One man who's got something to say about…
7:30
Songs from the Celtic past and the Star Trek Future
Specs include: All solid woods with hide glue construction; Madagascar rosewood back and sides; Adirondack spruce top, thinned to pre-war specs, treated with Martin’s Vintage Tone System torrefaction; VTS torrefied Authentic Series scalloped bracing and bridge plate; grained ivoroid binding; solid abalone top purfling and rosette; mahogany neck with 1-11/16” width at nut; vintage V profile unique to this model; ebony fingerboard with solid abalone fret markers; ebony bridge with 2-1/8” string spacing; unique reproduction tuners; extra-thin high gloss finish
“It is an emotionally expressive instrument that naturally inspires nice bluesy string bends, and even subtle little waggles of a fretting finger translate into evocative alterations in the tone of each note, which then spawn echoes that radiate within and without the lively 000 body with its scallop-braced VTS top.”
00-18 Authentic 1931 specs include: All solid woods with hide glue construction throughout, including traditional Big Leaf mahogany back and sides; Adirondack spruce top with M1 level of Martin’s Vintage Tone System, and VTS treated Authentic Series 1/4″ bracing and bridge plate; short-scale mahogany neck with a shape unique to this model, 1-7/8″ at nut; ebony fingerboard and bridge with 2-3/8″ string spacing; bone saddle and ebony nut; Vintage Style 18 appointments for the fret markers and rosette, tortoise colored pickguard and binding; Madagascar rosewood accents; thin, Vintage gloss finish.
“From the first note, I felt that of all the Authentic Series, the 00-18 Authentic 1931 would fool me most easily if I was blindfolded and told I was playing a pre-war Martin.”
CS-OM True North-16 specs include: Top Shelf all-solid wood construction, including exceptionally-figured koa back and sides, a master grade Adirondack spruce top with 1/4” Adirondack spruce braces and high color paua shell purfling; unique True North motif with marquetry of a compass rose on the back in flamed Claro Walnut, flamed jarrah and waterfall bubinga with paua pearl accents; genuine mahogany High Performance neck with high gloss finish, Modified Low Oval profile, High Performance taper to the ebony fingerboard with four-point star outline fret markers; ebony bridge with 2-5/32” string spacing; ebony binding on body, neck, headstock; waterfall bubinga rosette with outline star inlay; high color paua pearl top and rosette purfling; ebony headstock face plate with figured koa “parchment” and compass rose, C.F. Martin script logo in paua pearl.
“I love how the True North’s crystalline lens of Adirondack spruce etches such fine detail into the warm koa undertone and shimmery high harmonics, as they sustain, fluctuate, and slowly fade, with each undulating glimmer as languid as lamplight on a tropical lagoon.”
Read the Full Review with Video HERE
I had finally found time to re-read and comb my article about the new 2016 Martin Guitar models, and rewrite various bits for clarity and flow.
And then, I remembered all those various pages and articles that now had to be edited, or rewritten, like my (now revised) Understanding Martin Model Designation guide.
I have a feeling there will be a lot less Paddy’s for the weekend than I at first anticipated.
Thursday, January 21, 2016, the Winter NAMM Show opened in Anaheim, California. And while Martin dealers converged on that sunny clime to place their orders for these budding beauties, I made my annual pilgrimage to chilly Nazareth, PA, home of the C. F. Martin & Co., est. 1833.
There, I could actually hear what these new Martins sound like, far from the white noise of the vast trade show floor.
Read all about my first impressions of the new Martin Guitars for 2016 and see the sampler videos for the Authentics, Limited Editions, and the Core Ranger models.
While I iron out some technical difficulties with my sound editing situation, it will be early next week before I can post any videos or reviews of the 2016 Martins. So I thought I might offer instead something I have wanted to post for some time.
Here is an A/B comparison of two similar guitars, via three short excerpts of music. It is a .wav file that I put on Youtube with a blank background.
I would love to hear what people think, and more importantly what they HEAR.
How are they different? Which has more of X or less of Y? How are they similar? If you think they are in certain ways, a lot or a little.
Hear the guitars and leave your comments HERE
Here is his signature arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, with the original story of how he came to perform it. There was once a very clean video of Pete in a TV interview telling the same story before playing the tune, but it is no longer on Youtube. So this one will have to do.
.
.
Born in Washington, D.C. in June, 1961. Pete Huttlinger was a 1984 graduate of Berklee School of Music, in Boston. He toured with John Denver and has performed with and for many other A List recording and touring artists. He also won the 2000 National Fingerstyle Championship.
Steely Dan’s “Josie” ala one-man-band Pete Huttlinger.
.
.
Born with congenital heart problems, Huttlinger had a massive stroke in 2010 and heart failure some months later. But after a long and arduous recovery, including a battery powered pump to keep his heart going, he regained the ability to play the guitar. His final performance was in Atlanta, on January 9, 2016.
He released the album Parnassus in 2015 in collaboration with Mollie Weaver. And his 2013 album McGuire’s Landing was critically acclaimed. Here is the title cut.
.
Great Site with informative info. I had opportunity to purchase a Martin OMC-Aura couple of years ago. I liked the sound but didn’t know much about them, and never see any information about them on the different sites.
Apparently not highly regarded, I would like to know any insight into their history, attributes, faults etc.
Thanks, Charlie D
Hi Charlie, and thank you for the nice compliment about the site. And congratulations on your Martin OMC-Aura.
I do not know if you purchased one of the actual OMC-Aura guitars, or if you acquired a custom that was ordered from a dealer like Guitar Center after the model was discontinued. So this reply is focusing on the original model. Later dealer customs may have more updated technology.
The OMC-Aura and its dreadnought counterpart the DC-Aura suffered some in terms of reputation, mainly because they were new and different. Martin loving traditionalists love Martin tradition. And when the Aura models first appeared they broke with many Martin traditions.
While they were made from the same Indian rosewood and Sitka spruce used on guitars from Martin’s Standard Series and Vintage Series, the Auras had a different neck shape, different neck joint, different bracing, a cutaway body that had fancy, non-traditional appointments, and high-tech electronics inside that protruded to the outside in the way of side-mounted controls, which all added up to a very non-traditional Martin guitar.
Pick your poison, some will disapprove of pearl trim on a guitar not in the lofty 40 Series, others will decry the non-traditional hexagons, even if they are C.F. Martin IV’s favorite fret markers. Some others will not like the way it feels, or sounds compared to other Martins, while others yet will find the very practical electronic controls offensive to their old fashioned sensibilities, not to mention a cutaway that reminds them that they never learned to play a guitar beyond basic cowboy chords.
In practical terms, part of the problem with the appreciation or depreciation of the original Aura models has to do with the technology that is somewhat out of date.
The Mortis and Tenon neck joint was a cost-cutting measure by Martin and has since been replaced by the much improved Single Dovetail neck joint on guitars of this caliber. You can read more about the technical aspects of that through the link below.
At the time, having an M&T meant the Aura models had the same construction as the 16 Series, in terms of the neck joint, neck block, and bracing (which is identical to traditional Martin bracing, but has two extra braces under the upper bought to help the much-smaller neck joint remain stable.) It also means the acoustic voice of the Aura models sounds a little different compared to traditional Martins, having brighter more effervescent fundamentals, especially in the trebles, which get a bit brash and brassy under heavier attack, and more of a separation between that bold top voice and the sympathetic undertone resonating behind it.
But that is all very subtle stuff, since they still sound like Martins compared to other makes of guitar, and they have much more of that resonant Martin bass and wavering undertone than one typically hears in a bolt-on neck guitar like a Taylor or Huss & Dalton.
So, at first glance the OMC-Aura appeared to be a 16 Series Martin dressed up with pearl trim and hallow hexagon inlays, but costing a lot more than a typical OMC-16E from that same era.
But the Aura models had higher grade rosewood and spruce finished in a high gloss, and came standard with the revolutionary Aura electronics, which can be blended into the pick-up signal, greatly increasing the “acoustic guitar sound” compared to undersaddle pickups alone.
When viewed from modern times, the old Aura models have the first generation of the Aura system, which has been streamlined while made more sophisticated in terms of controls and sound quality. But the original version is still very much a professional level system that can sound excellent when dialed in for the particular venue, PA or guitar amp.
But while the Modified Low Oval neck shape was frowned upon by many Martin traditionalists, it has withstood the test of time, and has now been adopted as the main profile in use on modern Martins, appearing on just about every 2016 Martin, except those made with vintage Martin specs.
Your guitar does not have the modern High Performance taper that starts at 1-3/4” at the nut, but tapers to a slender 2-1/8” at the 12th fret. Instead, your Aura model has the traditional Martin OM fingerboard, which measures 2-1/4” at the 12th fret, and has the 2-1/4” string spacing found on the pricey OM-42 and other OMs made before the new taper took over the Standard Series.
That is all I can think of to say today about the Martin OMC-Aura. If you are happy with your Martin, that is perfectly understandable to me. I hope you may continue to enjoy it in as musical a manner as you are able.
More Reading
These new Martins will appear at the NAMM Show, next week in Anaheim, Califorina.
I wrote to various people inside Martin to get more information was told the following:
The High Performance Taper is the same thing as the Performing Artist Taper, or PA Taper, which has previously appeared on spec sheets.
Martin has simply changed the name to to avoid confusion now that more and more guitars are made with the taper but are not in the PA Series of modern acoustic-electric guitars, where this feature first appeared.
The change to 2-5/32″ string spacing applies to all models previously spec’d with 2-3/16″ string spacing, in addition to the new models coming out next week that have the High Performance taper.
“…the change is all about moving the E strings in a tiny bit, to further avoid the strings rolling off the fingerboard when a player pulls them too close to the edge of the a fret.” It should noticeable effect in terms of feel for the player.
In practical terms, this HP taper (formerly PA taper) means that the fingerboard measures 1-3/4″ at the nut, but narrows more quickly than traditional Martin necks, to only 2-1/8″ at the 12th fret – the same 12th fret measurement found on guitars with Martin’s traditional 1-11/16″ at width at nut.
This adds up to a sleeker, narrower neck overall, compared to earlier 1-3/4″ Martin necks, which measure 2-1/4″ at the 12th fret, while still allowing a little extra room out near the nut, where a guitarist’s wrist must bend at the most acute angles.
Martin has a copyright on the term High Performance Neck. It refers to ANY Martin guitar that has the High Performance taper (formerly called the Performing Artist taper.) Again, the taper only refers to the width of the fingerboard. So a guitar with a Modified Low Oval profile or a Performing Artist Profile (which is shallower and flatter) both have a High Performance Neck.
by