After All These Years, I FINALLY Have It!! | Collings OM2H vs Martin 000-28

The Collings does have a lot of clarity in the higher frequencies, but I do think the Martin is warmer and more balanced. Martin for me, but there is no wrong answer!

I don't know but to my ears, the Martin won every comparison.

To my ears the Martin sounds a bit more "woody" and more mid rangy, which I prefer. The Collings had more sparkle on the high end and a thinner sound - again, to my ears.

Short scale length on 000 vs long scale length on OM makes a different. 🎧 love your demo and presentation.

The Collings was noticeably better for fingerstyle to me, or at least clearer. With a pick I was actually pretty surprised how close they are. Collings has a clearer bell like tone, Martin has a woody fundamental and deeper tone with a pick. Both are great. I've always like Martin, but would pick the Collings for single note runs or maybe solo recording. The Martin would fill out a mix better I think, more frequencies there.

A better comparison would have used a Collings OM2H vs a Martin OM-28 as opposed to the 000-28, as they both have the long scale length. In this video, I am left feeling that we are hearing differences in scale length more than anything else. Beyond that, it was still a good comparison. The Martin, with its Dovetail neck join, sounded better to my ear. The Collings sounded too modern, and a little pale to me.

If you like a more open brighter and maybe a bit more articulate sound the Collings is that guitar. However it you want to go for more of a smoother strummer and a somewhat more softer fingerpicker the Martin is that guitar. As others have said the scale length may play a small part in the difference but certainly not the only one. If playing a fingerpicking solo the Collings wins hands down. But having a nice blended strumming background the Martin might be better. It certainly helps to have both.

Thanks for the time and effort you put into this video! I liked the Martin better for everything except for your fingerstyle playing. The Collings is a brighter instrument and since you pick with your fingertips instead of your nails, the Collings added a brightness that enhanced the playing. Interestingly enough, I liked the bell like tone of the Collings when you did "fingerstyle" with your flat pick at the end of the arpeggios. I would keep both guitars, as they will provide different colorization for your recordings.

I did pretty much the same comparison between a Martin 12 fret, sloped shoulder & a Collings OM2 Cut. They were so incredibly close but the overtones from the Collings were cohesive and decayed beautifully while the Martin's overtones degraded and clashed. Subtle differences to be sure. I found the Collings to be more versatile for my needs. YMMV.

I think this is one of the best back to back comparisons of any 2 guitars I have seen. I see 2 years have gone by, so I don't know if you monitor this video, but FWIW, I got a Colling CJ (basically their take on the Gibson J series slope dreads) a little while ago second hand from 2005 (or pre-loved, as I think people like to say these days) and your video prompted me to play it back to back against my Martin D35 and Martin J40 (both from 2013). They are all great guitars. The Collings is cleaner, with greater note separation. The D35 is the classic Martin growly bass and both it and the J40 have more integrated sound, which I think is like what people mean when they say warmer. The J40 is sort of somewhere between the other 2, but there's no doubt the Collings is very clean sounding, and, in consequence, unforgiving of any fluffs. I'll probably use it more for instrumental stuff than the other 2, but I won't be getting rid of any of them. They are all great guitars - the differences are subtle but worth having. Thanks a lot for getting me to do that.

Hey now...enjoyed that! I've had an OM2H for awhile that I pretty much do love but have always threatened to pull the trigger on a 000-28 so yeah...enjoyed this, well done!

Both sound great! The Collings sounds brighter but not surprised since it has a longer scale length. To my ears Martin sounds warmer more ‘aged’ and Collings brighter more crisp. Money no object, own both lol

I really have to say that my ears with good headphones like the Martin much better. The Collings, I don’t know what it is, is a bit muddier. Less clarity. Less sparkle. A bit less of everything. Initial thought was, if you put a bucket over the soundhole? I really like the Martin much better. Good recording by the way. A bit much talking at the beginning. Maybe switch the music and talking parts?

I’m a Collings guy (OM2H, 002H), but I preferred the Martin in this comparison. The Collings starts to warm up after about a year of playing, so I’m guessing it sounds even better now if you still have it.

Great video! I am a recent Martin owner (D-18), and am really very happy with the fit, finish, and tone of it, but my goodness… that Collings is so incredible sounding! It’s like each note you played is it’s own bell! I really could not believe my ears, so I’ve listened to this 3 times, and I get more impressed with the Collings each time. Do you think the longer scale-length has anything to do with the clarity of those notes?

My two favourite guitars though I went for the OM2H in the end. Nice job.

I have a Collings OM2H and compared it to my Martin M36. Same woods, but the size is a little different. They both sound amazing, but have different applications. Martins to me sound more scooped with a bit more bass and highs, but less mids. The Collings on the other hand is very even across the spectrum to my ears, but very focused and cuts through the mix. They're both wonderful, but I use them where they will shine. Strum to fill a mix, use a Martin. Delicate fingerpicking with nuance, try a Collings OM2H.

It’s funny looking back at all the comments…. Just goes to show how different our ears are! To me the Martin sounds warmer and more balanced. The Collings maybe a little more defined but a bit brittle sounding.

The Collings compares more to the Martin 000-42 or the Martin OM-42. The three guitar's have similar colours and flavors of each note blending together evenly. At the end of the day I would definitely choose Collings!

Apart from the scale difference, the Martin sounded like it had been played in longer, the Collings sounds like a new guitar, rerun the comparison when the Collings has been played in for a couple of years.