I found that Guitar A generally had more crispness and clarity in each example. Guitar A also had a brighter tone, which I don’t typically gravitate towards, but I think it suited the instrument in this case. Between the two, I’d go for Guitar A.

It is really up to you Aaron, I liked them both.

Swings and Roundabouts. I kept changing my mind about which one I preferred with my eyes shut. At first it was B, then A then I was totally confused. It was a bit like cutting up a cake and eating it all to see which slice tasted nicer! In the end I preferred the custom shop one but then if you were playing out to an audience in a restaurant they would never be able to distinguish one from the other sound wise. They both sound like Martins! In this situation listening with my EarPods I would agree with you BUT they both sound and look really nice.🎶🎶🎶

A seems brighter and sounds very good. B sounds good in some of the clips and looks better. I would go with the custom shop. I have a custom shop Om28 with vts and GE adirondak bracing. Mine is fantastic. I always wanted an om28V. I think thats the top om28

Great video! Thanks Aaron, that was just the comparison I was looking for! Btw, have you heard any new updates about the 20th anniversary John Mayer models?

A has an interesting effect while strummed of almost sounding like there’s a double in there. It has a kind of loose shimmery quality, pretty neat, but sometimes maybe a little too bright for my taste when you were really digging in. By contrast I thought the fingerpicking on A sounded very big, round and expressive. Whereas B sounded less flashy to me overall but balanced and dependable on both picking and strumming. I would describe it as a very “usable” acoustic guitar sound. If this was going to be more of a recording guitar I would go for A. If it was my all rounder for gigs, recording, jamming etc I might go with B.

Aaron, such a tough spot for you to be. If only all of the world's problems could be solved in such a manner... On first strumming example, I preferred B.I pretty much preferred A on the rest. I typically play Adirondack over mahogany, so keep this in mind.

Hi Aaron! Great comparison, and I really liked guitar A. How can I get my hands on the OM custom with these specs? Thanks.

Guitar B lows and low mid are darker and dare I say somewhat congested or muddy. Guitar A is more balanced. I would bet guitar B is the OM28 and Guitar A is the Custom with Englemann top.

I liked b better except the last clip or sound sample (edited comment..)

Prefer A first guitar

Prefer guitar A. Sounded more open, less compressed and with more chime and harmonics…

A