Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AS GOOD
AS IT GETS?
Does Texas-based Bill Collings make the world’s finest THE ENGINEER
What sets Collings apart and, we
production acoustic guitars? It’s a controversial view, but one suspect, may be one of the secrets
of his success is that he married that
held by a number of afficianados. But who is Bill Collings? And precision and predictability of fine
how have his guitars come to take on the world’s greatest engineering with an understanding
and love of wood. “That’s what
acoustic guitar brands? Gary Cooper asks the questions I wanted. I loved everything to do
with the metal but it didn’t have a
meaning, so I wanted to put the two
pinions differ, town with advertising. If Collings It’s consistency that is so together and it actually drove me to
MEASURING UP
One of the things Collings had
done, and which he says enabled
him to get it so right, so quickly, was
use his skills as an engineer. He had
measured many old guitars and
studied them in detail so that when
it came to making his own, he knew
what needed to be done. It sounds
incredibly simple, but how many guitars? “I don’t think it’s just the – take glues, for example. You might
others have managed to do it? finishing. The finish won’t change if think it hardly matters what glue
This leads to the question, if these it’s poly [polyurethane], and nitro you use, as long as it stays fast. Not
old guitars – particularly hardens over time as it looses so, apparently.
Martins – sounded so great, why solvent and gets maybe more loose, “We have hard glues, soft glues
was that? Is it because they had just but it’s not just that.” and crystalline glues. For our braces
aged well, as good acoustics do, or Here Collings reveals the almost we use one called ‘Imperial’ which
was there some secret in the way fanatical depth in which he has is a hard crystalline glue that won’t
vintage instruments were made? studied old guitars. We start talking break down until 400 degrees,
“Well, they were built a little about the thickness of lacquers and whereas the 130 degree glue is
differently. A lot of it is age but a lot he explains how you can never be a little gummier. We use
of it is they were built well. They sure when you see an old guitar, that to put the rim on
might have been a little tight when whether it has been refinished at the outside but we use
they were new, but in a year or so some stage. “But then you the hard stuff to hold
they would have come into their occasionally find one that hasn’t the bridge down and
own. Now the thing is, did people been touched – left in a case for 60, the braces.”
know then that they were good 70 or 80 years. Those guitars that Then there is the
guitars? Did they design them that I’ve measured, on some I’ve seen as bridge and the pins.
way? Well, actually they were in a little as 2 thousandths of an inch on “All these things matter,
quest to make them louder, so from the backs and three to four on top.” they all have an effect. For
about 1928, when steel strings hit, So what thickness of finish does example, we don’t put the
they were constantly working and he work to? “I had to go up a little, [string] slot in the pin, we
changing – you can watch it to normally five and a maximum of put it in the bridge, so
happening. They get thicker, they seven [thousands of an inch], but if the wedged pin
get thinner, you can see there was we get heavy I want to go light and holds the string in
somebody there saying, ‘Let’s try if we go light I want to go that position
this,’ and for the next 9,000 guitars, heavy – but it’s always in that space, under the top,
that’s what they did.” because I love the thinness but I so it’s forced
One thing that Collings says want the protection. You’ll tend to to the top
drove him hard in the early days get pick scratches on a nitro finish, not into a
was that vintage Martins were still which you won’t on a poly, and it spongy old
quite affordable, so his new will age. A poly finish generally pin. That
instruments were having to doesn’t get yellow, but lacquer will alone cleans
compete with the best to sell. darken with age and get this lovely the sound
“Were they great, the guitars I was golden glow – which people in up, but it’s
making? Well, some of them were. England really like,” he laughs. just one of a
I get them back today and I think, thousand
‘Wow! What is this?!’.” STICKING POINTS things we do.
Does he think that using To produce a guitar in this class calls Pennies make
traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer is for that sort of attention to detail. nickels, nickels make
an important factor in those old And it doesn’t stop at just lacquering dimes…”