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OM by Ervin Somogyi

Mr. Somogyi has made guitars for Will Ackerman, Bola Sete, Alex de Grassi, Michael Hedges, George Winston, John Denver, Mark O'Connor, Mike Marshall, Pat Donohue, Ed Gerhard, Martin Simpson, the California Guitar Trio, and others.

Ervin Somogyi's guitars have received a number of honors over the years. He was named in the Best Luthier category for 4 years in Frets Magazine's national poll; has had a guitar judged as "best sounding" in listening tests conducted at Boston University at a Guild of American Luthiers' national convention; has had a guitar awarded first prize at the National Fingerpicking championships; has had an instrument displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.; and has had his guitars played in Carnegie Hall and the White House. Mr. Somogyi's artwork is inspired directly by his four decades of lutherie work.

The OM Model

OM model is a bit smaller than the [newer and overwhelmingly popular] Dreadnought and Jumbo models, and it is having a resurgence of popularity after years of "bigger is better" thinking. It represents a transition from the guitar used as a private/social instrument (as the smaller parlor guitars had been) and the guitar used as a mass/public instrument. Its name -- the Orchestra Model -- tells the whole story.
Compared to previous, smaller guitars, the OM has a louder and more commanding voice by virtue of is larger size and air volume. It has a clear voice and throw its sound out pretty far, considering how small it is. In an orchestral setting its sound can cut through the room and be heard by the people in the back row. In comparison the sound of larger guitars -- again by virtue of their increased size and air mass -- is huge and boomy; these have a presence that is less well adapted to orchestral performance.