Bill Collings Meet and Greet

mitch · April 2015

I have just found out from browsing on line that Bill Collings is conducting a Meet and Greet in the uK on the 26th of May. He is spending the day at Project Music in Exeter and is apparently going to be around to speak to anyone interested in his guitars. I have just tried to call Project Music for information but they were closed. Nothing on the Project Music website yet but I think its only just been arranged.

I thought some like minded Collings fans may be interested.

mitch · April 2015

This is Project Music Collings page.

http://www.projectmusic.net/collings-custom-made-acoustic-guitars-1085-c.asp

Lewy · April 2015

A bit too far to go but would love to meet Bill, and say thanks for building my only 100% dead cert keeper.

BigLicks67 · April 2015

I played a Collings D2H mH the other day, it was a lovely guitar but I didn't think it was as good (sound wise) as a Martin D28 in the same shop.

Lewy · April 2015

The Collings sound isn't for everyone. People often say it's harsh compared to the big bass of Martins, others hear it as clarity.

woody · April 2015

that big martin bass to my ears is reminiscent of a cheap and nasty subwoofer, sounds totally seperate from the other frequencies, and unfortunately you have to try too many guitars to get a good one..id take the collings tightness any day, because if you stick with it for long enough, it lessens significantly as the guitar opens up..

Handsome_Chris · April 2015

@TTony, @Emp_Fab, I believe this sort of thing should be posted in the Events area of the forum, so that the electrical guitars people can be notified too?

Lewy · April 2015

woody;609209" said:
.id take the collings tightness any day, because if you stick with it for long enough, it lessens significantly as the guitar opens up..

And if you want to mellow things out, then string (and pick if you use them) choice will affect things hugely. I really like the Martin Tony Rice Monel strings on my D1A. Using a pick with two sharp corners and one round, I can change the sound a lot.

Still won't have the Martin bass, which I do also like. One of each is the way forward

CloudNine · April 2015

Agree with @Lewy, they both have their place. Quite different tones. A great Martin is a fabulous thing too. Having both is definitely the answer!

But from experience of owning both, it is clear that Collings are light years ahead in materials used, build quality etc. The fretwork, intonation, stability is in a different league to most other brands. I would go as far as to say I cannot think of any consumer product that is as perfect as a Collings guitar, and to manage that with such a complex thing made of wood, and given that they do now make a fair few guitars, is a pretty remarkable achievement.

Probably my favourite guitar have ever owned is a Santa Cruz VIntage Artist, which is basically a very nice Martin D18. But close behind is this Collings CJ35 in the pic's below. It is really powerful, clear, crisp, rings out at every note on the fretboard, and as you can see, made of some lovely wood. The Santa Cruz might be the slight favourite, but if I was to put a bet on which guitar will give me the least grief over the next 20-30yrs, without doubt it would be the Collings.

Handsome_Chris · April 2015

What about his electrics, or is this a different Collings?

mitch · April 2015

Collings do also make some great electrics. I particularly like the I35 models. However I think they tend to be mainly known in the UK for the acoustic models.

Collings and Martin offer different things to different players. I have both Martin and Collings guitars and wouldn't want to be without them equally. They are both great guitar builders and at the higher end of the Martin range they compliment each other very well.

The one things I would say is as much as I really love the classic Martin models they are very inconsistent and you can not say the same about Bill Collings guitars. But then they are generally more expensive.

mitch · April 2015

that's a real nice looking CJ35. I bet it sounds superb.

Lewy · April 2015

That CJ35 is gorgeous.

I think it's testament to Martin that they still make the archetypes of the models they created. Nobody makes a better Martin than Martin. All the other high end builders like Collings, SCGC etc are like an expanded universe of reinterpretations and tweaks but if you want that classic Martin sound, at every price point the best option is a Martin.

Where they let themselves down, or maybe where their dealers let them down, is in set up at the point of leaving the factory. I suspect they know that there's no point spending too long setting up a lightly built guitar that's going to be sent off to god-knows-where and what climate/humidity. But that can make for a very variable experience in the guitar shop between examples of the same model.

mellowsun · April 2015

Lewy said:
Where they let themselves down, or maybe where their dealers let them down, is in set up at the point of leaving the factory.

I've found that on a few Collings I've tried - the action has been pretty high. To be fair, some Lowdens have a similar problem out of the factory.

CloudNine · April 2015

Aye, it's great @Mitch. It's really responsive and VERY loud. Due to that you do have to employ a certain technique with it, to control things, but it's very addictive.

Had a couple of Collings dreads over the last few years, but the CJ35's are definitely different. It's the only model they do that leans towards the Gibson side of things in any meaningful way. The regular CJ's, which look like Gibsons, are still quite 'Martin like' in bracing etc. This is definitely drier sounding like a Gibbo.

The main gripe with a lot of dreads, is how the trebles sound a bit thin when playing higher up the neck, compared to say OM's. This sounds exactly the same wherever you play on the neck.

Talking about all this has reminded me of this clip below. Not because it's a great demonstration of how a CJ35 sounds, but just because the picking is mind blowing!!!!!

CloudNine · April 2015

mellowsun said:

Lewy said:
Where they let themselves down, or maybe where their dealers let them down, is in set up at the point of leaving the factory.
I've found that on a few Collings I've tried - the action has been pretty high. To be fair, some Lowdens have a similar problem out of the factory.

I wouldn't consider high action on a brand new acoustic to be a set-up issue. It is intentionally done to allow the action to be set to individual tastes. If you set it low at the factory and someone prefers high, that means a new saddle is needed..

Set up issues to me are poorly cut nuts, fret issues etc. I have found plenty of that on Martins. Never once on any Collings I have seen or owned.

I also genuinely believe that companies like Collings are more picky about woods. I once read that they send back quite a high percentage of what they receive, whereas Martin don't send back anything. Even on the high end Martins I have played, I don't get the feeling that the tops are the same grade as even the 'basic' Collings/Santa Cruz/Huss&Dalton etc. models.

I still love Martins though, have had some great ones. As mentioned above, for 'that tone', nothing will beat a good Martin.

Lewy · April 2015

CloudNine said:

Talking about all this has reminded me of this clip below. Not because it's a great demonstration of how a CJ35 sounds, but just because the picking is mind blowing!!!!!

So good! And you can see he's not having to cane it to get the projection.

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