With the Martin OM-45 K, the traditional American manufacturer presents one of its famous Custom Shop models, featuring selected materials and convincing not only with its unique appearance but with its incomparable sound. The master craftsmanship of the almost 200-year-old family business is easily recognizable in the detailed inlays and ornaments made of abalone. In addition to its solid construction, this represents the quintessence of Martin's artistry that continues to delight their fans around the world to this day. The combination of noble Koa wood and a precisely thought-out construction produces a fast attack in its sound, which fades away in the overtones and merges smoothly into the next note. The flat mahogany neck provides excellent playability up to the highest frets, as a flat Modified Low Oval neck profile allows for smooth handling with little effort. The characteristic headstock is equipped with golden open gear tuners, which, in addition to the venerable abalone Martin overlay and the flamed Koa, discreetly emphasize the value of the guitar. A precision-fit Custom Shop case and a certificate of authenticity are included.
Thanks to its compact 000-14Fret design, the OM-45 K produces a powerful sound image that is particularly distinct in the mid-range frequencies and, thanks to a Sitka spruce top, unfolds clearly and defined in the high frequencies as well. Even a light touch of the strings produces a long-lasting tone, which owes its quick response to a forward shifted scalloped X-bracing and a wafer-thin finish, among other things. Framed by a high-quality abalone binding, the multi-facetted grain of the carefully seasoned top wood comes to the fore very strongly and, because of its opposing flames, produces fine reflections depending on the perspective. Matching the elaborate decorations, the sound hole is framed by a Style 45 multi-stripe rosette, which creates an aesthetic transition to the dark ebony bridge and the matching fretboard. The overall appearance of the top, which is coloured with an ageing toner, is rounded off by a wafer-thin pickguard of faux tortoise, allowing the outer ring of the soundhole rosette to shimmer through slightly.
For the back and sides, the manufacturer uses selected Koa wood, which due to its coarse structure imbues the entire sound image with warm and powerful bass. This high-quality Hawaiian tonewood from the acacia family unfolds its full sound potential only after several years of playing, so that a tonal maturation process is noticeable after a short time. Interspersed with an elaborate backstrip, the symmetry of the unfolded base wood is shown to its best advantage in a particularly aesthetic way and makes it clear that special attention is paid to the visual characteristics when selecting the woods used for the Custom Shop. The bottom of the instrument is framed by an elaborate abalone binding, which with its diverse colour reflections perfectly matches the strongly shimmering flames of the koa wood.
To ensure easy access to all 20 frets, the manufacturer uses a flat mahogany neck in a modified low oval neck profile with an ebony fingerboard with abalone binding decorated with Style-45 hexagon inlays made of abalone, which merges smoothly with the light-coloured top at the 14th fret. A compensated bone saddle, which is perfectly matched to the 44.45 mm wide bone nut, ensures clean intonation over the entire scale length of 645 mm. Golden open gear tuners with butterbean knobs allow for precise tuning of the strings and, in combination with the heavily grained Koa headplate, a cream binding and a "C.F. Martin" overlay made of abalone round off the overall appearance tastefully.