[revive]

I'm surprised that currently the poll is basically draw, with a slight favor towards SC. Based on what I've observed from AGF so far, I was expecting 60% of the votes would go to Collings.

My own preference will depend on my 'psychoacoustic' condition at the moment. I can imagine prefering SC on one day, and Collings on another day. But over the long-run, I think it'll be a toss overall where Collings will slightly win on the construction quality & aesthetic aspects, while SC will be slightly more appealing to my tonal taste.

Colllings OM2HA and D2HA that I tried were really really impressive. I'd even say incredible. Loud, powerful, bright, well-defined, fast-attack, lots of headroom, obviously very well built. The D2HA was a cannon's cannon; extremely powerful guitar. OM1MhSB was also excellent, although not as good as the other two.

Santa Cruz OM/PW, OM and H were also very very good. Definitely more vintage sounding, full, darker, warmer than Collings, though not as powerful. Perhaps more suitable for light fingerficking. The OM/PW was very light, responsive, articulate and very resonant. Kind of Colling-ish, IMO. The OM was very rich, complex, long sustain; the sound has been haunting me for weeks. The H was LOUD; I mean it just defies its size.

I myself am buying a SC Model F, which is supposed to sound like OM only bigger & bassier. It's comparable to other builders' "small jumbo" or Martin 0000/M; kind of like a medium between OM and Dread. I may come back with additional report in a couple of weeks.