Have you guys heard about this yet? Collings in conjunction with Nugget Mandolins is producing a Tim O'Brien A model based on his 72 Nugget. Mike at Nugget is going to carve the wood and spec it out and then ship it to Collings for final assembly. This is the most exciting thing I have heard about in a while....
I mean, its almost impossible to get a Nugget these days. The joining of these two great mandolin makers is some news!! I know Mike helped in the development of the original designs in the past, but for this he is actually using woods from his private stock and carving and providing the bridge. Check out the Old Town Pickin Parlor web site or Tims site (www.timobrien.net) or Mandolin Cafe for more info....
(by the way I already bought the one that Old Town is getting, maybe they are gettin more. I think production is a few dozen a year. List is 5500.)

Bo,

I heard of this awhile back but did not think they would be priced below the F5 that Collings makes. I have the MT-2 (with the F5 finish) and I really think that it is more than enough mandolin for me to handle. It sounds and looks great. This will probably be an instant success and another "sold out" mandolin from Collings... back to guitars... ;-)

I think the label look kinda cool!



The Article is interesting as well

I had the good fortune to be standing at the Collings booth talking to Steve McCreary when UPS delivered the very first 2 of these models, (at the International Bluegrass Music Assoc. trade show in Louisville, KY). He was pretty excited to open the box, and I was pretty excited to watch. One was for Tim himself, and the other was to be sold. Love to have one, but it wasn't in my budget that day. There's always tomorrow!

I was lucky enough to see Tim in concert last week---he and the band were fantabulous! I was hoping to see him play his Collings 12 fret dread but he only played his Nugget and an Italian-made Bouzouki called the Corrado, I believe---fine performance, however---

James D. Little

I saw and played the Nugget/Collings at IBMA. It was very nice and sounded like an F model. It was priced around $5500, cheaper than the Collings F model however there are a lot of nice mandolins out there cheaper than this. I imagine the Nugget/Collings will be in big demand and sold as fast as they can make them.

Mike

I know I'm replying over two years after the original post but, in case anyone is interested :

I own #16 and I love this mandolin. I am also the owner or a blackface MT and, while they both have great sound they are significantly different.

The TOB sounds very different from any Collings I own (MF, MT) or have played (many). It does not have that warm woody tone I find Collings mandos have but more of a mid-rangy bell-like tone. And it has tremendous volume.

I am exceeding pleased with it and feel lucky to own it as I know the production has been much lower than originally expected.

Welcome Patrick!

I own #8 and agree with Patrick that is sounds different then other Collings mandolins I've played. Mine has a real ballanced tone across the board and mics really well. FWIW I've been using DAddario Stainless strings on it.

Interesting to hear you have had the same experience Dave. I once spoke to the folks at a well known dealer and they thought the one they had was no different than a Collings MT2. This surprised me as I know mine is very different.

Do you find yours had more volume? Mine is really loud (even with low action).

How about your truss rod cover? Did it tarnish? Mine did very soon after I got it. The seller advised me to contact Nugget directly which I did. Very nice guy who was willing to replace it but choose to keep the original. I kind of like the tarnish look.

Have you noticed that not a one has come on the used market? That is my observation. I would think it is partly due to the low output but hopefully also due to a high satisfaction level with those who own them.

I own #17. I have owned 2 Nugget Mandos and 2 Collings. The TOB is totally different from the 2 Collings and very similar to the Nuggets. The TOB is a great instrument, and a great investment.

Wow, I can't believe this old thread is still around. I never did get this model/mandolin. The OTPP said they had one coming but at the time they did not. At that time, I knew the Regional Sales Manager for Collings and he was pissed when he found out that OTPP had promised me one when he had not allocated them yet. So I kind of forgot about it and bought a reall nice MF-5 last year. I guess I missed the boat on the TOB.