Best OM prewar/revival in the 1500-2000 range
 

With a little searching you could figure out my preferences-- or look at my signature-- but i'm interested in the wisdom of the crowd.

I have several OM guitars and a couple of dreads and am at the point that I will forgo the bass I get with the dreads in exchange for the comfort in my shoulder I get from the OM body. I'm 6 feet tall 175lbs and almost always play sitting down.

Santa Cruz OM PW?
Breedlvove revival made in USA
Martin om/000

What other solid wood made in the USA OM body style guitar in the $1500-2000 used but excellent condition range is the one you have to tell me about?

mahogany or rosewood back and sides?

I love my Yamaha FG 150 red label-- best beater ever.
I love my Breedlove Oregon OM sitka top and Myrtlewood back and sides
What else?

You really should check out the Larrivee OM's. I bought a OM-03 with Peruvian Walnut back and sides and Cedar top. It has the most wonderful, full, rich sound and complex overtones. It has almost as much bass as my dreads. It is light weight. Not sure it's a light as a pre-war Martin of the same size, but it is loud and responsive. The OM's have the Martin shape, the LS models have the Larrivee round shoulder shape. In your price range you could get a OM-05 or maybe the OM-09 depending on where you shop.

This one:

http://theunofficialmartinguitarforu...wered-more-pic

LC

The OM-18V linked above would be an excellent choice indeed, as would a ton of other guitars, but I have a question, what did you mean by "With a little searching you could figure out my preferences"?

I have a wanted to buy listed and I have something similar at the bottom of my signature mentioning the Breedlove MC Revival OM AR deluxe. At least that is what I think I want based on my experience with Breedlove. Looking for other ideas or confirmation.

Regarding the Martin OM 18v Im leaning towards Rosewood over mahogany,

The Santa Cruz OM PW has a little extra bass going on and is such a nice player's guitar...not sure about getting a used one in your price range, but they come up from time to time.

What he said. I never met an SC OM I didn't like, but I don't see them in that price range.

P

What are the variables and price range for a sc om pw? Ive never played one.

Yea, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Santa Cruz in that range. Here's one on Reverb: https://reverb.com/item/602909-santa...ian-spruce-eir
There's one on eBay right now in the $2800-2900 range, but it's Mahogany.

I'd look at Martin in that price range for sure. Here's an OM-28v on Reverb for $2200: https://reverb.com/item/576019-marti...ar-om-28v-2008

I believe a forum member has an OM-28v for sale right now, too.

I have owned a Santa Cruz OM PW for 156 years or so. It is a great guitar and very versatile — you can do anything with it. If you can find one for a good price take it seriously.

The Larrivees will be a little cheaper but they can be nice guitars. I have recently been knocked out by the new F30s coming out of Guild.

Man, this seems like a smokin good deal. With 72 hours to decide if you like it, it's worth paying the shipping. Lots of good choices in your price range.

Looks nice but I am thinking more about rosewood.

A rosewood OM should give you a big and resonant sound!

+1 for a Martin OM-28V. If you hunt you can snag them in the $2K-ish range used, especially if you don't mind some cosmetic issues.

I bought mine on the strength of others' opinions and it delivers on all counts. Rich, balanced tone with remarkably fat trebles - great for fingerstyle and takes a pick well too. Not that far off from a friend's 1946 OM-28 in many ways.

Good luck in your search.

I love acoustic guitars :D!

Honestly if you lean more towards the revival, santa cruz and martin sound, I would stay away from Larrivee. To my ears, Larrivees sound a lot more modern/contemporary than the traditional sounds of the former guitars I mentioned.

Not to say they are worse sounding, just a different sound. I personally don't care for the modern sound of taylors or larrivees. While I can appreciate what they are going for, I like traditional sounding guitars much better.


PS...as far as comfort goes, you'd be hard pressed to find one more comfortable than the revival OMs. Best neck I've ever played, lightly built and resonate for days.

Really the only Martin killer I've ever played was an revival OM deluxe.