Huss & Dalton OM-C

This instrument will improve with age, and it will make its owner improve too, as fine instruments such as this Huss & Dalton OM-C can only help you play better (and certainly make you want to play more), thanks to its play-ability and tone.

Pros

Exceptionally balanced tone
Pristine build quality
Neck shape and cutaway give outstanding player comfort

Cons

The price may be out of reach for most

Huss & Dalton OM-C

Using only the finest AAA-grade woods on their instruments, Huss & Dalton are one of the most highly respected guitar makers in the business today. Giorgio Serci reviews the concert-bodied OM-C.

Huss & Dalton is an American company founded by Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton, both accomplished musicians, and friends, who joined forces and started making guitars together in Virginia from 1995, after years of experience playing as well as building guitars. Like many other well-known guitar makers, they started small, focusing on producing top end quality instruments, which lead them to grow and establish themselves as one of the top American brands and gaining critical acclaim worldwide, thanks to their meticulous attention to detail on tonal balance, playability, and consistency.

Straight from the case, this Orchestra Model guitar has an elegant and attractive look, enhanced by contrasting wood colours and herringbone top trim, from the dark ebony fingerboard to the Indian rosewood body and neck binding and the Sitka Spruce top. It features a soft Venetian cutaway, a ‘Belly-style’ Honduran rosewood bridge, which is a particularly resonant tonewood. An abalone rosette, a tortoise pickguard, and own proprietary Stingray fretboard inlay pattern adorn the instrument enhancing its appearance.

When I strummed this guitar for the first time, I could not believe my ears, as the tone is so loud, with an incredible bass response, which is very well balanced with the treble and mid range. Sustain is also impressive! You will notice and appreciate this right away, particularly when playing single-note melodies in every register. The sustain and its lovely tone quality makes it ideal to play in a variety of musical styles, particularly for vocal-like melodies as well as rhythm guitar parts. All of the above attributes would make this guitar a dream instrument for both studio and live work.

The OM-C Back, sides and neck are made of Indian rosewood and meet at the 14th fret, with a very elegant heel for easy access to the higher register. At the back, it has a very fine walnut strip. The bone nut and drop-in saddle are finely cut, finished and positioned in a very tidy manner.

It has a beautiful abalone rosette, which with the rosewood binding all around gives the guitar an elegant look as well as making it tougher, improving its longevity.

Its stylish headstock features gold machine heads with ebony mini tuners, which look and feel great while being unsurprisingly accurate and precise.

The shape contributes to a very precise and focused tone. The fine woods, the various types of glue as well as all the other fine ingredients used to manufacture this instrument, all contribute to creating an instrument with a wide palette of tonal colours.

Playability is excellent too, thanks to his ergonomic neck profile, which makes it ideal for electric guitarists.

This is without a doubt a high-quality instrument, which is a real joy to play. The choice of material and the craftsmanship are remarkable. As a result of this, the guitar isn’t cheap, but in my opinion, it is worth every penny!

This instrument will improve with age, and it will make its owner improve too, as fine instruments such as this Huss & Dalton OM-C can only help you play better (and certainly make you want to play more), thanks to its playability and tone.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend finding a Huss & Dalton dealer near you and trying these amazing guitars; you won’t believe your ears!

A very special thanks to Warren Clinton for supplying this Huss & Dalton OM-C for review.