Are They Worth the Premium?

[Doraland Wert]

Is the soaring price of Collings acoustic guitars truly justified by their tone and craftsmanship, or are we simply paying for a brand name? Could a skilled independent luthier produce a comparable instrument for a fraction of the cost, and would most players notice the difference?

[wildbill]

There's no doubt that Collings acoustics are not cheap. But for the quality, I think they are an excellent value. Unless you're talking about a custom ordered Collings, most of them are priced under $10k. To be sure, $10k is a lot to spend on a guitar, but there are a lot of guitars for sale above that $10k price point that are not better guitars than Collings. In fact, I'd put most any Collings up against any other high end guitar at any price point, and my money would be on the Collings for quality and tone. Mine were worth what I paid, but to be fair, I did not pay the full sticker price.