Collings and Martin and tonal differences.

[Jack Orion]

I own a Martin OM28v (which I've had for 10 years) and a Collings OM2hT (which I've had for about 18 months) and I enjoy both guitars.

One thing that I've come to realise is that, when comparing the two, the guitar that I was just playing always seems the best. So a session of comparison might go like this:

(five minutes playing my Collings) - wow, this guitar is really present, the trebles are beautiful and thick, the bass is clean but not over the top, I can hear that it's projecting well into the room, the mids are adding some nice colour to the notes and overtones...

(switch to the Martin) oh, this guitar sounds like it's got a blanket over it, the trebles are muted and thin, the bass is a bit boomy, where are the mids?

(five minutes of playing the Martin later) wow, this guitar has a great low end, the trebles aren't too harsh, it can be intimate as well as powerful, the mids are really balanced, I could really get lost in this sound...

(switch to the Collings) - woah, who turned up the treble control?

And so on...

Neither guitar is 'better' tonally - for some things I prefer the Collings and for some I prefer the Martin - sometimes I'm playing the Collings and it's not working for me and I pick up the Martin and it starts to flow and sometimes it's the other way round.

In terms of construction I'm not a luthier but there are some obvious differences I've noticed from inspecting my two guitars inside and out:

1. The Collings OM is actually 'slightly' smaller - it has a tighter waist and the shape is 'flatter' at the neck joint, the edges of the bouts, and the end piece. The Martin OM is more 'rounded' (ie the curves of the upper and lower bouts never stop being a curve, there's no flat point) - The Collings is also slightly shallower. My understanding is that the Collings shape is more accurate to the OMs of the 30s.

2. My Collings doesn't have the popsicle brace

3. Collings back bracing is two tall and two short, whereas the Martin is all tall.

4. The bridge plate in my Collings is a lot smaller (30s style) - I don't think this is the case in the non-traditional Collings)

5. The bracing is generally a bit more delicate in the Collings and the finger braces and tone bars at more tapered in height than in the Martin. The X brace looks about the same but, again, the Collings is more tapered, whereas the Martin is flatter.

6. The Collings is lighter and the sides have a couple of struts.

7. The Collings is a little bit neck heavy - it tips a little on the strap - I'm assuming this is due to the steel bars inserted in the neck.

I have no idea about the thickness of the top, but I have noticed that the top of the Martin is bit more 'boomy' if you tap it and the Collings is a bit more 'ringy'