Collings OM-2H

simple and elegant, allyou need

very versitile, i play all type of acoustic music. great with my
trace elliot ta100, not loaded with boomy bass very balanced. wonderful sound w/ lr baggs i beam active

collings, perfect enough said

collings, waverlys cnc mfg along with hand made craftsmanship,no worries

very helpful and freindly when i called for info. hey collings, you should really make a nice brochure, so when people go to a shop they can bring one home. it keeps your products in their minds long after they leave the dealer

have played and owned alot of good gear but this is dollar for dollar
the best. buy one and you wont be dissapionted.
ps buy it from buffalo bros theyre the best and theyre trade in policy makes you very comfortable with your purchase.

This is an OM sized guitar with a 25.5 inch scale. It has Indian rosewood
back and sides and a sitka spruce top. The top is close grained with good
silking. The two pieces are matched very well. The guitar has a cutaway,
but no herringbone trim.

The neck is 1 3/4 inches at the nut and goes to 2 1/8 inches at the bridge.
The bridge spacing is smaller than Martins that have the 1 3/4 inch nut but
2 5/16 at the bridge, and it gives the whole neck a narrower feel than the
Martins. That could be a plus or a minus depending on your preference. I
find it very comfortable for both hands.

The neck is a "V" shape in the back, but it's pretty gentle. I'd
personally prefer if the neck had a "C" shape in the back more like a
classical guitar, but I don't find the Collings "V" to be a problem.
Martin's vintage series guitars, by comparison, have a much sharper "V"
shape that gets close to uncomfortable for me. The fret board is very
flat. The finish on the back of the neck is glossy. Tuners are Waverly.

This guitar was refretted, but I've played several other Collings OMs.
Collings' frets are higher than Martins typical fret wire and I like it.

The saddle is a drop-in compensated saddle. I believe both the saddle and
the nut are bone. The bridge is ebony.

Bridge pins are ebony with an abalone dot.

This guitar's basic sound, as is typical of Collings' OM2s, is articulate
and bright with a strong midrange and wonderful complexity it the notes.
The guitars are very resonant and alive. However, they can also get a
little harsh sounding in some situations.

For fingerstyle this guitar is a joy. There is excellent string
definition. The bass strings are crisp. They have a real growl and
authority to them. The high strings have a bell like tone. They're
bright, but not sharp or piercing. There's a roundness to the tone. The
guitar has a meaty chunk of midrange in its tone with a little extra hump
in the midrange that adds a vocal or throaty quality to the tone that I've
heard in every Collings OM2 I've played. One way to think of it is when you
put a wah pedal on an electric guitar, though more subtle. There's also an
overall resonance and a complexity in the tone of the notes that really
works for fingerstyle stuff. I find myself just working my way up the neck
listening to these beautiful notes coming out. This combination of
clarity, vocal quality in the mids, and bell like highs is the signature
Collings OM2 sound. I played four of them at different stores while I was
looking for this guitar and they all had that sound.

The other two brands I looked at were Martin and Santa Cruz. Neither of
these brands makes that Collings tone. The Santa Cruzs (rosewood/sitka)
were more scooped in the mids. The good ones were still very resonant
and clear. It's not a bad sound, it's just a different sound than the
Collings. The Martin OM28V was neither as clear or as bright as either the
Collings or the Santa Cruz. The Martins had a strong midrange and a more
mellow sound. Again, not bad, just different. I only played one and I
would have liked to have played more.

The Collings is also great for more standard finger picking lower on the
neck. It does have a signature sound to it, but I like it. Put a capo on
the 7th fret and it sounds incredible playing Scarbough Fair.

The brightness and vocal quality in the Collings can also be the source of
some harshness in the Collings tone. The tone I've described above is with
my right hand positioned over the center of the sound hole. If I move my
hand toward the bridge a harshness can get into the tone. It's not
piercing, but rather a hardness. If you've ever played around with a
parametric eq, it sounds like boosting around 1000 Hz.

Hard strumming can be a little dicy too. That lovely vocal quality can
get a little honky when strummed hard. The complexity of the tone doesn't
help here either, at least to my ears. It can get to be just too much.

A pick, especially a thin one, can also bring out the harshness in the
tone. Single line runs with a thicker pick are pretty good. The vocal
quality and roundness in the highs can come out.

I believe that this is one of those taking the good with the bad situations.
I don't know how a guitar could sound as clear and bright as a Collings
does when playing with fingers and NOT sound somewhat overly bright and/or
harsh with thin picks and hard strumming.

Super versatility is not this guitar's long suit. As a fingerstyle
instrument it has a wonderfully expressive and unique tone. On the other
hand, I couldn't imagine using it as a bluegrass guitar. I think the
Martin OM28V has a real edge here. It has a nice, but different,
fingerstyle sound and its basic tone will carry over to other playing
styles more readily.

The action was perfect when I bought the guitar, though the shop where I
bought the guitar really deserves the credit here. The guitar plays
wonderfully.

The finish looks great. The Waverly tuners are pretty smooth.

The guitar is very neat on the inside. All the braces are smooth and
sanded.

The guitar is seven years old and seems to have held up really well.

No idea. It's a used instrument so I have no warranty.

I bought this guitar to replace a 1988 Taylor 615 (jumbo maple). The
Taylor is bright with a ton of bass and a very scooped mid range. The high
end could get very hard and brittle. I liked the clarity, but wanted less
bass (equals boominess in recordings) more midrange and rounder highs. The
Collings gave me all of these things plus complexity and vocal quality in
the tone that the Taylor never had.

If you are looking for OMs in this price range, the Martin and Santa Cruz
offerings should really be looked at too. They're all wonderful guitars.
The Martins OM28Vs are very hard to find with a cutaway if that's important
(and it was to me).

In the process of buying this guitar I bought a Martin D18GE too. That is
an incredible guitar. The D18GE is strong in all the areas that the
Collings is weak in. They work together for me very well.

Owned a 1992, but played at least 10 different ones, including a 2000 recently. Spruce Top and Rosewood back and sides. Excellent build quality.

These guitars are usually good, but not neccessarily great. I sold mine for a Taylor which sounded much better (and was prettier). They're generally good for finger-style, but fall short for strumming. Some that I've tried were "dogs".

Top-notch

Top-notch

I would never spend over $2k for one again. At a store recently, a salesman kept raving about Collings, after a quick test against some "lesser" makes, the raving sounded a lot more hype.

After reading the reveiws on this instrument, and playing a Collings guitar, I'm feel I must respond to the reveiw written by Dave, below. This person should not have submitted a reveiw based on his experience, and I would discount his opinion. There's one in every crowd...
I'm directing this to those who are not fimiliar with this builder, as it is much more likely that the reveiwer, Dave, was poorly informed and was having a bad day when he wrote that reveiw.
So, consider the messanger when forming an opinion based on these reveiws.

Made 08/00; Factory Left-handed. Stock woods and features. All features already listed. Has everything it should have and nothing it doesn't need.

The tone of this guitar is just so clean, clear, balanced and full of aligned harmonics with tons of even sustain.
It's like the tone is run through ice cold crystal clear filtered spring water. This instrument makes you a better player by exposing your playing. No overblown exotic harmonics here. Just pure tone.

It's a Collings... the only maker I know of who uses CNC maching not to save time and/or money, but to make the product consistently precise. The end result is the easiest playing guitar possible.

This guitar is built like a tank. All materials used are top shelf.

Don't think I'll ever need to. See Reliability/Durability.

25 years of playing has exposed me to all levels of instrument quality and price. This professional quality instrument has a proven reputation and is a worthwhile investment.

Has the 1 3/4 nut; everything else the same as the other reviews: Indian rosewood B&S. Made December, '98. I bought new in April, '99.

Like most of my generation, I grew up thinking God lived in the bass register. And so, there was a parade of dreadnaughts over the years, including two Collings, a D3H and a D1. When I got this guitar, I realized what the previous two Collings were trying to tell me: the devil lives in the bass and God lives in the treble. Someone else alluded to this in their review also. All those years of longing for tub-thumping spongy bass were gone. This thing is balanced like a piano, and what's especially pleasing to my ear is that there are no colliding overtones present when playing single-note lines--each note rings true and clear and hangs in that hole forever, it seems. Most acoustics have so many ringing overtones banging around in the box. This thing presents each individual note on a silver platter...especially those played on the treble strings.

I gotta give this an 8 as it is the third Collings I've had (the other two are gone) and each one could have had a better nut job; however, kudos to Mr Bill for making the nut and saddle of bone, unlike most of Mr Martin's stuff--even the high-end models.

Collings guitars are all built "tight," I think...and while that's a good thing in most respects, it will take some extra time to open them up. What I especially like about his guitars is the care given to applying a thin nitro finish that you can see is already sucking into the grain. This ain't furniture.

I have dealt with Steve at Collings regarding a problem with my D1. he was very helpful and steered me to the Buffalos Bros when I told him I was looking for an 0M2H. One of the buffalo boys (I think it was Buffalo Bob) did me right. Prior to that I had gone to Madison Music here in Madison, WI where a Mr Gary Turk gave me the worst customer support I ever got anywhere, for anything. My first two Collings I got from Terry Straker in Evanston, IL and like Buffalo Bob, he is a stand-up guy. Maybe a little funnier. Despite the crap dished out at Madison Music, I have to give this a 10, as everybody else who handles these guitars is as classy as the instruments themselves.

I'm 52 and have been playing guitar more than half my life. If this guitar were taken from me I would find another Collings dealer and plant myself down for a few hours. I have a Larson Bros parlor from the '20s that is also a wonderful (and loud) instrument and as far as I'm concerned, Mr Collings and his crew are making the best stuff available. I just wish I could buy more. Check the resale value of these instruments and it's already clear that they are well worth the money.

,My OM2H Collings was made in 11/99 , serial number 5428, it has the wide 1 3/4 neck, the guitar is put together with clinical accuracy, with superb solid woods, Indian rosewood back and sides,spruce top and ebony fingerboard with diamond inlays, the finish is exceptionally thin , and there is the faintest touch of sinking in the grain, which "breathes" tone at you, allowing the sound to vibrate out, not like many guitars with a millimeter of varnish hiding all manner of sins. When I open the case the guitar says "class" with the georgeous herringbone inlay, the neck is the easiest and fastest I have ever played, flawless workmanship.

The sound is quite simply amazing,like my 0002H, it has a purity of tone that defies description, each tonal frequency range is as strong as the next, no single frequency dominates (as was my 1990 M38-thin in the treble) I have been a fingerstyle player for 35 years. country blues/ragtime/irish traditional/contemporary/jazz. I play unamplified with the fingernails(sometimes with picks) the sustain is amazing! I am looking forward to it "opening up". great for DADGAD tuning.

I purchased the guitar new from GUITAR WORKS of Evanston,Illinois, it was set up for my style of playing by Terry , with a superb action( I bought my 0002H also off him) 2mm bass side, 1.75mm treble at the 12th fret, with elixer light gauge, I will try medium in 1 years time. The guitar is of flawless constuction,everything cut perfectly and fitted with absolute precision. I have owned 8 Martins & many other top range guitars, none compare to the Collings guitars

I will not be taking the guitar out to too many live gigs,I am involved in a Fretted instrument club here in the West of Ireland. Denis Cahill (who also plays a OM2H ) uses it for his live gigs. I feel it will never let me down and only improve with age, allowing me to play music I have never dreamed of! I imagine a Martin OM28 was like this when newly made in 1930.

Living in IRELAND I am at a disadvantage, but I know I could return it to GUITAR WORKS or the factory if anything major happened to it, I am very careful with my instruments,they go back in the cases when not in use, cleaned and wiped down with fast fret on the strings.

I have been 35 years playing all styles Beatles to Bach (as above)I own a 0002H Collings(1997 bought new-killer sound so different from the OM2H) A classical guitar HIRADE number 7, A twelve string Brazilian Rosewood guitar made by Stanley Francis 1971 (He made Pete Seegers 12 string)(mine was owned by the SPINNERS, a Liverpool group.I would buy the OM2H again, maybe a cutaway, the OM2H is quite simply the best OM guitar I have ever played!

My Collings was made in 2/1998, with solid spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides that are lavish with natural wood design. The neck is 1 3/4" wide at the nut. The finish is stunning, glossy but not ostentatious. It lives in its wonderful green plush, extra-hard shell case...except when it's being played. This is the Orchestral model, a smaller body with a huge sound... in fact, huger than some other Collings that were larger, far larger than the Taylors and other Martins hanging up in the same little showroom. Overall, the guitar is "the one true thing," just a good looking, simple guitar. No flash is needed -- the sound and action have it all. And yet, it's got a zen-like beauty with clean and simple lines.

My style is celtic-american fingerstyle with some other stuff thrown in, and it suits it wonderfully. There are no amps, no tuners, no funny stuff in the guitar. The sound is deep and creamy in the bass, bright and balanced in the mid-range, and clear and bright on top. Simply put, I've never heard such a well balanced guitar. And I've played and owned many good ones.

I got it used, but it was set up to play quite well. There are two small spaces in the lines around the soundhole that seem to be lighter than the other parts of the lines. They are small and virtually not noticeable. This is a handmade guitar after all. I can't get excited about this after all. There are no bad frets, no rattles, buzzes, or anthing of the like.

I would use this guitar anywhere if I felt I could hand-carry it anywhere. But this isn't always the case. I prefer to use it at home for composing and playing for myself. But that's just me. After all, there are more expensive guitars to own and play...and even take on the road.

I'm the second owner, so I don't know. I have a good tech. I'm not worried. I don't think this guitar will take too long.

Fabulous guitar! Better than the Taylors, L'Arrivee, and even the Martins I've played and owned. Perhaps the guitar I still miss is the Lowden I sold to get this, but for me, I prefer still the OM-2H for two reasons: the body is smaller, and really fun and easy to play with finesse; the action is far easier than the Lowden. I have a muscular disorder, and I need a guitar that won't tire me out. This is a great choice! The Lowden was great, but simply harder work to play.

See above for specs

Very disappointed for such a high end guitar. Ended up not buying it (I was expecting to part with my hard earned cash). I found the tone weak compared to other quality OMs. Perhaps this was just a bad example or hadn't had anybody really play it at all - but at this price Collings shouldn't be letting this type of stuff out. It really didn't sound much better than many all-laminate guitars.

Finish was superb - very nicely built (shame about the tone). Actiona a little low for my taste but that can easily be rectified.

I expect near perfection at this price and the sound was totally disappointing.

'98 Collings OM2H signed by Bill Collings himself. This instrument has the standard OM2H appointments as illustrated in other reviews below; Solid Select Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood sides/back, Waverly open back tuners (which stay in tune VERY well) etc. My OM2H has the optional 1 3/4" width neck. For me. it's better for fingerstyle and works great for my crosspicking style as well. My guitar has the most incredibly detailed, multicolored Indian Rosewood sides and back I have seen! It's a work of art! Those people at Collings know how to choose their wood! Rated a 7 because of lack of exotics; lack of inlay etc. But no complaints. Being the creation that it is; modeled after the 1929-1934 Martin OM, it's superfluous!

I searched high and low for an instrument that would give me shivers when I heard it. I set out to buy a Vintage Series Martin I had heard. But when I strummed the Collings in comparison, the Martin D-18V sounded flat and lifeless... and quieter! I also played some nice Taylors, but none that had the quality of tone the OM2H has. I actually sold my Taylor 810WMB Limited Edition after buying the Collings. The only thing I liked better on my old Taylor was the neck. Taylor necks are fast and a little easier to play... to my hands. FYI - I have average size hands. The Taylor also had very nice appointments, Mahagony binding, Abalone rosette, abalone inlays, Red purfling etc. Personally,I could do without the herringbone on my OM2H but that's just my taste. If I were ordering a new Collings, I would prefer Koa binding or something more exotic. That's the trival stuff. When I strum the Collings, I swear Angels fly out from the sound hole! I never considered an OM size guitar before. I thought OM size bodies would be too quiet and lack volume, richness and depth of tone. Boy was I ever wrong! The Collings OM models were louder than all the Dreadnoughts in the store! The Colings OM's were even louder than the Collings Dreadnoughts! Go figure. This guitar was definitely louder than every Martin in the sound room at Rainbow Music, a GREAT music store in Tucson by the way! <end shameless music store plug> The OM2H has incredibly complex and vibrant fundamentals and makes overtones that sustain and ring like bells. This guitar is so rich and full sounding, you would never guess it is an Orchestra Model (OM) size. Someone once told me Collings guitars are sometimes referred to as "Super Martin's. I can see why. I played at a Coffee house one night and a blind woman came up to me and asked; "Is that a Collings you're playing?" When I asked how she knew, she said; "It sounds like an old Martin, only better!" She was in fact a musician herself and for obvious reasons, possessed incredible hearing. True story!
I also fitted my Collings with a B-band Pickup made by EMF Acoustics. The one I got has an internal mic in addition to its saddle pickup. This is the Holy Grail for me. I play it through a Mackie 408M Powered Mixer and a pair of Mackie C300 Speakers and the amplified sound is AMAZINGLY true to the acoustic sound! It sounds so rich it will blow you away! Add the lushness of the Mackie 32-bit digital reverb and it's pure Nirvana! I have NEVER heard a better or more pristine amplified sounding acoustic. The strings resonate like notes from a Piano! This guitar Rates an 11 and above... but I can only select a 10 as the highest rating from the pull down menu.

I am still experimenting with the action height. Light guage strings felt great and were very responsive, but diplayed a little fret buzz when I attacked agressively with a pick. I play in a drop "D" tuning almost all the time, so I strung my Collings with Gore Elixer Bluegrass Light top/Medium bottom Strings. The extra gerth of the Medium bottoms brought the action up just a touch and it's 'almost' perfect. I tend to attack a little more agressively than some players do so this action might be perfect for most other players. I like the notes to ring true without buzzing no matter how hard I play and I'm 'almost' there. I've had my Collings authorized guitar tech adjust the neck, so I know it's just fine. And yes, I keep the guitar humidified religiously and stored in its case when not in use.

The Collings OM2H is an extremely well built guitar. I did notice some faint hairline cracks in my bridge in between the bridge pins. My guitar tech filled the ever-so-light hairline cracks with some ebony wood dust and told me to watch it. So far, it still looks perfect after a year. I may need a new bridge at some point. Dunno? But I cannot bear the thought of being without my Collings. I will have to buy another one before I send it in! That's the ONLY problem with Collings. You'll want to collect the entire set! On the other hand, why would I want to strum another guitar? This one gets the sound I like! Hmm >>> I suppose I might want a D1 w/Adirondack Spruce top for fast single notes bluegrass runs. Woops... time to go shopping again! Honey... we're getting divorced! Can't afford to feed the kids and support this habit! Good thing I dont have a wife or kids at this point. Take it from me, get your toys while you're still single!

I have not yet dealt with Collings Customer Support. Their authorized guitar stores do the warranty work and if necessary, then they send the guitar back to Collings in Austin. So far, so good. Gotta love a lifetime warranty! Well Done! I should mention, my guitar tech says he needs a special truss rod adusting tool to get around the neck block inside the guitar.

I've been playing guitar for 32 years and have earned to right to spend this kind of money on such a pristine isntrument. I have owned Taylors and a Martin D28 prior to buying my Collings OM2H. I never looked back. No regrets. I do miss how 'pretty' my Tayor looked, but the proof is in the strumming and the sound! The Collings wins hands down! If this guitar were stolen, I would definitely replace it with another Collings OM series guitar. I might custom order one with exotic binding and a special rosette, but overall, I'd be happy with another OM2H. For the record, the guy who sold me my guitar lives in the same complex and has owns the same model Collings as I do. We compared our two OM2H's and could not declare a winner. These guitars are that well made. They all seem to possess that 'special' Collings Mojo. Before buying, I compared with Santa Cruz, Larivee, Borgious (sp?), Martin and Taylor. The most difficult choice I had to make was whether to get the Collings OM2H or an exceptional Collings OM1 (Same guitar but with Mahogany back and sides instead of Indian Rosewood) I'd still like a Mahogany Collings some day for their lightness and clrity of tone. The mahogany guitars have a brighter tone and sound just a little thinner, but are cyrstal clear sounding guitars. They are very lightweight too. Laurence Juber plays a Cutaway OM1 and it is amazing how good it sounds! But for me, the OM2H was all that and more for my playing style. No regrets there other than to say once more, I'd prefer owning the whole set of Collings models. Oh, the case is a work of art as well. It has a gorgeous green velvet interior lining which very snugly secures the guitar in a classic hardshell style case. Very nice! Get one, play it and know that you have arrived.