Collings MT2-O Italian Spruce, Birdseye Maple

[red7flag]

Here are pictures of my new Collings MT2-O from the Music Emporium. It has an Italian spruce top and birdseye maple back and sides. It has a very sophisticated tone. Will give a more in depth review of the tone after some more time playing.

[red7flag]

Here are some more. Side shots.

[Jill McAuley]

What an absolute beauty - congratulations!

[Mandobar]

Restring it Mangan monels.......makes a great mandolin even better

[sgarrity]

That's a beauty!

[red7flag]

Mary, no experience here. Does the monels soften the sound?

[Don Grieser]

Enjoy! Love the birdseye.

[Josh Levine]

They sure know how to make pretty mandolins. I bet this thing is powerful. Those Collings ovals really can thump.

[MandolinGeorge]

What a beutiful piece of art! Wonder how she sounds

[red7flag]

I did a mini review in the instrument section. The tone is strong and complex, sophisticated. The best tone is pulled when playing with restraint. There is some cool sustain. A final note can ring on and on. Not a quality I think of with Collins's. I plan to record a few tunes in the studio this week which I will post.

[Mandobar]

The monels will enhance the tone and take some of the brightness out. The give the tone better balance. You won't have to work as hard to restrain the overtones.

Many people underestimate Collings, and see them as a company that makes a static mandolin-product. They do a lot of custom orders and have made some great mandolins with different wood combinations.

[DougC]

That is a beauty all right. I have a similar custom Collings MT2 blond mandolin. It has a different sound than a MT2-O. I wish I could own both. Ha, ha. Right now I have some Thomastic strings on it and it is just amazing. They, like the Monel's I think, are not as good for strumming, but that sound is better than anything I have heard on any mandolin. (Take that! Gilchrist and Loar owners, ha, ha. )
Just my opinion of course.

[V70416]

Birdseye maple makes a gorgeous mandolin back/sides/neck. Congrats on a cool mando!

Don Grieser,don't you have a Red Diamond with birdseye?