West R Lee
Venerated Member
I'm VERY careful hear to not disrespect Guild guitars. Like everyone, I have my preferences, but I can give you a common sense assessment of Collings. I've owned two of them, still do, and our friend Scratch has a couple that I've played myself as well, along with numerous other Collings acoustics. I've owned a Santa Cruz, and played several. I'll not get into a sonic assessment because sound is subjective. But I will say that the sound of a Collings guitar, at least all that I have played is unique compared to other guitars, yet common among Collings guitars.
Now to build quality. When I bought my first Collings, the CJ, I went over her with a fine tooth comb. I can not find a flaw or any kind. Fit, finish....all perfect. So then I put a mirror inside to inspect the braces and the underside. I could not find a shaving, a rough edge or a dimension that appeared off center. I did the same mirror inspection with my D2, with the same result. Then when I changed the tuners on my D2, I researched and sought advice from a variety of sources. One point that was made had I decided to change tuner bushings on the D2 was to check to see if the peg holes were chamfered, which would lessen to risk of chipping should I decide to remove the old bushings. When I removed the tuners, not only were the peghead holes chamfered, but the 1/16" tuner screw holes were chamfered as well. Think about that......a part that no one would ever see, and would seem so insignificant, yet Collings took the time and went to the effort to chamfer those tiny tuner screw holes.
If you watch the Collings video about guitar tops, you should really pay attention to what Bruce VanWart says about selecting and making tops. He says they "cull" about 99% of the Adirondack tops they come across, then they shave those tops they do choose to get their desired sound. The nitro finish on a plain Jane Collings acoustic is .005" thick, on a Traditional, .003" thick. Not .006" or .002", but .005" and .003 respectively. Just fascinating to me.
I'll not say here that one guitar is better than another, and Lord knows I dearly love my Guild guitars and always will, My DV's will probably be with me until the day I die. I really enjoyed playing my Santa Cruz D, and it was a very well built guitar, and so delicate and light. But there is simply no comparison in build quality in a Collings compared to any guitar I've ever run across. Collings are build fanatics. These are the reasons Collings guitars are so expensive....one really gets what they pay for.
West
Now to build quality. When I bought my first Collings, the CJ, I went over her with a fine tooth comb. I can not find a flaw or any kind. Fit, finish....all perfect. So then I put a mirror inside to inspect the braces and the underside. I could not find a shaving, a rough edge or a dimension that appeared off center. I did the same mirror inspection with my D2, with the same result. Then when I changed the tuners on my D2, I researched and sought advice from a variety of sources. One point that was made had I decided to change tuner bushings on the D2 was to check to see if the peg holes were chamfered, which would lessen to risk of chipping should I decide to remove the old bushings. When I removed the tuners, not only were the peghead holes chamfered, but the 1/16" tuner screw holes were chamfered as well. Think about that......a part that no one would ever see, and would seem so insignificant, yet Collings took the time and went to the effort to chamfer those tiny tuner screw holes.
If you watch the Collings video about guitar tops, you should really pay attention to what Bruce VanWart says about selecting and making tops. He says they "cull" about 99% of the Adirondack tops they come across, then they shave those tops they do choose to get their desired sound. The nitro finish on a plain Jane Collings acoustic is .005" thick, on a Traditional, .003" thick. Not .006" or .002", but .005" and .003 respectively. Just fascinating to me.
I'll not say here that one guitar is better than another, and Lord knows I dearly love my Guild guitars and always will, My DV's will probably be with me until the day I die. I really enjoyed playing my Santa Cruz D, and it was a very well built guitar, and so delicate and light. But there is simply no comparison in build quality in a Collings compared to any guitar I've ever run across. Collings are build fanatics. These are the reasons Collings guitars are so expensive....one really gets what they pay for.
West
Last edited:
