COLLINGS GUITARS
Posted on Fri 27 July 2012 in entries
Collings Guitars was started in 1973 by Bill Collings in Austin, Texas, USA and the original workshop would have been found in a small wooden garage, just large enough for one car.
In 1988, George Gruhn, a leading authority on vintage guitars, placed an order with Bill Collings for 24 acoustic guitars. This proved to be the turning point for Collings Guitars. In 1992 they moved into a 3200 square feet building where they operated from until 2005 when they expanded yet again, moving into a 22000 square feet premises that would enable them to meet the USA domestic and world orders for their acoustic guitars.
The Collings Guitars facility now has around 65-75 employees (2012) and has a full order book that currently requires around 6 months from the time an order is placed to the time the instrument is completed and ready to ship.
Collings acoustic guitars are designed around popular styles including models from the 1930-1950 period, which many players believe was a golden era for acoustic guitars, with companies such as Martin and Gibson producing arguably some of the best sounding acoustics ever. Using only premier grade woods and materials, Collings Guitars are now internationally accepted as being one of the finest makers of acoustic instruments in the world.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Collings OM2HA Acoustic Guitar"]
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The build time for a Collings acoustic guitar is approximately 55 man hours, which is significantly longer than most other modern guitar companies, who tend to clock up only around 8 hours per guitar. The main reason for this large difference is because so much of the build process of a Collings acoustic guitar is still done by hand rather than by a machine.
In addition to acoustic guitars, Collings also manufacture ukuleles, mandolins, electric solid body and electric semi hollow body guitars.
International artists currently playing a Collings instrument reads like a who's who of players: Bill Frisell, John Sebastian, Justin Haywood, Lyle Lovett, Mumford and Sons, Pete Townshend, Robbie McIntosh and many more.
We are very proud to be one of only a handful of UK dealers that stock Collings guitars. If you any more questions on any Collings guitar, feel free to give us a call on 01202 597180.
To view our range of Collings guitars, click the link below: