Please advice: Martin 0000 to OM size conversion
 

Hello,

I have a Martin JM (0000 size) which I bought 8 years ago and I wanna convert it into OM size, perhaps with OM-28 appoinments.

Although it is too big for me to hold but it have sentimental value for me and I wanna play it rather have it in the box.

I wanna keep the neck (change to a new fingerboard) and the top (with new binding and rosette and have it cut into OM size if it's possible) but everything else will be swapped out.

Can anyone please suggest a luthier for this conversion job?

How much do you think needa get the job done? 1k? 2k? 3k or more?

Many thanks =]

Bests,
Phil

Hi Phil,
Welcome. I imagine you'll hear this a lot but you'd be better off selling the JM and buying an OM. Trying to convert a 0000 body to an OM body would involve taking the 0000 completely apart, probably rebending the sides and cutting to the new size as well as cutting the top and back to the new size. The top and back would most likely have to be rebraced and the bridge and bridge plate relocated to compensate for the shorter body length. I imagine for what it would cost, you could buy a nice custom guitar.
Regards,
Ed

I agree with what the poster above has said, you would be better to sell and buy what you are after. The cost of the operation, I'm not sure but it would probably be more than what it would cost you for a new Martin OM model. So you would have to accept the cost involved was a 'sentimental cost' as your new OM once the job was complete would not be worth much in resale (even though resale would make the whole exercise moot)

Why not keep the 0000 for sentimental reasons and just buy a new OM.

Sorry it's not the response you're looking for, it's just the most prudent response I can think of.

phil, if you are uber rich and got money to burn... sure.. go for it.

i'm gonna guess it costs more than having a custom guitar built.

i understand that #1 you want to play that guitar and #2 you feel like you need it at OM size... but that will come with a hefty tag for sure.

also, you might want to make sure OM is the size you really want if you are going to have that conversion done. maybe you'd want 00 right?

No no no no no no. Sell the Martin, make lots of $$$$ and buy a couple of cheaper (but still as good as a Martin) Pac-rim guitars.

You say you bought it, so it wasn't a gift (trying to understand the sentimental value), but your conversion idea will completely destruct the guitar and turn it into something else??

If all you are keeping is the neck and top you really aren't converting a guitar, you're giving a luthier a neck and top wood to build a different guitar.

And yes it is going to cost more than a new guitar because the builder has to de-construct the old guitar (with associated costs) before they even start the new guitar. And it certainly won't be a Martin anymore.

But hey it's your guitar and your business...............good luck.

Sell your 0000 and buy a nicer Martin OM model. You will come out much further ahead financially and have a nice instrument with a warranty.

Phil: As much as I hate to go along with the majority, I've got to agree that cutting up the 0000 makes no sense. Keep it for sentimental value, and get a more comfortable OM. You might want to check out the OM-21 Special or OM-21 NVT http://www.maurysmusic.com/inc/sdetail/107084....

sentimental schmentimental...its a guitar...get some real value out of it by selling it, and get just what you want. :)

No reason to have a nice guitar sitting around unplayed, especially when it can help you get one you'll appreciate and actually use!

I ceratinly wouldn't butcher it - then it will be worth very little.

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there.:roll:

The J or 0000 body is physically larger than the OM or 000 models. I guess you knew that and that's why you want to change to the smaller sized guitar. Frankly, what you're proposing is so bizarre, that I can't imagine a luthier undertaking it. It would mean completely dismantling the instrument, separating every piece of wood - top, back, sides, neck, braces, every piece. Then cutting everything down and reassembling it all.

It would be far easier, faster, cheaper, to build a new guitar from scratch. Starting with fresh wood would be much easier than recycling the wood in the 0000.

-Raf

I commend those giving serious replies, more than I could have managed.

if you feel sentimental toward your guitar, i don't think cutting it into pieces is the best way to express this. leaving it whole and either keeping it for the good feelings or selling it to someone who will use it and love it seem a better way to treat something you love.

and it will cost more to have it deconstructed and then added to a new guitar than to buy a new guitar. using the top will mean removing the top from the sides, then removing the bracing and kerfing, and the finish. i also can't imagine a luthier undertaking this job - it will be time-consuming and troublesome, and very expensive as it will take longer than simply building a guitar from scratch and will require a lot of care. if you just rip off the glued parts, you risk damaging the top, so each little part would have to be heated and carefully removed, one piece at a time.

I assume it's too early for April fool's....:confused:

This post just gives me the shivers. For the life of me, I can't understand....