Collings 02H-12 , 2024

John Collings is one of the boutique guitar builders that started out in the mid 70ies with small workshops and later turned into very successful brands (like Taylor)that ended up producing in factories. This does not necessarily mean, that the quality of their instruments was dropping, not at all. The Collings brand, known worldwide for producing top notch and medium price factory-guitars, successfully defends its position in this market segment, since many years.

Owning two 12strings with big mahagony and rosewood bodies, I was looking for a smallbody 12fret 12string out of tonal reasons. It seemed nearly impossible to find such a guitar as a vintage prewar instrument. You can find a leadbelly Stella 12string, maybe a Gibson from the 60ies, a Holzapfel 12string, the best big body 12string ever, they say. But not a small one, I mean realy small like 0-size. Collings , a brand that I never would have thought about before, offered one in very good quality and with exactly the features I was thinking of. This quality had a relatively high price but the instrument is worth every penny. It produces nearly unreal sparkling highs , while performing a surprisingly strong low mid and bass, all in all a very and quite unexpected, balanced and loud tone. Intonation and playability is flawless, same as the optical appearance. Indian rosewood back and sides, sitka spruce top with herringbone binding , celluloid bindings on top and back, ebony bridge as well as ebony fretboard with diamond inlays, small teardrop pickguard, multiple soundholerings and a zipper back-stripe give it a somewhat prewar Martin appearance. A deep body, especially in the lower bout produces the remarkable full sound.