MusicRadar

Beautiful in its elegant simplicity

1 of 2 » View in gallery

• Review

Adirondack is generally louder than other spruces, with more of the natural overtones that a good acoustic needs for a full, dynamic tone. But it's also one of the plainest looking, with rarely any 'bear claw' figuring or interesting medullary rays that Englemann or Sitka spruce – the latter as used on most Collings and other high-end brands – can exhibit. Sitka is also very available and so a lot cheaper. So what's the charge for this 'special' material? To you, sir, a nifty £815!

The second, and perhaps even more interesting, facet to this particular OM1 is its finish: it's shellac. Shellac is the classic varnish or French polish, and was only replaced by nitrocellulose as the favourite for instruments and furniture around the 1920s and 1930s.

Made from the secretions of the shellac beetle, or 'lac bug', the product is harvested, dried and then dissolved in alcohol to be applied in thin, multiple coats by the most highly skilled of hands.

"Proper application of shellac ensures a very thin protective layer with negligible effect on the ability of wood surfaces to vibrate," explains Chandler. "It also has a distinctive colour that gives a 'vintage' look without seeming artificially aged.

"But it's extremely time consuming to apply, taking days of multiple thin coats, a great deal of careful sanding and long drying times between applications. It also doesn't adhere well and makes many darker woods 'bleed' into adjoining lighter ones, requiring still more care and attention."

So it's a tricky process and the upcharge it reflects is a coronary-inducing £1,650, but it also includes a nitro-cellulose satin finished neck – standard models use polyester neck finish and polyester base coat with nitro top coats. Even so, that's two-and-a-half grand more than the already 'professional' £2,899 price tag accorded to the company's 'basic' OM1.

Daring to lift the guitar from its plush-lined case, you're shocked by its lightness. It's like there's nothing there. It also seems to vibrate just by being picked up, so heaven knows what a quick strum or a deft fingerpick will illicit.

But first let's look it over in detail – and we might as well start with that £1,650 finish. You might expect something so thin to have sunk into the wood grain, leaving telltale flecks in the mahogany and lines in the spruce. But no, this is mirror flat. So it would appear that the alcohol has completely evaporated, leaving behind just the dried beetle juice as a crystal hard deposit.

Chandler is right about the colour too – it's already naturally tinted and will darken further as the years go by. There's not a flaw anywhere in sight – and nor should there be, you might say. We've never seen a Collings that doesn't look like it was machined from titanium by diamond-tipped cutters, so perfectly are they hewn. Examine any part, external or internal – including the vintage scalloped braces and flawless kerfing – and you'll see nothing but sublime workmanship.