Brier Road Guitars OM Blue Float – Sinker Sitka / Indian Rosewood – Includes Hardshell Case – Brand New
Brier Road Guitars is the work of Nick Lenski, a North Adams, Massachusetts luthier who builds acoustic steel-string guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles by hand in his Berkshire County studio. The Blue Float OM is one of the most visually and tonally distinctive instruments to come out of the Western Massachusetts luthiery scene — a guitar built from an exceptional set of materials with the kind of attention to detail that separates handbuilt instruments from everything the production guitar world can offer.
The top is sinker Sitka spruce — a tonewood reclaimed from logs that spent decades submerged in rivers and lakes, emerging with an unusual density and stiffness that produces a voice with exceptional clarity, sustain, and dynamic range. Sinker Sitka is rare, genuinely expensive to source, and produces a tonal character distinct from standard old-growth Sitka — faster to respond, with a crystalline quality in the upper register and a warmth and depth in the lows that belies the lightness of the wood. East Indian rosewood back and sides bring the warm, complex lows and shimmering highs that have made rosewood the benchmark for serious acoustic guitar building for generations. Adirondack spruce braces — the stiffest and most resonant bracing material available — extract maximum projection and response from that top. The ebony fingerboard and bridge with bone nut and saddle, Gotoh 510 tuning machines at 21:1 ratio, and 1-11/16 inch nut width at 25.5-inch scale complete a playing package that is comfortable, fast, and immediately responsive.
The aesthetics on this example are exceptional. The rosewood binding is paired with turquoise-dyed blue maple purfling — the "Blue Float" name comes from this distinctive detail, which runs the perimeter of the top in a color that is genuinely arresting and unlike anything in the production guitar world. The spalted maple inlays on the fingerboard add another layer of organic, natural beauty — no two spalted maple pieces are identical, which makes this instrument visually one of a kind. This is a guitar that turns heads before you even play it, and then delivers equally once you do.
Sold as new with full manufacturer warranty. This example has some basic handling wear from being shown as a demo — nothing structural, nothing significant, just the honest evidence of having been admired and played.
- Make: Brier Road Guitars
- Builder: Nick Lenski
- Model: OM Blue Float
- Country of origin: USA (North Adams, MA)
- Body shape: OM (Orchestra Model)
- Top: Sinker Sitka spruce (blue float log)
- Back and sides: East Indian rosewood
- Bracing: Adirondack spruce
- Binding: Rosewood
- Purfling: Turquoise-dyed blue maple
- Neck: Not specified — confirm with builder
- Fingerboard: Ebony with spalted maple inlays
- Bridge: Ebony
- Nut: Bone, 1-11/16"
- Saddle: Bone
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Tuners: Gotoh 510
- Condition: Brand New — basic handling wear from demo use, full manufacturer warranty included
- Includes: Hardshell case
Ships carefully packed and insured for full value. International buyers are welcome — please contact us for a shipping quote before purchasing.
About Mill River Music
Mill River Music is an independent, human-powered music shop located in downtown Northampton, MA, run by a team of players, enthusiasts, and certified repair technicians. Every piece of used gear we sell is personally inspected, tested, and set up before it ships — we don't list it until we'd be happy to play it ourselves.
As Martin and Taylor certified techs, we hold our guitar work to a high standard, and we're committed to full transparency about the condition of everything we sell. No surprises.
When you buy from Mill River, you're supporting an independent local business that genuinely cares — about gear, about players, and about doing things right. We're here every step of the way. Reach out anytime.
