Generally speaking, how good are Collings MT-2s?

[drbluegrass]

I have one laid back and will be getting it within the next couple of weeks. I'm a novice to mandolins but have played guitar for 50 years. I just underwent a sudden conversion from electric swing jazz, jump/swing blues, and traditional blues, to bluegrass and related acoustic music about a year and a half ago. I'm becoming a pretty good flat picker on guitar. But mandolin is all new to me.
Soooooo, I hope I made a good choice for my first mandolin. I've done a lot of business with The Podium in Minneapolis and found them to be a fabulous store with a great staff. I also purchased 3 Collings acoustic guitars and recently a Santa Cruz. I'd heard and read great thing about Collings mandolins so I decided to buy one. Did I doo guud?? :confused:


Tom

[Jill McAuley]

You did good! I played a awesome Collings MT2 at a guitar show last year and have kicked myself ever since for not jumping on it. The MT2's are great instruments and well thought of around here!

Cheers,
Jill

[Brent Hutto]

I'm partial toward the Collings mandolins, myself. It's the only factory brand I'd even consider if I were shopping. Can't testify as to whether every MT-2 is a good one but generally speaking I like their voicing and responsiveness and how they're built. If you've seen one you like it's worth taking it home. Easy for me to say, spending your money...

[Bradley]

All are good...some are really good

I am the proud owner of a MF5 and Love it to death...But I wanted to say that
befoe it I had a MT2V that was a VERY special mandolin. If you can find one of those
you will definitely have a keeper. I am a F style player and missed the strap hanger, but other than that I would probably prefer the tone of the MT2V over just about anything out there.

[Andy Miller]

I think they offer a LOT for what they cost. Look for a used one. . .

[RichM]

While every instrument is different, I've found Collings to be the most consistent in tone and build quality of any manufacturer. I've played a lot of them (and own an MT), and never played a bad one or one that didn't "have it." Collings in one of the few brands I would confidently buy without having played it, as I know what it's going to sound like.

[barrangatan]

While every instrument is different, I've found Collings to be the most consistent in tone and build quality of any manufacturer

+1 on that. I think of them as the Taylor of mandolins - if I were to buy a mandolin sight unseen, I would get a Collings wtihout hesitation since they are so consistent across the board. I had a chance to play a few of them side by side at Buffalo Brothers a little while back, and all of them impressed the heck out of me. They were amongst the best sounding mandolins on display there, and it was the first time when I really get why they are so highly rated. I will say, though, that while they are aesthetically on different levels, to my inexperienced ears, I wasn't able to discern that much tonal difference between a standard MT and a MT2 to compel me to pay the difference. But that's just my own personal experience.

[Rick Schmidlin]

i played a Colllings MF5 for five years and bought it after one year of starting. First it was great mandolin with a perfect neck, tone and build. That is one thing you get from Collings on every mandolin they produce. They also inspire you to play,play,play and practice,practice , practice. The MT2 is every bit as good as the MF5's in all ways. You can get one sight unseen by mail and know you are getting a great mandolin. The other upside is after playing it for years if you want to change or upgrade you will mot loose on the deal.

[Ken_P]

I'll be glad to add to the chorus on this topic. As many have said, Collings is one of the few makers I would trust enough to buy an instrument sight-unseen. As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I did when I bought my very own MT2! I had always loved Collings mandolins, and when the opportunity arose to buy one from a friend on the other side of the country, I jumped on it. As a matter of fact, my avatar is one of the pictures that he sent me of the mandolin before I had ever touched it! That was over three years ago and I couldn't be happier.

[F-2 Dave]

Just in case you needed any more encouragement. I traded for my Collings MT almost two years ago. I'm still thrilled with the volume and tone every time I get it out of the case. It's a beautifully made instrument. Your MT2 should serve you very well, whatever musical direction you take it.

[Rick Crenshaw]

The three I have played have all been very, very impressive. One in particular was very fine.

[Bob DeVellis]

Yeah, they're seriously good instruments. I've had my MF-5 pretty much as long as they've been around. Although I don't play mandolin much these days, the Collings is still one of my all-time favorite instruments.

[Eddie Sheehy]

I've had MT's and MF's - including an MF-O. They are all astounding mandolins. I'd be hard-pressed to go for an MT2 over an MT though, since I've never played a bad MT and I don't see what a "vast" improvemnt it might be, but I'm sure that MT-2 owners wouldn't agree with me. Certainly the MT and MF are extremely good value for the dollar...

[MWM]

I've played a lot of mandos and possessed fine A and F models nearly twice the price. I settled on an MT2 as my daily driver. It's got incredible tone, clarity and volume in spades. Bill Collings has always been obsessed with building the finest instruments. You can spend far more money but the sound of a good MT2 is a hard thing to beat - at any price.

MT2 vs MT generalities: Red spruce (MT2) will usually cut with more clarity and volume when driven hard. The engelman MT might sound a little more woody and open when new. Red spruce tends to improve in a warm, woody direction with time - mine's an '04 and has really matured the last couple years.

[mandobassman]

Every Collings mandolin I have ever heard has been outstanding. Check out the videos on Collings' web site. Here's a link to the MT2. Click on the multimedia tab for the video. Each model has a video and some have jams using several different models.

http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=43

[Absaroke]

I love mine. I have an amber MT2-O. I have played acoustic guitar for many years and am a recent convert to mandolin. I bought a low price mandolin just to see if I liked playing and turned around and bought the MT2-O maybe a couple weeks later. The shop I bought from is located in Austin and the shop owner went to the Collings facility and hand picked the wood.
I don't think you can go wrong with a Collings mandolin as a beginning instrument.

[sgarrity]

Lots of mando for the $$$!