Collings SoCo Custom Deluxe Spruce-Pre-Owned

If you’ve read my points of view about the Collings I have in the shop, you’ll already know I love the Collings SoCo Deluxe. I also love the Collings City Limits archtop. I thought, why not try combining the best of both? So I talked to Collings about marrying the two together, and the result is what you see here. A stunning, like new, SoCo spruce top Deluxe.

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

And I specified some of my favorite pickups.

I’m blown away. And so are they. It’s simply amazing that details as large as a spruce top and as small as a larger headstock can impact the sonic gloriousness of this instrument. In short, this beauty came out far better than I could’ve imagined. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of a fantastic Gibson Super 400 CES.

You may already be familiar with the Collings 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. It's harmonically dense. You can hear all these  subtle, 3d overtones. When you attack it, it’s like stepping into moss instead of concrete. You can smell the wood from the notes.

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).

As I mentioned above, I upgraded the pickups to Throbaks. They’re easily some of my favorite pickups available today. (And if you didn’t know, Johann Gustavsson is also a big fan of them.)  What that means is that plugged in, the voice of this beauty is transcendent. Rich and thick and syrupy, very pianistic. It's a sound that I rarely hear from Humbuckers. It's a sound that only the finest of vintage guitars have EARNED through years of being played. My gut feeling is that the Italian spruce along with the Throbaks is what is pushing it in that direction.

And of course, being made by fanatics, the Collings workmanship and choice of materials is second to none.

It has a gorgeous Merlot finish (another nod to the Jazzier CL), and a simply gorgeous mahogany back.

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.

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.