While importing Collings guitars during the 90s (at the old Acoustic Centre) I vividly remember playing their OMs for the first time and being amazed by two things:
Firstly, that a maker could build an instrument so perfectly and with such attention to detail and secondly the way in which such a well-known design had been reinterpreted with such clarity and lush overtones.

Because Collings guitars enter this country in small numbers there is a common misconception that they are just 'posh' versions of the fabulous instruments made by the Martin and Gibson companies of the 1920s and 1930s.
Bill Collings worked on these models during his time as a repairer, but rather than copying these designs, he has evolved them; creating guitars with the voice and playability that this era desires and requires.

25 years ago I was selling larger guitars than tends to be the case now. They typically had more solid, dry voices and seemed to have a lot more emphasis on the fundamental note rather than an accompanying harmonic structure.
These days, many players of different styles demand more tonally balanced guitars - instruments in which the bass is defined but not overpowering.

The Collings OM both epitomises the idea of the modern/traditional guitar and is among its very finest exponents.

Left: A new OM2H cutaway in rosewood and Sitka spruce

While many guitar makers tend to stick with softwood tops, the cunning processes and designs employed by the Collings team allows certain hardwoods (like mahogany and koa) to be used in soundboard construction, yielding exciting and distinctly usable tones.

Right:
The all-mahogany Collings OM1mh Custom- outstanding for single notes and soloing.

If the Collings OM's lush voice make you want to play it, its carefully considered, precisely-made neck makes you want to keep playing it.
Among other things, they're a great fingerstyle instrument for the player that likes to 'dig in' sometimes or maybe just wants one guitar for all occasions.

Left:
A heavily silked AAAA sitka top on this 2001 Collings OM3

Need help choosing your Collings?
Click here to contact Séamus at Vintage Guitar.co.uk