Orpheum OM26SWR

Orpheum om26swr. i got it off ebay and they sent it with a martin soft backpacker case! so this was a great deal already. all solid wood. spruce top, rosewood back and sides. the indian rosewood has a nice even grain. its not stunning in appearance like a larrivee or martin, but still very nice quality. the top is european spruce, very bright look, it makes me think its engleman. i'm convinced the fretboard and bridge are rosewood dyed to look like ebony or just give it a darker appearance beacause it looks nicer. the neck is 3 peices of mahogany, 4 if you include the head stock, i guess it doesnt really matter, it is set up very well. they also did a beautiful job on the rosette. and the rosewood veneer over the headstock is a nice extra touch.

this guitar does have an om body, but it's as deep as a dreanaught. so it has alot more bass response and boom. but it does not lack in the highs or mids by any means. it is well balanced with excellent tone and sustain. i basically play all fingerstyle with strumming and this thing projects wonderfully to the touch of a finger. it gets really loud, and does not get messy. i like to use martin fx light strings. the solid woods defenitly give it a rich and full sound. the rosewood keeps it balanced and well defined. compared to my larrivee om-03 its hard to tell the difference. i wouldn't say that either one was better than another in sound. they both offer diffenrent qualities in woods and slightly different body shapes. so it depends what your looking for. this guitar defenitly has recording and gigging quality.

its hard to tell if the back is bookmatched, i'm pretty sure it is. i can see a faint line, almost an indentation in the finish but i cannot follow it all the way down the back. the top is also bookmatched. the fretboard and bridge are set up very nice. the action and inontation are perfect in my book. the frets are perfectly level. it feels about the same as a larrivee or martin. mind you it is 1 3/4 nut. it looks like it has a dovetail neck joint, im not sure. the finish is gloss, not that great really, it has very minor flaws but nothing to get upset about.

its seems like its built very well. alittle on the heavier side, probably because of the heavy gloss finish and deeper body. it even has rosewood reinforcements on the inside of the sides going from the top kering to the bottom kerfing. the strips are about a 1/4 wide, and i guess maybe 3 or 4 inches long. they're about 6 inces apart from each other. i've never seen that before. i wouldnt see any reason not to depend on this guitar. its very sturdy.

tacoma bought the name back in the 60's or 70's. fender owns them now, but they discontinued the acoustic line and are sticking to banjos and dobro's. i dunno why, these acoustics are such a great value, i guess they didnt catch on as well as they liked. so i dont think i'll be getting any help from them if i needed it.

great guitar and not just for the value. i now play it more than any other of my guitars. it holds its own with the best of them. defenitly a real sleeper for those who like an underdog.

This is a 2004 model, imported, all solid wood, good cross grain European Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides, Ebony fretboard and Rosewood bridge. Thick gloss finish. Tacoma tuners that stay in tune, even on the road. Beautifully understated herringbone rosette with white binding on the body and neck. Three piece laminated neck, but Taylors are the same, and this one seems much more solid. Wide nut, 1 3/4 inches. Perfect for fingerpicking.

I fingerpick with some strumming thrown in for good measure. The neck is perfect for my style. The near jumbo shape is great for tone separation and volume. I installed a K&K Pure Western pickup, which gives the guitar a great natural acoustic sound thru my PA or amp.
Not as dark and rich sounding as my Martin OM, but fuller and more resonant than Taylors I've played. It is gaining resonance as it ages, which is the sign of a well made acouostic guitar.

Good set up, no fret buzz. Bridge pin holes are a little small for string ends, but a little sand paper fixed that. Otherwise it has the fit and finish of a $1200 US made guitar. Has the overall feel of a Gibson in terms of weight and finish.

I have gigged with this guitar an average of twice a week for two years and practiced on it about 6 hours a week during the same time period with no issues. The heavy gloss finish holds up great, especially since about half of the venues in Florida are outdoors, and I've had no problems with the finish.

No need, but I suspect that support is nonexsistent. This is a guitar line that was imported by Tacoma. It was discontinued by Fender after they bought Tacoma.

I own a Martin OM21, a Yamaha classical, and an original '50s vintage Telecaster, a vintage Ampeg amp, a Kustom PA, etc. This guitar sounds great thru the PA with the K&K pickup.
Overall great guitar for gigging. I bought it to gig with in venues of varying quality, so I could save my Martin for studio use. I was looking specically for a wide neck, all solid wood guitar for under a grand. It sounds better than the Taylors and Gibsons I occasionally play in music stores that cost much more. Incredible bang for the buck.
If lost/stolen I would buy another if they were still available.

solid Spruce/rosewood Indonesia
14 fret standard
solid top
solid rosewood body, mohogany neck
Gloss finish
OM auditorium size

Sound is very good. I play mostly fingerstyle with some strumming
I would think it was great but I keep comparing it to my Taylor 414 which is a real 10

Action was good from the factory. When I had a pickup added the tech turned the truss rod and the lower frets are faster now. I am listening but have heard no fret buzz yet, so I think he hit it pretty good.
Top was not really bookmatched and the saddle sits a trace high so it may be under routed, but the tech did not want to adjust that, and we were on my dime.
No real structural flaws, but several finish flaws.

I don't really gig, but I do take it out to church and friends etc. I have bought this as my "take out" guitar, so I don't have to take the Taylor out of the house. I think it will last.

the Orpheum name was purchased by Tacoma. The guitars must not have done well. I assume they were targeting bluegrass, and no one is going to knock a big hole in Martin's main turf.
The guitars have been discontinued. I can find very little info on the web and have not been able to find the 2004 catalogue.
I doubt I will get much if any support other than the local dealer

I have been playing 30 years. I have a Taylor 414. An Aria A560 Classical. I play my daugter's Martin 000XM alot. we also have a Yamaha OM size and a First Act.
I wanted the OD24 SWM dred but it had been sold and this was too good a price to pass up for a solid wood guitar. So I had played it alot and researched it as best I could.
I love the sound and the price. Nothing to hate. Favorite feature is price, followed by playability, followed by sound.
I did add a pick up, but am glad it did not come with one, cause I hate the EQ box in the side of guitars.

2004 OM 26SWR:
Paid: $261 New close out
FEATURES:8 overall (9 for price range)
no electronics
Solid spruce/solid rosewood; 3 piece neck not well matched; harringbone rosette/antiqued white purfing; possible ebony fretboard; rosewood bridge; saddle is something like Tusq; strings were D'addario EXP medium I think; tuners were gold colored Tacoma - very smooth
Finish: gloss
no case

SOUND: 8 good bass and not bad trebles. At the shop I thought it might compete with my Taylor 414 (I want to keep the Taylor at home and play and protect it and have the Orpheum to take out and maybe add a pick up.) When I got home and did a side-by-side, although it was and is great for the price the Taylor blew it away -- definitely a clearer cleaner tone throughout. But for the money the Orpheum is great.

Action: very good - maybe a tad high on higer frets
Fit: 8
Finish: 7; The gloss finish is pretty but there were a lot of small pits. Fret wires are a little sharp to touch
3 piece neck heel are not matched well

Have only owned 2 weeks
I plan to take this guitar out alot, so ask later how it stands up
Had to add strap button to heel. two piece heel made me nervous.
I think I could gig it

30 for recreation and relaxation. Intermediate level player.
I have a Taylor 414, and an Aria A560 Classical; old Broadway Archtop; Alverez laminated classical. My kids have a Takamine, Martin 000xm, Yamaha laminated,
I wanted the OD 24 SWM, but it sold before I could get it, so the shop offered me a deal too good to pass up. I would still like to have the drednaught.
LOVE: good sound for less than $300. Chose because too good a deal to pass up.

Recently I started thinking about getting another OM type guitar?I have a Larrivee OM01?dedicated to alternate tunings. My first thoughts went to another Larrivee, or perhaps a Blueridge or Korean Breedlove. Then I stumbled across this ?OM? guitar online. I thought it was worth a try. It?s Indonesian made from all solid wood (spruce and rosewood, types unspecified); it was a brand from Tacoma/Olympia (now owned by Fender). And it was only $230 for a blem. The finish is gloss, the OM length neck is 2 piece mahagony and the headstock has rosewood veneer on it. The fretboard is 1.75 inches wide at the nut. The tuning machines are Tacoma. I can?t tell what the fretboard is made of; possibly rosewood. But there was a surprise: Although the online ad stated that this was an OM and therefore a smaller guitar, when the guitar arrived, I did a double take. This Orpheum model does indeed have the shape of an OM, but it?s 1 inch deeper. It won?t fit in an OM case or gigbag. It?s virtually the size of a dread, with a narrower waist. In fact, it?s a tight squeeze in a dread case. Call it a deep-bodied OM.

As you might expect from a guitar that?s deep-bodied, this Orpheum has a nice bass resonance to it; not a cannon, but fuller than an OM. The highs ring nicely. The midrange is not as open as I?d like. I?ve only played it in standard tuning and Drop D. It sounds rich in Drop D. The strings it arrived with were shot, so I put on Takamine lights; a solid improvement, but nothing special. When I tried D?Addario PB lights, the sound blossomed. This is not a great sounding guitar, but it is good for the price.

Because this is a blem, there are some issues here. The rosewood staining has some small imperfections. The top bows up slightly under the bridge. There are two slight but visible cracks in the spruce just above the pickguard, but they are contained under the finish. The fret ends are a little rough. However, the action is fine and the neck comfortable.

We'll see.

The dealer tells me that since this is a Fender product, all I need to do is haul it over to a warranty stations. I had problems with a Squier Tele I got last winter, and they fixed it up nicely. (Hoffman Guitars in Minneapolis, great service.) So I?ll anticipate that this would be no problem.

If you think you?re getting a solid body guitar on a par sound-wise with lower priced all-solid Tacomas, Larrivees or Taylors, sorry. No cheap lunch here, just because it?s all solid wood. I?ve seen this guitar going for $600 from another dealer, and I would not pay that much. But I would pay $600 for a used Larrivee, Tacoma, Taylor or even a new Blueridge. (And I would audition the new all-solid Guilds and Epiphone Masterbilts in the $600 range.) The OM26 is a fine value at $230, similar to good solid tops from the likes of Alvarez, A&L or Washburn at this price level. They may be scarce, though. I checked out the Fender website for Orpheums, and this and other flattops are not in there; just mandos, banjos and resonators. Which leads me to think that this guitar is part of an Orpheum line that?s been terminated. Even though my Orpheum wasn?t the size I anticipated, and there are those flaws, I decided to keep it. It sounds good in Drop D, meeting my main criterion. In any event, I won?t have risked a lot of money gambling on it. Perhaps it will even improve with age.