Collings OM-2H

OM-2HE
* Ser. # 5380 Late 1999 - Austin, TX
* Solid Engelmann Spruce Top
* Brazilian Rosewood back & sides
* Nitrocellulose Gloss finish
* Waverly Tuners
* Neck/Scale - 14-fret / 25 1/2"
* Aftermarket active LR Baggs Imix
* Original Vermillion (Emerald) Lined Hardshell Case perfectly mated to the body.

The OM-2 series is the mid-level "dress" from Collings for this body style. In this instance, i didn't rate "tons of features" but "quality of features".

* How does it suit your music style - Finger-pickin good and strum-licious.
* Using the recommended light strings, when i finger-pick with a heavy thumb, I get a buzz on 6th string from 3rd to 6th fret. Could probably be fixed with a thicker string - i don't think it needs any change in the action (every other guitar i've played buzzes the same way when i bear down on it - it must be me).
* The most balanced tone i've ever played - all the way up and down the fretboard from string to string. Try playing open chords up the fretboard keeping the open strings open - awe inspiring!
* Likes and dislikes? what's not to like? the finest, tonally balanced, accurately-intonated guitar i've ever played. The Taylor x14 series i've sampled at Guitar Center were disappointing on the low strings. Even the Martin 000 Eric Clapton was noticeably better than the Taylors yet less than inspiring for the $$.

purchased used (i'm at least the third owner). even with a small blemish and some minor fret wear - it's a standard-setting instrument. i could not put it down and wouldn't walk away from it.
the previous owner had medium strings on it, and after a few hours of play i thought that it might need a truss adjustment. but first i installed the builder-recommended (light) strings and now nothing needs adjustment except maybe a lighter thumb from me.

there was something noticeably different when i picked up this guitar that felt like no other acoustic... it's solid but not heavy... sturdy yet delicate.
honestly, i don't intend to play this outside of my home. but the build quality and hardware will surely outlast me - the tuners are top-notch yet simple. the first-position frets are worn but the fretboard is not worn at all. the finish seems durable enough (though i'd like to explore Collings' varnish finish instruments when i start testing the waters for my second acoustic purchase). the overall build screams quality.

i will have to get the frets replaced in the coming years, but not immediately. since the Collings factory is only a few hours away from Dallas, I'll probably take it to them for any repairs and a factory tour. their website is very helpful and there are some great youtube videos that describe their construction. looks like a great team. i like that they publish their serial numbers and estimated dates.

to reward myself for earning the MBA, i decided that i would buy my dream acoustic guitar (i've never owned an acoustic that cost over $200). over the years i've played Martins and Taylors (again, at Guitar Center) and Breedloves and Takamines and lost hope that i'd find a new guitar that I'd love - and decided to start looking for used (even vintage) guitars. i check Craigslist several times a day and when a seller posted this i couldn't wait to check it out. after playing it for 30 minutes i couldn't let it go. $1850 and my acoustic dream has been fulfilled (for now). it would be difficult to replace (finding another used collings) but i would try. i will consider building one in the future when i'm willing to part with the full retail price, but it sure feels good to have bypassed all the depreciation for this fine instrument.

Carl McIntyre ordered this OM2 for me in 1996. I was wanting a Cutaway with a shaded top. I had been talking with Steve at Collings about the top, he assured me it would not look like someone went around the top edge with a can of black spray paint. He had seen enough vintage Martins to know what I wanted. I also went for the wide neck & gold waverlys. The guitar turned out better than I had hoped for. They supplied an expensive case also. Carl was very helpful & generous with his time.

This guitar is now 12 years old and it sounds better each passing year. It has the typical Collings sound which I find to be a full,rich and dynamic. You could set it up for most any style, but they excel at flatpicking/fingerpicking in a band or solo setting. The Cutaway only adds to the versatility. I own a DS42 & 00042BA and this one will stay with them in volume. I will say to other Collings players that the OM cutaway is the 1st guitar I would play if I am shopping for a new guitar.

I am fortunate enough to own 3 Collings. Each one has its unique sound. But each one is built so well it is eerie. This company takes their job to the artistic level. My guitar is still rock solid after 12 years with no problems ever encountered.

Always have a back-up for everything if you want to be invited back. But this guitar would hold up very well unless abused. I don't think serious players would ever abuse any fine instrument.

Steve @ Collings has always let me annoy him with dumb questions. But I haven't called out there in 3 or 4 years because they are building fine instruments & mine just keep on going with no issues. But Support is A+

If you can afford a guitar in this price range you must look at Collings. They are built to last, they hold their resale value, the sounds are consistent within each model (giving allowances for tonal aspects of different woods) and they have been good to me as a customer. What more could you ask for?

This OM2H was bought new in Manchester UK, and was fresh as newly minted wood, stunning, electrifying. The tuners are Waverly, the top solid spruce, the back and sides of course solid rosewood. The neck is the wide 1&3/4", with a soft perfectly round profile. The decoration is honest to a 30s Martin and flawless - remarkably so (if you look carefully and compare with Martins, Taylors, even Santa Cruz). This replaced a Santa Cruz .. hang on, I'm still in 'features'- yes it does have features - a neck and a body and ....

An obvious problem with user reviews - we all like the sound of our own voice after all - is that, having invested in an instrument one is likely to feel good about the purchase, and invest it with all sorts of attributes ("my very best guitar ever, honest") that may be a little exaggerated. So, with the Collings it is difficult to communicate just how far tonally, through resonance, feel, body, timbral detail, string separation, chord fullness, evocative touch, well how far it is above pretty much any other acoustic out there. I THINK I exclude the Sobell I have ordered, but time will tell. I absolutely love it. The context is a long string (sorry!) of instruments from many nice builders (I do miss my 60s Guild though). And the fact is it has become better as the years have passed to become exquisite.

Perfect, even if a nice set of Grovers would make tuning easier, and the decoration is not to my taste - I love a simple old Martin OM21. What counts is playability - it is heavenly - yes, very very very nice. I have to add - it is this way every single time it is picked up. I never tire of it. Morning, afternoon, evening, the same perfection (I stress I am not talking about my playing here). I think you will enjoy it.

Depend on it.

I have never needed anything attending to, in five years.

My ordered Sobell is nearly 4 times the price (and still extremely good value, as Stefan is the world's leading luthier). The Collings should attract a higher retail price. It absolutely should cost more than the equivalent instruments from Martin et al.

Specific features, as cited by the manufacturer and confirmed by me,
the buyer (I got the the cutaway version):

"East Indian rosewood back and sides, spruce top, grained ivoroid binding, prewar scalloped bracing, crosscut grained ivoroid and black/white nitrate strip purfling, herringbone border, crosscut grained ivoroid and wood strip rosette, tortoise style pickguard. Other features include a gloss-finished mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard and bridge, rosewood peghead overlay with mother of pearl Collings logo and a traditional diamond and square inlay and nickel Waverly tuners."

This is a very nice solid set of basic features. It has a traditional feel to it, and one of hand made excellence. I would have normally gone for a guitar with a little more artistic license for the money, but was won over heart and soul by the playability and sound and overall craftsmanship and stately beauty of the guitar.

My least favorite feature is the herringbone border, but it has quickly grown on me to the extent that I'll happily accept it, and now even embrace it.

I would prefer slightly more precision tuners, but these are bullet proof and subtle enough, and nicer than the grovers on my previous $1700 Breedlove.

The headstock has beautiful wavy wood grain running vertically shining through the finish, but I would have preferred the top being less angular and 'squared-off' on the top, however, that seems to be a traditional style and the look of some classic Martins, and doesn't look bad. I'm quickly getting used to it, because it fits the overall picture.

The body size is real nice for kicking back and jamming on the couch, ie. no bigger than necessary (and amazing what they manage to pack into the really decent integral feeling size!).

Everything people say about the sound of this guitar is true. It is almost unbelievably a synergy of engineering perfection. The more I listen closely and contemplate how the they pulled it off, the more my jaw drops and I am amazed. An though I had a friend who said he'd gotten one, I'd never considered a Collings before. I tried one a long time ago, but I couldn't play well enough to appreciate it.

This time, I was looking for a guitar in the $2000 range and ended up spending $3500, trading in my beloved Breedlove of 11 years and selling a bunch of stuff, including a Schecter C1 classic to afford this. I could not let this one go. 20 minutes with it, and I had to have it.

The sound and dynamic response of the Collings OM-2H is beyond belief. It opens my heart up and fills me with joy and almost tears sometimes when I play that I am able to get the tones and response out of this that are possible that I could never achieve on my Breedlove on my best day. I know that sounds maudlin and sentimental, but I'm not that way. I seldom give such hardy if emotional endorements. Not like that. It is a rare feeling of gratitude, and a sense of true luck at a rare quality I've always wanted in a guitar but felt I couldn't afford.

This guitar meets my best efforts with an unprecedented expressiveness, warmth, volume and clarity. In chords and plucking, *all* the notes are heard and they all work together without dominating the others, and yet they each have an individuality. I guess this is what people mean by balanced sound. I finally get it. I don't have to compensate with technique to even-out the sound or to make some note in a chord hold it's own.

The mid-range strength is equal to the bass and treble. That is something I have *never* experienced in a guitar before, period. The sound is clear, strong, clean, rich and balanced between crispness and warmth. It is true that if you pluck too hard it can get harsh and overloaded as all that music gets jammed up in the soundhole :), so if you're a flat picker with an aggressive style, you might have to throttle it back a bit or apply some moderating technique, or consider another guitar, at least for that style.

You can hear the physics of the materials and the body construction working together to blend the sounds and amplify them. Pure synergy. This guitar must have been designed by a true master. Either that or someone got really really lucky in the shop one day. It is as though an acoustic engineer, some computer modeling software, and an angel and a craftsperson got together at a retreat under a lucky star and did this thing.

But, here's an important thing to note: I don't believe all of these OM-2H's are created equal. To me this one sounded MUCH better than a brand new one, even though this was *barely* used and in mint condition. This tells me that OM-2Hs definitely have personality. And it is possible that there are some more mediocre ones and that I really lucked out a bit. One reviewer said there were some 'dogs'. I wouldn't go that far without having played a bunch of them, but the new one didn't have the lustre. It was crisper, clean, but emptier, sounding and didn't have the volume. I wouldn't have bought it, even at the price of mine. So unless you hear magic, try a few. Even travel to another store if necessary.

I played a lot of guitars looking for the one that would reach me, Martins, Santa Cruz Guitars, Taylors, Avalons, Larravies, Guilds, and another reputable brand or two. And only a couple of guitars besides this had some spunk, volume and cleanness, a Larravie D-09 (I think that one got sold, because I came back and played one and it didn't have it), and a used Martin on consignment at Gryphon, and a reputable guitar that started with a "W" which had a wide neck I could not stand and set down right away. Would have bought the used Martin for $2100, but the Collings sounded even better and looked a lot better.

I bought this guitar mint, used, for $350 less than the new one of the same model. If Gryphon hadn't been honest and told me it was used, I wouldn't have known.

This guitar is clean. There are no visible flaws. None. Extreme care was put into building this guitar. All the lines are clean. All the joints are perfect. Everything is squared up and solid. The intersections are immaculate. The binding is perfect. No sloppy glue, no sloppy anything. From the standpoint of craftsmanship, this guitar looks like the "expensive" guitar it is. They earned it. It doesn't have some the fancy inlay or stuff that one often associates with expensive guitars, but the finish and looks of this guitar are just one of pure respectability.

This guitar was built by an expert, and that expert must have really been into this guitar. This must have been a pet project or a work of love. Someone had some self-respect and honor to uphold with this instrument. The finish is glossy, and I really like that on the neck compared to my previous guitar which had a satin finish which impeded neck slides too much.

One would might imagine coming from a fingerstyle type of guitar like a Breedlove or a Taylor that the OM-2H neck might be 'slower' (it is rounder), but I have somewhat long fingers and I find that the roundness helps me get better leverage on barre chords. Unlike a some guitars I played in the shop, I didn't find myself missing or skipping notes. I guess the neck width and fret size are similar (14 above the body).

It plays in many ways similarly to my Breedlove, but because of the increased volume and responsiveness I got to stop over-compensating on some of the strings and notes. I can get a lot more music out of playing easier.

The strip that joins the two halves in the back is just gorgeous. Some sort of intricate wood work in a repeating pattern. Really really nice. The wood grain is beautiful all around.

The guitar body shape is neat too. It looks like a totally decent guitar but not ostentatious. Simple. Intuitively obvious, and upon close inspection, it is built to impress.

I can't rate the durability of the guitar since I haven't had it long enough to know. It seems more durable than my $1700 Breedlove. It looks rock solid.

I don't gig so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I think it will last me a long time. I hope a lifetime. I can't imagine selling it.

Gryphon is a great guitar shop. They stand by their instruments and a competetent. They gave me a really good trade-in value on my Breedlove because I bought it there and they like repeat business and they want their customers happy, and that guitar was worn in to say the least, with more than a few blemishes, seriously in need of a fret job and wear on the finish.

It is the Palo Alto, CA analog of McCabes in Santa Monica, CA, the guitar shop near where I grew up.

I've been playing for over 30 years. I've owned several electrics including a Les Paul Custom, a Gibson ES-347 semi-hollow body, a Gibson The Paul, a Schecter C1 classic, a Fender CG25 classical guitar, Takamines, a Breedlove, and several others I can't recall right now.

I would absolutely want to replace this Collings above all else if I lost it or if it was stolen. It is my favorite acoustic guitar among all that I've played. There are some guitars that I've liked the style of better, but they just didn't sound as good. There are some other guitars that sounded great, but mostly rich professional musicians owned them. I haven't personally played anything that sounded better. I've played a few good guitars, and I know there are some out there, probably even better than this. I guess.

This guitar is going to make be a better player, because it will always remind me of what is possible when I try harder. It can express more richness and subtlety and resonates well with good playing. It is an evolutionary step I'm honored to take in a musical instrument.

Orchestral body size, select spruce top, East Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony bridge and fingerboard, herringbone perimeter inlay, mother of pearl Collings logo - plus the company sticker inside is signed by Bill himself (at least it looks like Bill's signature)... couldnt really ask for more amd its beautifully finished.

The sound is really out of this world, and its a new guitar (2006) - when the grain opens up slightly it can only get better. You really need to hear one in real life to really appreciate it.

The OM model has incredible volume considering its size. Even when compared to the Collings D-2h or Martin D-28. Also the sound is far more balanced and has great definition between the bass and treble.

Until i played this guitar i would have rated the collings D-2H as the best sounding guitar i've heard, and after that the Gibson Hummingbird. But this guitar really does blow them away. It a great all rounder - really defined sound for finger pickers but has great volume and unbelievable sustain for the more forceful among us.

I really have to give this guitar a 10 for sound, its no less than perfect and can only improve.

I cant really comment on the factory set-up because it had been set-up by the store before they put it on display (which most good retailers do).

The action is low - but not to low as to be detrimental to the sound. The guitar is beautifully finished. It looks and feels handcrafted - which sadly many guitars (even in this price range) simply do not. The new martins for example tend to have a distincly mass produced feel.

This guitar and every collings i've played is simply a work of art.

I havent played it live as of yet but i feel that it could most certainly take it. It a beautifully constructed instrument, and as collings themself say - its built for playing.

I have had no problems as of yet and dont expect any. I did email collings whilst trying to source the instruments and i had a fast and friendly reply everytime - you cant really ask for more.

I've been playing guitar for 8 years and this is my first high end instrument. I really wanted to make the right decision - and i did.

Its an instrument that is versatile enough for any player to grow into. Im not worried about trying any particular music or technique with this instrument because i am confident that it will deliver every time.

I would certainly replace this guitar in a flash if any ever happened to it!

I played the big names at this price range (Gibson/Martin/Taylor etc) but nothing had the feel of this guitar, and most importantly the sound! Collings are a custom luthier, who make outstanding guitars - they are not a multi-national musical corp, which sadly many other guitar makers are becoming. I feel this is one of the many reasons why collings guitars have a feel and a sound that the others do not - that can only come from a level of care, attention to detail and time that the bigger companies cannot afford to give individual items.

The most important thing when buying an instrument is that it feels right, its a very personal thing so i wont say Collings will be preferable to everyone - but i will say that if you are out to buy a guitar, you MUST try a collings before buying anything else.

Made in 2005. I own this guitar for about a year now. Clasic OM & standard appointments (ie as described on their website): sitka spruce top, herringbone, solid rosewood body, ebony fingerboard & bridge, waverly tuners, etc. Nut width 1 11/16", scale length 25 1/2". Looks classic, looks great!

I play mostly 60's/70's pop/folk music (Beatles, Stones, Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Dylan, etc.) with a twist of country/americana (Johnny Cash, Townes van Zandt). This guitar is suited both for fingerpicking (which I do sometimes) and flatpicking (which I do most of the time). Sound is full, well balanced and quite punchy. Can even sound loud and rings very nicely (lovely harmonics, rich and textured sound). Definitely a lot of life in that guitar (using d'Addario EXP strings, 12-54). It may sound a bit harsh and less subtle when strummed with too much enthusiasm (and that's when I need to revert to my Gibson J-45). Still, an exceptional all-rounder.

Set-up is excellent. Action reasonably low & no buzzing frets. Finish is immaculate and I particularly like the gloss finished neck (which I prefer to a satin finish as I have on some of my other guitars, e.g. Santa Cruz 00, Ovation LX Elite Standard or Marin D-35). I guess you can't get better than that.

I see nothing that could go wrong with this guitar as it seems extremely well built. I treat my guitars carefully and the case that comes with it holds the guitar firmly, so no worries on that front.

Never had to deal with Collings. Lifetime warranty (I believe).

As said above I own several other "high end" guitars and sometimes I ask myself: should I go down to one guitar, which one would I keep? Well, the Collings would be the one, as it is the ideal combination of built quality, sound richness, playing confort and versatility.

2001 OM2H with 1-3/4 nut. Collings description "East Indian rosewood back and sides, select spruce top, grained ivoroid binding, prewar scalloped bracing, crosscut grained ivoroid and black/white nitrate strip purfling, herringbone border, crosscut grained ivoroid and wood strip rosette, tortoise style pickguard. Other features include a gloss-finished mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard and bridge, rosewood peghead overlay with mother of pearl Collings logo and a traditional diamond and square inlay and nickel Waverly tuners."

The sound is just fantastic. Very balanced and well ranged for finger style and really quite good for flat-picking as well. Intonation is perfect. This is a very warm & clean sounding guitar. I don?t consider it to be terribly distinctive, but a solid classic sounding instrument.

This was a used instrument, but it had been gone over and readjusted by a luthier to be sure it was still set up properly. The action was identical to the new models I played. Fairly low and playable and suits my preferences perfectly

The guitar is extremely well put together. I can?t find a zero flaw on this OM2H even though it is 3 years old. There is nothing about the construction to complain about. In fact every detail looks exceptionally well tended to.

Wood choices look to be very well matched and of high quality. The finish is perfect.

I have not owned enough guitars of this caliber to comment on longevity. I am confident that with proper care this instrument will be enjoyed long after I am gone. The binding and bracing certainly looks to be more than ample, but the guitar maintains a very light feel.

I have no direct experience with Collings. I do like that you can re-register used Collings on their website.

I have been playing off and on for over 20 years. I have had my hands on a number of older Taylor and newer Santa Cruz guitars. I find pro?s and con?s with any quality guitar, but for my tastes the Collings OM2H stood ahead of similar guitars. If you are looking for an OM at the very least you need to test drive the Collings line as you look. I recommend this model highly.

The features of this model have already been well documented in other reviews here. Mine is an OM-2HE, with an englemann spruce top I purchased it brand new late in 2003 and I assume it to have been built in 2003. It is a simple but very classy looking guitar ..... it may not have all the fancy adornments but as far as I know I've never seen them make a guitar sound or play any better .... not that I'm knocking adornments, some of them are beautiful, I'd just sooner spend my money on sound and playability.

When I first started playing some 30 years ago I was drawn to players like Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, Paul Simon, James Taylor etc.. but try as I might I could never find a guitar that played well or sounded good, (probably a combination of money and knowledge). Subsequently I went the route of playing classical guitar to satisfy my acoustic / fingerpicking along with rock, pop, blues etc... with various bands over the years.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to a Taylor .... which changed my view of steel string acoustics being primarily for flatpicking or strumming. Then a friend of mine bought a 1975 Martin D28 ... I couldn't resist picking this thing up everytime I went to his place. So I decided it was time to finally get something that played what I was originaly attracted to as a kid.

I spent many afternoons looking primarily in places like Guitar Center, although I did try quite a few other places. I tried Martins, Taylors, Larrivees, Tacomas, Guilds, Gibsons you name it. While many of these were outstanding instruments I couldn't find anything that just "grabbed me". I think I had in mind that beautiful controlled chimey ringing sound that I associate with James Taylor. I figured out that I wanted indian rosewood back and sides, spruce top and ebony fingerboard .... I just had to find "the" guitar. I was talking to a guy in GC and he told me I needed to go to McCabes in Santa Monica .... so I did. Three hours later and over 3K lighter I walked out with a brand new Collings. I must have played 20 or more different guitars ranging from 2K to 10K but I kept coming back to the Collings. It was the sound that grabbed me. This guitar is superbly well balanced with astonishing clarity ... the bass is not overpowering yet strong, the mids add a roundness to the chimey bell like tones of the trebles. There is no "tinnyness" to the trebles, (which made me put alot of guitars back in their case), and absolutely no muddyness to the sound. The sustain goes on and on. The response is excellent, it's actually a pretty loud instrument for it's size. As far as the voice of the guitar goes .... it doesn't have a particularly distinctive voice like other instruments I tried .... it just has clear beautifull bell like tone with great balance up and down the neck.

I can't find any flaws with the build quality. The action may be a little low for me ... but that is purely a matter of taste. The set up is as near as I can tell perfect .... the fretwork is outstanding, it intonates extremely well. The nut and bridge work are spot on. No surplus glue, no misaligned parts. The neck and binding both look and feel great. The finish is top quality. The guitar feels light yet rock solid. In all the years I've played I can only think of two guitars that I haven't had to get some setup work done too .... this one and the other a Parker Nitefly .... and I've had a lot of guitars.

If this guitar is taken care of it will last for years. It is fairly light but very well built. I'm sure so long as I watch the humidity and temperature I'll have no problems.

As far as playing a gig without a backup ... in thirty years of playing I've only had a few problems on stage .... mostly strings breaking, once the PA fell on me and snapped my guitars neck, (I'm not kidding!). That said IMO anyone who plays a gig without a backup is either broke, psychic, not serious or stupid.

I dealt with the company several times via email and ran into some of their staff at the NAMM show. They seem like the nicest people, (I suppose that's their job?), and were very prompt and responsive when I asked questions via email.

I think I've pretty much laid out my case for owning this guitar. My primary reason for buying any guitar is the sound .... this has it particulary for my style of playing .... fingerstyle. I can't say how it would perform for flatpicking .... I rarely put a pick on an acoustic, I think it would be good for tapping and superb for slackkey. It's strengths are its clarity, tone and playability. Most of the other guitars I tried were excellent ... although I thought a few had obvious problems, some had more distinguished voices, all played extremely well .... although some better than others. What grabbed me with the Collings was the sound .... even against guitars that cost two and three times as much .... it just begs to be caressed. If I played a more percusive, louder style I might look at something other than an OM model ... but I can play classical on this and it sounds beautifull. If it was damaged or lost would I replace it ..... as soon as I stopped crying. I've been playing for over thirty years and have owned dozens of guitars ... I only have a handfull that I will never part with ... this is second on that list.

2003 signed by Bill Collings
Indian Rosewood(the pattern and the matching is a work of art)
Sitka Spruce Top
1 3/4 in nut
Waverley Tuners
Mahogany neck joined at 14th fret
Collings Cases fit like a glove and one of my guitar buddies says I should be buried in it when I die.
No pickup has been installed to date.

My music style is varied with a preference for blues with some fingerpicking.
I have heard harmonics while chording or fingerpicking the guitar that I have never heard before with any acoustics I have ever owned. I have had up to 20 acoustics at one time in the past(40's,50's,60's, 70's Gibsons, Martins, Guilds, Epiphones, United Elitone, Kays,etc) I had to call my bandmate who is also a luthier to ask him if what I was hearing was possible or was it the results of having lived through the 60's & 70's in Austin, Texas. My electrics are an early 70's Strat, ES295 reissue, 61 Les Paul Jr, 78 25/50 Les Paul, 50's Dannelectros,etc. Amps are Mark 1 Mesa Boogie, 62 Fender Vibrolus, 60 watt Boogie, Silvertone, Cordovox Leslie etc. I have been buying, playing & selling guitars for 35 years and I know what a fine instrument is and my OM2H rates among the top. It cuts through the mix with a sweet beautiful tone.

The action from the factory is perfect and other musicians who have played it are amazed at my guitar. The attention to detail and the finish sings with beauty. The Collings Factory has a an amazing group of talented artists that strive for the ultimate perfection in their guitars.

My OM2H is superb. I have a 65 000-18 Martin(Peter Rowan has blessed this guitar) in mint condition as well as a 41 0-15 in very good condition and the sound of the OM2H is noticeably better. In playing with other folks in Austin that have Martins(50's, 60's, 70's D28's,HD28's, D 35's,OM's & 000-28's) my OM2H is oohed and awed by other serious player.

Excellent, Steve McCreary at Collings and Josh At Strait Music in Austin could nothave been more helpful and professional.

10++++
I've been playing for 40 of my fifty years.
I am going to buy another Collings in the future, not sure which model yet.
My OM2H is amazing to hear, amazing to play and could only be replaced with a handpicked version of the same.
A tremendous instrument for the price. You pay for what you get and my OM2H is a work of art. My wife ask me how much my new guitar cost. I showed it to her and she said it was too beautiful to find out the actual price I paid for it. I got a good deal on a tremendous instrument. She got a very nice Christmas present for not ever asking me about the actual cost of the guitar. She will continue to get surprise gifts for not asking me what it cost.

Collings OM-2HSS- Short Scale, bought new, built in Austin Texas. Select Spruce soundboard with Indian Rosewood back and sides.
Ebony fingerboard, bone nut and saddle, mahogany neck.
Waverly tuners. HSC included.

I generally play fingerstyle, blues, ragtime- I waited and played different guitars for months waiting to hear just the right one- as soon as I struck as chord on this guitar I knew it would be walking out of the store with me.

Great set-up, no flaws noticed, really solidly built. Beautiful materials. Action is lower than I am used to, but this could be remedied.

I have no concerns about the reliability or durability.

I haven't had any problems and no repairs have been necessary, but it was purchased from not only a reputable company, but a reputable shop as well at Pioneer Music in Portland.

I love the character of this guitar, the balance and response- and the great projective sound.
If you can afford it (I had been saving for about a year while shopping)- this is a guitar to look at.