What can we say about the Collings OM1 that hasn't already been said? All of the reviews, everything on the message boards... it all holds true. This model is known for warm tone and wide versatility.
The 14-fret Orchestra Model body first rolled out in the late '20s, and in the following decade, it was quickly overshadowed by louder—and larger—designs such as dreadnoughts and jumbos. Years later, the OM is Collings' most popular body size and for good reason, too. OMs produce rich, balanced sound with immediate response, and their comfortable size makes them more manageable on the couch and in the living room.
This Collings OM1 (#34835) was made in 2024, and it features an upgraded Baked Sitka Spruce top and Honduran Mahogany back and sides. Baked Sitka is intended to give a new guitar the seasoned, broken-in richness of a well-loved vintage relic. As you put a baked (aka torrefied) top through the paces over the years and, it'll only sound better and more refined. In your hands, this OM1 produces balanced, woody Mahogany tone with subtlety and nuance you typically only find in a vintage guitar.
Apart from the upgraded top wood, this 2024 OM1 is true to factory specs—1-11/16" nut width, modified V neck, and 2-3/16" spacing at the bridge. It shows some minor play wear, and there is a small ding on the headstock from a string winder (see photos). Otherwise, it sounds, functions, and feels almost like a brand new guitar.This is an impressive Collings, and it includes its original case.
- Top: Baked Sitka Spruce
- Back & Sides: Honduran Mahogany
- Neck: Honduran Mahogany
- Body Binding: Tortoise with b/w/b/w top purfling
- Bridge: Ebony belly-style with 2 3/16" spacing
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Fingerboard Inlay: Dots
- Fingerboard Radius: 14" - 26" compound
- Bridge Pins/End Pin: Ebony with Mother-of-Pearl dot
- Nut: Bone, 1-11-/16"
- Saddle: Bone, drop-in
- Neck Profile: Modified V
- Peghead Profile: Square
- Neck Joint: Mortise & tenon hybrid
- Truss Rod: Fully-adjustable
- Frets: Medium 18% nickel-silver
- Peghead Veneer: Ebony with Mother-of-Pearl Collings logo
- Tuners: Nickel Waverly
- Backstrip: 1-style (Walnut)
- Rosette: b/w Purfling
- Scale Length: 25-1/2"
- Brace Material: Sitka spruce
- Brace Pattern: Prewar scalloped X-brace
- Body Finish: High-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer
- Neck Finish: High-gloss polyester resin
- Pickguard: Tortoise