Collings SoCo Deluxe Custom Spruce

I feel like a new grandfather: I introduced two of my favorites together, and they just had an incredible baby, the SoCo Deluxe Custom. Here’s what I mean.

I love the Collings SoCo Deluxe. And I also love the Collings City Limits archtop. What I asked Collings to do was to marry the two together, and the result is what you see here.

From the SoCo Deluxe side of the family, an absolutely fantastic semi-hollow guitar. From the CL, a spruce top, flared headstock, and ‘broken glass’ inlays.

It came out better than I could’ve imagined. In some ways it is reminiscent of a Gibson Super 400 CES.

You may already be familiar with a maple-topped semi. They’re typically, very 'immediate' sounding, with a certain bark and presence to the sound. I love it. But I also love what spruce brings to the party. A spruce top adds a certain woody resonance, a syrupy goodness that brings an extra dimension to the sound. It’s just more "3D" sounding, if you get where I’m going.

More than that, I find that spruce (in this case, a beautiful piece of European) gives you a subtlety and a voice you just don’t get from maple.

This guitar speaks the way you play. It follows you from soft to loud, changing its voice the way a great acoustic or archtop does. You dig in, it responds. Lay back, and its clarity and resonance shine through. It’s just a beautiful thing, like you’d find in a City Limits (which, Collings tells me, are no longer available for new orders).

It has a gorgeous tobacco full body sunburst (another nod to the Jazzier CL), and a simply gorgeous mahogany back. The fit and finish is exquisite right down to the hand turned ebony control knobs.

So you know, when I order any guitar from Collings, I specify a light build - which comes from my experience that light builds have more resonance and, hence, more sound (which we all love).

The neck is just superb. A consummate ’59 shape. You’ll adore the way it feels.

The electronics are something special as well. I specified Throback humbuckers on this model.

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.