Label Removal

buckweston
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:25 pm
Real Name: Weston Brehm

Label Removal

Post: # 1534Post buckweston
Tue Jul 16, 2019 3:23 pm

I just purchased my first Collings guitar--a 00-2H. What an amazing instrument! The build quality is like no other and the sound is exactly what I've been looking for for the past 16 years. I am absolutely blown away. My search has been long as I navigated through both Gibson and then Martin guitars, vintage and higher end models, having found issues with each company; issues that led to much dissapointment. I am very pleased with how special Collings guitars are.

The reason for this post is that, well, I hate labels, regardless of how cool they are (and the Collings one is pretty cool). So I searched online for information on removing a Collings interior label and found nothing. Well, given my stance, I proceeded blindly to remove the lable from my 2013 00-2H. This post is a means for me to share my experience so others have something to reflect on when also considering this action.

So, to get straight to the point, the removal was terrible. I took my time, even heating a cloth in the micorwave and applying it to help with the adhesive. I did get the label out whole, though paper fragments remained in the guitar along with adhesive. Also, the back brace had pencil writing on it (three sets of numbers), which was hidden under the label.

To manage what remained in the guitar, light sanding was required. This was painstakingly performed using a piece of 320 grit sandpaper. The entire process took about 2 hours and the guitar looks great. No remnants remain and all looks uniform on the inside.

The lable isnt in the best condition and I wish it would have been a cleaner removal. All in all, if you want to undertake this procedure, just be prepared to take your time and know that the label is not likely to come out favorably (at least from my experience).

I'd love to hear from others who have also done this, so please share your experiences.

12Frets
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Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:56 pm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1535Post 12Frets
Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:29 pm

I'd be surprised if anyone else has done this. No offense. It's your guitar of course, but I'd envision imagine future owners in the coming decades wondering what possessed you. It's obviously not like removing the serial number, but I'd want a discount on resale before I'd consider a Collings that was missing the label, and I'd have concerns about authenticity.

buckweston
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:25 pm
Real Name: Weston Brehm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1536Post buckweston
Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:44 pm

No one else is ever going to own this guitar besides me...consider this GAS protection :)

I know I am the odd ball out here, but I believe fully that labels not only look awful, but that they dampen the release of sound due to their proximity/ relative positioning to the soundhole.

No regrets on my end other than I wish the label was in better condition after the fact.

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elambo
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Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1537Post elambo
Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:20 pm

I agree that it's up to each owner to treat their guitars as they wish, and if you prefer the guitar without the label that's your right to pursue and you don't need to defend it, but re: sonic ramifications, the label has no impact whatsoever. I'm not a fan of rigid statements like that, but as an engineer whose business it is to know such things, I know this thing to be true. Don't remove labels for audio effect(s), remove them for aesthetic reasons, or something else.

The resale element mentioned above is also interesting. I have no doubts that you intend to keep this guitar forever, but I've said that about 80% of the guitars I've owned, and felt so firmly, until one day another offer hit my lap and they were sold. At one point, my D2H was *the* sound I wanted from a guitar, but then my tastes changed and another voice began calling for me (the older Martin sound), and it was let go. I even swore that mahogany wasn't for me -- rosewood was the thing -- now I have several Hogs, and my personal grail is neither a Collings nor is it rosewood.

I guess the point is, I wish you'd opened this up for discussion for the angles you may not have initially considered. It doesn't hurt to discuss it, and in the end you'd still probably have removed the label, but it would have been without any doubts. I may be wrong, but I feel as though you started this thread, not just as a P.S.A., but to have a discussion about it.

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elambo
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Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1538Post elambo
Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:22 pm

I should add that, this being a Collings guitar, you might be able to get the factory to reattach a new label at a later date. They are *technically* able to do so, even if there are other considerations which might prevent them from doing so.

12Frets
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:56 pm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1539Post 12Frets
Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:30 pm

elambo wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:20 pm The resale element mentioned above is also interesting. I have no doubts that you intend to keep this guitar forever, but I've said that about 80% of the guitars I've owned, and felt so firmly, until one day another offer hit my lap and they were sold. At one point, my D2H was *the* sound I wanted from a guitar, but then my tastes changed and another voice began calling for me (the older Martin sound), and it was let go. I even swore that mahogany wasn't for me -- rosewood was the thing -- now I have several Hogs, and my personal grail is neither a Collings nor is it rosewood.
I take his word for it that he's going to keep the guitar forever. Personally, I've got sticky fingers when it comes to guitars. Mandolins tend to come and go, but I've had a hard time letting go of guitars. I was thinking a little longer term. Barring a house fire (God forbid!) I don't expect to outlive any of my instruments. I've had a few mandolin family instruments that are 100+ years old, and I marvel at some of the choices previous owners made. A Krylon spray-painted mandola comes to mind, which I had refinished. I suspect any or all of my guitars have a decent shot of reaching that age, and I'd like to pass them along in good condition when the time comes. That's not to say baby them and protect them from honest wear, but label removal would never occur to me.

None of this is meant to be a dig at buckweston. It's an interesting topic. And like I said, you've got every right to do what you want with your guitars. Just my perspective vis a vis my own little stable.

buckweston
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:25 pm
Real Name: Weston Brehm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1540Post buckweston
Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:58 pm

The future pass down is the only reason I wished the label would have come out clean. I have young children and expect such to happen at some point. Regardless, I still prefer the no label look hands down :)

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Fidalgo
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Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1541Post Fidalgo
Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:56 am

I pulled the back labels out of a martin D Mahogany 09. They looked horrible, like outfield signage in a baseball field. They came right out and intact. The new owner was happy to have them gone whenI sold it. I'd never pull the label out of my D1T, but I can see why you pulled it out of your 002H.

Was that Krylon painted mandola yellow by any chance? A neighbor in Colorado had many of his dad's old instruments, and one was a 20's Gibson mandola with a spray painted yellow top.

12Frets
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Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:56 pm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1545Post 12Frets
Wed Jul 17, 2019 3:50 pm

It was kind of any orangey attempted fakey sunburst. I bought it at Fuller's Vintage Guitars in Houston probably at least a decade ago. My friend still owns it, so maybe it will make it back into the fold someday. I can't remember the exact year it was made. I'm not sure the serial number was clear enough on the label to ever make it out. I bet I could still find a link to it on the Mandolin Cafe, although I'm not sure if I had "before" pictures...

edit - the thread is still there but the pictures are long gone. Oh well.

12Frets
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Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:56 pm

Re: Label Removal

Post: # 1546Post 12Frets
Wed Jul 17, 2019 3:51 pm

buckweston wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:58 pm The future pass down is the only reason I wished the label would have come out clean. I have young children and expect such to happen at some point. Regardless, I still prefer the no label look hands down :)
If you like it, then follow your bliss man.

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