Buying Collings Guitars : Which Stores are Best

[Allen Shadd]

Originally Posted by Taylor007

Stay away from Cotten! If a guitar arrives damaged from them, its on you. I found this out through personal experience.

I would also say, I can't speak for your experience. My wife purchased a CJ from Cotten Music a while back. The guitar was packed properly, everything was fine. There was also an approval period for the guitar, I think it was 48 hours but I can't say for sure without checking. I would have no problem ordering a guitar through Kim Sherman. And as someone already pointed out, she absolutely knows her guitars as well as anyone I've dealt with.

[ukejon]

Redwood Acoustics in Brookfield, WI, has mind blowing selection of top end Collings. In fact, Tom may have the largest selection of custom ordered models.

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by Allen Shadd

I would also say, I can't speak for your experience. My wife purchased a CJ from Cotten Music a while back. The guitar was packed properly, everything was fine. There was also an approval period for the guitar, I think it was 48 hours but I can't say for sure without checking. I would have no problem ordering a guitar through Kim Sherman. And as someone already pointed out, she absolutely knows her guitars as well as anyone I've dealt with.

I have bought 3 used guitars from Cotten. When Kim found out I would be in town she came in on her day off to meet me. Great experiences on all deals. Not saying it happens to all but all 3 guitars I bought from Cotten sold for more than I paid for them!

[ukejon]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Redwood Acoustics in Brookfield, WI, has mind blowing selection of top end Collings. In fact, Tom may have the largest selection of custom ordered models.

http://http://www.redwoodacoustics.com

[Kitchen Guitars]

No local dealers?
As I said in the post just above I have bought a few guitars from Cotten including a Collings. But....
Acoustic Music Works has a lot of Collings in stock. If you have to do mail I would start with Steve/Acoustic Music Works selection.

[Kupuna50]

I agree with 'brencat' - Kim Sherman @ Cotten Music in Nashville is the most knowledgeable on Collings AND, she has a very large inventory of Collings guitars.
I've purchased 4 Collings from her and each was amazing.
There is a D1HG on her web site right now that looks awesome!

Web site - http://www.cottenmusic.com/inventory.html

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by gtonesine

Ted,

If I go with a Martin or other makers you carry it will definitely be LA Guitar Sales , I was just browsing and you spent time and effort educating and showing me your excellent and extensive stock ... my son was very impressed with the Martin brw and the quote on the HD 28v was and is very tempting...

Well isn't this a small world, thank you for the kind words. You know, you make me want to call Collings and ask them why I am not a dealer for them.

[gtonesine]

Ted
In my search for an acoustic I asked one of my brothers what he recommended. He was making acoustics years back, one man operation . He said that if he was buying in todays market and he had the money he would buy a Collings . After looking at the six or seven Collings, I think they would be a very nice addition to your inventory

[buddyhu]

I had a great experience buying a Collings OM2HG from AcousticMusic.org in Guilford, Connecticut. They are the ones that recommended that I try a Collings OM with a German top (for finger picking) and that was great advice. They also did a superb setup. Nice folks too.

[drplayer]

Originally Posted by gtonesine

I would like to know were you had good buying experiences and your recommendations. I live in the Los Angeles are...

My vote goes to Acoustic Music Works in Pittsburg, PA. They're on the other side of the country from you, but they have an extensive inventory of Collings guitars--many of which can be seen on their web-site. They are great/easy to deal with and do many custom orders, so they are very familiar with the process and the Collings people...

[love the guitar]

1st post!
I have purchased Collings Guitars from both Cotten Music and Elderly Instruments. Both business are highly reputable and I have never had any
problems with either. Kim Sherman at Cotten is the best I have ever worked with in understanding what it is I was looking for in an acoustic guitar. I once
waited 5 months for Cotten to get in a guitar she thought was the "sound" I was
hoping for....she nailed it! Everything about Kim is 1st rate! I would never hesitate to recommend Cotten or Elderly when looking for a Collings Guitar.

[SJ VanSandt]

I don't think you should buy a Collings at all, or a Martin, Bourgeois or Santa Cruz, right now. Not yet! As a relative newbie to acoustics, not certain what specs are going to work best for you, you would be better off buying THREE Eastmans for the same money or less - an OM with a 1 3/4" nut and 25.4 scale, a dread with a 1 11/16" nut, and a short-scale 12-fret to see if that's the best fit. Neck profile, body shape and size, wood choices: it takes a while to learn what really works best for you. Buy a few decent but not high-end guitars and practice a lot on all of them before you have a custom guitar made for you by Collings or anybody else. It's what I wish I had done. Just playing them in the shops is not the same.

[gtonesine]

SJ VanSandt,
I did play a couple Eastman's , and they seemed to be very nice guitars.
I may new be to acoustics , but after trying out quite a few guitars and brands ie LA Guitar Sales, McCabes and Guitar Center my entry level (meaning great guitar) was the Martin HD 28v , the Santa Cruz's and Collings were a step up to me ... I did play a Bourgeois JR at LA Sales that was incredible , although I would like to get a dread , I really liked the build and sound and feel of Collings
and have never regretted buying high quality tools

[Monty116]

I very highly recommend Artisan Guitars in Nashville. I've bought several guitars there and their customer service is really incredible.

Bill Warmouth (the owner) has a great relationship with Collings and all of the other builders whose product he carries. I've never played a "dud" at Artisan, and I think Bill has a knack for selecting great tone woods and features for his build slots with Collings.

[SJ VanSandt]

Okay, Gtone, if you've determined that Collings is your favorite, I can totally support that - they are great guitars. If you decide you need to play a variety of them to get a better idea of which specific model you would like best, I don't think you could do better than visit Hill Country Guitars here in Austin (and while you are here take the tour of the Collings factory!). They have nearly a hundred of them in stock - on display! It's pretty much Collings nirvana, but there are other great guitars to compare them to, including some killer custom Martins. Come on over and find whats right for you!