Collings C-00, Q Top

After 55 years as a professional guitar player, one of the things I treasure most is picking up a guitar that grabs me right away. It slaps me in the face and says, "Surprise. I'm not what you thought. Figure me out." The Collings C-00 did exactly that.

I expected the Collings voice I know so well. Instead I got something drier and punchier, with real old-school attitude, the sound of the small-body guitars blues and old-time players leaned on in the 1930s. Big fundamental, a strong midrange, and notes that push back when you dig in. The custom bracing and the rosewood fingerboard and bridge, softer than the ebony Collings usually uses, give each note a little extra bark and bloom.

For me, a surprise like that is a call to arms. I couldn't put it down, and every time I tried, it pulled me back in. Lay into a shuffle with a thumbpick and it growls right back. Ease off and fingerpick something quiet, and a sweetness comes through that I didn't see coming.

Part of what's going on here is the Q top, a custom option at Collings, and it's worth a word. Most spruce is graded by how it looks. Q tops are graded by how they vibrate. Collings' supplier, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, strikes each piece and measures how freely it rings. The "Q" refers to damping, and a high Q top soaks up less of the string's energy and gives more of it back as sound. In plain terms: more response, more sustain, more volume. On a small body like this, you feel it right under your hands.

Then there's the Collings side of the story. These folks think of everything when it comes to fit and finish, and it shows. The full V neck fills the hand like an old friend, the wide string spacing gives your picking hand room to work, and the sunburst top is a beauty. Every detail is right where it should be.

Collings didn't build a museum piece here. You get the attitude of a 1930s small body with the standards Bill Collings set, carried on beautifully by the crew in Austin. It's an elegant tool that just puts me in the mood to play. Fair warning: it may not let you put it down either.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT COLLINGS GUITARS
Bill Collings moved from Ohio to Texas in the mid 1970’s. Spurred by a lack of interest in medical school, this move enabled him to combine lifelong interests in both guitars and tools into the challenge of stringed instrument building and repair. After a couple of years in Houston, several guitars and a few banjos later, he headed west to southern California. Making it only as far as Austin, 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. His reputation for outstanding quality and meticulous attention to detail quickly spread. In 1989, he rented a 1000 square foot space and hired two helpers. Fast forward to present day where Collings craftsmanship is respected by professional and amateur musicians alike…anyone on the quest for quality. Some of these include artists; Keith Richards, Lyle Lovett, Pete Townshend, Emmylou Harris, Andy Summers, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Joni Mitchell, Don Felder, John Sebastian, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Tim O'Brien, Pete Huttlinger, Kenny Smith, Brian May, Joan Baez, John Prine, Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, and Steven Spielberg to name a few. You owe it to yourself to try one.