Build Thread: Circa OM-42 Adi/Braz

[Deft Tungsman]

Hey, buddy. Early Christmas comes to town. Santa Slobod delivers again!

I hope you get some quality time over the holidays with your new OM, even if it means neglecting your bicycle.

All the best to you and yours.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Teleplucker

Beautiful guitar. I'll bet it will sound great!

Thanks! Sounds like we also share a love of Teles!

Originally Posted by jt1

Perfection. Nobody builds a better guitar than John Slobod.

Play it in good health, my friend.

Thanks. Hope you get to try it this spring for TINY West.

Originally Posted by FormerFoodie

I always love seeing the glamour shots.

She's a beauty! That Braz is truly stunning.

Happy Holidays!

The Braz is really pretty. Love the orange streaking. Happy Holidays to you as well!

Originally Posted by JJI

I’ll go grab it for you

Stop by and play it soon!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by massimo

Bellissima
Congratulazioni

Mille grazie!

Originally Posted by cigarfan

A classic! Beautiful work by John!

Thanks, Dennis!

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Your beautiful, new guitar, Justin, is no different than a slew of other native Mainers who abandon the state this time of year in favor of warmer climes. You can be assured my own guitars will never lay eyes on this thread.

Congrats on an elegant and immaculate guitar.

David

Yeah, I'm responsible at least in part for the migration pattern from Maine.

Originally Posted by mhw48

Juston, I'll add my voice to the chorus of appreciation for such a beautiful guitar!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to hammering on it a bit!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Deft Tungsman

Hey, buddy. Early Christmas comes to town. Santa Slobod delivers again!

I hope you get some quality time over the holidays with your new OM, even if it means neglecting your bicycle.

All the best to you and yours.

Thanks, Deft. St. Slobod definitely delivered at the right time. I will most assuredly be taking this on our annual holiday trip. All the best, my friend. Come visit soon!

[justonwo]

Well, the shell-encrusted red spruce and Brazilian rosewood eagle has landed. Unfortunately for this “eagle,” it will not be nesting in a sea of tranquility. More like a permanent residence in a sea of cacophony.

For someone that already owns a small collection of Circas, it was a priority for me to explore something new/different with this guitar and to avoid significant overlap with the other OMs already sentenced to a life of torture in the justonwo household.

I have played quite a few Circas over the years, in addition to the ones I already own, but the sound of the earlier Circas (of which I’ve only played 2-3) were already a distant memory by the time I commissioned this guitar. Many of you will know that John has been building with a taller x-brace for perhaps 7-8 years, the result of which is a more powerful, direct tone which – to my ears at least – is more focused on the mid-range. And while I love this sound, I have owned and played OMs with that were more diffuse overall, had a looser response, and a bigger bass presence.

After some discussions with our own Circa-junkie “usb_chord,” I decided to direct John into his distant past for a different tonal flavor than he is currently using in his typical OM. Since I wasn’t quite certain what an old Circa OM sounded like, I had to take the decision at least partly on my faith in John and my trust that usb_chord and I share a common sensibility about guitars, even if he is (rather irritatingly) a wildly better guitar player than I. While I wasn’t excessively prescriptive, I asked him to build according to an older, more traditional recipe, with the goal of having more bass and a looser overall feel. Such guitars, to my ear, have more of a dreadnought-like response, but without losing the mid presence and high end punch. In the end, my request was that he simply build something significantly different from my other OMs. But not crappy. Crappy was to be avoided at all costs.

I have owned my OM-30 for about 7 years now. Hard to believe. While it is a red spruce/Madagascar rosewood guitar, the overtones and character of that guitar are probably more like what I expect from an OM-18. That guitar is very direct, very powerful, and quite focused on the mids. It does, however, have more overtones and bloom than my OM-18. Highs have more sparkle. My OM-18 is quite representative of the characteristics I usually associate with a great OM-18. Dry, percussive, balanced. A little warmer in the high end. The highs a little rolled off on the attack. My OM-28 is everything you would expect from a great red spruce/Brazilian guitar. The sustain and overtones are breathtaking, but they don’t generate clutter, which is important for the kind of music I play (which is cluttered enough in its own right). The sparkle and shimmer on the notes have more or less put this guitar into the top 1-2 favorite guitars I own. And the bass is satisfying, perhaps even generous, but not cavernous. Like the other OMs, the OM-28 is powerful, direct, and has incredible projection (which is unfortunate for the ears of innocent bystanders). All three of these guitars have opened up deliciously in the last several years. My newest Circa is four years old, which means that all have been mercilessly flogged by finger and thumb picks for enough hours to loosen things up.

While it’s hard to say much of anything concrete about the OM-42 with so little time (and no calluses), I will say that it is decidedly different from the others, and I think it’s different in the ways I was imagining. Already the bass is pretty significant on this guitar, which is usually something that takes time (months) with a red spruce Circa. It has the same shimmer and sparkle that I love in my OM-28 (thank you, Braz), but the overall tonal signature is decidedly, well, looser. The notes are not quite as percussive, not quite as projecting, not quite as punchy on the attack. The guitar feels like it’s already more broken-in than I would usually expect at this stage. It has the sustain and overtones that you would expect from a Braz Circa, which is gratifying; a great set of Brazilian rosewood can do wonderful things for tone. Is it crappy? That would be a great big, ol’ “negative, Houston.” All characteristics are straight down the line “nominal,” which in astronaut parlance is a **** good thing.

Of course, the workmanship is top tier. I imagine it would survive a pretty close inspection with a microscope. It takes a lot of skill to pull off the miters and shell positioning for a 42, particularly around the neck extension. No one does a better style 42, and there are only a few that can equal John. It’s light for an OM-42 (4.0 lbs right on the nose) and feels great in the lap. And thanks to the Ameritage case it has a pleasant vanilla scent. I opted not to get another Hoffee case. I simply don’t need another OM flight case, and I don’t love the chemical cancer scent that usually comes with Hoffee. I’ll go ahead and admit here in full public view and no irony or shame that I enjoy the smell of the guitar. If Circa OM-28 were an ice cream flavor, I can tell you there’d be a pint in my freezer.

All in all, another successful undertaking with John Slobod. It’s great to work with a builder you trust. Hell, I love the man. Not only is he a great friend, but he’s one of the best builders on the planet. Thank you, Juan, for another fun journey. I promise not to sell this guitar for 3-4 months at least!

[SprintBob]

Congrats, always love your build threads and I hope you will post a demo soon of this beautiful guitar.

Merry Christmas!

[Rwpierce]

Awesome Juston. Happy playing and Merry Christmas amigo!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Congrats, always love your build threads and I hope you will post a demo soon of this beautiful guitar.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks! Merry Christmas! Yes, I’ll be sure to post a video in the coming weeks. I’ll probably include the other OMs as well so that folks can hear the differences.

Originally Posted by Rwpierce

Awesome Juston. Happy playing and Merry Christmas amigo!

Thanks, good buddy. Have a wonderful Christmas!

[usb_chord]

*dreamy sigh*

I adore your prose, Juston. Congrats - another "killer"!