Is Collings changing after Bill?

Frank Sanns
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Real Name: Frank Sanns
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1174Post Frank Sanns
Fri May 10, 2019 6:54 pm

Things may change but the original will remain. All of the fine instruments and related gear is still here because of Bill. Many choices for just about anything Collings remains for us.

Look at the company that Martin became after the generations after the original CF Martin. Bill was just a like a couple of generations of guitar builders in just a couple of decades. Collings will surely change. Perhaps not at the rate that it has in the past but it will evolve because they have great products and people. They also have great clients that will assure the brand will continue to be a top, premier one.

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elambo
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1175Post elambo
Fri May 10, 2019 7:18 pm

And if the company does change for the worse (I doubt it will), we'll all have "Bill-era" instruments with elevated values ("pre-CBS" Strats have done quite well).

I suppose I had just realized the demise of another one of my favorite brands (Thiel Audio, which went from the upper-elite to the relative gutter after its founder died) when this news hit, and was sensitive to, and just somewhat fearful of, a parallel universe, hence the thread. It also happened to Moog, though to a lesser degree.

jackorion
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1177Post jackorion
Sat May 11, 2019 10:17 am

The Traditional case is beautiful - as a work of art and as a match to my OM2hT I love it...

BUT... as a gigging musician who wants to take my best guitars to gigs and play them I felt the Traditional case had some faults:

1. I felt I had to be more careful with it when loading it in the boot of my car
2. I don't know how strong it is and how it would handle an accidental dropping or something falling on it
3. It looks expensive and that is a worry to me as it is an advert to thieves!

So both my Collings (OM2hT and OM2h ss vn) travel and live in Hiscox cases - they're tough, they're boring looking, they have decent sized neck pockets.

The Traditonal case and TKL case live under my bed. I'll hang onto them and will sometimes take the Traditional case with me if I'm travelling to friends or family but, most of the time it's the hiscox cases for me.

Anyway, I'd have happily saved £800 and had a TKL with my Traditional but, at the time, that wasn't an option but I suppose I'm glad I've got the T case now, even if it is just for bragging rights...

Greg Y
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1179Post Greg Y
Sat May 11, 2019 3:49 pm

Jack, as a self-admitted fan of Bill's cases, I wanted to point out that none of the 'faults' you ascribe to the cases, actually have anything to do with the cases" ....but to human feelings....

1. I felt I had to be more careful with it when loading it in the boot of my car
2. I don't know how strong it is and how it would handle an accidental dropping or something falling on it
3. It looks expensive and that is a worry to me as it is an advert to thieves!


On item #2 Bill's cases are quite strong. I've heard an in depth explanation, from Bill, about the laminated wood, the trim size, so there is no wiggle room & the quality of the high density foam.

On item #3... They're actually, small black & plain looking. By comparison, Hiscox bear a strong resemblance to the '70s blue Martin 'steal me' cases

There is a very brisk trade in the cases & you can get top dollar for them, especially now that they are going out of production.
On another note, apart from collectors (does it have the original case?) there is always an ongoing animated discussion on guitar and mandolin forums.... "Buy a Hiscox. Buy a Calton. Pegasus is best. Hoffee has the insulation." Back in the day...(& further back in time), guitars were often sold without cases, because of their high cost. A picking friend of mine hitch-hiked to Gryphon Instruments to buy his '68 D28 (caseless) & Frank Ford fronted him one and said "pay me later." I walked home with a '63 telecaster over my shoulder....

Anyways, they're a work of art & can easily be sold if they don't meet your needs.....but that isn't the fault of an inanimate object.

Greg Y
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1180Post Greg Y
Sat May 11, 2019 4:17 pm

As succinctly put on another forum, talking about a Martin Authentic series case.

" The only problem now is that it is so nice, I hate to take it out of the house and risk getting it beat up (although that essentially is what the case is for).

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Rick W
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1181Post Rick W
Sat May 11, 2019 7:34 pm

When I heard the first whisper of them stopping production, I bought one. I’m glad I did! I kept the original case for transporting.
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Silly Moustache
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1183Post Silly Moustache
Sun May 12, 2019 12:03 am

Greg Y wrote: Thu May 09, 2019 9:39 pm "I do wonder if they received a lot of complaints re: the case, or if it has primarily been praise." Elambo
I can't honestly answer that question, but I remember a thread with a post by Silly M, on a rant about how the cases were going to be too small for his guitar strap, tuner & his box of picks. Bill built the cases according to his vision. He was not designing by committee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJia5kX7u4A. He didn't really care if someone agreed with him or not. There were and are other choices. If Bill's cases fit one's needs/vision it's win/win.Imagebill & jon by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/156629749@N02/[/url], on Flickr[/img] Here's a photo of Bill & Jon Green from Calton Cases (Austin) during a Collings Gathering visit to the shop. As an aside, when Jon was building a case for my vintage 00-18, Bill donated the purple lining....because no one else had that colour (& that is a Calton i won't sell).
Haha, just caught up with this! I don't think I was having a rant, but I did have the pleasure of spending some time with Bill when he briefly visited the UK. He was very excited about his new cases, and I did remark that I hoped there would be room for straps etc., and ... I may have read things wrong, but a quickly passing expression made me wonder if he had thought about such things.

Nevertheless, I can understand his wish to make a good case like "back in the day" and it is academic to me because I'm happy with my TKLs, (I just wish the boot (trunks) of my CR-V was 2' wider and 2" deeper!
Last edited by Silly Moustache on Sun May 12, 2019 2:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.

jackorion
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1187Post jackorion
Sun May 12, 2019 8:37 am

Greg Y wrote: Sat May 11, 2019 3:49 pm Jack, as a self-admitted fan of Bill's cases, I wanted to point out that none of the 'faults' you ascribe to the cases, actually have anything to do with the cases" ....but to human feelings....

1. I felt I had to be more careful with it when loading it in the boot of my car
2. I don't know how strong it is and how it would handle an accidental dropping or something falling on it
3. It looks expensive and that is a worry to me as it is an advert to thieves!


On item #2 Bill's cases are quite strong. I've heard an in depth explanation, from Bill, about the laminated wood, the trim size, so there is no wiggle room & the quality of the high density foam.

On item #3... They're actually, small black & plain looking. By comparison, Hiscox bear a strong resemblance to the '70s blue Martin 'steal me' cases

There is a very brisk trade in the cases & you can get top dollar for them, especially now that they are going out of production.
On another note, apart from collectors (does it have the original case?) there is always an ongoing animated discussion on guitar and mandolin forums.... "Buy a Hiscox. Buy a Calton. Pegasus is best. Hoffee has the insulation." Back in the day...(& further back in time), guitars were often sold without cases, because of their high cost. A picking friend of mine hitch-hiked to Gryphon Instruments to buy his '68 D28 (caseless) & Frank Ford fronted him one and said "pay me later." I walked home with a '63 telecaster over my shoulder....

Anyways, they're a work of art & can easily be sold if they don't meet your needs.....but that isn't the fault of an inanimate object.
Ok to be fair they're 'issues that I have' rather than 'faults' - poor choice of words there...

As for being 'small black and plain looking' when I was taking the Collings case to gigs I had someone come up to me as I was packing away and say 'nice case' every time (normally a guitar nerd to be fair)... this never happens with the Hiscoxs!

The Collings case may be strong but is it as strong as a Hiscox? I doubt it... Also when you're carrying two guitars, a backpack of cables, an AER Amp and a mic stand, normally the only way to open a door is with your guitar case so I think the Collings case would get beat up quite quickly after a lot of gigging - I don't really mind this (it's case afterall) but the hiscox cases take a lot of abuse... Plus they're better for humidity and temperature too...

I do really, really like the Collings case - I won't be rid of it and, for safe journeys or popping over to a mates to play, I use it because it's light and easy to carry.

Anyway - back to the main point of whether Collings is changing...

Who knows? Has the quality of the guitars gone down? I've not seen anyone complaining about that and there's plenty of important people who were there during Bill's time who I'm sure are determined to keep the company up to his standards... my OM2h ss vn has a 'Bill Signed' label and it makes me a little sad that my T doesn't have his signature in there but the guitar is still great!

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elambo
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1188Post elambo
Sun May 12, 2019 4:00 pm

For me, it's less about financial or even practical sense -- there are pros and cons in both camps. The vintage cases were a passion project for Bill, and discussed for a great many years, so to see them go is a bit like seeing even less of Bill.

JohnB
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Re: Is Collings changing after Bill?

Post: # 1189Post JohnB
Sun May 12, 2019 6:41 pm

elambo wrote: Sun May 12, 2019 4:00 pm For me, it's less about financial or even practical sense -- there are pros and cons in both camps. The vintage cases were a passion project for Bill, and discussed for a great many years, so to see them go is a bit like seeing even less of Bill.
Yes. I feel this way too.

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