Review: Collings Debuts New Series with the Striking OM1A Hill Country

“It’s just a guitar—simply in its purest form, open and woody,” said Steve Nall, director of manufacturing for Collings Guitars, during a recent phone conversation about the new model he had sent me to review. Officially debuting this fall, the guitar is part of the Hill Country series—the first new line of Collings steel-strings since the Traditional series was introduced in 2016. 

Scrutinizing ace flatpicker Bob Minner’s 1936 Martin D-18 for inspiration, Nall and team set out to design a Collings that behaves like the best 1930s and ’40s steel-strings but retains Collings’ identity. “I wanted to make something not as sparkly or fast or bright as a typical Collings, nor a replica of a great prewar Martin, but rather a Collings guitar that does what those guitars do.” 

The Hill Country line will initially be available both in orchestra model and dreadnought sizes, either with mahogany or rosewood sides, sporting appointments not seen on any other Collings guitars. I checked out an OM1A HC with an Adirondack spruce top and Honduran mahogany back and sides. If the review model is any indication, there is a lot to be excited about with this brilliant new series.

Handsome Minimalist Design 

At first glance the Hill Country is striking—in fact, a perfect looker. While its OM lineage is evident, unlike more ornate examples that have been created over the years, minimalistic detailing highlights its geometric beauty. 

Instead of the normal Collings script inlay on the front of the headstock, the logo is embossed into the wood on the back of the headstock with the stamp that the late Bill Collings used on his guitars many years ago. In another especially nice detail, subtle ebony binding blends seamlessly with the ebony fretboard, giving the neck an unbound appearance and a smooth feel. 

The guitar’s satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish is designed to be as thin as humanly possible and to avoid producing the characteristic transient sounds that the finish type creates when clothing or skin rubs against it. Special details continue with the striking, hand-poured pickguard, rosette, heel cap, and end wedge all coming from the same batch of resin and coloring, specifically mixed to complement the coloring of each guitar. And in a subtler touch, the unbleached bone used for the nut and saddle contributes to the guitar’s old-school vibe. 

The purfling and rosette follow tradition but are more detailed, with extra rings of cross-grained ivoroid surrounded by tortoise-style outer layers. Also unique to the series, the OM1A HC’s mahogany stain has a rich chocolate- molasses coloring, as opposed the reddish hue found on other 1-style Collings guitars. 

While the artistic vision of the instrument is specific, the quality of artisanship is as one would expect from Collings—impeccable, to say the least. All of the seams are perfectly fitted and not a trace of glue can be seen inside the box. Every inch of this guitar speaks to lutherie at its finest. 

An Impressive Neck

Overall, I found the neck on the OMA1 HC to be very playable with its 1-3/4-inch nut. The taper of the neck is unique. It’s quite comfortable at the first fret with a C shape and a 1.802-inch width and 0.815-inch depth; higher up, it morphs into a slight V with a 2.125-inch width and a depth of 1.018 inches.The contrast was noticeable at first and took some adjusting to. It wasn’t uncomfortable or unmanageable, but it required my attention, as it possesses a very different feel from the necks of my guitars.

When I brought this up with Nall, an interesting conversation unfolded. First, he let me know that he built the neck how he likes them, realizes it might not be for everyone, and Collings will be offering a more standard neck on future builds. He also explained that the bulk of the Hill Country neck was different from that on other Collings guitars, as it’s not reinforced with four strips of spring steel and is therefore looser. The vision behind the Hill Country neck is that by having only a truss rod in the neck, it vibrates with greater connectivity to the guitar, such that you get back what you put into it—like a great prewar guitar.

Good Vibrations

Taking the OM1A HC from its case, I noticed how light it is despite its beefy neck. Using my 1.4mm ToneSlabs pick, I played a cascade of runs and was immediately struck by the guitar’s wide dynamic range. The harder I played, the louder and bigger it got, and the lighter I played, the quieter and sweeter it sang. Surprisingly, it provided clear and transparent tone on some of my more aggressive runs—something I rarely, if ever, encounter on modern flattop guitars. 

Flatpicking an improvisation in the key of E minor across the fretboard, I listened closely and felt each note. While the guitar is balanced overall, the notes in both the lower and upper positions seem especially vibrant. Weaving my way into the traditional tune “Elk River Blues,” I lost myself in the spaciousness of the harmony and melody. 

When I fingerpicked a progression of open chords, the guitar possessed immense resonance; I could feel the entire guitar vibrating like a single living organism. With plectrum back in hand, I played through the B section of Eddie Lang’s “April Kisses” and was surprised and delighted by how great the guitar sounded for early jazz. 

I then played a chorus of chord melody of Irving Berlin’s “Russian Lullaby” and found the fourth string sometimes overpowered the melody of the first and second strings when I reached beyond the eighth fret. Next, I tried some hybrid picking on a new composition of mine called “Easy Day”—a good test piece, as it uses the open low E and A strings underneath a pentatonic melody at the ninth fret. I was amazed at how full the guitar sounded when playing lightly. Finally, I fingerpicked my way through the jazz standard “I Surrender Dear” using a bass-note-and-melody approach and found the opposite registers to be quite well balanced. 

The Bottom Line

I now understand what Nall meant by “just a guitar.” Like the great artists of acoustic roots music, he and the Collings team went to great lengths to express the simple essence of a form—to make a guitar that possesses the natural qualities of prewar guitars without being a paint-by-numbers replica. They carefully considered all the important factors of what they wanted to hear and built a Collings to deliver. The OM1A Hill Country more than meets this vision and is a great addition to the Collings line. I look forward to hearing these in hands of discerning players.

SPECS (as reviewed)

BODY Orchestra model; Adirondack spruce top with Sitka spruce bracing; Honduran mahogany back and sides; tortoise-style binding with Hill Country custom appointments; ebony belly-style bridge with 2-5/16″ string spacing and bone cut-throat saddle; ebony bridge pins; hand-poured pickguard; satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish

NECK Honduran mahogany with mortise-and-tenon hybrid neck joint; fully adjustable truss rod; 25.5″ scale length; 1-3/4″ bone nut; ebony fretboard with ebony binding and gold mother-of-pearl dots; 20 medium nickel-silver frets; relic nickel Waverly tuners; satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish

OTHER D’Addario EJ16 phosphor bronze light strings (.012–.053); deluxe hardshell case

MADE IN USA

PRICE TBD

collingsguitars.com

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.