Collings 02HG, 2014

Small is beautiful, especially in this case. This Collings O2 is a comfortable body size; you want to pick it up and just start playing. Once you do, it's hard to put down. The shorter scale length, 1 3/4" nut width, and small body size make for a delightful playing experience. Even though it's an O size, the sound is big. It's well-balanced, focused, rich, articulate, and honest. There's none of the boominess you sometimes get in larger-bodied instruments—just fine, handmade acoustic guitar goodness.

I genuinely love this acoustic. It's a guitar I'd choose to play at a gig, a recording session, or just sitting on a couch at home.

The condition is excellent, with little evidence of being played other than a few tiny dings on the lower treble bout.

So you know, "Sacha" rosewood is not a traditional rosewood. Sacha rosewood is from Peru. Sacha means "looks like." The graining and color remind me of Madagascar rosewood. It's got a beautiful tonal palette that sounds like a cross between mahogany and rosewood. It exudes mahogany's breathy woodiness and premium rosewood's solid fundamentals and balance. It's a highly seductive sound!

Pick it up, lay out a couple of blues licks, and you'll agree that in the hands of the craftsmen at Collings, small can be beautiful, too.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT COLLINGS GUITARS
Bill Collings moved from Ohio to Texas in the mid 1970’s. Spurred by a lack of interest in medical school, this move enabled him to combine lifelong interests in both guitars and tools into the challenge of stringed instrument building and repair. After a couple of years in Houston, several guitars and a few banjos later, he headed west to southern California. Making it only as far as Austin, where he shared shops with fellow luthiers Tom Ellis and Mike Stevens. From there, he set up his own small shop in a wooden "one car" garage. His reputation for outstanding quality and meticulous attention to detail quickly spread. In 1989, he rented a 1000 square foot space and hired two helpers. Fast forward to present day where Collings craftsmanship is respected by professional and amateur musicians alike…anyone on the quest for quality. Some of these include artists; Keith Richards, Lyle Lovett, Pete Townshend, Emmylou Harris, Andy Summers, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Joni Mitchell, Don Felder, John Sebastian, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Tim O'Brien, Pete Huttlinger, Kenny Smith, Brian May, Joan Baez, John Prine, Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, and Steven Spielberg to name a few. You owe it to yourself to try one.