The OM 5 has a full, loud sound with a good balance of highs and lows when strummed acoustically, although not a ton of depth or dimension. The high action and medium strings make it a tough shred, but there’s no fret buzz at all. This guitar is definitely one of the most powerful of the roundup, and it can really crank out some volume. Plugging into a variety of acoustic amps shows the OM 5 to be versatile with lots of tone-shaping options. There’s no notch filter so you’ll have to find some other way to kill feedback, which will eventually occur as you turn the Bass control up. That being said, this guitar is very resistant to feedback, which will prove to be a godsend onstage. Boosting the Mid slider brings in a little electric guitar mojo and will help leads cut through. The under-saddle pickup has impressive headroom and can deal with aggressive strumming no problem. My favorite amplified setting was a gentle bump to the Bass, Mid slightly notched, Treble flat, and the sweetly voiced Presence cranked. This gave a nice zing to the highs without emphasizing string squeaks. Lighter strings and lower action would make the OM 5 easier to play, especially higher up the neck, but players who want to bash thunderous open chords will dig it as is.