Though Lage’s guitar shares the same foundational specs as the OM1 T, it is unique in some key ways. Its neck feels like no other Collings guitar. That’s because it’s modeled after Lage’s cherished 1939 Martin 000-18. This pre-war gem is heard on the guitarist’s 2015 solo album, “World’s Fair,” and was his main touring acoustic for years.
The 000-18’s neck, which was of course originally hand-shaped and< sanded, has a distinctive taper altered by decades of wear. For Lage, this particular neck hadcome to feel like home.
Through careful analysis and digitization of its unique dimensions, we were able to precisely recreate its worn-in, asymmetric feel on his signature model. While Collings maintained the relatively narrow 1 11/16" nut of the 000-18's neck, Collings extended the fretboard from the original short scale to the Collings standard 25 ½" length for slightly greater presence and note definition.
Lage has an affinity both tonally and aesthetically for vintage guitars whose finishes have mellowed after years of playing. To recreate this effect Collings initially considered a varnish, but to achieve the ideal combination of a thin finish application and a vintage aesthetic, Collings landed on a custom satin lacquer. This new finish offering not only feels and looks right to Lage, he finds it has the same inherent openness of tone that is present in the best pre-war instruments.
With his typical descriptive eloquence, Lage characterizes his signature model as a “lovingly neutral” guitar. It has a remarkably even response between registers. It’s not an empty flatterer, but an instrument that rewards you when you’re playing your best. In this way, Lage, whose own education is unending, sees the guitar as a teacher.
Lage’s signature model incorporates a script peghead logo not seen on a new Collings instrument in decades. This is the inlay that Bill hand-cut some 30 years ago when he started out in a tiny shop in Austin, Texas. We see this as a loving tribute to our late leader, who in his final project was able to realize the perfect new steel-string for one of today’s most exacting guitarists.
Top: Collings Select Old Growth Sitka Spruce
Back & Sides: Honduran mahogany
Construction Traditional Series Build and Voicing
Neck Honduran mahogany
Body Binding Tortoise with custom wood purflings
Fingerboard Binding None
Peghead Binding None
Bridge Ebony belly-style with 2 3/16" spacing
Fingerboard Ebony with gold MOP short dots
Fingerboard Radius 14" - 26" compound
Bridge Pins/End Pin Ebony with MOP dot
Nut Bone, 1 11/16"
Saddle Bone, drop-in
Neck Profile Custom JL carve
Peghead Profile Square
Neck Joint Mortise & tenon hybrid
Truss Rod Fully adjustable
Frets Medium 18% nickel-silver
Peghead Veneer Ebony with gold MOP Collings script logo
Tuners Relic nickel Waverly with vintage oval buttons (16:1 ratio)
Backstrip 1-style (walnut)
Rosette Custom wood rosette
Scale Length 25 1/2"
Brace Material Sitka spruce
Brace Pattern Custom Traditional Series pre-war scalloped X-brace (no tongue brace)
Body Finish Custom satin nitrocellulose lacquer
Neck Finish Custom satin nitrocellulose lacquer
Pickguard Tortoise
Strings D'Addario NB1253 (.012"- .053")
Case Deluxe hardshell case
