Used Luthier-Certified

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 1

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 2

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 3

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 4

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 5

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 6

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 7

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 8

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 9

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used — image 10

Other (Miscellanous Used/Vintage/Consign)

Hooper Guitars OM-18 #27 Acoustic - Used

Pre war focused acoustic handcrafted in Elkin, North Carolina

Sold — contact us for a similar item.

Talk to an Expert 888-528-9703

Have a question about this item? Email us →

Try Before You Buy — take it home. Don't commit until you know it's right. Program details →

Talk to an Expert — Sound Pure engineers, not phone-bank reps
Sound Pure Financing — 0% APR options via Affirm

Sound Pure's Take

Condition: Used, Great Small pictured ding in the finish on back.

If you're looking for an "18" style OM that sounds like it has years of wisdom baked in its' wood then this incredible OM from Ken Hooper is certainly worth taking a look at. Not being from NC originally I was not familiar with Ken's builds before holding this OM for the first time but I can tell you it is a very lightly built instrument with a powerful voice for its' size and a super clear and focused tone that will compliment many styles of music. If you're looking for a fingerstyle guitar or plan on using a flatpick this would be a very viable guitar if you want a warm fundamentally focused sound that responds very well to a soft touch or a heavy right hand strumming! Give us a call if you're looking for a pre-war inspired OM that will keep you grinning from sunup to sundown!

From Other (Miscellanous Used/Vintage/Consign)

I first became interested in instruments in the early 90’s when I started playing the mandolin and guitar. After playing a few higher end instruments that other pickers had I was amazed at the difference between the really nice instruments and mine. As I had always been someone who was good with my hands, I began to consider the possibility of building one myself. Looking back on it now, I realize that the turning point for me was when a friend of mine was having problems with the pick guard coming of his old D-35. He was a long-time friend of Wayne Henderson and suggested I ride with him to Wayne’s shop and get it fixed. Those of you who are familiar with Wayne’s story know that at that time he was still in the old store building in “downtown” Rugby.

I remember going in to his small shop. The dust, wood, shavings and guitars in various states of completion everywhere really made an impression on me but most of all I was blown away that someone could actually build something like that themselves and that it didn’t come from some machine somewhere. It was at that point that a “need” to build an instrument was born (those of you who build and make things with your hands will understand completely when I say I needed to make an instrument. To this day, I give credit to Wayne for being my initial inspiration in building instruments. He has always been willing to answer any questions that I had and help out where he could as he has to so many other people as well.

Since I was primarily playing the mandolin, I decided that would be the first instrument that I built. Shortly thereafter, I bought Roger Siminoff’s book on building a bluegrass mandolin and a bunch of wood and dove in. Needless to say, that first mandolin was definitely no “Loar” but it did play and it sounded…ok. At least as good as the cheap mandolin I had been playing. More importantly, I learned from that first mandolin that I wanted to build another and that God had given me the skills with my hands in order to accomplish it. It didn’t take long before I started experimenting with guitars as well. I was blessed in that my first few guitars were good enough that people liked them and I started getting requests to make more.

Each guitar has been a learning experience and I am fortunate in that the area of Northwest North Carolina where I live has no shortage of good luthiers to learn from in addition to Wayne. Don Wilson who works with Wayne has also helped me out a lot. I have had the privilege over the years to play some very fine guitars made by a lot of different people and companies. It never fails that the ones that always rise above the rest are the old Martins. The pre-war D28’s and D18’s are the “holy grail” for the guitar picker and the tone and clarity of those guitars is what I strive to achieve in my instruments. These guitars were meticulously crafted and were as cleanly constructed as any of the handmade guitars of today. Most builders will freely admit that this is the gold standard that we all strive to attain.

To this end, I use the best tone woods I can find; I like to use Red spruce for the top plates and I like to build as lightly as possible. I also enjoy using hide glue as was used on the old ones.

Serial Number: 27
Year: 2013 (est.)
Top: Adirondack Spruce
Back/Sides: Honduran Mahogany
Bracing: 30's Era Forward Shifted
Scale Length: 25.5"
String Spacing: 2.25"
Nut Width: 1.75"
Tuners: Waverly Ivoroid Butterbean
Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Warranty

This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.

Returns

Try Before You Buy: take it home, commit only when it's right. Program details →

Come hear it in our control rooms.

Sound Pure is a working studio in Durham, NC — a 1,000 sq ft live room and two pro control rooms. Book a session to audition gear in a world-class acoustic space before you buy.

Plan your visit → Explore the Studios →

$3,899

Call 888-528-9703

Warranty

Returns

You may also like

Come hear it in our control rooms.