The Collings Forum

Hi,

I have come round to thinking about a new guitar ( ok it happens quite a lot). I have 15 year old 0002h that I love and I have come to realise that I love the 12 fret 000 best of all.

My question is: does it make sense to have the same style of guitar in different woods? I have always been interested in the adi/mahogany combination. Would that be different enough from my current EIR/Sitka? I am also wondering if I should consider other builders , although I love the Collings tone and playability.

Living in the UK there are not a lot of possibilities to try various 000s (which is what I’d suggest) and they are also very expensive. How do you feel about owning different wood combos of the same design?

Going to Adi/Mahogany you would certainly sense more headroom and note separation especially in the lower and mids. Is is enough of a change to justify it. I think so if you love your other guitar so much.

The differences though are not going to be as much as going to another builder. That might be good and that might be bad depending on the direction you are trying to go. Only you can answer what you hope to achieve with your beloved guitar. Ascetics? Brand? Tone? Playability? and a bunch of others.

If you have the cash, go for it. You can always change paths once you make the move. Life is short. Enjoy it.

I would think perhaps you might go with an all mahogany guitar for more variety. Perhaps there are reasonable sound bytes on the web for comparison purposes. I, myself, am a 12 fret fiend. One of which is an all mahogany Martin 0-15S and its sound is definitely in contrast to its spruce topped colleagues.

Jon

Hi, I have a OM1A SS and OM2H SS, have owned various other Collings models but always favoured their OM's. I'm also in the UK so appreciate it's a wee bit more difficult tracking down what you want.