Do all Collings guitars have that "bright" sound?

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by jrb715

I do think though that Collings guitars have more tonal variation from model to model than most folks acknowledge. There are, of course, similarities, but OMs, CJs, SJs, dreads, C10s sound very different to me.

Originally Posted by Bridgepin

Variety is the spice of life in my book.

Nobody asked, but I think these are 2 great perspectives.

[Hoyt]

I think Collings do sound “brighter” than a comparable Martin played similarly. I think a Taylor is even a bit brighter. I love my two Martins, but I think at my age, brighter might be a welcome change.

[Brucebubs]

I just listened to a bunch of Collings SJ guitar clips ... all sounded good to me.

[6L6]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

I'm probably the wrong person to answer this question because I have never found Collings to be "bright" and I'm sure I've played more than a hundred. I think they tend to be very well balanced with remarkable clarity and crystal, bell-like trebles. But to me, that is not the same as "bright."

And I have never found Collings to have a Martin or Gibson vibe. I think they have the vibe that Bill wanted which was his own.

This ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Yrksman]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

And I have never found Collings to have a Martin or Gibson vibe. I think they have the vibe that Bill wanted which was his own.

Exactly and somewhat successful it’s been. IMHO the best factory built acoustic guitars you can buy. (The electrics are exceptional too)

[Malcolm Kindnes]

We all hear these things differently, but in my experience Collings are fairly bright, certainly compared to Martins.

[Kh1967]

I think Collings guitars are very clear with ringing trebles and a more present midrange than some others. Bright was put in parentheses in the OP, so I see that was not literal.

The balance of all the frequencies is undeniable in a Collings. In a new one, the warmth takes awhile to develop, but it does...the tone becomes rounder and fuller.

Play an OM1 with a few years of good play time on it, and it will likely change the “bright” perspective. Another option is to play a JLA...rounder from the start, imo, but a standard build will fill in with time.

[Hasbro]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Years ago, in a private email exchange with another RMMGA Usenet newsgroup regular, he described the Martin sound as “Original Recipe” and the Collings sound as “Extra Crispy.” That’s such an accurate summation, to my mind, anyway, that I’ve been using it ever since.


Wade Hampton Miller

That's my take. I found that the all mahogany Collings are my favorite sounding of the bunch because they take a little bit of that crispiness and mellow it out. Some might describe it as more articulate but it's one of just depends on the sound you were after in the type of music you were playing. There are times I reach for my Martin because of its mellow and forgiving nature.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by Kh1967

Bright was put in parentheses in the OP, so I see that was not literal.

Thank you. Many of the posts failed to pick that up.

[Mark L]

Um, those appear to be quotation marks, not parentheses. They are generally used in this fashion, “Quotation marks, also known as quotes, quote marks, quotemarks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks, are punctuation marks used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase.”

To me, to my ears as it were, it appears that you are employing them to set off an unreferenced quotation.

As for Collings being “bright”, well, as they ask in Zen, “is this line long or short”?

_______________

Enjoy your guitar. Let’s pick!

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by Mark L

Um, those appear to be quotation marks, not parentheses. They are generally used in this fashion, “Quotation marks, also known as quotes, quote marks, quotemarks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks, are punctuation marks used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase.”

To me, to my ears as it were, it appears that you are employing them to set off an unreferenced quotation.

As for Collings being “bright”, well, as they ask in Zen, “is this line long or short”?

_______________

Enjoy your guitar. Let’s pick!

I think you know what he (and I) meant. A little less snark on the forum would be nice.

[Mark L]

Well sorry Paul, I thought I was being “humorous”. Oh well......

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I think you know what he (and I) meant. A little less snark on the forum would be nice.

Well, a word either has some meaning or it has none at all. Keep in mind that, as the OP YOU may know exactly what you mean by the use of the that word. that does not mean everyone else will assign exactly the same meaning.

English is a very slippery language.

Particularly when it comes to using words to describe that which can only be experienced.

What MY first thought was when I saw the header was that you meant by "bright" was that in your experience you considered the tonal balance of the Collings as skewed more toward the treble. My second thought was "compared to what?"

OMMV

[6L6]

If I could only keep one of my acoustics, it would be my 1999 Collings D-1 that I bought new at Gryphon.

I too think they are at the top of the heap when it comes to factory-built guitars. Heck, I think they're at the top of the heap no matter where a guitar was built. My current stash:

'99 Collings D-1
'13 Collings D2H
'14 Collings D2HA
'97 Martin D-45V
'69 Martin D-35
'19 Martin OOO-18GE Custom
'17 Martin 1937 D-28A Authentic
'71 Guild F-312NT

[Mark L]

Best wishes to all.