Martin OM-1

Great Guitar at an Affordable price

I have been playing for 39 years and I play mostly modern & 70's rock and some modern country. I wanted an all wood acoustic and this fit the bill. Being a Martin was a bonus.

First... Its a Martin, an affordable one at that. This is an all wood, well built, great sounding guitar. It has that wonderful "Martin tone" and has good volume, good bass and well balanced. It has a solid Sitka Spruce top and Sapele (African Mahogany) back and sides. The neck is Stratabond (31 layer laminated wood, looks different but its designed to be stable and reliable), rosewood fretboard. Its very comfortable to hold and play. The 1-3/4" wide nut makes finger picking easier. The action on mine is a tad high, but thats the factory setup. The tag price was $899 USD from Guitar Center, I got it for 15% ($765) less after negotiations. Case included. The only drawback is it does not come with a pickup/preamp system. I will be adding one soon.

I would highly recommend this guitar.

High end tone woods + basic appointments = winner.

I paid full retail for this guitar ($899) because I just fell in love with it. I had the budget to purchase the OMJM, but honestly preferred this one.

Martin's strategy with this guitar was to use the same (or similar) tonewoods that it uses on its high end guitars, but to compromise on the appointments. The result is a very simple looking guitar that's sound is pure Martin. The top is sitka spruce, the sides and back are Sapele (African mahogany), the fingerboard and saddle are rosewood. The neck is stratbond, which is a very durable wood laminate (Personally, I prefer it to mahagony or maple in appearance, but some purists aren't fans). You just simply won't find this quality of woods used on any other quitar in this price range. The compromise is in an appearance that is decidedly understated -- satin rather than glossy finish, simple rosette, basic bindings, inexpensive pick guard.

Really all I can say about the tone is that it is classic Martin. Warm, balanced, a true pleasure to play and listen to. The only downside with this quitar is that it is a small body orchestra model, meaning it isn't capable of generating a ton of sound. And it doesn't like it when you try to.

Ultimately, this is the world's best couch guitar. This is my daily player (I have a 000-28ec for the weekends). I leave it out in my den, and if my four year old puts his foot through it, the world won't end because I paid under $1,000 for it. GREAT JOB, MARTIN!

Very good guitar affortable

I recommend it for everyone who plays fingerstyle and who have 1000$ to spend on a simple look guitar made with massive wood.

Excellent medium priced guitar

I am a fairly new guitar player. I took my old guitar in (Sigma 86 DM2) to see if they could fix the slight buzz I was getting. While they looked at it I went into the sound room to try some other guitars and played quite a few under $500. I picked up the Martin at $900 and there was no comparison. It fit me perfectly and sounded terrific. There was no question this was the guitar for me. I never imagined I would buy a Martin now because of the cost but here it was, quality, reputation, and sound and a price just pushing the edge of my budget. After all was said and done I paid about $775. I love this guitar. I practice with and carry my DM2 around but the Martin stays home. I am jazzed every time I pick it up.