden sound which is unlike an OM but really works.

Budget? Location?

A friend who loved his 00015 (I did too) settled on a Taylor AD27 and I'd buy one tomorrow too.

I have a nice rosewood/Spruce OM & 25.5 slope shoulder dread.

The dread has a big beautiful low end that makes every wound string sound fat. The OM has a more focused bass (less woofy) and a bit more clarity up top which can be brash if you hit it too hard with a pick. Julian Lage plays an OM for example. It's maybe not immediately obvious why I mention that but if you know his music it makes sense.
Trad folk strummers and bluegrass purists tend to go dread.

Best OM for the price IMO is an Eastman. To get into the next 20% better category you will probablt be spending upwards of 2k

Mellish · March 2023

The thing is, the OP has said he likes the Martin tone.

Now, great though they *may* be, other brands don't sound like a Martin...do they?

Some would say
that that's a good thing!

earwighoney · March 2023

The OM21 Special is close to an OM28 but with rosewood binding and a few other things.

They are supposed to be Martin's finest non Authentic OM, but a few come for sale. Worth keeping an eye out for if you are not in a rush.

guitarjack66 · March 2023

bertie said:

guitarjack66 said:

bertie said:

about to - but if your budget is £3.5k - the first word has to be Atkin, surely

With 3.5k it has to be a hand made brand at least.

are Atkin not "hand made" ? certainly more hand made then a £3.5k Martin Id wager

Id say (obviously) Brook, but Im not sure how "american" their Lamorna model is,

That was my point. I would be sceptical of an off shelf Martin at those prices. Mind you,if I had that money to spend on guitars I'd buy four or five.

noisepolluter · March 2023

Thanks everyone for the contributions - been mulling it over and I suspect busting the budget to that extent would be an sure-fire way to guarantee that some sort of large household bill drops in shortly afterwards.
I’m still going to seek out the 000-15m first and see how I go from there.

I already have a J-45 which is great for general strumming but it’s a bit dark sounding for fingerstyle so hopefully the 15m will have a bit more clarity. Certainly seems that way from the clips and reviews.

I have also tried and been very impressed by my guitar teacher’s Eastman and @Bowks ’s Furch, so there should still be plenty of great choices under £2k.

bertie · March 2023

noisepolluter said:

and @Bowks ’s Furch, so there should still be plenty of great choices under £2k.

. you're down in the west country - come try my Furch OM33SR - very OM28-y (diamonds and dot markers and herringbone purfling) and available well under £2k

Image: /plugins/EmojiExtender/emoji/fb/3.gif

and a short train ride from that London

Th4fonz · March 2023

I don’t associate a Martin 15m with clarity on fingerpicking at all. They have all been very dark sounding from my experience. You should be looking at a spruce rosewood combo for clear fingerstyle.

bertie · March 2023

Th4fonz said:

You should be looking at a spruce rosewood combo for clear fingerstyle.

cedar on hog is a great combo, especially on small bodied

Id agree about all hog guitars, very dark. (no pun intended)

Tannin · March 2023

Spruce and rosewood is like chocolate cake: very nice for the first few bites but it rapidly becomes cloying. Spruce is very hard to beat but rosewood is terribly overrated.

Choivert · March 2023

I've not played a 00015m but I've found every mahogany topped guitar that I've played has excelled at dark moody tunes or accompanying singing without getting in the way. I wouldn't describe them as excellent for fingerstyle. My personal pick is spruce over mahogany for fingerstyle, I agree with Tannin that spruce over rosewood is wonderful for a little while but I always end up coming back to mahogany b and s.

JMS96 · March 2023

I've owned a 000-16GT for about 20 years and love it for fingerpicking. It got the OM scale length but solid mahogany B&S. They've stopped making them now but around £1k or cheaper second hand (https://reverb.com/item/66259394-martin-000-16gt-2000-2018-natural - no affiliation).

earwighoney · March 2023

Tannin said:

Spruce and rosewood is like chocolate cake: very nice for the first few bites but it rapidly becomes cloying. Spruce is very hard to beat but rosewood is terribly overrated.

Something I learnt after spending a huge amount on rosewood guitars!

noisepolluter · March 2023

Feel like I’m whittling choices down a bit - it’s all going to come down to whether I prefer mahogany or spruce top on the day. I’ve noted the comments on rosewood/mahogany.

thomasross20 · March 2023

Spruce top is way more versatile.
Spruce with mahogany is an absolute winner imo.

bertie · March 2023

noisepolluter said:

Feel like I’m whittling choices down a bit - it’s all going to come down to whether I prefer mahogany or spruce top on the day. I’ve noted the comments on rosewood/mahogany.

and ignore it

its all subjective, very much based on playing style and not one will sound like another

try em out and let yer lugholes decide

Smellyfingers · March 2023

ImFor me, mahogany can have a clearer or cleaner tone whereas rosewood has a fruitier or more multifaceted tone, possibly as a b&s wood rw it is more interesting - not necessarily a compliment

If I was a professional and tied to only one guitar I might choose mahogany. But I don’t necessarily agree that rw and sp is the musical equivalent of those Mr Kipling Viennese tarts - those it’s a wonderful analogy. Perhaps if rw is chocolate cake , mh is oat cake?

tomjax · April 2023

Have to agree on the subjectiveness of the Rosewood vs Mahogany debate. I generally find mahogany bodies too dry and bland, but each to their own.

And as it's been suggested, just play as many different guitars as you can til you find one that really resonates with you. If you can get to a big store (like Coda Music or Peach Guitars) you'll have plenty to choose from and try out.

And I'm a big fan of buying used as long as you know what you're looking for.

Another plug for Brook or Atkin guitars to look into alongside the Martin search.

Shadow · April 2023

McNally is worth a look. I've got the OM32 which is spruce/rosewood It's a beautifully balanced guitar with a lovely tone. They're going up to around £3.7K but there are still some available for around £3.2K at Mak's and Project Music.

drofluf · April 2023

On this thread https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/229935/ngd/p2 there’s a side-by-side comparison of my old 000-15M with my Brook Spruce Top/Walnut back and sides.

The Brook is actually 00 so a little smaller. Don’t know if it helps?

thomasross20 · April 2023

Mahogany all the way. Has way more character. Rosewood has overtones which jar after ten minutes and the lack of mids makes it sound a bit thin to me (personal taste). The Bhilwara I just got is a stunning cross-mix. I'd say it's a rosewood feel with mahogany punch. A rosewood with mids (slightly less bass than rosewood, though)

A good builder can make a mahogany similar to rosewood and vice versa

A good player will sound good on either lol

scanbran · April 2023

I've had a few OMs, including Martin's OM-28 reimagined and Marquis and the 2007 OM-21 Special, but my favourite Martin style OM is the Atkin Essential OM. Very understated looks, beautiful to hold and play, and with a warm, lush but articulate tone from the spruce/mahogany combination. I love it.

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OM’s up to price of OM28 Reimagined - your experiences?

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