Deep Body on an OM: Yay or Nay?

[guitarlifter]

Are deep bodies good sounding on OM style guitars, or do they ruin the sound of them? If they are ok, what woods would you recommend on a deep body OM? Something more responsive, perhaps?

[LoMa]

I've played a Martin deep body OM and a deep body 00 and hated them both. The guitars just sounded ugly, with too much bass that couldn't seem to escape the guitar's body - if that makes sense. Both of them shared a similar "unique" voice that I didn't like. They were both rosewood and sitka.

Maybe I'd like a non-Martin deep body though? Or a non-rosewood? Couldn't say.

[rmyAddison]

I would love a Martin OM-30DB Pat Donahue, really warm guitar, and I have played two of the "women in music" deep body 00's from a while back, liked them a lot (they were mahogany).

There is also a new 00-DB Jeff Tweedy model that is a current model. Never owned one but I would be very tempted to add a deep body 000/OM/00, they get you a little closer to a dreads bass without the size. I like 'em.

[Wade Hampton]

When you take a guitar design as well-thought-out and perfectly balanced as the OM and change a dimension as crucial as the body depth, there are going to be some trade-offs.

For some players the added bass response is going to be the exact change that they need and want for their music. But for other players like me, that change takes away some of the acoustic projection that we rely on. So for me it's not a trade-off that's worthwhile or desirable.

It's really going to be on a player by player basis as to whether deep-bodied OM's are a good choice. For me they're not, so I voted "Nay" on this poll. But for others they can be absolutely perfect.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[J Patrick]

...one of my favorite aspects of an OM is the shallow body....easier on this old carpenters shoulder...nay i say

[sevenpalms]

My Webber OM has a 4" depth and seems perfectly balanced to me... I can't imagine that a deeper body would improve it at all.

[RRuskin]

I played a custom (not Martin) deep 000 and was very impressed with the sound. My favorite guitar to play is a deep Lucas bodied McAlister. So different strokes; etc.

[guitarlifter]

I could really care less about comfortability. I'm more interested in pure sound quality. I called in at Santa Cruz, and the lady (Elizabeth) told me that it adds volume and bass with no real trade off. I wasn't so sure about that. Maybe it's true on SC guitars?

Are there sny specific wood combos that may handle deep body or flatter deep body better in terms of sound such as hog and adi perhaps?

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by guitarlifter

I could really care less about comfortability. I'm more interested in pure sound quality. I called in at Santa Cruz, and the lady (Elizabeth) told me that it adds volume and bass with no real trade off. I wasn't so sure about that. Maybe it's true on SC guitars?

Are there sny specific wood combos that may handle deep body or flatter deep body better in terms of sound such as hog and adi perhaps?

If a guitar size is not comfortable to play, it's doubtful it will get much use after the new wears off. Would you buy a pair of shoes that didn't fit just because they looked good?

I've heard more than one builder say that mahogany is preferable to Rosewood for a deep body but I don't fully agree. My Santa Cruz H-13 was Brazilian Rosewood/German spruce and it was excellent.

[stephenT]

Thumbs down for me.

I enjoy the size of the OM, shoulder issues brought me to smaller guitars, thicken up the body and it strains my right shoulder. It doesn't take much more thickness to mess up a perfect equation, ergonomic-wise and response-wise.

[Larry Pattis]

I like a 4" & 3-1/4" depth, at the tailblock and headblock of the guitar, respectively. Standard Martin OM specs.

A little deeper is okay, but a full dreadnaught depth is less than optimal for me, tonally and ergonomically .

This helps deliver a faster, more accurate response, and with good projection (projection is key)...for my hands and my ears.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by guitarlifter

I could really care less about comfortability. I'm more interested in pure sound quality. I called in at Santa Cruz, and the lady (Elizabeth) told me that it adds volume and bass with no real trade off. I wasn't so sure about that. Maybe it's true on SC guitars?

The deeper body can make the guitar louder, because of the increased body cavity size, but loudness in and of itself is not the same thing as projection. There are plenty of guitars that seem quite loud when you're right next to them that can't be heard as well in a crowd or across a room as a well-designed smaller bodied instrument.

If Elizabeth believes there's no real trade-off when the sides of an OM get deepened, my guess is that she hasn't played both styles of OM's in a variety of acoustic settings. Because there's ALWAYS a trade-off, even when it's a trade-off you're happy to make.

I have played both styles of OM/000 guitars in many settings, and stand by what I wrote in my first post.

Bear in mind that for many players, perhaps most players in this day and age of inexpensive and accurate-sounding electronic pickups for acoustic guitars, the purely acoustic projective qualities of a guitar make little to no difference at all. Players like me for whom the acoustic projection is of great importance are in the minority.

I still happen to prefer the tone of a traditionally proportioned OM over all of the deep-bodied OM's I've played or been around, but for many players that difference in the tone is what they prefer. So as Rick posted, different strokes for different folks.

Originally Posted by guitarlifter

Are there sny specific wood combos that may handle deep body or flatter deep body better in terms of sound such as hog and adi perhaps?

I don't see there being any given tonewood combination that's necessarily going to be consistently better for this design than any other.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Larpy]

I'm with Wade on this. It's "yay" for some and "nay" for others. It all depends on what you're looking for. I've played deep body OMs that sounded fabulous (and I owned a terrific Collings deep body OM2H). But the added bass and slightly bigger sound comes at the expense of some of the traditional OM's charm. It becomes a different guitar, more of a mini-jumbo than an OM.

[leeplaysblues]

while not technically a OM the Huss and Dalton CM has similar dimensions but with a drednaught depth.

These guitars are very balanced and complex in tone.

so in this instance I would say yeh

[guitarlifter]

Interesting stuff. I think I'll talk with Richard Hoover from Santa Cruz my self and see what he thinks about deep bodies.