NGD....McCollum GA

[islandguitar]

Hi folks!
I'm sure some of you who followed the classified section saw several McCollum's listed recently. I'm one who has followed Lance's story and legendary career for quite some time and have long thought that it would be wonderful to own one of his guitars and in a small way continue his legacy. So many posts have enthusiastically talked about his instruments over the years....now I know why!

So, with thanks to John (AGF samagni) out in Oklahoma, I was able to bring this marvelous guitar home to Rhode Island.
The guitar is exquisite and extraordinary! Tone, tone and more tone. The woods are Brazilian (my first Braz guitar) and Italian spruce and it was built in Jan of 2000. While a GA in size, it seems to "play small"...very easy to fold into your lap. Big sound but not at all "boomy", highly articulate, huge sustain.....all notes ringing in partnership with each other. That "piano" effect we hear so much about! The instrument combines several of the best qualities of two of my guitars into one instrument.

For those of you who read the classified, you'll know that the Celtic knot inlay on heel cap was created by Harvey Leach, Lance's friend and fellow builder as a memory to Lance. Kudos to John and Harvey for inspiring this distinctive feature.
Here are a couple of pics to prove this really did happen!

Thank for checking them out! Enjoy the day.....Fred

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[Goat Mick]

Well that's a pretty one!! Congratulations!

[KevinH]

Nice story and beautiful guitar. That inlay around the sound hole is very nice.

[SingingSparrow]

Hope you enjoy this beautiful guitar, Fred!

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

Congrats, Fred - beautiful guitar!! I look forward to hearing some of your great music on it!

[islandguitar]

Thanks so much, guys!! Much appreciated!!!

[marty bradbury]

I can see that you're going to have a fun weekend! Beautiful guitar,

[Glennwillow]

Very, very pretty guitar, Fred!

Congratulations!

I will be looking forward to one of your recordings on that guitar so I can hear what it sounds like under your fingers!

How very cool!

- Glenn

[Goodallboy]

That's a lovely example of Lance's work! I know you'll enjoy it tremendously.

My McCollum (recently placed on consignment) has those exact woods but with no cutaway. I get your description completely, as has anyone who's played a McCollum with that wood combination, they're just so balanced and rich sounding.

Congrats again!

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

I can see that you're going to have a fun weekend! Beautiful guitar,

Thank you Marty! Yes! I'm working on a tune that the guitar "gave up" in the first day it hung out here......of course more to come!
Thanks again!

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Very, very pretty guitar, Fred!

Congratulations!

I will be looking forward to one of your recordings on that guitar so I can hear what it sounds like under your fingers!

How very cool!

- Glenn

Thank you, Glenn! This guitar does not disappoint! One in the hopper already that I'm working on, but it will take some time to connect the parts and refine and then refine again.
It's called "Gotta Believe", so watch for it when it makes its way to AGF!! A little bluesy type thing in alternate tuning. This is a tune which my wife already had named before the tune! LOL! And it stems from my thought that the guitar had already been purchased and I'd missed out as there were 3 offers and one other close call before that. But things came together....and when John called me and we talked, I was out walking the dog at our nearby lighthouse...fog rolling in....all calm.....and I thought, this is really serendipitous and a beautiful message I'm getting here. And so it goes.....

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

That's a lovely example of Lance's work! I know you'll enjoy it tremendously.

My McCollum (recently placed on consignment) has those exact woods but with no cutaway. I get your description completely, as has anyone who's played a McCollum with that wood combination, they're just so balanced and rich sounding.

Congrats again!

Goodall....thanks so much for your message and congrats!
I've seen your McCollum's demo with Paul H. ....and admired it a lot. Beautiful!
What's interesting is that your guitar is exactly one build from mine! As I tracked things.....yours....122, mine.....123. Mine is Jan of 2000, and I know yours must have been very late in '99 to come with those two sequential numbers. Thought that was very cool!!

Thanks again,
Fred

[srgprod]

Beautiful guitar. You'll cherish this forever. Congrats!

Here's a terrible picture of mine that he made this for his wife.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by islandguitar

Goodall....thanks so much for your message and congrats!
I've seen your McCollum's demo with Paul H. ....and admired it a lot. Beautiful!
What's interesting is that your guitar is exactly one build from mine! As I tracked things.....yours....122, mine.....123. Mine is Jan of 2000, and I know yours must have been very late in '99 to come with those two sequential numbers. Thought that was very cool!!

Thanks again,
Fred

Wow! Thanks for sharing that information, that's so unlikely we'd have sequentially numbered guitars. It would be interesting to hear them side by side and see what the differences are. Same maker, same tone woods, made essentially at the same time.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by srgprod

Beautiful guitar. You'll cherish this forever. Congrats!

Here's a terrible picture of mine that he made this for his wife.

Oh, another nice one! Would love to hear what Lance accomplished with Maple.

Congratulations on owning that one.

Sadly there will never be another.