I had the good fortune to pay a repeat visit to Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, CA yesterday. (I visited a few years ago on an earlier trip to the Bay Area.) What a lovely little store! Eric and James graciously allowed me to play anything and everything I desired, and I used the opportunity to sample nearly all of the Schoenberg brand guitars in the shop, as well as a few Martins, two Merrill OMs, a Klepper, and an Osthoff. (Somehow, I neglected to try the McCollum and Laskin guitars on hand). The Merrill OM-28 I tried was terrific, while the Merrill OM-18 didn’t impress me as much as the example of that model I bought from Schoenberg last year. But the real stars of the show for me were all of the Schoenberg brand guitars. I played a 1988 OM in Engelmann/Brazilian of Bourgeois/Martin lineage, as well as some newer Schoenbergs made by Bruce Sexauer and Robert Anderson. Every single one was a fingerpicker’s dream. If I had to chose a favorite, the best I could do is narrow it down to these two: (1) a 13-fret 00C in Carpathian spruce and black cocobolo and (2) an 00C Soloist in Carpathian spruce and quartersawn Brazilian in an amberburst finish. Both guitars absolutely sang and played beautifully up and down the neck. Alas, I’m not in the market for any guitar (much less one in the $9K-$12K range). But if I were and I had the bucks, I might well have walked out of there with one of those beauties. Schoenberg’s is a wonderful shop in a lovely town, and I highly recommend that you pay them a visit if you’re in the area. You’ll be glad you did (particularly if you’re a fingerpicker). Marshall
Taken from the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum:
http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/66479
