The Collings Forum

sigh of relief, for collings sake, JohnB. that's what i thought, although Joe Caruso's email was unequivocal. passion was the key word. my bet is 1250:)

Yes JohnB, good news. Thanks for posting.

pjkesq wrote: Thu May 09, 2019 9:49 am

Mwyates wrote: Wed May 08, 2019 12:28 pm I suspect that discontinuing the T cases is a wise business decision. They are super nice, but mine sits in the closet and my D2HMR A T stays in a Mono M80 bag. I think a lot of people would prefer that the guitar cost $6-700 less.

A few months back I received my custom ordered OM2 SS VN. It came with the gorgeous collings traditional case. When I saw the case up close, I was blown away. BUT... in the short two hour trip home on the train, the soft outer leather of the case got two significant dings in it! And I promise I was being careful. I will say this about the case, If you are keeping your guitar at home, you could not have a more beautiful or more finely crafted case. But, if you are going outside of the house, gigging, etc, I think the case is impractical. I sold the case within weeks and used the money to finance the purchase of a new Calton case. Don't get me wrong, I loved the case, but I didn't believe it offered me the protection I needed for a guitar that cost thousands of dollars. Just my opinion.

Sorry to hear that. I've heard quite a few complaints about the case's fragility and wonder if that didn't play some role in their decision.

not surprised. after all, Bill's primary purpose back when he was building the case for #20000 was, according to his interview, to build a worthy frame for the guitar. gigging safety, etc, was not a priority perhaps. frames can be expensive, but most folks want protection, i'd reckon. interesting stuff. love my trad cases, though. for me, they are perfect, albeit a luxury. i have a calton for whenever i travel.

I believe the business decision based on the labour intensive nature of the case building process. Whether buyers choose to use the case or not, is a personal decision. For me weight is a concern, & I got tired of dragging Caltons around at workshops & festival grounds, even though I think highly of them for shipping/air travel. A case is just that, & if I look at the original '30s case for my 000-18, it bears lots of scars. As for 'fragility', I use my Bill Collings cases, & although i haven't made a scientific comparison of various types of tolex, I'm not really worried if the case gets a few scratches or tears. I prefer the light weight and the balance of Bill's cases. I've got one for dreads, one for 000/Om/ & a prototype F mandolin case...& I use them. & come to think of it, in a few cases, I sold Caltons to buy them...
IMG_8427 by , on Flickr[/img][img]

Greg Y wrote: Thu May 09, 2019 5:16 pmI believe the business decision based on the labour intensive nature of the case building process. Whether buyers choose to use the case or not, is a personal decision. For me weight is a concern, & I got tired of dragging Caltons around at workshops & festival grounds, even though I think highly of them for shipping/air travel. A case is just that, & if I look at the original '30s case for my 000-18, it bears lots of scars. As for 'fragility', I use my Bill Collings cases, & although i haven't made a scientific comparison of various types of tolex, I'm not really worried if the case gets a few scratches or tears. I prefer the light weight and the balance of Bill's cases. I've got one for dreads, one for 000/Om/ & a prototype F mandolin case...& I use them.

Oh yeah, I'm sure it was based upon the energy required to build the cases vs. the profit from those cases. However, I do believe that most Collings owners care quite a bit about the condition of their guitar and its accessories, in fact I haven't run across too many Collings owners (and I've come to know quite a few) who wouldn't care about dents/blemishes in their expensive case. And as much as I don't like admitting it, I care, too. This brand, above so many others, seems to attract those who take pride in craftsmanship and fit & finish, and along with that comes the will to keep things looking nice. I no longer have a single case which is pristine, but I can probably recall the first time I marked up any given one of them. It wasn't a big moment, but not negligible either, especially with the ~$900 Caltons and custom cases I had fabricated.

I do wonder if they received a lot of complaints re: the case, or if it has primarily been praise.

great photo. as far as "scars" on instruments are concerned, to me, the very best ad campaign EVER put forth by a guitar maker was Collings' "Serious Guitars." signs of serious use on the perfect fit and finish of Collings guitars was a genius visual treat.

"I do wonder if they received a lot of complaints re: the case, or if it has primarily been praise." Elambo
I can't honestly answer that question, but I remember a thread with a post by Silly M, on a rant about how the cases were going to be too small for his guitar strap, tuner & his box of picks. Bill built the cases according to his vision. He was not designing by committee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJia5kX7u4A. He didn't really care if someone agreed with him or not. There were and are other choices. If Bill's cases fit one's needs/vision it's win/win.bill & jon by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/156629749@N02/[/url], on Flickr[/img] Here's a photo of Bill & Jon Green from Calton Cases (Austin) during a Collings Gathering visit to the shop. As an aside, when Jon was building a case for my vintage 00-18, Bill donated the purple lining....because no one else had that colour (& that is a Calton i won't sell).

He didn't really care if someone agreed with him or not.

and THAT, to me, is what underlies the uniqueness of everything Collings does. and why there's nobody like them (him). heck, he even won me over on the neck joint; i resisted for years.

I was really hoping these cases would inspire other manufacturers to come out with better cases as well. Long shot but I did dream that. Taking these away just shuts that door even though it makes sense for their business.