I have a new Collings OM2HA. The guitar sounds really, really great. Except for one note. The mid-range to low-bass "G". This note played either open at the G string, 10th fret on the A or, to a lesser extent, 3rd fret on the E, has less sustain, more "thump" and less tone overall.

I came to notice this when I was playing some small things in "G" using the open G as a kind of drone note. I noticed it didn't have the kind of openness of the others. Then I experimented by singing notes into the soundhole. I noticed that when a mid range and low bass G is sung into the soundhole the body resonates like a violin. The resonance is quite strong, and spreads out. I would guess that this sympathetic body vibration is cancelling out the string vibrations and dampening the sound.

I called Collings about this. (My first call to Collings). They said that Ad. is a very stiff top wood and that the guitar needs to open up. Because this is a very new guitar, it has not had time to settle in. He said that in time, as the guitar opens up, it will balance out. When I asked them if the "G" would "catch up" and become more balanced in relation to the other notes, he said that it would.

My question is this: While I know that this issue has been discussed on the forum before, I wonder if any owners of older guitars who have noticed a great deal of openning in their guitars had a persistent and particularly glaring dead note in the beginning that they have seen open up and balance out over time?

I have a theory. As the guitar settles in and changes over time, I would guess that the body resonance will shift slightly over time and allow the G to sing out more. My hope is that the resonance will shift somewhere "in between" notes like at "G 1/2 #" I know that there is not such note except in bends or frettless or out of tune playing, and if so, that would make the dead note "hidden" or inaccessible. I have not re-tuned my guitar somewhere in between to check if there is still deadness anywhere, but I think I will try...

Please weigh in on this issue. Any comments or suggestions would help. I don't have any intention of trading or returning the guitar because the rest of the notes are so great, and if it opens up, I want to be the one to reap the benefits. However, if after a couple of years of steady playing the note doesn't get any better, does a dead spot fall under the category of warranty repair or manufacturing flaw? As far as I'm concerned it should. And with a $3500 guitar from Collings, I would guess it would.

Thanks.

John

Collings has not mislead you. You guitar needs time to break in. I would beat it hard for a while. Also, try different strings. I found that my OM3C sounds best to me with light strings. Mediums made the guitar sound more "thumpy" overall.

Give it a little time. If you don't like it you can do pretty well down the road selling Collings guitars.

My first reaction is to change the strings, try another brand.... then, if it is still happening, ask the professionals. Try asking this question over at the 13th fret where the luthiers hang out.

And, I since I also have an OM2H with Sitka, I'll see if I can reproduce what you say is happening on my guitar then report back. I also have a new Beneteau with Adirondack top. I'll test that for resonance dampening and report back.

Thanks for replying. I don't think it is a string or fret or tuner problem because it exists at particular frequencies, rather than particular strings or frets.

Looking at other posts here on the forum I notice that many people struggle with this problem. My main question is how much I or other people have or will see the tone open up. There is also another issue. If the entire guitar opens up, won't this note still sound relatively choked even if it does get better? Balance is as important to me as anything when it comes to tone.

The low E string, up the fingerboard, tends to be the weak link in most guitars, with a note or two being worse than others. There is no way of knowing for sure if this problem will get better with time, but there is a good chance it will get better. Will it go away completely? No way to know. I think Collings guitars age well, but what will happen is hard to say. It's a hard choice to make. If I really didn't like the guitar now I would not wait for it. I'd find a guitar I like now. That being said, I think I find something that concerns me after every guitar purchase, especially expensive guitars. I think it's a bit of "buyer's remorse" kicking in. It usually doesn't last very long.

Rocker,

Thanks for your comments. I think the guitar sounds really great. The main thing I am concerned about is the open g string, which sounds a little choked. I have tuned the guitar to open "G" (DGDGBD). I will probably hammer the guitar pretty hard like this until these strings die and then re-string with a set of phosphor bronze lights and see what happens.

I figure it will open up enough. I will be sure to post my findings. I play it about 2-3 hours per day. If there is no noticeable progress in the next few weeks, I might try sending it to get "shaken." A friend of mine is an apprentice of Mike Tobias, who helped develope this shaker system for guitars using a very powerful speaker which sends varying frequencies at high volume into the guitar.

This is all speculation. I will post a link soon to the AC magazine article regarding this process. I don't even know if it is available to the public.

stand by...

John

linkage:

http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/advice/vibration.shtml

I know this is a long time after the original post. However, when there is a problem with one string, I'd look to the nut slot as a possible problem. If the nut slot is pinched, or not tapered correctly back towards the tuner, this can result in a difference of tone compared to other strings.
Bernie