OM-5 Custom Order Arrived!

[John in Charm City]

So the OM5 arrived today!  The specs were cedar top, short scale and a Venetian cutaway. 

Build quality is excellent.  No sharp fret edges, perfect neck relief, no glue to be seen.  All the good comments you hear folks rave about.  The overall appearance was a bit surprising.  I had just never considered what the wood combination would look like - very monotone which I really like.  I think the dark pick guard looks great on it which is ironic as I had ordered it with no pick guard.  They even managed to select a darker maple binding which was a nice touch.  Matching of the back is just incredible.

I was very nervous about how this build would sound - it could very easily have been mush; particularly with bare fingers.  Happily it is far from that.  As expected the mid range is very pronounced and very, very sweet.  Not mellow, sweet is the word that comes to mind if that makes any sense.  The treble is surprisingly strong when pushed a bit - a very pleasant surprise.  The bass is light.  Not a big deal for me as half of what I do I end up either palm muting or slapping. Time will tell if that opens up a little.  Volume is much lower than the EIR/Sitka of the OM-9 but still stronger than a Martin OOO.  Note separation is very clear, sustain is reduced as you would expect. 

So overall a really, really nice guitar that will play like butter once fully adjusted to taste. I can't wait to hear what this sounds like in another year or two!

John

[John Lee Pettimore]

 
Very cool. I would have bet that tonewood combo is great! Congrats!

My cedar/rosewood Alvarez MG75 has the most clear separation of notes with ringing trebles, pronounced mids, and deep resonant bass; fingerstyle or flat-picked, the voice is bold and smooth but I can get some cool distortion when I strum it like a Dread.

I think well built cedar top guitars can provide a broad dynamic range.   Love me a cedar top.