Review Demo - Collings OM2H-T

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Want to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best acoustic guitar builders? Just hang out at the Collings booth during a NAMM show, where a who’s who of lutherie inevitably congregates to view the latest creations from Austin’s Bill Collings. Excruciating attention to detail and the transcendent naturalistic tones of Collings’ guitars have earned him a reputation as a builder’s builder.

I just spent a day with one of Collings’ newest models, the OM2H T. This guitar is easy to review: It’s perfect.

THE END.

Hey, guess what? Premier Guitar won’t pay me for an 85-word review! So I guess I have to cough up some paragraphs telling you why this retro-flavored flattop is perfect.

Let’s decode the Collings’ model number. OM stands for orchestra model. The H is for the lovely herringbone purfling that rings the guitar’s top. And the T represents Collings’ traditional series—guitars influenced by pre-WWII tones and construction techniques. T models are built with animal-protein glue and have thin nitro finishes. They’re voiced more warmly than all those sizzlin’-bright modern flattops, with manicured highs and complex low-mids.

The OM2H T is built from beautiful materials. The tight, even grain of the Sitka spruce top seems to glow through an exquisite finish. The East Indian rosewood back and sides are a delicious dark chocolate hue. The elegant Honduran mahogany neck has a retro-cool squared-off peghead and a pretty volute with an offset pyramid shape. The compound-radius neck’s relaxed V profile feels simultaneously sleek and substantial. The long-scale ebony fretboard meets the body at the 14th fret. There are 20 smallish, square-shouldered frets. The bridge is ebony. The nut and bridge are bone. A built-in-house, Bill Collings-designed case that combines vintage aesthetic with much more thorough and modern protective features is also included.

At this point in a review we usually assess the detail work. Are the frets evenly seated? Are their ends rounded and comfy? Is the instrument devoid of acoustic dead spots? Does the finish shine with mirror-like perfection? Is the detail work of the binding, purfling, and rosette flub-free? Are the interior surfaces and X-bracing as immaculate as the exterior? Well, duh—I already told you this guitar was perfect! And while most new acoustic guitars smell nice, sniffing this soundhole is an apex olfactory experience. If the fragrance were sold as cologne, I’d buy it and bathe in it.

Continue reading the review: http://bit.ly/CollingsOM2HT