Collings 001 Traditional Vintage Satin Acoustic Guitar – New

The Collings Traditional Series models have been the hardest to get, and Gryphon had to wait almost two years for this 00 model. That’s probably because some of the Traditional appointments, like the thin satin finish and wood purfling rosette, take a little more time.

This Collings 001 Traditional has a Sitka Spruce top and mahogany back and sides and even though it has a small, grand concert body, it has a remarkable amount of punch and power. The secret of its great tone isn’t really much of a secret. The trick is that for its Traditional Series, Collings has revived some of the more labor intensive techniques that builders used back in the 1930s and 1940s, the decade we consider the Golden Era of American guitar-making. One of the most important elements is the use of lighter, stiffer wood in the tops and bracing.

Other tone enhancing features include a thinner all-nitrocellulose lacquer satin finish with no UV-cure filler or undercoats; no flat brace (sometimes called “tongue brace”) under the end of the fingerboard; and bridges with a through-cut saddle. The neck shapes also have more rounded fingerboard edges and a vintage-inspired profile and taper. While these guitars are not “distressed” or artificially worn to make them appear like an older instrument, both the sound and the feel of these Traditional Series Collings models achieve a more “broken-in” impression for the player, and the listener.