Hello. I'm new to this forum. I have never owned a nice guitar but am currently interested in a 2001 D1AV which has hardly been played. I really like the guitar but I feel that the sound is extremely bright and lacking in bass. Is this fairly normal for this model and if so does it tend to mellow out a little after awhile. Sorry if this topic has already been addressed elswhere. Also, does $3200 sound like a good price for a used 2001 D1AV which as far as I can tell is in perfect condition?

MIght want to try some different strings on it.
That can make a huge difference in the sound.
And Collings Adi does take some time to break in from new and unplayed.

You're not talking about the '01 D1AV at Hill Country in Houston are you?

3200 seems a shade high. I've owned two D1AV guitars, and I found them more balanced than rosewood in the same model. Yes, the guitar does loosen up some. There's not mushy note in a carload of D1A's, if there ever were such.

$3200 is a little high, yes they do take some time to "break in".

I have a D1A which was love at first strum. It has filled out somewhat in the low mids with play time. I also like the sound of coated strings on this guitar....takes some of the edge off the wound strings.

5 years seems like a lot of break-in. Should it be expected to change much?

Not to sound equivocal, but it depends on how much the guitar has been played more than the elapsed time since it left Austin. I've had mint condition two year old adirondack guitars change significantly in six months of serious playing.

I'm with sonoman...guitars don't open up with age, they open up w/ playing. I play my D1A EVERY day and it is more "open" than some older ones.

I agree guitars open up with time, but I wouldn't buy a guitar that didn't grab me at the first strum. My experience with a guitar like this was that I sort of lost interest in playing it after a couple of months, it was just too aggresive sounding for my tastes. I guess I didn't have the patience to wait the years it might have taken to "open up." (Further, there was no guarantee that when it opened up I was going to have that ultimate, perfect guitar.)

If it's advice you want, I'd say keep looking. Collings makes too many great guitars to settle on one that doesn't appear to be a great bargain and sounds a bit too bright to you.

I was in the market for a mahogany/Adirondack dread and was going to purchase a D-1A. I played several and while excellent guitars, each example was a bit too bright for me and lacked the bass response I was looking for.

I eventually bought a Martin D-18GE which had the sound I was looking for. I was a bit surprised because as an owner of two Collings instruments I thought I'd add a third and did not expect to prefer the Martin, but I did. I don't know if the weight and bracing of the Collings could be a factor. The Martin GE has to weigh a 1/2 to 1 pound less than the Collings and the bass response on the Martin was far superior to the Collings.

On the other hand, the Collings had slightly more bell like trebles and great balance but the Martin just amazed me. I bought the Martin used and paid about 1k less than the used Collings I was looking at.

Maybe I just found an exceptionally good example of a GE but I suggest you A/B the Collings with the GE (as I did for about an hour) together with the usual suspects from Bourgeois, Huss and Dalton, etc. and see which you prefer.

I had pretty much given up on Martin because I've played a bunch of uninspiring guitars from them over the years but when they get it right they make a very impressive guitar.

quote:

Originally posted by FreeBlues:

I wouldn't buy a guitar that didn't grab me at the first strum.

Collings makes too many great guitars to settle on one that doesn't appear to be a great bargain and sounds a bit too bright to you.

I agree! It's gotta grab you right away.

Okay, I realize I'm piling on here, but sometimes repetition is a good thing. I agree that $3200 is high for a used D1AV. If it's a DEAD MINT 2001 it might be close to $3,000. If it has any play wear at all I would expect to pay somewhere in the $2,500 - $2,800 price range.

I also agree that if the sound does not strike you as dead on from the first strum, keep looking. This is a matter of some debate on this forum with more patient types swearing by their adi-topped instrument starting out rather bright/harsh, but opening up nicely over time. My experience is that if it sounds harsh now, it will likely sound harsh a year from now - about the time you'll get tired of the thing and sell it for something else, losing money in the process.

My .02.

Ernie