Bourgeois Vintage OM

You can think of the Vintage OM as a smaller version of our Vintage D--or maybe it's the other way around. The OM, you see, is really where it all started. Here's what Dana has to say:

 

     "Back in the early 80's I had a great opportunity to work on very many pre-war OMs. Due to their lack of metal neck reinforcement, almost all were totally unplayable. They had probably been so for quite some time, which would explain why, as a group, they appeared to be in otherwise

spectacular condition. In spite of appearances, however, most of these guitars didn't sound as good one would expect. Over time I found that stabilizing the rigidity of the neck and setting it to the proper complimentary angle--relative to the degree of flexibility of the top (or it's present state of deterioration, in some cases--could transform a ho-hum OM into a monster. Remember, these are small guitars. I found that the best OMs can sound almost as big as a dreadnought, but you've got a much narrower window in which to make all the parts work as a unit."

 

Our Vintage OM is a culmination of Dana's two decades of experience in repairing, restoring and building the legendary Orchestra Model. It comes

standard with an Adirondack spruce top--just like the originals--and is appointed identically to our Vintage Dreadnought, with ivoroid binding, herringbone top trim, short pattern squares and diamond inlays, tortoiseshell pickguard, vintage style top toner, and nickel Waverly Tuners. Premium quartersawn, straight-grained Indian Rosewood is the standard material for the back and sides, and Brazilian rosewood is offered as a popular optional upgrade. The OM is the only model in which we scallop both sides of the X brace, as a result of its natural need for a little extra help in bottom register.

 

Because of its characteristic superb balance, clarity of voice, and sustaining top register, the OM was once thought of as the quintessential fingerstyle guitar. It still is. It's not surprising, however, that more than a few players have begun to realize that these same characteristics are also highly employable for a diverse variety of applications. (We have, in fact, built a reputation on our ability to make Dreadnoughts sound like giant OMs--which is exactly what contemporary bluegrass players are screaming for.) If you don't need to compete with fiddles, banjos and mandolins, however, the Vintage OM might be just the guitar you've been looking for.

Bourgeois Vintage OM