Members Stackabones Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 A student of mine just got one. http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/OM42.htm Yes, it's worth it. Easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 A lady I knew had a 1934 model that needed a neck-set, but sounded like a dream. She sold it for $25K in the late 80`s. Can`t even imagine what that thing is worth now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Don't leave us hanging - details man, details! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Martin says that 50 percent of the build time on a 42/45 is doing the inlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 It sounded, looked, played, and smelled fantastic! I'm astounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 A/B it against an OM-21. The OM-21 should be half the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Nah. I'd be looking to buy a car for that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Martin says that 50 percent of the build time on a 42/45 is doing the inlay. I'd like all the guitar they offer in the 42/45 models but minus about 90% of the inlays, way too much bling for my taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members totamus Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 The detail to attention and craftsmanship is fantastic, but not to my taste. Blingy guitars always remind of the old church ladies we would see at church on Sunday, with too much perfume, gawdy jewelry, and caked on make up. The other part of this story is the incredible guitar that the very, very lucky student has. Wow! What an incentive to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 The detail to attention and craftsmanship is fantastic, but not to my taste. Blingy guitars always remind of the old church ladies we would see at church on Sunday, with too much perfume, gawdy jewelry, and caked on make up. The other part of this story is the incredible guitar that the very, very lucky student has. Wow! What an incentive to learn. Yes, indeedy! An old gent I see at one of the acoustic jams I attend has one that he bought just prior to WWII (possibly '40)...other than having been refretted a few times and the neck reset at least once, it's in amazingly nice condition. When he opens it's case, we all just drool... Edit: My bad...his is a 000-42, not an OM-42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robert Altman Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 I have only ever ( briefly ) touched a Martin. I'm too clumsy and undeserving. Personally I like the bling. It shows someone is interested in making something that not only sounds fantastic but looks beautiful.Someone on another thread quoted the substantial increase in the number of guitars Martin has made in recent years. Does this mean people are using them as investments or are there just more pickers who can afford a really good guitar ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 I doubt, that the top-of-the-line Martins are churned out in ridonkolous numbers these days.Most of the increase in numbers would be accounted to the rapid growth that Martin had in the lower range, i.e. X-Series and such.But then again, I doubt that - when it comes to new Martins - anything less than a D-50 or a D-100 could be seen as an investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 When I built my daughter's parlor and my OM 12 string, I did what is basically style 41 binding - abalone purfling and rosette but no pearl around the fingerboard extension. Doing the fretboard adds a whole lot of work and perfection to the inlay, I wasn't ready to take it to that level. I also used rosewood to bind it instead of the plastic that Martin uses - maybe a little more subtle. Still blingie, after all its a girl's guitar http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f387/Freeman_Keller/Parlor/IMG_1119.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f387/Freeman_Keller/Parlor/IMG_1444.jpg I have only ever ( briefly ) touched a Martin. I'm too clumsy and undeserving. Personally I like the bling. It shows someone is interested in making something that not only sounds fantastic but looks beautiful.Someone on another thread quoted the substantial increase in the number of guitars Martin has made in recent years. Does this mean people are using them as investments or are there just more pickers who can afford a really good guitar ? I heard a figure a while back that both Martin's and Taylor's annual production were around 70,000 guitars - thats an awfully lot when you add all the other brands and good quality PacRim instruments on the market today. What's driving that? - probably many factors. Certainly there are a few people investing, but IMHO only the Authentics and maybe things like the OM-42 are really going to appreciate, certainly not like the vintage prewar guitars. I think that people buying the top of the line Martins are doing it because the can't afford a prewar, but still want something close (and I think the A's are pretty darn close). I think that a lot of players realize that Martin (and Taylor, Guild, Gibbie....) are building some really great playing guitars - we have talked about a new Golden Era. Many players want more that one guitar - they know that difference sizes, woods, and manufacturers instruments do sound different and that having a "quiver" can be a good thing. There are a lot of boomer guitar players with the disposable cash to be able to afford the guitar they always wanted - lots of us dreamed of owning a Martin back when we were in college, now we can indulge ourselves. I'll also say that Martin has done a heck of a job trying to hit the nitch markets - I don't always agree with some of their offerings but they now have price point guitars to fit most budgets. So, short answer to your question - yes, many more people can afford a really good guitar and Martin has done a good job filling that need. (and do yourself a favor, touch and play as many as you can- no one is undeserving of that small pleasure) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 As far as sound goes, I noticed something about my student's fingerpicking tecnhique on this guitar that I hadn't noticed on his other guitars. As he fingerpicked, I heard susurration -- like something sweeping or someone whispering. His picking index finger (and, to an extent, his other fingers) was sweeping the string, especially on the wound strings, rather than attacking it directly. I had to get him to slow down (which is one of the top three things I tell students), and we worked on repositioning his right hand to eliminate the susurration. Admittedly, there could have been other factors that caused me to notice this: he could have older strings on his other guitar (a Martin 000-16), which would have made it more difficult to detect; he could have just developed this in the two weeks since I saw him last, but he'd been on vacation; it could have been something that had been building up over time and it finally showed itself. So, in a sense, this guitar will make him a better player -- if he works on this, and he's a solid student so I believe he'll have no problem. Also, to his credit, he'd played just about every Martin in the area and did extensive research for at least the last three or four months. This was a carefully considered purchase. And he haggled the price down a bit, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastblueheeler Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Susurration - I like that! It's my word for the day today. Much better than "scratchy". I have the same problem but mine is so severe I can hear it on not so responsive guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 29, 2011 Members Share Posted March 29, 2011 Eric Schoenberg has a 1934 OM-45 for the bargain price of $79,800. It's hard to find a bad sounding Martin OM. I have an OM-21 and and OM-16GT, and both are wonderful guitars. I also recently played an OM-28V that was also unbelievable. I've never played an OM-42, but you can't beat a Martin OM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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