NEED ADVICE - Taylor or Collings...

[vintageom]

I would never consider paying $8000 for a guitar I have not seen and played. That is just me. Money did not fall into my lap in my lifetime to where I would take such a gamble. You have two wonderful guitars you love and they are both unique, not run of the mill. Keep 'em.

[cedarkoa599]

Keep the Taylor's !

[BluesBelly]

IMO Collings is by far superior to Taylor, Martin, Gibson, etc. Collings, Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, and others in that catagory are one step short of custom luthery. If you like the Taylors keep them but for sure the Collings is top shelf.

Blues

[ukejon]

Ultimately, this is not about the relative merit of Taylor vs. Collings.

NO WAY CAN YOU DUMP TWO BELOVED GUITARS FOR ONE THAT YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry...was I just screaming?

To be honest, I swore to the wife the one-in-one-out rule because of my current guitar collection.

Wait...does this rule apply to the guitars or the wife?

[royd]

folk on this list spend $8K on guitars they've never played all of the time. How many of the custom builds cost more than that? There is an entire section of the forum devoted to those custom builds. And whenever you're purchasing higher end guitars built in lower numbers, the likelihood of finding exactly what you want in your home town is very, very low... so you order a guitar. I own two guitars... and got both without playing them first - one was a purchase and one was a trade. I knew enough about what I was getting that I felt safe and I am very glad for both guitars.

Heck, I'd be surprised if the OP even played both of the Brazilian Rosewood Taylors that he now has before he bought them. How many Brazilian Rosewood Taylors do you run across? I've never seen one let alone two in any of the Taylor dealers I frequent. And how many threads do we read about BTO Taylors...

rant done...

[Poutine]

Gotta do what your heart tells you to do. I don't have experience with any Braz Collings guitars but I do have plenty with their EIR/Hog ones and they are monsters.
Ya never know, you could get burned pretty hard or you could get the best guitar ever.

[ukejon]

Rant taken, Royd, but many custom makers would accomodate a truly dissatisfied buyer. The OP here "loves" his two fine Taylors. What if the Collings didn't fit his ear at all.....what a huge loss that would be.

Glad you got what you liked. I couldn't spend that kind of money without hearing and playing the instrument--no matter what brand or maker.

[tamiller1952]

Originally Posted by chiproop

@TominVegas - Unfortunately, I can't touch this one guitar in particular - but I know it's in great shape. I've never played a Collings I didn't like. To be honest, I swore to the wife the one-in-one-out rule because of my current guitar collection. I am cleared to keep all of these, just not add anymore until one leaves (wow, that sounded like a good song lyric.)

I'd get rid of the future wife and get what I wanted.

[Tunes]

Well I have had some high end Taylors (and Gibsons, and Martins, and Guilds, and Santa Cruz) and I have to say I am finally happy and totally without GAS only since I ended up trading them all out for my Collings guitars. But's that me.

However, I also agree that you do NOT need to spend 8 grand to get an incredible sounding Collings. Half that will get you all you will ever need.

If you want to slim down, I would consider trading out the Taylors for a EIR or even Hog Collings and pocketing some cash for your nuptuals.

[taylorman9270]

Here is my unwanted advice:

Step one...make sure you at least play the model if not the actual guitar. This is big bucks, resale will be tough and you will lose money.

Step two... Make sure the total price is fair...usually is better to sell first then buy.

I have a Collings coming to me next week. Loved it. But I also played a tony rice Santa Cruz that I thought I would buy and a Martin Madagascar I also was interested in, but a guitar named Collings cleaned their clocks....FOR ME. At this price point they are ALL great but it is totally personal at hat price point. For some the Taylors would be enough. Although it sounds like a LOt of cash for a non-professional musician.

[chiproop]

Originally Posted by royd

Heck, I'd be surprised if the OP even played both of the Brazilian Rosewood Taylors that he now has before he bought them. How many Brazilian Rosewood Taylors do you run across? I've never seen one let alone two in any of the Taylor dealers I frequent.

rant done...

Whoa there Tiger... You must be shopping at the wrong Taylor dealerships, if you've never run across a Brazilian Taylor. I did play both of these Taylor's prior to purchasing them, thanks very much. It seems that I forgot to mention that I would get a chance to play the Collings for a few days before making the decision to buy it.

[chiproop]

Originally Posted by taylorman9270

Here is my unwanted advice:
...although it sounds like a LOt of cash for a non-professional musician.

Hmmm... non-professional musician, eh?

[usb_chord]

Originally Posted by chiproop

It seems that I forgot to mention that I would get a chance to play the Collings for a few days before making the decision to buy it.

Ok, so this just got a heck of a lot easier. A/B it with your Taylors and if you like it more, sell them! End of thread...

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Ok, so this just got a heck of a lot easier. A/B it with your Taylors and if you like it more, sell them! End of thread...

I was thinking the same thing.... Wow!

- Glenn

[BGS]

For what it's worth, $8K seems a bit steep for the Collings. I just sold a Collings OM2HBaaaA for $5995. Granted it sold in two hours, but still. Try to get them down to at least $6500.