We’ve just taken delivery of another Collings 01E! As usual with Collings, the simplicity of the design and presentation understates how good this guitar is.

The Collings OM1 ESS Englemann Short Scale doesn’t disappoint in any area. It is about as perfectly built as a guitar can be, with a full, even, rich yet brilliant sound – and this is before it’s been played in at all.

This Collings 01E is a slightly customized version of Colling’s smallest regular guitar – the 01 – with an Englemann spruce top rather than the stock Sitka Spruce. In terms of body style, the Collings 01 is derived from a Ditson version of the Martin single-0 guitar.

This Collings OM1 E SS Englemann Short Scale doesn’t disappoint in any of those areas. It is about as perfectly built as a guitar can be, with a full, even, rich yet brilliant sound – and this is before it’s been played in at all. The shorter scale makes it a bit more comfortable and warms up the tone a bit.

It’s always a treat to review a Collings guitar – the build quality is very high, and it’s matched by exceptional tone and playability. The Collings OM2H Orchestra Model Cutaway is based on the proven Orchestra Model body design, also known as the ‘000’ body size, with a cutaway and herringbone binding and backstrip. The OM body size is very comfortable and well balanced.

Feast your eyes and ears on this beautiful Collings C10 Mahogany Burst small body guitar, and watch the video review!

The Collings DS1 Slope Shoulder Dreadnought is a re-creation of the original dreadnought design, using the early slope-shoulder, 12-fret neck configuration.

Bill Collings makes a lot of really wonderful, top-quality instruments. They look great, are very comfortable, have tone for days, and the build quality is exceptional. This SJ Indian has the fullness and presence of a dreadnaught but without the boominess and more midrange; it’s rich and evenly balanced with crisp trebles and effective representation across the frequency spectrum.

Today we are featuring a beautiful OM1 from the workshop of Bill Collings. The OM1 is an outstanding example of the consistently exceptional sounding mahogany guitars from Collings. This piece defines the Collings sound with a crisp attack, strong note fundamental, sweet midrange and lovely overtone detail. The 1 3/4″ bone nut and soft V neck profile are a perfect fit for the fingerstyle player and the classic looking tortoise body binding subtly frames the gorgeous looking wood sets. If you are looking for a sweet little fingerstyle guitar or a light to medium strummer you can’t go wrong with this guitar!!

Bill Collings’ C10 guitars are a supercharged modern take on the old 14 fret parlor instruments from ’20s and ’30s. These great looking guitars only have a 14 3/4″ wide lower bout dimension but they pack a powerful punch! As with all of Bill Collings’ instruments, the clarity, balance and sonic detail are exceptional … but Bill has somehow managed to also infuse this particular model with a hint of the sweet midrange character that has distinguished this body style for decades!

Is there anybody on the face of the earth that makes consistently exceptional sounding mahogany guitars like Bill Collings? I don’t find it surprising that lovers of mahogany are singing the praises of these instruments … it is the folks who come in our store insisting that rosewood is a much more viable tonewood … then hear one of Bill’s D or OM1 guitars and fall completely and hopelessly in love!

BOY this thing looks good!

Collings offers a number of options to upgrade their guitars and we often order in custom pieces for stock and our customers. In the case of this guitar simply adding a Herringbone trim enhanced the simple elegant look of the D1 model.

Today we are featuring a beautiful OM1 Custom Deep Body from the workshop of Bill Collings. The OM1 is an outstanding example of the consistently exceptional sounding mahogany guitars from Collings. This custom piece features a 4 3/4″ deep body which provides an augmented low end presence to complement the crisp attack and overtone detail that defines the collings sound. The 1 3/4″ bone nut and soft V neck profile are a perfect fit for the fingerstyle player and the classic looking tortoise body binding subtly frames the gorgeous looking wood sets. If you love a smaller body guitar mahogany guitar but crave more low end depth to go along with sweet midrange and crisp trebles you owe it to yourself to check out this guitar!

There’s something about sitting down and playing a beautiful small-bodied guitar that just puts a smile on my face. The way it responds in detail to the softest strum. Now, I love a nice powerful dreadnaught as much as anyone, but I really do feel there are elements of any guitar’s personality that get lost under a heavey right hand attack. The subtle overtones hidden within the note bloom, the way the harmonics shift throughout the decay… you don’t always get to appreciate these things at higher volumes. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why I’ve fallen so deeply in love with this Collings 001 Mahogany. What looks at first glance like a simple little guitar quickly reveals a huge ammount of sonic personality and character. The more you listen, the more you hear!