Photo credit: Ray Larsen

Collings made its name by building exquisitely crafted guitars inspired by the first Golden Age of American lutherie. And while prewar Martins and Gibsons sometimes mark a point of design origin, Collings guitars are not slavish reproductions. They are true players’ instruments, aimed at working musicians with vintage tastes who can’t afford collector’s prices and need road-rugged instruments.

Bill Collings and company have never been afraid to tweak a traditional design to create an instrument more suited to contemporary guitarists. And a quick glance at the (long) list of famous and tradition-minded Collings players—which includes Tim O’Brien, Chris Smither, Kenny Smith, Joan Baez, Keith Richards, Brian May, and Joni Mitchell to name a few—attests to the success of that formula.

Though Collings is renowned for its dreadnoughts, the company has been increasingly interested in other body styles, including archtops (and their smaller, eight-string cousin, the mandolin) and small bodies. Inspired by dealers’ requests and a particular 1932 Martin 14-fret 0 model that found its way into Bill Collings’s hands, Collings began taking orders for 0 sizes a couple of years ago, and I was fortunate to get a sunburst 0-1 for review.

A LITTLE MAHOGANY TONE MONSTER

Though it may almost appear as a parlor instrument amid today’s world of jumbos, dreadnoughts, and other robust body shapes, the 0-body was introduced by Martin as its largest guitar in the early 1850s, originally with a 12-fret neck. Along with other Martin models, the 0 was redesigned with a 14-fret neck around 1932.

Collings makes four 0 models. The 0-1 has mahogany back and sides and minimal ornamentation. Other versions offer Indian rosewood back and sides. All instruments, including the 0-1, can be customized from Collings’s many options, and the review model featured an optional sunburst top, Vintage Now neck and bridge, 1¾-inch nut, cut-through saddle, and hard-shell case.

Built with a tried-and-true combination of a Sitka spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and ebony fretboard and bridge, the 0-1’s stylish profile is enhanced by the gorgeous, subtly shaded sunburst top; tortoise-style pickguard (which is of the smaller OM-style size, rather than the full-size pickguard you’d ordinarily find on a vintage 0) and binding; and Collings’s sharply cut peghead. Vintage-style Waverly tuners complete the package. In all, it’s a tasty piece of eye candy for guitarists whose tastes are informed by the clean lines of prewar lutherie and the tastefully stained woods used in traditional violin making.

CONTEMPORARY AND CLASSIC AT ONCE

Collings’s willingness to improve on tradition is demonstrated by its Vintage Now neck and bridge. Not as sleek and slim as contemporary necks, nor as chunky as some prewar logs, the Vintage Now neck shape is a great compromise for players who like some meat under their fingers but don’t want anything to get in the way of their creativity.

Collings’s Steve McCreary says that the Vintage Now neck is “based on a variety of necks from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. Our Vintage neck was too beefy for some players, but some wanted a little more mass than our standard profile. The Vintage Now neck has a nice, rounded vintage feel but isn’t such a handful.” If you’re used to electric-guitar style thin necks, the rounded shape may take some getting used to, but I imagine it will only slow down folks who have very small hands. Combined with the short scale, the Vintage Now neck makes for a very playable instrument.

TENDER TONES

The 0-1’s full, penetrating sound belies its small size, and its balanced tone allows voices to ring clear in every register, no matter how complex or busy your chords and melodies get. The guitar responded well to a flatpick—producing a nice old-time rhythm sound on first-position chords and well-defined melodic lines on simple Carter Family-style leads—but its fat, woody sound tended to dissipate as my attack got stronger. Though it produces plenty of volume with a gentler approach, rhythm bashers would need to ease up a bit to get the most out of this guitar.

The 0-1 really seems made to be played with the fingers. Tradition-minded fingerpicking fans of Mississippi John Hurt or Etta Baker will appreciate the sweet, rich bass and snappy trebles, but contemporary fingerstylists will also find a ready canvas for complex chords. This is one guitar that’s capable of producing that elusive pianistic quality in which the close tones of lush, block chords blend evenly into a single stream of sound, and the separate, distinct lines of complex contrapuntal arrangements speak clearly with individual voices. It is, in short, an incredibly balanced guitar.

The 0-1 was just as full-bodied and responsive when tuned down from standard to tunings like open-D and D A D G A D (and even my current favorite, C F C F C F), making this a versatile fingerstylist’s dream guitar.

THE WRAP

Vintage small-body fans have often focused their attention on guitars from the larger end of this instrument segment—Martin 000s and 00s as well as Gibson L-0 or Nick Lucas models—but this Collings makes it clear that the 0 size can produce just as much tonal complexity, richness, and volume as its slightly larger cousins. It’s not the perfect instrument for the heavy handed, but Collings’s 0-1 should delight anyone with a nuanced touch and an appreciation of vintage sounds, no matter their range of musical interests.