While some musicians believe that boutique guitars must be flashy, intricate creatures, Collings Guitars demonstrates yet again that you can still have a beautiful, flawless—yet understated—instrument with this OM1 Varnish model.
Collings OM1 is a Popular Standard Among Collectors
Every luxury part of a Collings OM1 model is essential to the sound and functionality of the instrument; nothing exists for purely ornamental purposes. This ensures that you’re paying for great tone and playability rather than gaudiness.
The OM1 model is especially versatile. While the 1 ¾” nut makes it the perfect guitar for finger stylists, these guitars are also a good choice for pick players. Musicians from almost every genre will appreciate the guitar’s warm tone and fair amount of bass. The only exception to the genre-friendly instrument is bluegrass since this model doesn’t have the loud, thumping bottom end bluegrass players prefer. However, you can get a lot of volume from these guitars while still maintaining a well balanced sound.
Eddie’s OM1 Varnish is One of a Kind
Like many boutique brands, Collings creates custom guitars for its vendors. For this piece, Eddie’s ordered the standard mahogany body and ebony fingerboard but also requested non-standard bracing and varnish. The resulting Collings OM1 Varnish was a whole lot of guitar.
Scalloped Adirondack Bracing
Adirondack spruce is known in guitar making for sinking its music into a softer tone. However since it is a rare and desirable material, it can quickly drive up the cost of an instrument. That’s why we opted for a bracing-only approach: to keep the cost down while still achieving that sought-after velvety tone.
Specialty Varnish
To keep this guitar flourishing and structurally stable, we chose a guitar with a healthy varnish. While some rough-and-tumble musicians may be oppose this delicate choice, the OM1 Varnish’s thinner, harder finish allows the guitar to breathe and vibrate, making your music come alive.
My Verdict
Collings Guitars has done a remarkable job creating immaculate instruments and this guitar is no exception. While some musicians who prefer a more ornate guitar may consider another brand, the Collings OM1 Varnish’s versatility, warm tone, and understated glory make it a great purchase for any guitar enthusiast.