OMC-16E Brust specifications include: Orchestra Model with Cutaway body shape; solid ovangkol top with Mahogany Burst under gloss finish; solid ovangkol back and sides with satin finish; scalloped 1/4″ braces; long-scale High Performance Neck with Modified Low Oval profile and High Performance taper (1-3/4″ at the nut, 2-18″ at the 12th fret) on the solid ebony fingerboard; 2-5/32″ string spacing at the solid ebony bridge; faux tortoise shell and pickguard; Fishman Matrix VT Enhance electronics with onboard volume and tone control, and Enhance blender for undersaddle pickup and bridge plate sensor.
The classic Orchestra Model experience with an ovangkol top that adds warmth like a walnut top but with the vibrant trebles of spruce.
Have you found that the OMC-16e Ovangkol top guitar is quieter than most Martins? I feel mine is. Wondering how I can get a bit more volume unplugged. Someone recommended removing the UST?
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your query.
All hardwood tops tend to have less projection and piercing definition than a spruce top. I thought the Ovangkol sounded more like the a spruce top than other hardwoods, but it does seem to have a little less projection and volume than the spruce version. That should improve with time, and it may end up having longer initial sustain (of the fundamental note rather) as well.
Removing the pickup should have not real impact on this issue. But changing the saddle to bone likely will increase brightness and clarity, which might seem to your ear like it is louder. But Martin does not use bone with UST pickups because the micro air pockets may result in some strings not being as loud as the rest when amplified. Most people I know who have bone saddles with USTs do not seem to find this to be an issue, however.