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Schoenberg Designs

Schoenberg Soloist

The Schoenberg Soloist is the 14-fret body style, based on the 1929 OM with 1 13/16" width at the nut, 2 3/8" at the bridge. The basic option set includes simple ebony and maple purflings and rosette with ivoroid bindings. It is available in 00 and 000 size, cutaway or non-cutaway and various wood combinations.

The pictured Soloist is Indian rosewood and red spruce, and has rosewood bindings and the pyramid bridge.

From a recent purchaser of a used Soloist: "I played it and loved it... It's made for my hands and it's a living, breathing organism when played. Good shape, been played a lot, plenty of saddle left, good neck..you know. Love the string spacing at the bridge. Blind testing with my friend's assistance, it smoked both a two-year-old Brazilian Rosewood and a 10-year-old Indian Rosewood, the latter of which was of course meticulously constructed, way overpriced but simply average sound-wise."

Schoenberg Soloist 00

14 frets to the body
Available as cutaway or non-cutaway
Ivoroid or wood binding is standard
All wood purflings and rosette
Nut width: 1 3/4"
string spacing at bridge: 2 3/8"
scale: 25.4"

The Schoenberg Soloist 00 is a new concept: a 00-sized Orchestra Model, the first issue of a long-planned addition to our 'stable'. You'd be very surprised with the big, full sound that comes out of this smaller box. Back & sides are Australian Blackwood, top is Adirondack spruce. Pyramid bridge, neck is a slim perfectly shaped OM style neck, with 1 3/4" at nut. Schoenberg's concept is that the important feature of an OM is the scale length, not the body size. By combining the OM neck with the smaller body, one ends up with an equal quality instrument with just a different balance and tonal type. The builder of this one is Bruce Sexauer.

Schoenberg Standard

12 frets to the body, 0, 00 or 000 size
Available as cutaway or non-cutaway
Ivoroid binding
All wood purflings and rosette
Nut width: 1 3/4"
String spacing at bridge: 2 3/8"
Scale: 25.4"

We do the Schoenberg Standard because of the unique quality of sound that resides only in the 12-fret body. There's a throaty, rich tone that combines with an openness, a freeing-up of tone that is very exciting. The photographed guitar is a 00 of Engelmann spruce and Cocobola, a Brazilian rosewood alternate that is heavier yet with a punch and clarity that is unique. It was made by Bruce Sexauer.

Schoenberg AR

The Schoenberg AR, In the continuing tradition of "growing toward the past, the "AR", or "advanced rosewood" jumbo, is patterned in many ways after Gibson's Advanced Jumbo.

The AJ was an interesting departure for Gibson in the 1930s. Primarily, the long scale (25.4") in a D-size rosewood body created a link between Gibsonā€™s short scale slope-shouldered jumbos and Martinā€™s Dreadnought. It retains the Gibson jumbo shape, which I believe affects the tone (although nobody knows how), the bracing and wood thicknesses are different, and the top has more arch built in. The resulting tone is very different from the Martin. Each individual guitar is different, but what Iā€™ve seen is a different balance (more treble) and different quality in the sound. The bass has a power and "oomph" to it, while the treble has a Gibson-like scream thatā€™s made for blues. It tends to be a rougher, more raw sound than the refined Martin quality, possibly wanting a stronger touch.

The guitar in the photo is our first AR. It is of Adirondack spruce and Indian rosewood, and was made by Bruce Sexauer. We feel it came out surprisingly similar to the 1936 AJ we used as the model, if one can imagine what the old one sounded like before its 65 year break-in period. Time will tell how it continues to stack up.

Schoenberg OM45 Deluxe

Options specific to this model include:

Old style bar frets
Ebony rod in neck (instead of adjustable rod).
Gold engraved banjo tuners
Choice of topwood.
Special Calton case.

The Schoenberg OM45 Deluxe is our unabashed emulation of one of the most beautiful guitars in the world. Since we have one of the originals, we are able to make ours as close to the original as is possible. CF Martin & CO. made fourteen in 1930, their top catalogued model of all time. We are well on our way to having made the same number.

As in the original, we use only the highest grade Brazilian rosewood, and topwood, either Engelmann, European, Appalachian or Italian. Only available on a custom order basis.

Schoenberg OM45 Deluxe Cutaway

The Schoenberg OM45 Deluxe Cutaway is a more recent iteration of our Deluxe model. This particular guitar was made with the finest materials available, and the owner's name inlaid on the last fret. It has the same specs as the above Deluxe except for a different pearl treatment around the neck heel/cutaway join. The builder was Bruce Sexauer.

Schoenberg OC Standard

The Schoenberg OC Standard Thanks to Bruce Sexauer, who first conceived this model, the 0C takes advantage of the beguiling Martin Single "0" 12-fret body in exactly the same way as the Schoenberg 00 and 000 Standard models. The long scale takes the traditional "0" and amplifies its unique qualities into a full-on concert quality instrument. There is a magic to this body size (and shape); we don't really know why, but we know the result. It is a happy instrument, with the sweetest musical quality, while maintaining a precision, clarity and punch needed to give a guitar the authority needed in the concert hall or recording studio.

This one is out of European spruce and Madegascar rosewood; bound with snakewood, with nut width of 1 13/16" (with our specialized neck shape, this still feels narrow) and traditional early Martin string spacing at the bridge. These little guys have been consistently strong, full instruments. I've taken mine all over the world; Our special custom case is form-fitting with no excess unused space, and fits in an overhead with ease. Tonally, it is a big, concert quality guitar with an exciting treble that can be pulled out with very little effort!

Schoenberg Quartet

The Schoenberg Quartet is our newest model, designed by Eric to his ideal of the complete grand piano guitar, an anti-dreadnaught to be everything a dreadnaugh isn't, the biggest small guitar on the planet. The concept is to take the 0000, which Martin has been calling the "M", derived from an early Martin Arch-top, the "F"; Marc Silber replaced a damaged top witha flattop, creating a model that became well known through the playing of Dave Bromberg. It is 16" wide yet only 4" deep.

Schoenberg created a 12-fret version, then added the cutaway, a body that supplies the greatest bass while retaining the clarity and punch of the smaller boxes. The name "Quartet" came about as a combination of two concepts: the four 0 body, and the tonal completeness of a string quartet. The Quartets are being built by Randall Kramer, of Truckee, CA.