{"id":3958,"date":"2014-04-10T12:06:06","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T16:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onemanz.com\/guitar\/?p=3958"},"modified":"2014-04-10T12:06:06","modified_gmt":"2014-04-10T16:06:06","slug":"om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onemanz.com\/guitar\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\/","title":{"rendered":"OM-28 vs OM-21 – Reader Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reader asks about the possible companion for his much loved OM-21 and if the OM-28 might be too similar.<\/h1>\n

Eric from New York City asks:<\/h2>\n

Is the new OM-28 essentially the same as the OM-21 but for the binding and inlays?<\/em><\/h2>\n

I ask because I have the OM-21 (2012) and love it, and I\u2019m looking for another guitar that is similar (in tone) but also a little different. Maybe the new 000-18 or the CEO-7?<\/em><\/h2>\n

Thanks, Eric
\n<\/em><\/h2>\n

Spoon writes:<\/h3>\n

Thank you for your question, Eric.<\/p>\n

I have not seen the new OM-28 yet in person, but yes, you are basically correct.<\/p>\n

The major differences include:<\/p>\n

Higher grade rosewood and spruce for Style 28.<\/p>\n

28 gets herringbone purfling around the edge of the top, 21 has no top inlay around the edge.<\/p>\n

28 gets “diamonds and squares” fingerboard markers (short pattern circa 1930,) 21 gets small dots (long pattern)<\/p>\n

28 gets grained ivoroid binding, 21 gets black tortoise shell binding.<\/p>\n

28 gets a bridge that looks more like the vintage Martin bridges, the 21 does not.<\/p>\n

The 28 gets a vintage zig-zag back strip and Style 28 trim around the edge of the back, the 21 gets the similar Style 18 back strip.<\/p>\n

Until recently, the OM-21 was made with a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and that gave it a different sort of sound compared to today’s OM-21.<\/p>\n

The new OM-28 is essentially identical to the now retired OM-28V from the Vintage Series, only it has lost its modified V neck with the traditional taper and 2-5\/16″ string spacing, for the new High Performance neck that Martin was put on the 000-18, D-18, OM-21, OM-28. The important differences between the necks are found in the shallow modified low profile on the back of the HP neck, and the “taper” (the traditional Martin OM neck was 2-1\/4″ at the 12th fret, the HP neck is only 2-1\/8″,) and the HP string spacing is 2-3\/16.<\/p>\n

The new OM-21, like yours, has a fuller body down in the voice and a darker, thicker bottom end compared to the old OM-21, so it is much more like the OM-28V and the old OM-28 (retired in 1994.) And other than cosmetically better looking wood, there will likely not be much difference in the tone of the new OM-28 compared to your current OM-21.<\/p>\n

So if you want something in the same size that differs more from your OM-21 the CEO-7 and 000-18 are both good choices. The CEO-7 has a different body shape, that is a little longer and a little narrower, but has the same depth to the sides. The neck is fuller in the hand as well, but it is has the short-scale neck.<\/p>\n

The 000-18 also has a short-scale neck, but it is the same shape and has the same taper as your OM-21, so it widens to a lesser extent as you go up the neck compared to the CEO-7.<\/p>\n

The 000-18 comes with a Sitka spruce top, so it will sound more like your OM-21 compared to the CEO-7 which has Adirondack spruce. Adirondack has a drier tone with a pronounced ring. The fundamental notes are not as thick, but they have great projection and clarity.<\/p>\n

Neither will have the same thick warmth in the undertone or as complex harmonics as your OM-21, as mahogany sounds more open and less somber than rosewood guitars.<\/p>\n

The 000-18 will sound most similar in terms of balance and dynamics, the CEO-7 will have greater bass response and thinner trebles but with a deeper basement under them, as it were.<\/p>\n

And that is one man\u2019s word on\u2026<\/p>\n

Martin OM-28 vs OM-21<\/h3>\n

Find more Reader’s Questions in Spoon’s Mailbag<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reader asks about the possible companion for his much loved OM-21 and if the OM-28 might be too similar. Eric from New York City … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16,68],"tags":[140,91,145,139],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-3958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guitars","category-reader-questions","tag-000-18","tag-ceo-7","tag-om-21","tag-om-28"],"yoast_head":"\nOM-28 vs OM-21 - Reader Question | One Man's Guitar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OM-28 vs OM-21 a reader asks about the differences, and Spoon replies with suggestions about the ideal companion for a rosewood OM\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/onemanz.com\/guitar\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"one man\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"one man\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b5cfd8475e321c535df6cda6764099bb\"},\"headline\":\"OM-28 vs OM-21 – Reader Question\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-10T16:06:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":611,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b5cfd8475e321c535df6cda6764099bb\"},\"keywords\":[\"000-18\",\"CEO-7\",\"OM-21\",\"OM-28\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Acoustic Guitars\",\"Reader Questions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/onemanz.com\\\/guitar\\\/om-28-vs-om-21-reader-question\\\/\",\"name\":\"OM-28 vs OM-21 - 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