The Collings MT2 Mandolin is nearly the top of the heap for A-Style mandolins. Featuring a carved Red Spruce top and premium grade maple for the sides, carved back, sides and neck with ebony for the fingerboard, headplate and bridge, and rounded off with faux tortoise binding. The Collings MT2 mandolin is an extremely attractive, exceptionally good sounding, and great playing instrument. This mandolin is finished with a high gloss, very well done sunburst. With care, a sunburst almost takes on a life of its own, with many visual subtleties accenting the different refractive effects from the wood grain underneath. But to get to this, everything that’s under the finish has to be done at least as well – it has to look that good before any finish goes on. There is no sense that the sunburst is hiding anything (which was, one of the reasons that sunburst finishes were introduced to guitars). Of course, the tone is all here; though this is a brand new instrument, just arrived and not nearly played in, it’s got a rich, brilliant tone without any sense of brittleness or harshness. The factory setup is just as well done, and many players will find this mandolin ready to go with little or no adjustment. DETAILS: Select Adirondack spruce top Premium figured maple back, sides and neck Parallel tone bar bracing F-soundholes Grained ivoroid top/back/neck & peghead binding Black/white purflings Full high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish Bound “Haircut” headstock 13 Degree headstock angle Ebony peghead overlay w/Collings logo and flourish inlay Ebony fingerboard Mortise and tenon neck joint 22-frets, neck joins the body at the 15th fret V shaped neck profile with 1 9/16″ string spacing 5 1/2″-11 5/8″ Compound fingerboard radius 1 1/8″ Bone nut 13 7/8″ Scale length Medium 18% nickel-silver fretwire Mother of pearl dot fingerboard inlays Fully adjustable truss rod Custom adjustable floating ebony bridge Collings original one-piece nickel or gold tailpiece Nickel or gold tuners with black or pearl buttons Recommended string gauge – D’Addario J-74 (.011″-.040″) Collings deluxe hardshell case by TKL
