Collings OM1A JL Julian Lage - Adirondack Spruce & Honduran Mahogany #36427

The Collings OM1A JL Julian Lage is a guitar that lives at the intersection of vision and craft, a meeting place where artistry is shaped by hands and tempered by sound. It is the fruit of a remarkable relationship between the late Bill Collings and the celebrated guitarist Julian Lage, two individuals whose shared passion for tone, responsiveness, and beauty made this instrument possible. Bill Collings, a master of detail and integrity, poured decades of devotion into the pursuit of perfection, while Julian Lage, a player of extraordinary depth and sensitivity, brought the perspective of an artist who understands what an instrument must do to become an extension of the self. Together they envisioned a guitar that feels alive, nuanced, and timeless, and the result is this extraordinary OM.

At its heart, the OM1A JL is built with a top of Adirondack spruce, prized for its strength, dynamic range, and shimmering clarity. The back and sides of Honduran mahogany lend the voice warmth and depth, allowing the guitar to speak with a balanced authority. The Traditional Series build and voicing techniques refine every detail of resonance, giving the instrument a responsiveness that feels intimate and immediate, while still offering the headroom to expand into soaring phrases and full-bodied chords.

The design choices reflect both restraint and intention. The tortoise body binding with custom wood purflings adds a touch of natural elegance, while the lack of fingerboard and peghead binding keeps the look understated and direct. The ebony fingerboard, adorned with subtle gold mother-of-pearl short dots, rests gracefully atop a Honduran mahogany neck carved to Julian’s own custom profile, beginning at a slim .829" at the first fret and tapering to .970" at the ninth. This carve is a quiet masterpiece in itself, offering a feel that is at once familiar and inviting, perfect for both precision and freedom in performance.

Every detail has been considered with the player in mind. The ebony belly-style bridge with 2 3/16" spacing, the bone nut cut to 1 11/16", and the drop-in bone saddle ensure clarity, tuning stability, and balance across all registers. Relic nickel Waverly tuners with vintage oval buttons add to the timeless character, their smooth 16:1 ratio making fine adjustments effortless. The custom wood rosette, 1-style walnut backstrip, and tortoise pickguard provide a warmth of aesthetic that complements the satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, both on body and neck, which gives the guitar a natural, open feel and allows the wood to breathe with every note.

The bracing is a work of genius, a custom pre-war scalloped X-brace crafted from Sitka spruce and built without a tongue brace, lending the guitar its responsiveness and pre-war inspired voice. With a compound radius fingerboard, traditional mortise and tenon neck joint, and fully adjustable truss rod, the OM1A JL is built not only for sound but for longevity, ensuring that it will continue to open and blossom with years of playing.

At just 3 pounds 11 ounces, the guitar is remarkably light, a quality that contributes to its resonance and quick response. Its dimensions follow the beloved OM form, with a body length of 19 1/4", a body depth of 4 1/8", and a lower bout width of 15", making it both comfortable and versatile. Strung with D’Addario NB1253s, it sings with clarity and character straight from the case, which itself is a deluxe hardshell designed to protect a guitar of such rare refinement.

The Collings OM1A JL is more than an instrument. It is a tribute to the friendship and shared artistry of Bill Collings and Julian Lage. It carries forward Bill’s legacy of unyielding craftsmanship and Julian’s vision of expressive freedom. To hold it is to feel that history, to play it is to step into a dialogue between two masters, and to listen is to hear not just wood and string, but the voice of something timeless, alive, and deeply human.

Other specifications include:

• Top Adirondack spruce
• Back & Sides Honduran mahogany
• Construction Traditional Series Build and Voicing
• Neck Honduran mahogany
• Body Binding Tortoise with custom wood purflings
• Fingerboard Binding None
• Peghead Binding None
• Bridge Ebony belly-style with 2 3/16" spacing
• Fingerboard Ebony with gold MOP short dots
• Bridge Pins/End Pin Ebony with MOP dot
• Nut Bone, 1 11/16"
• Saddle Bone, drop-in
• Neck Profile Custom JL carve (1st Fret 0.829"/9th Fret 0.970")
• Peghead Profile Tapered square
• Neck Joint Mortise & tenon hybrid
• Truss Rod Fully adjustable
• Frets Medium 18% nickel-silver
• Peghead Veneer Ebony with gold MOP Collings script logo
• Tuners Relic nickel Waverly with vintage oval buttons (16:1 ratio)
• Backstrip 1-style (walnut)
• Rosette Custom wood rosette
• Scale Length 25 1/2"
• Brace Material Sitka spruce
• Brace Pattern Custom Traditional Series pre-war scalloped X-brace (no tongue brace)
• Fingerboard Radius 14" - 26" compound
• Body Finish Custom satin nitrocellulose lacquer
• Neck Finish Custom satin nitrocellulose lacquer
• Pickguard Tortoise
• Strings D'Addario NB1253 (.012"- .053")
• Body Length 19 1/4"
• Body Depth 4 1/8"
• Lower Bout Width 15"
• Total Length 39 1/2"
• Deluxe hardshell case
• 3 lbs 11 oz
• #36427

For more information about the Collings Julian Lage OM1A, please contact us.

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