Acoustic Music Works - Collings OM1A Traditional vs OM1A Hill Country (Basic Playing)

A very basic comparison between Collings OM1A Traditional and the new Collings OM1A Hill Country.

The Traditional series was introduced in 2016 with a thinner finish, smaller bridge plate, no tongue brace and new reinforcement in the neck. At the time, they represented a warmer sound in a brand new Collings guitar.

The Hill Country series has been in development since 2022/23, and specs were solidified in 2024. The first of these guitars are becoming available via Premier Dealers in 2025. The voicing is shifted to what Collings consider the "extreme" of their tonal signature, with the mission being a woody voice with a very strong fundamental. The bracing patterns are modeled after exception vintage instruments, with Collings high standards for materials and manufacturing brought to bear.

These guitars both have new light gauge D'addario EJ16 strings. They both have Adirondack spruce tops and mahogany back and sides and satin sunburst finishes. FULL DISCLOSURE the Traditional model is a Julian Lage signature, which follows the Traditional construction exactly, albeit with a bespoke neck shape and a unique "old school" Collings logo that is particular to the model.

FULL DISCLOSURE CONT'D: the fingerpicked section at the end was bumped up by 4.5 Db vs the sections recorded with plectrum. In the real world, these two different approaches to playing would have different mic placements, recording levels and proximities, but in this exercise they were exact.

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