Martin OM-42 (2018) Acoustic Guitar – Natural

The Martin OM-42 acoustic guitar shares the same impeccable level of appointments as its 40 Series big siblings, but that’s where the family resemblance ends. While a dreadnought is great for flat-picking, the smaller and exceedingly comfortable OM-42 is built for finger-picking and layering. Studio guitarists have long used Martin Orchestra Model guitars to add depth and dimension to a track, and the OM-42 delivers a remarkably rich tone that sits beautifully in a mix. The Martin OM-42 is beautifully crafted true to Martin tradition, featuring a solid spruce top, with sides and back of East Indian rosewood. Martin’s sleek, Modified Low Oval neck with High Performance Taper offers silky playability up and down the Plek’d-to-perfection ebony fretboard. If you savor Martin guitars the way we do at City Music, your collection isn’t complete without the OM-42.

The groundbreaking Martin Orchestra Model

Prior to the Orchestra Model, Martin guitars all had the same 12-fret neck-join design as the instruments Christian Frederick Martin, Sr. was handcrafting during the 1830s. They were similar in shape, tone, and volume to today’s classical guitars, although most of them were converted from gut to steel strings by the close of the 1920s. Interestingly, Martin’s Orchestra Model guitars came about thanks, in part, to the banjo. In the interest of keeping up with the trends (and being heard), banjo pickers — the primary rhythm keepers in bands of the era — became interested in steel-stringed guitars, which were more resonant (and at least as loud) as their banjos. Banjo players were also used to long necks, so Martin responded with the first 14-fret flattop designed expressly for steel strings. Debuting in 1930 and offered in Styles 18, 28, and 45, Martin’s 000-sized Orchestra Model was the prototype for the modern steel-string acoustic guitar. Martin’s elegant Style 42 is a welcome addition to the OM family.

Martin’s historical Style 42

Resplendent in pearl and ivory appointments, Martin’s Style 42 first appeared around 1870 on diminutive parlor guitars. Larger guitars followed in the ensuing years as Style 42 instruments reigned supreme in Martin’s line until the more ornate Style 45 was introduced in the early years of the 20th century. Today’s Style 42 Martins don’t use natural tortoise and ivory, of course; but their elegance is, if anything, even more refined. And unmistakably Martin.

Plek’d to perfection

Premium Martin guitars like the OM-42 are Plek’d for fret consistency and smoothness. Plek Pro is a state-of-the-art, computer-guided process that scans, levels, and dresses your guitar’s frets to a microscopic level of accuracy for ideal action with no loss of sustain, minimized fret buzz, and no fretting out when bending strings, whether you’re playing low or high on the neck. The OM-42’s Plek’d frets ensure that every note in every position rings loud and clear with unblemished tone.

Quality materials deliver timeless tone

A quality acoustic guitar is all about the wood, and the Martin OM-42 serves up a classic tonewood cocktail with no compromises. The top is solid spruce for robust projection and crystalline note clarity. Its back and sides are made of solid East Indian rosewood, a classic Martin material. A select mahogany Modified Low Oval, High Performance Taper neck and solid ebony fingerboard give the Martin OM-42 amazing playing ease to match its mellifluous sonority. Ebony is also used for the bridge. Elegant, understated Style 42 appointments such as classic abalone multi-stripe inlaid top binding and abalone Style 45 Snowflake fingerboard inlays make the OM-42 as irresistible to the eye as it is to the ear.

It’s a Martin…

Embracing the past, while looking to the future — it’s a tightrope act, but Martin has always been able to pull it off. That’s why they’ve consistently been a leader in acoustic guitar design, infusing their guitars with new materials, building techniques, and technologies — while producing fine instruments that age with grace to become highly sought-after, highly playable heirlooms.