Back when I made REAL money on the internet

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Back before "the site that will not be named," and before I had ever heard of MyLot, there was Epinions. Epinions was a product review site that started in 1999 or 2000. I joined in 2000 or 2001. Like MyLot, it had a social element, and its members came to know each other well. Because reviews on the site were read by non-members around the world, its writers gathered lots of views, and we were paid well. I became a "niche" writer, reviewing vintage stereo gear and acoustic guitars, and was making several hundred dollars a month when the site finally closed, in 2014 or so. Just for chuckles, I'll attach a review of my OM-1 guitar that I wrote shortly after I got it. Most of you probably won't make it through the whole review, but you'll be able to see that the writing was more "formal" there. Have you heard of Epinions? Are there any other old Epinions writers here? ----- Collings OM-1: An excellent mahogany OM-style guitar with a Sitka spruce top Review by Horswispr in Musical Instruments Rated a Very Helpful Review Pros:very attractive; comfortable to hold and play; excellent intonation, attack and sustain Cons:a tad bright The Bottom Line: The Collings OM-1 is an excellent mahogany OM-style guitar, with easy playability, and nice attack and sustain. The Collings OM-1 is a small mahogany guitar with a spruce top and an ebony fingerboard. It is one of the most basic offerings from Collings Guitars of Austin TX, a "boutique" guitar company that competes with the likes of Santa Cruz and Bourgeois for the high end guitar market. The OM-1 is based on the pre-war Martin OM (Orchestra Model), as are comparable guitars from Martin, Larrivee, Santa Cruz, and several other quality manufacturers. I recently traded one of my guitars for a Collings OM-1, so I thought I'd write a review. A quick look at Gryphon String's inventory (Gryphon is a high-end guitar store in Palo Alto CA) reveals that Collings's OM-style guitars can be found with either a regular scale length (about 25.5") or a short scale length (about 24.9"). They can also be found with either a 1 11/16" fingerboard width at the nut or a slightly wider 1 3/4" fingerboard width at the nut. The one in my possession has the regular (25.5") scale length and the wider (1 3/4") fingerboard. The Collings OM-1 is a very attractive guitar. The mahogany back and sides are finished dark, with a hint of red, like Martin's mahogany guitars. The binding is a dark colored tortoise, which I actually prefer to the more ornate herringbone of many high end guitars (especially rosewood guitars). The rosette is pretty standard looking, and the back stripe looks like no stripe at all (Collings calls it a "1-style walnut backstrip"). Fingerboard markers are simple small dots, and the pick guard is a nice, small OM-style affair. The finish is an attractive gloss, and the headstock is very square, like a pre-war Martin (I believe). The bracing of the Collings OM-1 is pre-war style scalloped bracing, which should lead to nice projection and sustain. The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Collings OM-1 was that it is a very comfortable guitar to hold. OMs are easier on softball-tired shoulders than larger dreadnought guitars, and the 1 3/4" fingerboard of the OM-1 is easy to play. Compared to my Santa Cruz OM Custom, the v-shape of the the Collings's neck is less pronounced, and the neck feels subjectively less wide. I can play the Collings OM-1 for longer periods of time without my left hand getting tired. Action on my OM-1 was a tad high when I got it, so I slightly adjusted the truss rod, which can be accessed through the sound hole. A standard 5/16" ball head hex wrench is what I used. With the action slighty lowered, playability of the Collings OM-1 is excellent. Chords do sound in tune up the neck, and the Collings OM-1 is unusually good in terms of staying in tune when I slap a capo on, even at the 7th fret. I read somewhere that Collings uses an unusual amount of metal reinforcement in their necks, and this may account in part for the good intonation up the neck. According to a note I just received from Collings, they do indeed use "spring steel inserts" on either side of the truss rod, and they find that this increases the mass of the neck just a touch, which in turn increases both resonance and sustain. The sound of the Collings OM-1 is distinctive, and consistent with my overall impression of Collings guitars, compared to similar guitars from Larrivee, Martin and Santa Cruz. My Collings OM-1 has excellent attack when you first strum a note or chord. It does not start mellow and build, like so many Larrivees I've played. And it is not warm and round, like many Martins. It is immediate and powerful sounding, with excellent sustain. The bass notes have a nice amount of "throng," especially for a small mahogany guitar, and the midrange is smooth. If I had to fault the guitar, I would say that treble tones (high B and E strings) are a bit too bright for my personal taste, but this doesn't prevent chords from sounding nicely integrated. And said brightness actually works well for some fingerpicking tunes, like Alex DeGrassi's Children's Dance in drop-D tuning (capoed up a few frets). I've also used my OM-1 for fingerpicking in DADGAD and other alternative tunings, and it sounds really nice in those tunings. I recently used it (in standard tuning) at a fairly large Irish music jam and found that it cut through quite nicely. If I want that mellow and sweet sound when I'm fingerpicking, I'd still reach for my Larrivee LS-05 (also a small mahogany guitar). But if I want a brighter more dynamic sound, or if I'm going to be jamming with other musicians, I'd reach for the Collings. Compared to my (rosewood) Santa Cruz OM Custom, the Collings OM-1 is a bit less warm sounding, and perhaps a touch quieter overall (though close in dynamic range; it's not easy to "over-drive"), but it does cut through a room full of musicians pretty well. Compared to my Larrivee D-03E, the Collings simply sounds more refined. My favorite Collings to date is still an OM-2HE (Engelmann spruce top) I played at Gryphon strings several years ago. You can find my review of that guitar by going to BING (not Google) and entereing "Collings OM-2HE." It should be the second thing that comes up. The Engelmann spruce top gave that particular instrument a seductive sweetness that I've rarely encountered in any guitar. Plus it shared the OM-1's excellent intonation up the neck. But the OM-1, if a bit more aggressive sounding than the OM-2HE (or my Santa Cruz), is still an excellent sounding instrument. Right now, the Collings OM-1 is one of my "go to" guitars, as it is easy to play, works well in several different tunings, and is loud enough to be used in acoustic jams. One more interesting thing about the construction of the Collings OM-1 that I should mention: Collings guitars in general do not have the dovetail neck-to-body joint of most high-end guitars. They use a mortise and tenon joint. This leads to an easier time should a neck reset be necessary down the road, but some guitar snobs thumb their noses at this kind of joint, preferring the dovetail. However, there is controversy about whether the kind of neck-to-body joint has any effect on the sound of the guitar, or whether the quality of execution is all that matters. Based on my experience with Collings guitars, I'd say the latter is the case. To conclude, the Collings OM-1 is an excellent mahogany OM-style guitar. It plays easy and has excellent attack and sustain. It's a tad bright and aggressive compared to my absolute favorite Collings OM, the OM-2HE (as well as compared to the Collings OM-2 and my Santa Cruz OM Custom), but it's still a joy to play and to hear. The Collings OM-1 is an expensive guitar: a new one will cost about $3500, while a used one can be had for maybe $2700. As with all guitars, I recommend you play the individual instrument you're considering, as there is always some instrument-to-instrument variability, even with very high end guitars. Based on my experience, the Collings OM-1 is highly recommended.