Re: New Member/New Collings: DS1A
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:19 pm
Absurdly late to this party, and indeed to the now not so "new" Collings Forum. But I thought better late than never to offer a welcome to the comparatively small fraternity of diehard Collings 12-fret dreadnought fans.
I've now had my own DS1A for 23 years. And still vividly recall my astonishment taking it off the wall at Mandolin Bros (alas now gone) during a marathon afternoon of test driving new and vintage instruments, assuming that I'd leave with a rosewood Martin of some kind--hoping to replace as best I could a 1940 Herringbone D-28 stolen in London half a dozen years earlier (and yes, still missed). Mahogany had simply never ever quickened my own heartbeat--so I was, in a word, skeptical.
But very much to my surprise Collings seemed to possess the secret of unlocking mahogany's magic. So, in addition to the usual comparison to concert grand pianos, there was a combination of the intimate sweetness that 12-frets can have with both clarity, and a precision of craft that vintage instruments generally lack.
Use a capo much above the fifth fret, and it's not hard to run out of road. But as with all things, you figure out workarounds--and almost always they'll have some creative silver lining.
I have and have had other Collings D models, and think highly of them all. But the DS1s are really worth taking time to get to know. So, congratulations.