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sitka surprise!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:10 pm
by dansprucefir
Hey all,

I wanted the forum know how impressed I am with my new OM1T (purchsed from the kind folks at TME). I have owned seven Collings acoustics (D's and OM's) and currently have a D1AT and an OM1A in addition to the OM1T. You probably know where this is going.....

I honestly thought I was an adirondack-only kind of guy when it comes to Collings guitars, but the sitka version of the T-series has really surprised me in the very best way. It has a compression to the note/attack that really makes it addictive to play and a fullness to the treble strings that my Adi-topped guitars don't have as much of. It is also just incredibly light and responsive.

I've owned most of the mahogany Collings D/OM lineup (including an OM1AJL) and would be more than happy to talk specifics.

Anyhoo, I know it's just plain ol' sitka and mahogany, but if you are in the market, I would try a sitka T-series.

Dan

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 10:59 pm
by Silly Moustache
Hi,

Congrats on your new acquisition. I noted that you wrote "plain old sitka and mahogany" and that describes my most powerful Collings guitar - a DS1. I also have an older DS1asb (adi top) which is superb, but I feel that there ain't nut'n wrong with a good piece of sitka, or mahogany, esp. when selected, thicknessed and assembled by an excellent company like Collings.

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 12:45 am
by sgarrity
My favorite Collings guitars have always been Adirondack over mahogany. Then I got an OM-2HT with a baked Sitka top.....damn! Loud, open tone with headroom to spare. Sitka on the Traditionals I think is a winning combo.

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 1:28 pm
by Jgottsman11
sgarrity wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 12:45 am My favorite Collings guitars have always been Adirondack over mahogany. Then I got an OM-2HT with a baked Sitka top.....damn! Loud, open tone with headroom to spare. Sitka on the Traditionals I think is a winning combo.
My OM2h T comes in tomorrow. Can't wait!

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:48 pm
by 12Frets
I have a Collings D1 I bought about 13 years ago that holds its own with almost any guitar I've ever played. It's not baked, sauted or fried, or anything of the kind. It's just an off-the-shelf sitka-topped D1. I think the only non-spec feature might be that the neck is a scoosh wider than standard, but I can't swear to it. Anyway, it's aged into the prettiest golden brown you've ever seen. I've drank the kool-aide like everybody else on Red Spruce, but I that D1 has all of the volume and projection that you hope for in an Adirondack/Hog guitar, with a more warmth and woodiness to my ear. I don't play it enough. Enjoy your OM1T, and don't think for a moment you've got to apologize for Sitka!

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 3:43 pm
by Fidalgo
I bought a torrefied D1T in the spring. It is everything I could ever want in a mahogany dread. There is a warmth and roundness to the overall tone and individual notes. My other two guitars are red spruce, and I am quite happy with them as well.

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2019 2:44 am
by sdelsolray
Adirondack can sound and behave differently than other topwoods, including Sitka.

Sitka can sound and behave differently than other topwoods, including Adirondack.

I like them both and appreciate their differences, if present.

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 8:12 pm
by Silly Moustache
I agree with the last poster in this.

Sitka is probably the cheapest tone wood because it ins plentiful and easily found in suitable sizes for guitar tops.

I think that whilst I'll not diminish the qualities of red spruce or European spruce in any way - it occurs to me that because they are harder to come by, or require shipping across the Atlantic, they are more expensive and so, we may consider them superior.

Indeed - as sitka is so easily available, a good builder , say, Collings has the facility to choose the finest pieces (cosmetically and tonally) and to prepare them to get the best out of them.

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:35 pm
by dansprucefir
Silly,
I totally agree. I was a red spruce snob for a long time (partially because of the research I have done on it over the past 20 years - I study wood for a living). But I am so smitten with this guitar. I love the soft compression and the fatness of the treble notes. Everything else has been in the closet for the past few weeks. Happy times for sure!

Re: sitka surprise!

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:26 pm
by Frankie2blue
I have played a lot of great Adirondack guitars, but also played just as many great Sitka guitars. Playing mostly fingerstyle, sometime I find there to be a bit too much tension with the Addy top guitars which can make the guitar feel somewhat stiff. I had a DS1A that was like that. One of the best of all my guitars actually has German spruce, which is a 0001KG and it plays like slicing warm butter.
That said, I really like Sitka guitars and a really nice Sitka top also can have some of the nicest figure of any of the Spruce varieties as well IMO.