steve V. johnson
Mar-27-2006, 11:07am
I see that Ted Parrish has posted two OMs from his Old Town School of Folk Music shop in the classifieds. I've seen and played the Bitterroot.
We were in Chicago in March of '04, just landed from a trip to Ireland and went on an OM expedition to HogEye Music in Evanston and the Old Town School. Ted wasn't available that day, but I did get someone to pull the chocolate Bitterroot down from its spot high on the wall. The fellow who went up on the ladder to get it told me that he didn't know if they made these any more, that he thought it was rare, and that it had been there for a while and that I really ought to buy it.
I had expected a tight, mandolin-type sound from a Weber, but this one had more of the sound of the body than I had expected, with a bit deeper timbre and sustain. I was really surprised at how prominent the 'body-box' was in the sound, as opposed to an F-mandolin. It didn't sound "like a guitar" at all, but it did have more of a guitar-ish sound than I ever anticipated.
It is really and truly a deep Hershey-bar matte brown, too! All over. I don't remember if the body is mahogany or maple (I think that maple is an upgrade and that the std Bitterroot is mahogany....), but the top will be spruce, and the sound is much more warm than 'bright.'
When I played it it hadn't been set up nor had new strings in quite a while, but the character of it was there.
Oh, it has the regular Weber OM scale of 22", and I believe that it has an F-style headstock.
It's a nice one, esp. if that Hershey look is your look! He doesn't mention a trial period, tho...
Oh yeah... after I played that Bitterroot, we heard Danu and Tim O'Brien in the Old Town School's beautiful auditorium! Wooooohoooooo!!!! <GGG>
All the best,
stv
We were in Chicago in March of '04, just landed from a trip to Ireland and went on an OM expedition to HogEye Music in Evanston and the Old Town School. Ted wasn't available that day, but I did get someone to pull the chocolate Bitterroot down from its spot high on the wall. The fellow who went up on the ladder to get it told me that he didn't know if they made these any more, that he thought it was rare, and that it had been there for a while and that I really ought to buy it.
I had expected a tight, mandolin-type sound from a Weber, but this one had more of the sound of the body than I had expected, with a bit deeper timbre and sustain. I was really surprised at how prominent the 'body-box' was in the sound, as opposed to an F-mandolin. It didn't sound "like a guitar" at all, but it did have more of a guitar-ish sound than I ever anticipated.
It is really and truly a deep Hershey-bar matte brown, too! All over. I don't remember if the body is mahogany or maple (I think that maple is an upgrade and that the std Bitterroot is mahogany....), but the top will be spruce, and the sound is much more warm than 'bright.'
When I played it it hadn't been set up nor had new strings in quite a while, but the character of it was there.
Oh, it has the regular Weber OM scale of 22", and I believe that it has an F-style headstock.
It's a nice one, esp. if that Hershey look is your look! He doesn't mention a trial period, tho...
Oh yeah... after I played that Bitterroot, we heard Danu and Tim O'Brien in the Old Town School's beautiful auditorium! Wooooohoooooo!!!! <GGG>
All the best,
stv