Martin OMJM John Mayer acoustic-electric: A Worthy OM-style Guitar

I recently had a chance to play a Martin OMJM (John Mayer) acoustic-electric guitar at my local Guitar Center. A guitar player friend was with me, and we were able to play for close to an hour in the back room, both acoustic and acoustic-electric, into a really nice amplifier/speaker set-up. We traded off playing the OMJM and a Taylor 314CE that happened to be right there.

The Martin OMJM is an OM-style guitar, but I noticed as I started playing that the neck is not the 1 3/4" of your standard OM. It's 1 11/16" at the nut, and that, coupled with the low-profile neck, made for really easy playability.

The Martin OMJM has an unusual combination of "luxury" appointments and "humble" ones. Its neck-to-body joint is mortise/tenon, which I think of as less "high end" than the dovetail joint of most expensive Martin guitars. But the top is Engelmann spruce, which is one of my favorite kinds of spruce for a guitar top. I believe Engelmann has an unusually high stiffness to weight ratio, leading to a sound that is delicate and lively, with wonderful overtones. It is more expensive than the Sitka spruce that tops most acoustic guitars.The back and sides are of solid rosewood.

The unbound fingerboard is of solid black ebony, and the scale length is the normal 25.4". This is not a short scale guitar, though it did feel unusually small and comfortable in my lap. Bracing is what Martin calls "hybrid X scalloped," and I was surprised to read that the top braces are the thicker 5/16", not the thinner 1/4" braces of guitars like my Martin 000-18V Custom Adirondack. The Engelmann spruce top is finished with an aging toner.

Overall, the guitar appears tasteful and understated, yet definitely "high end." Oh, and John Mayer's signature is on the label inside the soundhole. Retail is about $4100, meaning you can a new one at your local Guitar Center for about $3100.

Playability.

As I mentioned, this guitar was really comfortable to play. The smaller OM size means less stress on the right shoulder than with a big ol' dreadnought, and the neck was really comfortable as well. The high quality ebony fingerboard made for easy chord changes, and the low profile neck with 1 11/16" (at the nut) wide fingerboard was a pleasure to wrap around. If you like wide necks or the v-shaped necks of Martin's contemporary "vintage" guitars, look elsewhere. If you have small hands or just prefer streamline necks, keep this guitar in mind.

Acoustic Sound

Overall, the sound of the Martin OMJM reminded me of a Martin OM-28V or Santa Cruz OM. Actually, it's probably a bit closer to a Santa Cruz OM, as Martin OM-28V's tend to sound a tad "dark" (but really good). The OMJM had the bass fullness that one expects from a high quality rosewood guitar, but the Engelmann spruce top added just enough extension and delicacy to the high end to balance the bass nicely. The guitar sounded really good both flat picked and finger picked.

Compared to the Taylor 314CE (not a fair comparison, I know), the Martin OMJM was bassier, richer, fuller and more authoritative sounding. The Taylor 314CE, a good (mahogany or sapele) guitar at about half the price of the Martin OMJM, sounded positively jingly and light weight by comparison. 

Intonation of the Martin OMJM was excellent as well. The guitar went in tune easily and sounded good even when we slapped a capo on several frets up the neck. Fancy spidery chords up the neck also sounded remarkably in tune.

Electric Sound.

The Martin OMJM has what Martin calls "Martin Gold Plus Natural" electronics installed. Happily, there were no controls carved into the "top side" of the guitar, and I didn't see any little microphones or controls inside the guitar either. I assume this is an active system, but I didn't research where the battery goes or anything like that.

Plugged into a high quality tower-style amplifier/speaker set-up, the electric sound of the OMJM was outstanding. It sounded like a loud acoustic guitar, not like an "acoustic-electric." The sound of a plugged in Ovation comes to mind as what this guitar did not sound like. I flat picked some bluegrass stuff and finger picked some Alex DeGrassi stuff in drop-D tuning was was happy in both cases. The bass was firm and solid but not overwhelmng, and the mids and trebles were perfectly balanced.

My friend and I did some jamming, switching between the Martin and the Taylor and we both agreed that the Martin was much more satisfying whether we were playing or listening to the other play. 

An interesting comparison.

A guitar in the same price range that many people like is the Martin 000-28 Eric Clapton. The Eric Clapton has a similar OM size body, rosewood and spruce woods, and a nice ebony fingerboard. It's actually a short scale (24.9") guitar with a 1 3/4" wide neck, and I think it comes without electronics.

But whereas the Martin OMJM was fully satisfying to me, the 000-28 Eric Clapton samples I've played have not been. I'm not sure why. I've experienced less sustain with the Eric Clapton, a less extended high end, and even less perfect intonation up the neck (which makes no sense to me, as Martin's quality control should be similar across $3000 guitars). Comfort and playability are comparable between the two.

As if to drive the point home, there was a Martin 000-28 on the wall as my friend and I were playing. I took it down. I played it. I put it back. Again, it failed to satisfy, though it wasn't that bad.

The bottom line: The Martin OM John Mayer and Martin 000-28 Eric Clapton are guitars that should sound fairly similar, and play similar, though the EC's neck is shorter and wider. But I simply find the John Mayer to be a better guitar.   

Conclusions.

If you are looking for a rosewood OM/000 style in the $3000 price range, I can think of several guitars I would recommend you try out. Among them are: the Martin OM-28V; the Santa Cruz OM; and the Collings OM-2H. The Martin OM-28V is probably the darkest sounding of these guitars, but it also has that wonderful Martin rosewoood authority in the lower registers. The Santa Cruz OM is excellent as well, with a slightly more pronounced high end and incredible sustain. Most Collings OM-2Hs I've played have been even more delicate sounding than the Santa Cruz OM, and they are sometimes made with the skinnier 1 11/16" neck for easier playability. If you're primarily a finger picker, you should check out a Collings if there is a dealer in your area. Two OM-2HEs (Engelmann) I played at Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto were among the most satisfying guitars I've ever played. I would add the Martin OMJM to that short list of really nice OM-style guitars that I would be proud to own. It has a nicely balanced tone, a good deal of the warmth and bass authority that Martin is known for, and an Engelmann sprice top for extra delicacy and sweetness in the highs. Its skinnier neck and low profile neck means easy playability over a long period of time, and the electronics are visually unobtrusive and sound great.

Highly recommended.