The Martin OMC Red Birch Acoustic-Electric made with sustainable and rescued woods is no longer in production. Sustainability as defined by the World Commission (Bruntland 1987) has defined sustainability as “development that meets needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In our situation this means save some tonewoods for the luthiers and artists of the future.
Luthiers have been using our first sustainable tonewood, Red Birch for years yet it is not common in todays guitar shops.Red Birch has characteristics not unlike that of maple woods. This low cost readily available hardwood works quite well in the back and sides of the guitar. The back and sides are solid Red Birch by the way. The other sustainable woods used in the OMC Red Birch are Cherry and Katalox, an Ebony substitute. The center wedge on the back and the rosette on the front contain Cherry while the fingerboard is Katalox.
The OMC stands for Orchestra Model Cut away. The balanced tone from low to high because of the orchestra model's smaller body is what is so attractive to the fingerstyle guitarist. Less bottom and clearer mids and highs, perfect for instrumental and solo guitar styles. This is the perfect guitar for the vocal artist. Fingerstyle guitar players are attracted to the 1 ¾ inch nut width. The wide nut sits at the top end of the 25 4/10 inch Katalox (did I mention sustainable) fingerboard with 14 frets clear of the body. The body is topped with solid rescued (in keeping with the tone of this model) Sitka Spruce. The solid woods used in the sound board and body of the Martin OMC Red Birch contribute to the overall awe inspiring Martin sound that will be an asset to any musicians performance.
Even thought the Martin OMC Red Birch is no longer being made it can still be found in some guitar stores. The collector and or performer would certainly be doing themselves a favor by adding this finely crafted Martin instrument to their line up.
