Collings OM1 Julian Lage signature acoustic guitar. Julian Lage’s guitar shares the same foundational specs as the Collings OM1 Traditional, it is unique in some key ways. Its neck feels like no other Collings guitar. That’s because it’s modeled after Lage’s cherished 1939 Martin 000-18. The 000-18's neck, which was of course originally hand-shaped and sanded, has a distinctive taper altered by decades of wear. Through careful analysis and digitalization of its unique dimensions, Collings was able to precisely recreate its worn-in, asymmetric feel on his signature model. While Collings maintained the relatively narrow 1 11/16" nut of the 000-18's neck, they extended the fretboard from the original short scale to Collings standard 25 ½" length for slightly greater presence and note definition. Lage has an affinity both tonally and aesthetically for vintage guitars whose finishes have mellowed after years of playing. To recreate this effect Collings initially considered a varnish, but to achieve the ideal combination of a thin finish application and a vintage aesthetic and landed on a custom satin lacquer. This new finish offering not only feels and looks right to Lage, he finds it has the same inherent openness of tone that is present in the best pre-war instruments. Lage’s signature model incorporates a script peghead logo not seen on a new Collings instrument in decades. This is the inlay that Bill hand-cut some 30 years ago when he started out in a tiny shop in Austin, Texas.