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2006 Bourgeois OM Custom
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SN# 004003
Body size at lower bout: 15". Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut Width: 1 3/4" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .78/.93 String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"
Materials: Tap tuned solid Sitka spruce soundboard and braces; solid figured bookmatched mahogany back and sides; solid mahogany neck; solid ebony fingerboard and bridge with compensated bone saddle; brown leopard tortoise pickguard; rosewood headstock veneer.
Hardware: Nickel Waverly 16X1 tuners with grained ivoroid keys; adjustable truss rod.
Notes: One of the most respected builders in the acoustic guitar world, master luthier Dana Bourgeois has built an international reputation in a career spanning nearly three decades. Original creator of the celebrated Schoenberg OM series, Dana has designed innovative prototypes for clients as diverse as Gibson Montana and Paul Reed Smith. Now at his workshop in his native Maine, Bourgeois has returned to crafting exquisite hand built creations for top artists like Ricky Skaggs, Martin Simpson, Ry Cooder, Norman Blake, Vince Gill, David Lindley, Marshall Crenshaw, Jerry Douglas, Elliott Easton, James Taylor and many more.
The OM (Orchestra Model) guitars were Martin's first instruments to feature the long 25 1/2" scale, for increased projection in larger ensembles. This handsome Bourgeois OM Custom is a tribute to the classic Martin OM-18, the most popular model in the series, and built only between 1930 and 1933.
With its featherweight mahogany body, the Bourgeois OM captures the warm, open voice of the original, with a Sitka soundboard of exceptionally fine grain, thoroughly interlaced with crossgrain silk. With its high stiffness and light weight, the Sitka top produces a voice with strong fundamentals for clarity of tone, and a particularly wide dynamic range for maximum headroom and projection.
The short tortoise pickguard appears only for a little over the first year of Martin's original production, and the small round position dots lend an elegant, understated appearance: pure Shaker design. At a bare 3lb. 6 oz. this example is almost impossibly light in weight, with deftly scalloped braces, and excellent balance, both physically in the lap, and audibly under the ear. The mahogany employed has exceptionally lustrous, even grain, with a true vintage style gloss nitro lacquer finish.
The guitar sports a vintage style leopard tortoise guard, and top-of-the-line nickel Waverly tuners with grained ivoroid keys. Neck profile is smooth and comfortable, with a gentle light D profile, very easy in the hand, with a fresh high-precision setup. The instrument is 100% original, free of pick, thumb or fretwear, and apart from a few incidental lacquer nicks in the back, appears to have had little play altogether. The tone is clear and balanced, and highly responsive, both under the pick or the fingers.
A handsome blend of traditional design and precision craft, this Bourgeois OM has a voice for the ages, that you can enjoy today. One only: call now.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge (.012) strings, and will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference.
Case: Original deluxe plush lined hardshell case.
