Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends
archtop.com
1997 Bourgeois OMS Custom
Status: For pricing and hold status for this instrument, please check our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may by found here. To be notified of examples of this or any other model in the future, please contact info@archtop.com.
SN# 000787
Body size at lower bout: 15". Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut Width: 1 3/4" Body depth: 4 3/8"- 3 1/2" taper
Materials: Bookmatched solid Adirondack red spruce top; solid figured bookmatched Indian rosewood back and sides; solid bookmatched mahogany neck; solid ebony fingerboard; Paua abalone purfling and top binding, grained ivoroid body binding; solid ebony pyramid bridge with compensated bone saddle; brown tortoise pickguard.
Hardware: Nickel Waverly butterbean 16X1 tuners; adjustable truss rod.
Notes: One of the most respected builders in the acoustic guitar world, master luthier Dana Bourgeois has built an international reputation in a career spanning nearly three decades. Creator of the celebrated Schoenberg OM series, Dana has designed innovative prototypes for clients as diverse as Gibson Montana and Paul Reed Smith. Now at his workshop in his native Maine, Bourgeois has returned to crafting exquisite hand built creations for top artists like Ricky Skaggs, Martin Simpson, Ry Cooder, Norman Blake, Vince Gill, David Lindley, Marshall Crenshaw, Jerry Douglas, Elliott Easton, James Taylor and many more.
The Bourgeois OMS is a tribute to one of the most successful designs of Martin's Golden Age. The 12 fret 000 was introduced in 1902 as Martin's biggest guitar, and remained so for another three decades until the advent of the Dreadnought in the early 30's. The 000 body was downsized with a 14 fret neck at that time, and the smaller body remains standard to this day. The big, luscious tone of the older bodies became legendary among serious pickers though, and 12 fret Martins became so highly prized that the company reissued the design in 1996. A tasteful updating of the classic 12 fretter, the Bourgeois OMS has the slotted headstock, lightweight construction (just 4 lb. 2 oz.) and genuine Adirondack red spruce top to create an instrument with an intensely rich, vibrant voice, with distinctly better balance than typical D size guitars.
This example is in mint condition, with custom technicolor Paua abalone binding and rosette, vintage brown tortoise guard, and handsome grained ivoroid binding. Neck profile is smooth and comfortable, with just a hint of the vintage vee contour. Exceptionally attractive to eye, ear and hand, the Bourgeois OMS is a cunning blend of traditional design and precision craft.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge (.012) strings, and will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference.
Case: Original plush hardshell case.
