Martin OM-28 Standard Series Orchestra Model Acoustic Guitar

The Martin OM-28 Standard Series Orchestra Model takes the compact 000-14 fret body, stretches it over a long 25.4" scale and fits a 1 3/4" nut — and that specific combination is what players chase this model for. Solid spruce over solid East Indian rosewood gives it depth and a long, singing sustain, while the added string tension keeps every note defined instead of letting them wash together. Style 28 appointments, a Pleked fingerboard and a moulded hardshell case round it out.

Solid spruce over solid East Indian rosewood

Solid spruce responds fast and gets brighter and more open the longer you play it in. Solid East Indian rosewood behind it adds weight underneath the note and a glassy top end, plus the long decay that rosewood Martins are known for. Under the top sits GE-scalloped X bracing in 1/4" spruce, shaved so the guitar answers a light fingerstyle touch yet still holds together when you dig in with a pick.

Why the Orchestra Model shape matters

An OM is a 000-sized body running the long 25.4" scale, and the pairing does something neither spec manages alone. The small body keeps things balanced and comfortable — narrow waist, shallow depth, easy to hold for an hour — while the longer scale pulls the strings tighter at pitch, which firms up the bass, sharpens the attack and stops chords smearing. Next to a short-scale 000 the OM sounds more focused and hits harder; next to a dreadnought it is far quicker to respond and easier to control.

A 1 3/4" nut with room to work

The bone nut measures 1 3/4" across, with 2 5/32" spacing at the bridge and a fingerboard 2 1/8" wide at the twelfth fret. That is real estate: enough gap between strings to plant a thumb and pick cleanly with three fingers, mute selectively, or work a travis pattern without clipping a neighbouring string. Combine that spacing with the extra tension of the long scale and you get the setup a lot of fingerstyle and crosspicking players consider ideal.

Neck carve, ebony board and dovetail construction

Martin uses its GE Modified Low Oval profile with the High-Performance Taper here — a low-shouldered carve that leaves enough wood to grip while keeping the palm relaxed through long stretches. The select hardwood neck is finished in Dark Mahogany and set into the body with a glued dovetail joint, still the most rigid way to attach a neck and the reason well-kept Martins from decades ago remain playable. The ebony fingerboard and ebony belly bridge are hard, tight-grained and slick under the fingers, and there are twenty frets with the neck joining at the fourteenth. Abalone long Diamonds and Squares inlays mark the way, with white side dots.

Style 28 appointments and the gloss finish

Style 28 detailing is restrained on purpose. Bold herringbone purfling frames the top, a Style 28 multi-stripe rosette circles the soundhole, and Style 28 back purfling with a black stripe runs down the centre seam. Antique white binding, heelcap and endpiece edge the body in a warm off-white, the headplate is East Indian rosewood carrying the Script Old Style logo, and the tuners are nickel open-gear with butterbean knobs. The top, back and sides are gloss with a satin neck, and the spruce top carries an aging toner that gives it a slightly warmed, broken-in look rather than raw white.

Pleked frets and bone hardware

This guitar is Pleked before it ships: a machine measures the fingerboard and every fret under simulated string tension, then levels and dresses them to that reading. It is the same work a fine technician does by hand, held to tighter tolerances, and it means low action without buzz and accurate notes all the way up the neck straight out of the case. Backing that up is bone where it counts — bone nut, compensated bone saddle in a drop-in slot, bone bridge pins — which passes string energy into the top more efficiently than plastic and wears far better.

Moulded hardshell case and Lifespan 2.0 strings

The OM-28 travels in a Martin moulded hardshell case with a form-fitted plush interior, which is the right level of protection for a solid rosewood instrument coming through the freight network to your door. It arrives strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 Phosphor Bronze in Light gauge, a treated set that holds its brightness well beyond an untreated string. This is the non-electric OM-28: no pickup, no preamp and no holes cut in the rim, so the top and bracing work entirely undisturbed. If you need to plug in, talk to us about the OM-28E, which is a separate model.

Set up in-store by Guitar World Australia's techs before it ships to you, so it plays perfectly the moment it arrives.