This fantastic OOO has figured mahogany with broad, dramatic stripes on the back and sides and high grade Sitka spruce top voiced for fingerstyle. This instrument is about as simple as it gets from Collings but is an astonishingly nice instrument. The 12 fret OOO body is a shape and geometry that has a great effect on the voice of a guitar all by itself, producing a warmer, more complex voice than a 14 fret instrument. Add to that the mahogany back and sides and you get a "woody", warm, round bass but one with great clarity. The Sitka top is usually fairly fundamental but this one is different and has very complex highs which ringout with great sustain and produce a beautiful, haunting resonance few guitars can match. Finally, its a "cannon", with big bass, big midrange and loud bell-like trebles all the way up the neck.
Aesthetically, the clean and simple lines coupled with an elegant mahognay back and side set, master grade Sitka top and Collings world class workmanship make this instrument a rare beauty despite its simplicity. This OOO is as loud as a D-18 with "real bass" , a complex round rich bass not a thumpy, percussive fundamental representation of a bass (sorry for being so bitter) that some OOO's have. Like most 12 frets it has nice midrange balance, focused but with "thickness" and rich harmonics. Up the neck it is loud, complex and bell like with an ethereal, haunting sustain. In addition, it has a nice, loose high performance feel to the action, which is dialed in for fingerstyle. I always like to point out to the anal retentive perfectionists out there that Collings are the answer to your workmanship dreams. Might take all the fun out of your pursuit of perfection, because there it would be in your hot little hands.
Features:
