If price is not a consideration which would you go with?

[Solosdad]

Hi Everyone, I'm considering a Collings City Limits or a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul. Assume that each will have Lollar Humbuckers which would be your choice?

[s2y]

Collings. Hands down.

[J Patrick]

...yeah i'd go with the Collings too...on Gibsons best day they might get close to Collings quality....nah i take that back...its not very close....plus that City Limits design is so sweet....

[6L6]

Collings for sure.

[TjthePhD]

The one which sounded, played, felt, and looked the best to me.

[imwjl]

I just tried those two to satisfy some curiosity and a Les Paul friend, and to try more Collings. I35 was what I thought I wanted but the SoCo 16 and 290 had an effect much like I was a teen boy with a bikini girl in my lap and singing.

Just like my Collings (SoCo 16), the amazing workmanship and well rounded tone hit you hard.

I don't know about Les Paul pricing but my Collings is made much better than Gibsons that cost even more.

Check, but I think all the Collings have .011 string set. I kept mine that way because set up was so right on, and have grown to love it. If you're after a LP type for solos and bends you might want lighter strings.

Mine was one of 16 in stock (Dave's) and the several I tried over time and when I bought _all_ had the same outstanding build quality.

For me price was a consideration and you could say that's part of why Collings stood out. Gibsons that even cost more had orange peel, file marks, frets not so firm against the wood. Gibson finish quality makes a joke out of the words custom shop if you compare many of them to Collings and Fender CS product.

I like the Lollar Imperial pickups on the Collings.

You might need all of eyes, ears and hands on the Collings to appreciate what they're doing. The perfection is there for your ears, hands, eyes. The precision applied to cutting headstock, gluing parts, binding and fretwork don't guarantee it plays better but made it easier for me to buy a premium product.

I feel like I got it all, tone, intonation, weight, feel, beauty, weight.

Unless you have to have tradition:

Originally Posted by TjthePhD

The one which sounded, played, felt, and looked the best to me.

Originally Posted by 6L6

Collings for sure.

For me, each of several Collings electrics I tried demonstrated themselves to be in a league I didn't know existed.

Have fun shopping.

[Tone Gopher]

Hamer Monaco Elite or Super Pro

[moon]

A guitar like the SoCo 16, I35 or a Gibson 335 would be more versatile so that's what I personally would go for. I'd choose the one which sounded best and I'd be prepared to put up with less than perfect build quality for fantastic tone - so long as the action and intonation are good.

Your choice though. If you only play jazz, the City Limits could be the one. Collings make some beautiful, top-quality guitars.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by moon

A guitar like the SoCo 16, I35 or a Gibson 335 would be more versatile so that's what I personally would go for. I'd choose the one which sounded best and I'd be prepared to put up with less than perfect build quality for fantastic tone - so long as the action and intonation are good.

Your choice though. If you only play jazz, the City Limits could be the one. Collings make some beautiful, top-quality guitars.

You might be confusing CL and CL Jazz.

http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=35
http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=55

My feelings were the CL being a solid body with humbuckers was more like a Les Paul in the same way the laminate semi-hollows are more like ES-335s but the semi-hollows diverge where one has 335 shape, the other 335 size.

To be honest they are all quite versatile, and I think it's because they're all so lively unplugged, and because of the Lollar pickups.

[moon]

Originally Posted by imwjl

You might be confusing CL and CL Jazz.

http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=35
http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=55

Ooops.. yes. Two very different guitars!

[RussB]

I vote Les Paul

[mikealpine]

For similar dollars, you can probably go custom and something gorgeous. And I'd look into Carvin as well. They've got models similar to both, and the workmanship is awesome. Their pricing, since factory direct is fantastic. Then you can swap the pickups for whatever brand you want, and still spend less money. Resale suffers on Carvin, but the guitars are terrific.

[stratokatsu]

I'd go with the Collings. Everything about it is superior and if it comes down to selling it, it will retain a lot more of it's original value than a Gibson.

[RussB]

Originally Posted by stratokatsu

I'd go with the Collings. Everything about it is superior and if it comes down to selling it, it will retain a lot more of it's original value than a Gibson.

I strongly disagree about resale value

[RussB]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

For similar dollars, you can probably go custom and something gorgeous. And I'd look into Carvin as well. They've got models similar to both, and the workmanship is awesome. Their pricing, since factory direct is fantastic. Then you can swap the pickups for whatever brand you want, and still spend less money. Resale suffers on Carvin, but the guitars are terrific.

...but Carvin wasn't one of the two choices?