The Collings Forum

With no pick guard you won't find an easier one to convert.

I could be persuaded the the guitar on eBay has an Engelmann top. That makes more sense that red spruce for that period.

I'm far from an expert on early Collings guitars, but I wouldn't guess this one to be a fake. The craftsmanship seems very good if you're going to counterfeit a guitar, this model and period probably wouldn't bring the biggest payoff. The description of the tuners is wrong, but I've often seen selle...

Most manufacturers, Collings too I believe, are using Abalam for these inlays. They tend to show more dark streaks and more varied color than solid shell due to the way the layers are structures and the bonding material. If the dark layer happens to hit close to the edge, it can look like a piece of...

I'm an engineer, so I like to quantify things. Dimensions and weights are easy targets. Some people believe a lighter capo affects tone less, so they prefer it. The weight can affect balance slightly as well. I'm not sure weight affects tone all that much, but I do like the feel of a lightweight cap...

I'm a big fan of Hamilton stands, the KB 38 specifically. Back when I was playing in a Bluegrass band in the 90's it was one of the few that would adjust to accomodate a guitar or mandolin. Been using them ever since. Still have my original in fact, plus a couple of extras. https://vtoddyates.files....

I keep an Elliott or Showcase in my pocket at festivals and picking parties. I've used them on about any vintage or modern guitar you can name and I don't recall ever having a problem with getting clean notes or keeping the guitar in tune. Other than guitars with fret problems (severe wear) the only...

Same experience here. The Heritage certainly isn't bad, but I don't believe it's even as good as an Elliott and I can't find any way in which it performs better. It's heavier, bulkier, and if anything it slightly dulls the tone as noted above. I do like capos and I like to try different ones. At las...

I don't like that Planet Waves capo because it requires you to flex the yoke to unlatch it. That is billed as a virtue - fewer moving parts - but it requires a fair amount of force and it is prone to banging into the sides of the guitar neck while doing it. They way I look at this in terms of cost i...

IME both Elliott and Stokes (similar design and build quality) far exceed the performance of the Paige due to the stiffness of the structure. Paige's are "springy" by comparison and require much more tightening to prevent buzzing. That tends to cause uneven pressure and tuning problems. It...