Conference napalm::guitar

    Hi!
    
    Believe this or not, the guy the Company is owned by,
    was on BCN about a month or so ago.
    
    He talked quite abit about quality, and wood, and overall
    design considerations.  Seems to really be a pro, and
    know just what he's talking about.
    
    I guess Mr. Pete Towsned has a few of em, as does Clapton,
    but he wasn't dropping too many names !!! (Not)  
    
    Seems that the Guitars start at around 2 grand and they're
    hand built, by this 'Collins' dude.  Mega-Garbonzo models
    are in the 4 to 5 thousand dollar range,  (That's a lot
    of pesos aye?)
    
    Would I buy one??  well, not with out a few hours
    of playing with it, and my wife on annestethics..
    
    
    /r

Colloings runs a shop in Austin where he makes guitars and still does repair for 
people like Lyle Lovett, who owns a few. I've played 4 or 5 Collings. All had the 
same high quality of material and finish. In fact, the day I bought my Santa Cruz 
Tony Rice, I tried 3 Collings that were similar. The Santa Cruz won this little 
shoot out for me, but that's no put down on Collings.

I've seen a few reviews of his work in places like GUITAR PLAYER and ACOUSTIC 
GUITAR. All were pretty much rave reviews. While he makes a few mega-buck 
archtops, it seems that his main focus is flat tops. Other than the dreadnaught 
you saw, he makes a round shouldered dreadnaught similar to the old Gibson J45, a 
large jumbo, and a smaller guitar similar to the venerable Gibson Nick Lucas.

Would I buy one? Yes, assuming I had the bucks and could justify one more axe. 
Back in the 60s and 70s, there was really only one choice if you wanted a top line 
acoustic - Martin. Now, I think that the problem is there are too many choices! If 
I had to have just one acoustic guitar (and I don't perform anymore, so 
amplification isn't an issue) I'd keep my Tony Rice. But I'll bet you could have a 
killer guitar from Collings, or Lowden (especially for finger style), or Martin, 
or from a growing number of one-man shops. Check out any issue of ACOUSTIC GUITAR 
and see all the ads for luthiers. It's wonderful.

Paul

> I've seen a few reviews of his work in places like GUITAR PLAYER and > 
ACOUSTIC GUITAR. 

What is ACOUSTIC GUITAR? A magazine? New? Focused on a particular style of 
acoustic guitar? (Never seen it around here)

FeliX.

    Acoustic Guitar is a magazine focused on pretty much all styles of
    acoustic guitar playing -- classical, to blues, to acoustic jazz, to
    folk, etc.  It's been around for a little over a year now.  I can
    get you the address later.
    
    

    thanks for the replies, after buying the D2H i called up collings for
    any info they could send.  what they sent were 3x5 photos (yeah,
    actual prints) of various instruments.  beautiful instruments all.  the
    thing that impressed me about the instrument most was the bass.  it
    blew away all of the other instruments mandolin bros. had (with the
    notable exception of a '42 martin d-28).  The tony rice had a little
    sweeter high end, the sound had more depth to it at the 12 fret or so,
    but the low end was not as resonant.  since i was looking for a flat
    pickin, foot stompin, rhythm oriented kinda instrument, i opted for the 
    collings.  i can see, however, if you played a lot of leads up on the
    neck, you'd probably go for the tony rice.  the other disadvantage to a
    collings is resale value, they apparently don't hold their value like a
    taylor, martin or other 'name brand'.  looks like i'll just have to
    suffer with playing it forever 8^)
    regards, jt
               

So you popped for the Collings?!?

Not bad. The resale value shouldn't be that big an issue - unless you swap 
instuments on a regular basis. I think you made the right decision for the right 
reasons - you found a guitar that meets your expectations. Nuf said.

Hope you enjoy it.

Paul

    I think you never know what the resale value might be 20 years down the
    road.  Collings could become highly prized, as might (and probably
    will) many of the other small shop johnny-come-lately acoustic makers.
    \Gary

    now that i've had this for a little while, i've noticed some
    interesting 'features'.  they mostly have to do with resonance and
    volume and strings.
    
    i run 80/20 bronze strings on the other dreadnaught i own (a takamine)
    and alternate between phosphor bronze and 80/20 bronze on my OM-28.  i
    do this to try and 'brighten up' the sound.
    
    when i bought the collings it had phosphor bronze strings on it.  after
    a while i noticed an annoying buzz coming from the the general location
    of the bridge.  it was especially noticable when playing up on the
    neck.  i decided to restring the instrument (only i used 80/20
    strings).  as i replaced a string at a time, i made sure that the ball
    end of the strings were seated tightly against the bridge pins.  when i
    got to the 5th string, the buzz went away.  i figure that the string end 
    was resonating at a high pitch and caused the buzz.  after a while, the
    buzz developed again (only this time much less).  
    
    i always wondered why some strings have thread wrapped around the ball
    end.  i thought that it was to protect the finish on the bridge
    pins or something.  not.  i now believe it is to eliminate the ball
    ends from buzzing.  i guess i just never had a guitar resonant enough
    to have this problem.
    
    finally, the 80/20 strings are way too bright for the instrument.  it
    is almost unbearable.  again, never had an instrument where this was a
    problem.
    
    so now i'm looking for phosphor bronze or other darker sounding strings 
    that are wrapped with thread on the ball ends (although i may wrap a good 
    set myself).  all in all, i'd say these were 'nice' problems to have. i
    thought it was pretty interesting though.
    
    re -2  paul, i kinda wonder how much the extra 1K influenced me away from 
    the brazilian tony rice.  woulda been nice to have bought both! 8^)

    Well, I believe that the Brazilian guitars will continue to rise in
    price and value. As noted before, no one can reliably predict the value
    of anything in 20 years, and i guess that includes some things, like
    certain Martins, that have always been good price performers. I believe
    that if the past is some indication, top quality instruments from
    makers like Collings will hold their value. The great mystery is will
    they be as valuable, as say, Martins. A lot of that has to do with the
    "percieved" value or cache. For example, I own a 1970 Martin D-28, not
    exactly "vintage", and not from what is considered to be Martin's best
    years. Yet, for my playing style and ear, this is a super instrument. I
    don't really care that someone's 1964 D-28 Brazilian is 2-3 times more
    valuable. I'll match mine any day.
    
    The real value of instruments is to the player, not the collector.
    Yeah, I know the colloectors often set the market value, but that's not
    what's important to me. I would not have purchased the Brazilian Tony
    Rice if I didn't think it was an instrument I would play and love. For
    me, it is the most satisfying instrument I've ever owned. Will it be
    worth kazillions in 20 years? Don't know, but in the mean time I will
    have countless hours of pleasure from it. I don't know how one puts a
    value on that.
    
    As to your string problem. Clearly, it's great to own an instrument
    that is sensitive to string type. I believe all good guitars are - some
    more than others. I've been stringing my instruments with John Pearse
    80/20 Bronze. They seem to last a bit longer than most and they are the
    first string I've found that prefer to Martin Marquis, which had been
    my string of choice. They have a bare ball end - no wrap, which I
    believe contributes to the overall tone quality. Some may argue this,
    and it may well be a VERY minor issue, but I think the wrapping can
    muffle the sound. Most players probably don't give a hoot!
    
    Keep pickin'. Glad to hear your lovin' the Collings.
    
    Paul