
Review: Collings Debuts New Series with the Striking OM1A Hill Country
Designed to be "just a guitar—simply in its purest form, open and woody,” every inch of the OM1A HC speaks to lutherie at its finest.

Designed to be "just a guitar—simply in its purest form, open and woody,” every inch of the OM1A HC speaks to lutherie at its finest.

Based on the Tacoma models that Gruhn designed back in the 1990s, the Versitar series deconstructs and reconstructs many of the touchpoints of traditional flattop design, like the neck joint, fret count, bracing, soundhole position, and more
ADVERTISEMENT

The Bourgeois Touchstone OM Vintage/TS is a collaboration with Eastman Guitars that has resulted in an excellent tradition-inspired guitar with a relatively affordable price.

For $300 street, this is a quality guitar that delivers across all ranges and has good built-in electronics.

Carrying on the work of company founder and namesake Preston K. Thompson, who died April 11, 2019, the small cadre of builders at Preston Thompson Guitars, in Sisters, Oregon, is one of those teams that’s capable of delivering extraordinarily crafted steel-strings time and again, and this Thompson 000-14SBA is one of those fine instruments.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Martin OM-28 Modern Deluxe is a lightweight orchestra-bodied guitar, with a blend of vintage and modern features that merge to form a unique, cutting-edge composition.

Washburn summons the past and looks to the future with two new guitars.

As you might expect from an all-mahogany guitar, the StreetMaster has miles of clarity and focused fundamentals, and a strong midrange with a dry throatiness on the lower mids.
ADVERTISEMENT

Throughout the history of guitar making, collaborations between luthiers and guitarists have influenced the discipline and produced spectacular instruments. A brilliant example of this practice is the new Collings Julian Lage Signature OM1 JL, based on a deep exchange of ideas between the late builder and company founder Bill Collings and contemporary guitar phenom Julian Lage.

RainSong OM and Parlor guitars can be virtually immune to the terrible things that changes in climate and weather can do to an instrument.

Despite being distributed in 60 countries and receiving the “All-time best-selling acoustic guitars in the UK” award by the Music Industry Awards, Tanglewood brand isn’t a household name in the US. But that may change now that the UK-based brand of guitars made in Indonesia and China are being…
ADVERTISEMENT

A luxurious, modern OM from the Lone Star state

This top-of-the-line guitar seems aimed toward a more refined, fingerpicking-based audience.

The guitar inside the case—the OM1A T—is a force to be reckoned with. It’s beautifully crafted and, though newly built, has a mature sound and a phenomenal responsiveness.

C.F. Martin & Co. has added three new models to its popular 16 Series.
ADVERTISEMENT

The instrument has all the hallmarks of a great 000: a brilliant, piano-like response and a sound that’s distributed evenly across the frequency spectrum.

This 14-fret Orchestra cutaway model—a total winner for the price—has an easy playability and a tight, focused sound that lends itself equally well to strumming and fingerpicking.

It might not dazzle with its looks, but this guitar’s excellent sound and playability make it a serious contender among much more expensive instruments.
ADVERTISEMENT

For many years, especially in the 1970s and ’80s, Yamaha was virtually synonymous with inexpensive, good quality flattop guitars, and the LS6 lives up to this reputation.

Martin 000X1AE acoustic guitar review.
The Martin 000C's strong lower mids combine with a crisp high end to produce a scooped tone completely different from the sound usually associated with classical instruments.
ADVERTISEMENT

This brand-new, all-solid-wood guitar is based on a 14-fret OM with a superb electronics package

This OM is a slightly modified version of the standard Santa Cruz OM, featuring a top made of Italian instead of Sitka spruce, and the vintage-style “advanced” X-bracing option

This signature model version is closely based on the OM1 that has been the Nashville-based fingerstyle ace’s primary guitar for many years.
ADVERTISEMENT

Immediately noticeable are the rich sound, excellent sustain, and abundant overtones that make it perfect for playing lush chords