I've owned (and own) more than a few Collings of all varieties and I am a fan. I also have a satin Pava in my possesion right now (and an MT2-O) - build quality on both is top notch. Both are loud - I read comments about the Pava not being loud and I don't get it nor agree. The Collings (talking about the MT here) is more mid-range and treble heavy - 'bright' - while the Pava is more bass and mid-heavy - 'Dark'. This makes sense as the Pava body is larger than the Collings by a fair amount. The Collings seems to change more with different picks and strings, the Pava does too but not to the degree the Collings does.
Both will go louder than you need in most situations but you can hammer on the Collings like a lunatic and it just never stops getting louder, ever. The tone starts to fall off at some point but if you're battling a pile of meat with a banjo or an egomaniac with a guitar tone really doesn't matter. Either can handle that situation without batting an eye, Collings just 'cuts' more. For me - Pava goes to the Celtic jams at the bar, Collings to outdoor jam circles or vice-versa, doesn't matter. At home - either one, they can both play quiet and sweet with full tone. I prefer the wide necks on both, even if I set string spacing to the 1 1/8 spacing.
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