Pratley Classic OM-SCE-BWBW All Blackwood OM Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar

The Pratley Classic OM-SCE-BWBW is an orchestra-model cutaway made entirely from solid Australian blackwood, handmade by Martin Pratley's team right here on the Gold Coast. Top, back and sides are hand-picked blackwood, the neck is Queensland maple silkwood, the fretboard and bridge are AA-grade Johnstone River teak, and an L.R. Baggs StagePro Element system is fitted for the stage. It ships in Pratley's moulded hard-foam case.

A fingerstyle body in one Australian timber

The OM shape is the smaller, waisted body that fingerpickers gravitate to: 500 mm long, 395 mm across the lower bout and 112 mm deep, so it tucks under the arm comfortably and answers a light touch without getting boomy. With blackwood on the face as well as the back and sides, the sound is warm and focused, with a clear midrange that keeps each note of an arpeggio distinct. Played harder, it stays articulate rather than compressing. Blackwood is Australia's answer to koa, and under the satin nitro finish the grain has a deep, rippling figure that is different on every instrument.

Built for Queensland weather

Pratley's dipole bracing pattern is cut from quarter-sawn Queensland bunya. Martin Pratley developed it to stop the top bellying up behind the bridge, which is the usual failure point on acoustics that live through humid summers and dry winters. The back is domed to a 4.5 m radius and joined to the sides with laser-cut kerf linings. That makes a body that holds its shape and keeps its action stable through our climate swings.

A neck that stays put

The one-piece Queensland maple silkwood neck is glued into a pocket of solid timber that tapers like a dovetail, and it meets the body at the 14th fret. Inside is a two-way adjustable truss rod plus twin torsion bars, running the full length of the neck and across the body join so no hump can form at the heel. Pratley has dropped the traditional Spanish heel, which saves weight and opens up the top of the neck, and the cutaway takes you the rest of the way to the 20th fret. The fretboard extension floats just clear of the top, so the soundboard is never compromised to get the angle right, and the scarf-jointed headstock gives a strong string-break angle over the 44 mm Graph Tech nut.

Teak, wenge and blackwood detailing

Johnstone River teak is a dense, oily Queensland hardwood that behaves much like Indian rosewood, and Pratley uses AA-grade stock for both the fretboard and the bridge. Frets are Jescar 18% nickel silver on a 25.5" scale, with 1/4" white mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The rosette is an eight-piece ring of radially cut solid wenge, the headstock is capped in blackwood with a white Pratley logo, and black ABS binding, a black pickguard and black 16:1 Pratley tuners made by Gotoh in Japan finish the look.

L.R. Baggs StagePro Element on board

Plugged in, the L.R. Baggs Element under-saddle pickup feeds a StagePro preamp in the upper bout. You get a volume slider, three-band bass, mid and treble sliders, a sweepable notch filter and a phase switch for taming feedback, a built-in tuner and a battery warning light, all within reach while you play. It leaves the factory strung with Elixir Phosphor Bronze Nanoweb 12-53s. Set up in-store by Guitar World Australia's techs before it ships to you, so it plays perfectly the moment it arrives.