Conference napalm::guitar

    I'm certainly no expert in this field, but I did try the Schoenberg
    Soloist down at Music Emporium.  I believe it's design is based on the
    OM-28.  The price ratio is (was?) something like 2:1 for the
    Soloist vs a current OM-28 and the difference seemed more a matter
    of taste than anything.  There are both incredible instruments.
    Even the folks at ME (with whom Eric Schoenberg is affiliated in
    some way) indicated the OM was probably the way to go, unless you
    really *HAD* to have the Soloist of course.
    
    As for the others, well they're not really Martins are they :-)
    
    /rick_who_actually_never_played_a_Taylor_he_didn't_like_either
    

    
    If it's not out of the way, try Fretted Instruments
    out in Amherst, Massachusetts.  They have EVERYTHING
    in this department.
    
    Kev --
    

    re .1
    
    Eric's affiliation with the Music Emporium is that he's one of the
    owners.
    
    His line of guitars is partly manufactured by Martin and partly
    custom tuned by his own people (focusing on the parts that he felt
    Martin was "phoning in"), according to a luthier in Maine I was
    talking to this weekend.
    
    I've got a custom OM from Martin (Eric has an identical one) that's
    a really fine fingerpicking instrument: phenomenal tone (Brazilian
    rosewood). I'd recommend the OM form factor with the 1 3/4" nut for
    fingerpicking any day. I even used it for bluegrass flatpicking, but
    the string spacing was a bit wide for that.
    
    Note that the OM projects better (is punchier) than an 000-28 due to
    its slightly longer string length.

Dana Bourgeois (sp?) is the Maine luthier who "builds" the soloists. The
process goes liek this:

1. Dana cuts/molds/etc the body and neck parts
2. Martin puts them together minus the top
3. Dana tunes the tops
4. Dana installs the tops
5. Martin puts on the finish

They're way nice sounding however, you cannot use anything other than the
lightest gage strings as the tops are thin (better sounding says Dana).
I didn't like the way the one I played felt to my fingers. This may be 
because I have proletarian tastes in acoustics and such spruce cavier is
way to rich for me, or it may be an acquired taste.

They're pretty expensive too.


dbii

    Thanks for the feedback so far...
    
    RE: .2
    
    >>    If it's not out of the way, try Fretted Instruments
    >>    out in Amherst, Massachusetts.  They have EVERYTHING
      
    I live in Michigan, so Massachusetts is a bit out of the way.  I
    plan to visit Elderly Instruments sometime soon, though (Lansing is
    a little over an hour away).
    
    Re: Dana Bourgeois
    
    I know he used to make the soloists, but I thought someone else was
    doing it now.  I know he is now marketing guitars under his own name:
    I've seen his ad in Acoustic Guitar ("Jumbo OM").
    
    For anyone who has custom ordered a Martin, how was your experience?
    
    Jim

RE: Fretted Instrument Workshop

    They're very reputable and usually have an interesting inventory of fine
    acoustic and semi-acoustic instruments. They've been around for ages.
    You might want to just call them and ask what they have and what their
    mail order policy is.

    --rjb

    I made a trip to Elderly Instruments this weekend.  After trying
    numerous guitars (Taylor, Collings, Santa Cruz Guitar Company, (Dana)
    Bourgeois, Lowden, and Martin), I decided I liked the Martin OMs the 
    best.  Elderly had four: an OM-21, an OM-28 and two OM-40LEs.  
    
    The OM-40LE is a current "guitar of the month" special edition.  It
    has style 42 snowflake inlay and double rows of abalone around the 
    perimeter of the top and as part of the soundhole rosette.  I found
    the double rows a bit too much for my taste, but the main factor that
    made me decide against the OM-40LE was the vintage-style V-shaped
    neck.  I liked the snowflake inlay, however, so I decided to see
    about custom ordering an OM.  The folks at Elderly said they would
    call Martin on Tuesday, and mail me the estimate.
    
    I was going to leave, but then spotted a used D-16H (a '91 guitar of
    the month-- a D-16 with herringbone trim and diamonds and squares
    inlay).  I tried out this guitar and loved it -- but it wasn't
    at all what I was looking for.  After much debate, I ended up
    buying the OM-28 Elderly had in stock AND the D-16H.  They gave
    me a good trade-in on my Takamine N-10, and I could get both of
    them for less than what a custom OM  would cost (and considerably 
    less than the $4402 ($7100 list) OM-40LE).
    
    Jim (now the VERY happy owner of three Martin guitars)

    
    Excuse my ignorance but just what is a grand concert steel string
    acoustic guitar? Why is it any different to any quality run of the mill 
    steel strung acoustic?
    
    Richard
    Basingstoke, UK

re: .8
    
>    Excuse my ignorance but just what is a grand concert steel string
>    acoustic guitar? Why is it any different to any quality run of the mill 
>    steel strung acoustic?
    
Grand concert is a name for a particular size/shape of guitar, just like
dreadnought is a name for a different size/shape.  I *think* a grand concert
is smaller than a dreadnought, but I'm not sure.

-Hal

Grand Concert is generally the size that Martin designates as 000 (the OM series 
also has this body size, with a slightly longer neck). It's the "next smaller 
size" from dreadnaught, and is generally superior to dreadnaughts for 
fingerpicking (better tonal balance).