Collings Baby 2H?

StuartMac290

A good friend of mine is selling his Collings imminently. Anyone tried one of these? Any thoughts?

Andy79

You will be the best judge, if you play it. That is one tiny guitar with a not-so-tiny price tag. Pretty niche at that size. Shoot me down but re sale will be uphill if it falls out of favour with you 

Ive played only 3 Collings guitars so my opinion should be taken with that in mind but they didn’t floor me, I prefer Martins. The fit and finish and general presentation is top drawer however 

Gandalph

I can’t really help as I’ve never played one but they have always intrigued me. Apparently a big voice for a tiny guitar but as Andy points out you’ll know yourself when you play it.
 If it works for you and it’s a reasonable price then why not. I’ve seen a couple on eBay over the last year or so and they don’t seem to hang around for long so there is certainly a market for them. 

And Collings customer service is bang on, I’ve got a couple of Waterloo’s (made by them) and they are superb. My Waterloo wl14 arrived and I had an issue with the tuners being a bit tight. Emailed them and within a day they’d copied me into an email to stewmac and a new set was sent out free of charge. 

brucegill

Lovely little things, but I love Collings. It sounded like a tiny little guitar, and that wasn't for me at the time. Very short scale from memory too. Nice to have around if you can afford it I guess. I just couldn't warrant that money on a guitar I'd hardly use. only thing so small I liked was an early 1800s Martin that was just amazing to play. I ended up with a 'S' Lowden all Mahogany in the end, it was bigger and a fuller sound that met my needs better. 

StuartMac290

To be clear, I'm not considering buying it myself - just looking for people's general impression of that model and its reputation. I reckon it's maybe quite a tough sell, even though it's a beautiful wee thing

wellsyboy

I had a Collings Uke at one time and the build quality was just stunning as always - all of their instruments are just fantastic!

breezytele

Old(ish) thread, but I recently bought a used 1999 Baby 2h lefty …and I love it !

perfect size for someone who mainly plays electric 

the tone is rich, not boxy.

the finish is immaculate of course and the thing is alive.
If I put the case down, I can hear the strings thrum through the case
(which doubly surprises me, since the padding fits like a glove)

criticisms..?   I initially found it harder to fret than my old Blueridge. 

The frets aren’t very tall (? 0.043”]  and the board radius felt flatter.

Altogether,  it seemed to highlight my poor technique, but I must say it’s got better with time.

I would  recommend this model wholeheartedly.
 Btw, I’ve heard that Collings have closed their order books ‘for the next 3 years’.
I’m not sure how one can rely on the precise figure,
but my understanding is that they’re  not taking private orders at present.

bertie

a well made parlor (which it pretty much is,  is it not ?)  can be surprisingly loud and full - I do like a cedar top on 000/parlor

Played a Brook cedar/koa at Intersound years ago - blew me away,  easily OM "fullness" (make sense ?)  shame I didnt have the schekkles at the time

Nowhere near in the same league,  but my little Tanglewood is solid  cedar/mahog and suprisingly loud/full (all for £225 at auction)

StuartMac290

This guitar is still for sale, incidentally!