Product: Collings DS1
Price Paid: US $2700 used
Submitted
06/03/2004
at
01:54pm
by
Alan Cline
Email: alan at co-motion<dot>com
Features
:
10
The Collings DS1 is a mahogany bodied, Sitka Spruce topped 12 fret dreadnought.
It has an ebony fingerboard and bridge, nut and saddle are bone, standard nut width is a wide 1 13/16" - mine is a little narrower at 1 3/4". Ebony bridge pins are unslotted. Waverly tuners. Rosewood peghead overlay. Tortoise binding on the body.
Mine was made in early 2002 and has a nicely flamed mahogany back and sides. The spruce top is heavily silked. Really pretty wood selections.
Sound
:
10
This is a loud guitar - it moves alot of air but more importantly it has a huge dynamic range - you can go from very soft delicate passages to monstrous, booming G-runs.
My style is a combination of flatpicking, travis picking, and fingerstyle blues and this guitar is ideally suited.
The bass and volum are there in droves but this is a balanced guitar with gritty trebles that really project when firing off lead lines. The lead sound is classic sweet, chimey mahogany sound - think sixties D-18.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Collings are well documented for being brilliantly constructed and this one is no exception. I also own a Santa Cruz D and they are both equally well built.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
Solid wood guitars require some care, but mine are regularly taken to jam circles and out to picnics and such. i am a little more sqeamish about taking this guitar and my SCGC to long festivals and such where I can't control the environment - in those cases I take the D-18.
Customer Support
:
10
They have been exceptionally helpful and friendly when I have called. i have heard really positive things about them.
Overall Rating
:
9
This is an exceptional instrument and I feel blessed to be able to play it. For an ultimate bluegrass/flatpicking guitar it is a very strong choice.
