Arches OM Available

[judith]

Hey. In case you haven't noticed yet - Chris Baird has a 22" scale OM available. Its posted on his Arches website. J

[Celtic Saguaro]

Thanks Judith. That's a beauty.

[otterly2k]

it was in the Classifieds too, but is gone already...

anyone buy it?? c'mon... fess up!

[Eric F.]

That didn't last long!

[FlawLaw]

Okay, I will come clean. I purchased it.

[judith]

Good for you! Hope you like it as much as I like mine... confession is good for the soul, "they" say. J

[otterly2k]

I think you're gonna be happy with this one, Will, if it's anything like Judith's. And it should be... it is very similar except for a longer scale length.

We will await your report....

Congrats, Will!

[steve V. johnson]

Congratulations, Will! Excellent!

Enjoy!

stv

[FlawLaw]

Thanks all. I am hoping to receive it this week. I was waiting for Chris to complete my custom OM when this one became available and, well...as they say the rest his history. I wanted to have it in hand before Christmas, as I think I can use it in church.

[steve V. johnson]

Wow, Will, "the plot thickens..." !!

So... what happens to your custom order now? Will you take it from Chris and resell this one... or...?

Christmas... OM... Hmmmmm......

<GGG>

nosystv

[FlawLaw]

No, I will keep this one. This is in place of my custom order. I guess I am not a patient person. In any case, the mandolin has shipped and should arrive on Friday. I will report shortly thereafter and hope to post pictures as well.

[Ken Sager]

Congrats on the purchase, Will. Here's to it exceeding your expectations.

Best,
Ken

[berkeleymando]

I was very interested to buy this one. Not able to do it now, I'm looking ahead to some other sort of archtop Arches octave mando in the future. An Arches OM with a archtop guitar-like body design would be great.

[FlawLaw]

Very nice instrument, flawless fit and finish, heavenly sustain and resonance and suprisingly loud. I really like it a lot.

[judith]

Yippee! Isn't it nice to get an instrument you feel great about? Just so you know, I did end up having the set up changed. The action was high and I had the neck adjusted by a local luthier and I sent the bridge back to Chris so he could lower it. (It was as low as the adjusting wheels would go.)I have also experimented with different strings and have a slightly lighter gauge than the strings Chris put on. (You might not have this issue, since your scale is longer.)And, I purchased an armrest (King (David) Brown, in Australia - came very fast, the workmanship is fine, the exchange rate good). I had to give him the measurement of the instrument, since he's usually making them for regular mandos. It's pretty normal to have to tweak the set up - just gets a little more complex when the mando comes from across the country! Chris is probably lucky most of us don't live close enough to be able to bug him in his shop. Have fun...Judith

[FlawLaw]

My action is really low on mine and the adjusting wheels are set so I have some room to play with it. #It is, however, atypical for me to have perfect action (or should I say action that is perfect for me) right out of the box. #I haven't played one of my mandolins for a month now because I need to have my luthier adjust the action and am too lazy to take it to him. #In any case, I have been playing this OM exclusively since I have gotten it. #Getting the fingering down has been a challenge, as it doesn't convert perfectly from the mandolin. #It is a longer scale OM, but the thing that has amazed me the most is the sustain and resonance of this mandolin. #It is like having a big tabby cat burring in my arms ever time I play it. #I think that this instrument will be perfect to bring to open mic nights where there are ten guitarists and no other instrumentalists, as it just seems to sit in the mix so well and really is in the guitar sonic range. #However, the chorus effect and the type of resonance is different than a guitar in a very nice way.