The C. F. Martin Orchestra Model Guitar
The 1930 Martin OM-28 and OM-45 DeLuxe
Until 1929, Martin guitars had necks with 12 frets clear of the body.
Martin's first attempt to build a guitar with 14 frets clear of the body, to provide greater access to the upper frets, was achieved by attaching the neck of the Martin tenor guitar at the 14th fret, and moving the bridge upwards to compensate. This bridge placement, however, proved less than ideal.
By late 1929, the Carl Fischer stores suggested an alternative, special ordering a tenor guitar called the Carl Fischer Model, with a shortened upper bout with14 frets clear.
Soon after, Perry Bechtel of the Cable Piano Company, upon visiting the Martin factory and seeing the Carl Fisher Model, requested a fourteen fret clear six string guitar, and the Orchestra Model was born.
The OM-28 was soon followed by the OM-18 and the OM-18P Plectrum Guitar appeared in 1930. The plectrum seemed a natural, since the OM was specifically made to suit banjo players, who were used to a long neck, and who were moving to the guitar to match changing tastes. In 1931 Martin added a handful of plectrum guitars in the C-1 and C-2 round hole archtop styles. By the end of 1931, Martin had built it's last Plectrum Guitar.
By 1930, the Carl Fisher Model had become the standard 0-18T. By 1934, what was formerly known as the OM-18 and OM-28 had become the standard Martin 000-18 and 000-28.
The 12 Fret 1929 000-28 and early 1930 OM-28
This 12 fret 000-28 was built in the spring of 1929, shortly after Martin had started building a 14 fret neck clear body for the Carl Fisher tenors, but before applying that body shape to a six string.
Two 14 fret Martin tenor guitars, the first with high bridge placement, the second with the new body shape suggested by Carl Fisher.
This OM-28 shows transitional features that are seen on the earliest OM's: banjo style tuners, a pyramid style bridge, a small teardrop shaped pickguard, and a rare 1 13/16" wide neck that was requested by Perry Bechtel for his personal guitar, and has been seen on only a couple of others.
Early 14 fret clear body OM-28, OM-18P and 0-18T
C.F. Martin 1930 000-28 Orchestra Model
Beautiful original condition early OM from the second batch of five - made in January of 1930.
One of the handful of original OMs built with a pyramid bridge, teardrop pickguard, and banjo style tuners.
While the 000-28 12 fret had a 1 7/8" wide neck, the new OM model had a 1 3/4" neck. The original example built for Perry Bechtel, and possibly one or two of the others of the roughly dozen or so built in 1929, had a 1 13/16" wide neck.
This is the only 1930 example I know of to have the 1 13/16" wide neck.
An historically important transitional guitar combining old world craftsmanship with the sound and playability of a modern 14 fret long scale guitar. Recently brought to absolute optimum playing condition by OM specialist T.J. Thompson. TJ installed new reproduction tuners, for which he aged the buttons, to save old tuners. The vintage tuners in fine shape are preserved in the case. TJ says this is about the nicest OM of the many he's seen.
Serial number 40932
This guitar, built in January, 1930, was listed as a 000-28/OM Orchestra Model
This case is somewhat of a mystery. I originally thought it might have been ordered for a long and narrow necked plectrum guitar, but the neck on this case is a good 4" too long for even a plectrum OM. It was most likely the result of a miscommunication or miscalculation in ordering a case for a strange and newfangled guitar before ordering for a 14 fret clear body had become routine
.
The first couple of individual examples of 1929 were listed in the records as 000-28 Perry Bechtel
followed by a small batch listed as 000-28S Perry Bechtel Model
(likely the first and last instance where the "S", then used to indicate "Special", as in "Special Order", but later used to indicate a "Standard" 12 fret vs. a 14 fret,
signified that this was a 14, not a 12 fret!)
a batch listed as 000-28P Perry Bechtel, (the first 14 fret Plectrum)
and then 000-28 O.M. Perry Bechtel Model
Then mine, the first of 1930, is listed as 000-28 O.M. Orchestra Model
followed by the first non-tenor 14 fret 18's, logged as 000-18 O.M.
and 000-28 O.M. O Model
and finally quite a few batches listed alternately as 000-28 O.M. or 000-18 O.M. or O Model 000-28 or O Model 000-18
It wasn't until March, when the first two OM-45 were built that Martin dropped the "000" from the name and called them OM/45 and then OM/28.
But even after this, Martin made a batch of Plectrum Guitars, 000-18 O.M. Plectrum
As you can see, the name was a moving target, evolving with every batch. We used to think there was something special about the 1929 "Prototypes", but the OM was constantly evolving through it's first year or so, and there is really nothing more distinctive about the 1929 examples than early 1930 ones, for example.
These were a 000 size guitar, and "Orchestra Model" was the designation for the new 14 fret body shape. In fact, the first D-28's with 14 fret necks were listed in the catalog as "D-28 Orchestra Models". So they were recognized as being different from the beginning, the only significant change being a shortening of the name from "000-28 Perry Bechtel" to "000-28 O.M." to "OM-28".
1930 Martin OM-45 DeLuxe
Serial # 44070
Priced at $225 at it's introduction in 1930, the OM-45 DeLuxe was Martin's most expensive production guitar, a step above the Style 45, with inlaid pickguard and bridge, and engraved gold tuners with pearl buttons. Martin carefully selected finer woods and other materials for their highest quality guitars. The quality of materials, with perfectly consistent matching pieces of pearl throughout, is higher on this guitar than on any other Style 42 or 45 I have seen, from the 19th or 20th Century.
The first example, purchased used by Roy Rogers for $30 during the Depression, had a somewhat different design on the pickguard.
The DeLuxe was discontinued within a year, after a handful of individual examples and three batches of three, due to Martin's inability to source the distinctive DeLuxe parts.
This example is one of five known to exist today.
The OM-45, with it's solid headstock, initiated a slightly simpler torch design than was seen on previous Style 45 Martin headstocks.
earlymartin.com
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