Hey Red Oak, Well, I'm hesitant to say this because everybody says it about their "new" guitar. Seriously, and with not an inkling of exaggeration, it is the finest acoustic guitar I've ever played in my life. The build is perfection, the action is a very low/comfy, and my gosh at the tone and playability. It's the first guitar (out of maybe 35) that I've owned that simply won't allow me to put it down, though I've had to here the past month or so due to an increasingly painful case of "trigger finger". It entices me to try new things....new tunings and new chords to me. And good Lord is it beautiful.
And a shout out to the guys at Collings as I'll tell you a little story. I've got a couple of other Collings guitars, one being a D2HA. Well if you thumb through these threads, somewhere you'll find one in which I'm asking folks here about tuner bushings. I love gold tuners and always have, and was changing my stock nickel Waverly tuners to Waverly gold engraved tuners, as I love 'em. Well, I was able to get some input here where a member was kind enough to inform me that the nickel tuner bushing would have to be pressed out. Not impossible, but difficult to do and not pull nitro off the headstock. I left the nickel bushings in the D2HA and added the gold tuners and posts....it looks fine, and if you didn't know better, you'd never notice.
Well fast forward to the new D1A. When I ordered via "The North American Guitar", I'd specified gold tuners, but it was an afterthought, a change order as the order had already been submitted, though nowhere near the tuner placement stage. Well, somebody dropped the ball as I called the week it was to be shipped to the house and asked for a few pictures, and was accommodated. To my great dismay, it had nickel tuners. I panicked as I'd prepaid for the entire guitar, including gold tuners. I voiced my displeasure very diplomatically and could tell the guys didn't want to press those bushings out of a brand new guitar, so I told them to forget it and just leave the nickel bushings. It arrived a few days later, gold bushings and all
, installed to perfection. I didn't make an issue about it at all as I said, but in the back of my mind I thought, those guys are so good, they'll do it I'll betcha, and they sure did it.
I love the D1A to answer your question directly. I can't imagine a finer acoustic guitar. I neglected to mention that it has that stunningly beautiful Western Shaded top.
West