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#1
01-20-2019, 05:32 PM
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In praise of the Martin OM-21
After spending a lot of time playing my mahogany guitars (primarily a Martin 00-18V and Waterloo WL-14 - both very fine guitars), today I decided to restring my Martin OM-21 (Pearse PB Lights) and give it a whirl.
Boy that OM-21 is just a fine sounding guitar. It sounds great in almost every style but its specialty really is fingerstyle. Sounds great playing Mississippi John Hurt or James Taylor and everything in between. I've had mine over two years now and it's definitely growing more warm with age. I also truly love the look of the rosewood on the back. I wonder if Martin will ever bring the 000-21 back since I actually prefer having less bling than the 28 series guitars. I'm not taking anything away from mahogany or any other guitar, but that OM-21 really is a gem and one I don't think I'll ever let out of my collection. D.
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Martin D-35, OM-21, 00-18V, Dread Jr. Waterloo WL-14 XTR Blueridge BR-163 Orangewood Oliver Jr. Mahogany Gretsch Jim Dandy and... 
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#4
01-20-2019, 06:50 PM
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Agreed.
I'm primarily a "Mahogany Guy" as well, with a long history of predominantly non-rosewood guitars (percentage wise) in my closet. Not that I haven't owned and enjoyed some Rosewood.. ah yes, that M36 was a delightful guitar.. but the clear majority have been Mahogany for me. That said, my buddies OM-21 is right over there. He is off to tropical islands for two weeks, and I asked if I could have his 21 for the duration. I didn't ask for his OM-28, or his terrific HD-28V, or his anything else. I asked for his OM-21. The biggest reason I don't have one is cuz he does, and well, I can borrow it anytime. Martin made a 000-21 during what era? What years? I like short scale.
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#5
01-20-2019, 07:58 PM
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Quote:
Mine is a 1955 000-21 which I bought 30 odd years ago because I thought it had a better balanced sound than either the dreadnought I was playing at the time or the 000-15 I compared it with in the shop. These days it is full and lush and is still a much better instrument than I am a player!
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#6
01-20-2019, 08:40 PM
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Thanks Sweetborderdog.
Let me ask you.. have you been a member for a few years and just now posted about this? If so, I am honored that you would select my question as your first post. And may I add, we are in agreement about our guitars being better than we are. I feel that way pretty much everytime I open a case. And although there are those who say I play pretty well, I'm very clear that my Martins have lot more potential in the hands of more accomplished players. I'd like to find a 000-21, being short scale VS the OM-21 with long scale. And thanks for your input. Last edited by woodbox; 01-20-2019 at 11:22 PM.
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#7
01-20-2019, 09:01 PM
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I mostly lean to mahogany but especially appreciate the OM-21 for its full scale string length which extracts the maximum from the top and back; I’ve also found rosewoods often shy when new but the later bloom and sweetness is phenomenal and eventually can overshadow same body size with mahogany back.
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#8
01-21-2019, 03:39 PM
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I really enjoyed all of these replies. Maybe at some point we turn this thread into a concerted effort to get a 000-21 production model. Thanks again for the replies.
And I'll add that I do think mine is just starting to open up. I also highly recommend the Pearse PB Lights as opposed to the Lifespan and D'Addario PB Lights I also tried with it. Those were good but the Pearse strings seem to suit the OM-21 perfectly.
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Martin D-35, OM-21, 00-18V, Dread Jr. Waterloo WL-14 XTR Blueridge BR-163 Orangewood Oliver Jr. Mahogany Gretsch Jim Dandy and...
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#9
01-21-2019, 05:42 PM
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Quote:
I used JP PB Lt. for years but recently put some JP Nickel Lt. on & am really liking them better. Might be worth checking out sometime. Take care, Frank
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