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#1
07-27-2014, 05:27 PM
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Collings gaining popularity?
It seems I'm noticing quite a few more Collings threads as of late. Is there a growing number of Collings fans/owners on this site or is it just me? What model do you have? What made you choose to buy a Collings?
I buy and swap a lot but really hope I can hang on to mine. I had heard good things about Collings . This one is no slouch. Any takers?
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2021 Taylor 114e 2020 Martin 000-18 2020 Martin LXME 
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#2
07-27-2014, 05:40 PM
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I'm a recent buyer of a Collings 02H (from Dave's Guitar Shop). This is their second smallest model (after the Baby). I don't know what made me take the plunge - I'm a fingerstyle player, and I wanted a really good shorter-scale, small-bodied guitar in rosewood and Sitka, and I thought it was time to see what the glowing reports on here were all about. I'm certainly glad I did. The sound is gorgeous and the playability so easy. It's a lovely guitar.
Last edited by ewalling; 07-27-2014 at 06:05 PM.
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#3
07-27-2014, 05:51 PM
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Collings
I have owned two Collings acoustics - OM2HG and D2HG.
Had to sell them during the height of the recent recession. Each one was amazing: Balanced, focused with excellent note clarity. The fit and finish is, IMHO, the best in the industry. Collings is the most underrated guitar manufacturer in the industry and it shows in the pricing: They should be fetching 15-20% more. But that's the fickleness of the market place.
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#4
07-27-2014, 05:52 PM
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Collings
It could be a function of production volume and availability of second hand. Collings has only been are since the early 90's I think, and they've ramped from a couple of hundreds guitars a year to maybe 2000 ish.
That along with normal turnover and sale of used guitars means the name is seen more than before. Add how easy it is for even small builders to be found now with the Internet, and even very small shops are getting a lot of visibility. Just my less than humble opinion.
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#5
07-27-2014, 06:05 PM
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Bill Collings founded his guitar company in 1973, a year before Kurt, Bob and Steve founded Taylor Guitars. He was just making them as a side business in his evenings, but he became well known, in my opinion, around 1978 when he built an acoustic for Lyle Lovett. The company began to grow in the late 1980s when he hired his first employee and began expanding his production. I think they have been known among guitar players for a number of decades now, though I think that the general public has been hearing more about them in the last 10 to 15 years or so as they have increased their production. I currently do not own a Collings, but I have played a number of them and a D3 is at the top of my list for my next new guitar.
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Member #12 Acoustics: 1995 Taylor 510 1997 Taylor Custom Shop 14 size 1998 Taylor K-65 12 string 1998 Larrivee C-10E with Mucha Lady IR/Sitka Electrics: 1999 PRS Custom 22 Artist Package - Whale Blue/Ebony 1995 Fender Custom Shop 1960 Strat - Dakota/Maple 1997 Fender California Series Fat Strat - CAR/Maple 1968 Teisco e-110 Sunburst/Maple
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#6
07-27-2014, 06:06 PM
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#8
07-27-2014, 06:22 PM
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#9
07-27-2014, 06:37 PM
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#11
07-27-2014, 06:47 PM
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I first saw a Collings in the Musibc Emporium in '98.
A DS41/2 in Adi & BRW. I regret not buying it. In '99 I bought the second DS2h to enter the UK. It suited me perfectly - and I have ...some ... more now. I know of three fine British luthiers who have told me that seeing a Collings guitar prompted them to revise their approach to guitar making. Collings are no longer a "secret" - they are well known and owned by many famous or not, and produce far more nowadays - in fact they have just passed the 20,000th. They are, in my opinion - simply,the best built versions ( and tributes) to the Martin and Gibson designs. In other words if you want a perfect Martin, or Gibson - buy a Collings.
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#12
07-27-2014, 06:49 PM
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I didn't know much about them until I heard about them on the guitar forums -- didn't know anyone with one, etc. Even then, they didn't register with me until I picked one up to try at the Chicago Music Exchange and was just blown away. Now I own one, and it's among the very best guitars I've ever played. That said, I don't think popularity is necessarily something Collings should be striving for
I don't know that they're getting more popular or if it just happens that there are a few more posts about them recently, but I do think that the size of their operation, the pricetags on their guitars, and their limited dealer network keep them from being more widely known. Don't get me wrong -- this is a good thing in a lot of ways, but from a pure popularity perspective, expensive guitars that aren't carried in GC or Sam Ash or Sweetwater, or even in the majority of mom and pops for that matter, aren't going to be as popular/widely known. That changes nothing about the quality of the guitar, and I appreciate the good service of the dealers who carry Collings. I think that if Collings were to do the kinds of things they'd need to in order to be more popular, (lower prices, increase production and visibility they would find it difficult to keep doing the kinds of things that distinguish them and make them stand out (i.e. attention to detail, individually selecting woods and voicing the guitars, etc.)
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One day you pick up the guitar & you feel like a great master, & the next day you feel like a fool. It’s because we’re different every day, but the guitar is always the same…beautiful. -Tommy Emmanuel
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#13
07-27-2014, 06:59 PM
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I don't know about increasing popularity, but I've owned quite a few! Several D's, an SJ, a couple of CJ's and now I have a D1 with the Adirondack braces. Bought it in a dread shootout at Gryphon with a bunch of much fancier models in the roundup.
Great guitars! As with any other brand, play a lot and find the one that really shouts out.
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#14
07-27-2014, 07:01 PM
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I had heard so much about them but couldn't get my hands on one to try. There's one dealer in OK, about 2.5 hours from me. Once I went there and played one, it was over. My Taylor was gone and the Collings was in. Now I'm looking at their electrics...mmmmmm.
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Sorry, I can't turn it down.
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#15
07-27-2014, 07:33 PM
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Guitars are a very personal thing, but Collings works exceedingly well for me. Doesn't mean they would for everybody, but the clarity and note separation is unbeatable. I think they provide a great combination of ample bass with a wide range of lovely trebles and mids.
I've owned 4... an OM1G, C-10 Mh, 02HG and an 01G... not a dog in the bunch. I haven't played any guitars whose workmanship exceeds that of Collings. They make superb guitars and they are proud of what leaves their shop. For me, they're the best guitars out there.
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