Collings Guitars
Encyclopedia
Collings Guitars is an Austin, Texas
based stringed instrument manufacturer. Founded by Bill Collings in 1973, Collings today produces acoustic guitar
s, electric guitars
, archtop guitar
s, mandolins, and ukulele
s.
to Texas
in the mid 1970’s with the intention of pursuing his lifelong interest in guitars. He later moved to Austin, the city that is home to Collings Guitars to this day, where he shared shops with fellow luthiers Tom Ellis and Mike Stevens. From there, he set up his own small shop in a wooden one car garage. In 1989, he rented a 1000 square feet (92.9 m²) space and hired two helpers.
That same year, an order for 24 custom Gruhn
style acoustics helped to establish Bill in the national market. In late 1991, a 3200 square feet (297.3 m²) feed store was purchased, on the outskirts of Austin, and was occupied in the spring of 1992. In 2005, Collings broke ground on the current shop, which is 22000 square feet (2,043.9 m²) and houses approximately 70 employees.
Lyle Lovett
,
Conan O'Brien
,
Zac Brown,
Ellis
,
Robert Earl Keen
,
Christopher Guest
(see also Nigel Tufnel
),
Ryan Montbleau
, and
Cheryl Wheeler
.
, where Collings is located.
s.
s in 2010, and offers a variety of models in both concert and tenor sizes.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
based stringed instrument manufacturer. Founded by Bill Collings in 1973, Collings today produces acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
s, electric guitars
Electric Guitars
Electric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy...
, archtop guitar
Archtop guitar
An archtop guitar is a steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with blues and jazz players.Typically, an archtop guitar has:* 6 strings...
s, mandolins, and ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
s.
History
Bill Collings dropped out of medical school and moved from OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the mid 1970’s with the intention of pursuing his lifelong interest in guitars. He later moved to Austin, the city that is home to Collings Guitars to this day, where he shared shops with fellow luthiers Tom Ellis and Mike Stevens. From there, he set up his own small shop in a wooden one car garage. In 1989, he rented a 1000 square feet (92.9 m²) space and hired two helpers.
That same year, an order for 24 custom Gruhn
Gruhn Guitars
Gruhn Guitars is a vintage instrument shop and place of interest located in Nashville, Tennessee. The business opened on January 2, 1970. It was originally called GTR, standing for George Gruhn, Tut Taylor and Randy Wood; a story has circulated that country music star Hank Williams, Jr....
style acoustics helped to establish Bill in the national market. In late 1991, a 3200 square feet (297.3 m²) feed store was purchased, on the outskirts of Austin, and was occupied in the spring of 1992. In 2005, Collings broke ground on the current shop, which is 22000 square feet (2,043.9 m²) and houses approximately 70 employees.
Notable Users
Musicians who play Collings Guitars include:Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
,
Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
,
Zac Brown,
Ellis
Ellis (singer-songwriter)
Ellis Delaney is an American singer-songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She performs under the name Ellis, having found early on that her last name is frequently mispronounced...
,
Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen, Junior is an American Texas Country singer-songwriter. He is popular with fans of traditional country music, folk music, college radio, and alt-country. Keen currently resides in Kerrville, Texas and maintains a ranch in Medina, Texas.-Early life:Growing up in Houston, Texas,...
,
Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
(see also Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:...
),
Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Michael Montbleau is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He annually tours across the U.S. with the Ryan Montbleau Band.-Background:...
, and
Cheryl Wheeler
Cheryl Wheeler
Cheryl Wheeler is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary folk music, based in New England. To date, she has recorded several folk albums, and has toured extensively throughout the United States....
.
Models
Many of Collings models are named after major roadways in Austin, TXAustin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, where Collings is located.
14 Fret Acoustic Guitars
Collings acoustic guitars reflect the founder's profound love of and appreciation for the wonderful acoustic instruments of the 1930s and 40's.- D Series: The square-shouldered 14-fret dreadnoughtDreadnought (guitar type)Dreadnought is a type of acoustic guitar body developed by guitar manufacturers C.F. Martin & Company. The Dreadnought style has since been copied by other guitar manufacturers and is now a common style of guitar body...
is the most popular steel-string acoustic guitar body shape in the world. Collings D Series guitars are often employed by bluegrass flatpickers who must compete with inherently louder instruments such as banjos and fiddles. Collings guitars come in a wide range of woods and neck sizes. - OM Series: The 'OM' (for Orchestra Model)is a 14-fret model that is popular with fingerstyle guitar soloists who choose to play on steel strings. Also used in FlatpickingFlatpickingFlatpicking is a technique for playing a guitar using a guitar pick held between two or three fingers to strike the strings...
. May or may not have a cutaway. - 0 Series: With the exception of the Baby, the 0 is Collings' smallest guitar and is offered with the same shorter scale found on the 12-fret 00.
- Baby Series: Collings' smallest guitar, approximately a 3/4 size version of their OM. 12 1/2 inches wide in the lower bout with a 24 1/8 inch scale.
- CJ Series: The Collings Jumbo is their version of the classic slope-shouldered dreadnoughtDreadnought (guitar type)Dreadnought is a type of acoustic guitar body developed by guitar manufacturers C.F. Martin & Company. The Dreadnought style has since been copied by other guitar manufacturers and is now a common style of guitar body...
. - SJ Series: The SJ is Collings' version of what is commonly called a small Jumbo. Although the 16 inch lower bout is slightly wider than a dreadnought, and the sides almost as deep, the tight curve at the waist creates in a very different sound chamber. SJs, especially examples in maple, typically have a more pronounced midrange response when compared to a dreadnought.
- C10 Series: Based on parlor guitarParlor guitarParlor or parlour guitar usually refers to a type of smaller-bodied guitar smaller than that of a concert guitar.The popularity of these guitars peaked between the late 19th century until the 1950s...
s first introduced around the same time as the OM, the Collings C10 is a leaner alternative, with the narrow waist and small upper bout.
12 Fret Acoustic Guitars
- DS Series: The original 12-fret dreadnoughtDreadnought (guitar type)Dreadnought is a type of acoustic guitar body developed by guitar manufacturers C.F. Martin & Company. The Dreadnought style has since been copied by other guitar manufacturers and is now a common style of guitar body...
shape. - 00 Series: Collings offers the 00 in its original, 12-fret configuration. This guitar shape was first designed around the time of the Civil War. Its dimensions are similar to a typical classical guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, with a slotted headstockHeadstockHeadstock or peghead is a part of guitar or similar stringed instrument. The main function of a headstock is holding the instrument's strings. Strings go from the bridge past the nut and are usually fixed on machine heads on headstock...
and small pyramid bridgeBridge (instrument)A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
. - 000 Series: The 12-fret 000 has the same general appearance as the Collings 00, but in a larger size with longer string scale. Although it's the same width and depth as the OM, the longer body typically produces more bass and overall volume.
Mandolins
Collings began producing Mandolins in 1999, and offers A-style and F-style mandolins as well as mandolaMandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
s.
Electric Guitars
After thirty two years of building acoustic instruments, Collings began producing electric guitars.- Collings 290: Named after the highway where the Collings factory is located and fit with two hand-wound P90 pickups from Jason Lollar, the 290 is a modern day tribute to the original working man's rock'n roll guitar.
- Collings 360: Collings' standard hard body electric. Similar in shape to a Les Paul, the 360 is slightly thinner and lighter.
- Collings CL/Delux: the City Limits is crafted from seasoned mapleMapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
and Honduran mahoganyMahoganyThe name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
. It is light weight, contoured for comfort and style, and features a hand-set mortise and tenon neck joint. - Collings I-35: Named for Austin'sAustinAustin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
infamous traffic artery, the I-35 is aesthetically reminiscent of a GibsonGibsonGibson may refer to:* Gibson Amphitheatre* Gibson Appliance* Gibson Girl* Gibson Guitar Corporation* Gibson * Gibson Generating Station-Places:In the United States:* Gibson, Arkansas* Gibson, Georgia* Gibson, Iowa* Gibson, Louisiana...
ES-335. The body is pared down slightly at 15" wide, and it has a slightly more angular shape that comparatively reduces its size and weight. - SoCo Delux: Named afer Austin's funky and eclectic South CongressSouth CongressSouth Congress is a neighborhood located on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a nationally-known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues and, more recently, food trucks.South Congress begins at...
Avenue, the SoCo Delux brings in elements from both the I-35 and CL models to create a unique hybrid.
Archtop Guitars
Built in very limited numbers, Collings archtops have great warmth, bass clarity and responsiveness.- Standard: Collings Archtops come with a lower bout width of 16", 17", and 18". Based on the earliest American f-hole archtops of the 1920s, the 16" archtops are a rarity among modern archtop models in that they are designed to be played as acoustic guitars.
- CL Jazz: Thin, light, and exquisite, the City Limits Jazz commands attention. Built with a fully hollow one-piece Honduran mahogany body, carved European spruce top, and modern stylings, this sleek thin-bodied archtop is made for jazz.
Ukuleles
Collings began producing ukuleleUkulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
s in 2010, and offers a variety of models in both concert and tenor sizes.