Choosing a high-quality and solid-build guitar is essential for musicians who want to create professional music. Martin Guitars is one of the most popular and reliable brands offering ukuleles, mandolins, and guitars.
They have acoustic-electric guitars available for professionals and OMJM and OM-28 JM are the two most popular guitar models. Both the guitars have amazing design and performance. However, there are some notable differences in these models.
OMJM vs OM28JM
| OMJM | OM-28 JM | |
|---|---|---|
| String type | Steel | Steel |
| Body style | No cutaway | Orchestra |
| Finish | Polish gloss on sides, back, and top while the neck has a satin finish | Gloss |
| Radius | 16 inches | 16 inches |
| Frets and scale length | 20 frets (14 clear) with 25.4 inches scale length | 20 frets with 25.4 inches scale length |
OMJM
This is a limited-edition guitar and the model was inspired by John Mayer and Martin Guitar’s collaboration, which is why it has become a signature guitar. The guitar is known for its scalloped shape that promises better control over the guitar.
The guitar has a low-profile neck, which helps with the playing speed and allows faster movement across the fretboard. The low-profile neck is perfect if you like to play open chords.
1. Design
The guitar is designed with rosewood manufacturing on the sides and backs, which promises an appealing design and promises rich yet warm tones. In addition, the guitar’s top is made from Engelmann spruce wood which improves durability.
The materials are carefully selected to improve resonance that suits different music genres, including contemporary music. This guitar top has a lacquer finish and vintage toner. However, this guitar is expensive.
The neck is constructed from Spanish cedar wood and has an African ebony fingerboard. In addition, the guitar has been integrated with the Martin Gold Plus electronics.
The guitar comes with a vintage case and a fully numbered and signed interior label. The spruce wood is designed with hybrid bracing that promises a full and rich sound.
In addition, there is a style-45 rosette that has a center ring, grained binding, and thick herringbone around the guitar’s top.
The guitar has a beveled pickguard and polished OM teardrop. In addition, the company has used a special aging toner and nitrocellulose gloss lacquer that promises a captivating design.
Last but not least, it has an OM-style body type with a gloss finish. As far as the bridge is concerned, it has ebony construction with a TUSQ saddle, which helps in the production of cleaner and brighter tones.
2. Sound
The guitar is designed with east Indian rosewood that has a rich and warm tone. The guitar promises a harmonic structure, which promises smooth overtones, particularly since there is hybrid bracing and spruce top.
There are white and black purfling surrounds on the back with a zigzag strip on the central part. Moreover, there is an ebony bridge and a TUSQ saddle.
There is a cedar neck integrated with volute, promising comfortable playability. In addition, the neck has a low-profile shape and 1/16-inches width, which promises easier fretting.
The rosewood headplate has a silver decal along with open-geared tuners. The fingerboard is made from African ebony and there is pearl inlay between the 19th and 20th frets.
The guitar’s signature electronics promise amplified sound, so you don’t have to worry about brittle and harsh sounds.
The guitar is designed with Martin execution, which promises a stunning design. It has a complex sound with rich and warm bass (it’s not very boomy).
In addition, the guitar promises shimmering highs and mids. It promises great yet complex sustain and the sonics are over-driven. Some guitarists have also managed to play bright and crystalline music.
Last but not least, the passive pickup sounds are exceptional but you’ve to make the adjustments yourself.
The guitar promises the OM tone, which is extremely balanced but has more bass as compared to regular guitars. It has great action and there is no cutaway. Also, it has a fast action when it’s strummed or picked.
3. Additional Information
The guitar has a scale length of 25.4-inches and there are twenty frets, which means it’s easier to play and is recommended if you want to play more notes and don’t want to move down the string.
Similarly, these frets are suitable for proper playability. The hardware on this guitar is plated with nickel, which promises durability. Last but not least, you get a vintage hardshell case – it also has a monogram.
OM28JM
This is another guitar designed and produced by Martin and it wouldn’t be wrong to call it a masterpiece as it has premium look and feels.
The guitar has been designed with a special Adirondack spruce wood top while the sides and back are made from Madagascar rosewood, which promises an appealing design.
This is a limited-edition guitar, which means the price point is higher. However, the guitar doesn’t have any electric components.
1. Design
The guitar was launched back in late 2003 and is the signature model. This guitar was designed as a limited edition of 404 instruments. It is the 14-fret model and is made from east Indian rosewood and there is a Sitka spruce wood top on the guitar.
The fingerboard is made from black ebony wood, which matches the bridge as well. The guitar has been integrated with a taper neck profile that promises precision and comfort.
OM-28 JM is finished with the aged toner to create a vintage design while butterbean knobs have been added to create the heirloom lock and promise precise tuning.
The guitar has been integrated with the herringbone inlays, which settles well in modern music. There are hand-selected bone saddles and nut, which looks pretty amazing
The guitar has a well-modified and mahogany neck with a low oval design with a high-end taper that improves the music outcome.
This design is perfect for professional players as it promises great accuracy and speed and the strummers like the comfortable design of this guitar.
The guitar has been integrated with a dovetail neck joint that improves the tonal transfer between neck and body and it also improves the stability as OM-28 JM ages.
It has an orchestra body shape, promising better control and there are steel strings, which need less tuning and have a higher resistance to heat.
2. Sound
The guitar has been designed with bold bass, crystal highs, and clean notes, which promises well-balanced sound output. Since it has genuine rosewood and solid spruce construction, which creates exceptional sound quality.
The rosewood sides and back create a crisp sound. In addition, there is solid Sitka spruce wood construction on the top, which results in mellow and rich overtones.
The chords on the guitar promise true and rich music while the melodies have sweet and woody notes. In addition, there is scalloped X-bracing that improves resonance in the lower bout.
The guitar adds balance and punch to notes. There are six strings designed on the guitar that helps produce pitch in high and low range, which extends the guitar’s range.
The nuts are made from bone, which means they are denser and harder, promising better transfer of sound vibrations.
These nuts also improve the tone and increase sustain. Moreover, there is a white TUSQ saddle, which helps produce clean, fresh, and bright tones. In addition, the TUSQ construction promises rich tones.
3. Additional Information
This is an orchestra-shaped guitar with a right-handed configuration. The guitar has a natural wood grain with aging toner, promising graceful aging. In addition, there is a gloss finish on the guitar and has a radius of 16-inches.
In addition, there are twenty frets on the guitar that helps produce a bright sound. There is a scale length of 25.4-inches that offers better control.
The guitar has been integrated with the nickel open gear tuners, which promise exception slip/stick performance and there is no wear and tear.
The Bottom Line
OM-28 JM is a promising choice for people who want to create crisp sounds with mellow and rich overtones. On the other hand, OMJM produces rich and warm music with smoother overtones.
So, both these guitars are amazing but you can choose one according to the desired music style.