Collings 000-3C

Bill Collings has a reputation for unrelenting quality and that's what you get. This guitar has all of the extras that come with a -3. They are attractive, but that's not why I bought the guitar. I bought if for sound. So my interest in all of the extra work they did on this guitar is limited. It is georgeous, however. Not quite as georgeous as the Goodall line, only my opinion. But it meets the mark.

I play fingerstyle. Love celtic. Was after a smaller bodied guitar that could get me to the 14th fret. This guitar is a 12 fret to the body, so my interest was in a cutaway.

The most astounding thing about Colings guitars, if there is just one thing, is that the cutaways have a reputation for projecting just as powerfully as the non-cutaways. I went on a road trip to the largest distributor of Collings guitars in the US and tested the theory out. And I was stunned and overjoyed to find out that - if blind folded, the projection was in fact just as - blow you away powerful - between the cutaways and the non-cutaways. The last two hours I spent in the guitar store (1.5 days in total to make the final decision) there were many people playing around me and it was difficult to hear. Of the final four guitar choices, a georgeous goodall, a Lowden and a $6000 + Froggy K, the Collings was the only guitar that could cut through the noise of that store.

This guitar is truely magic. It's a finger-pickers dream. The trebles are fat and round and you can pluck as hard as you want. The trebles don't have the bite of the C10's or the OM's, but this was exactly the sound that I was after. I put on some John Pierce strings, and this baby rocks.

The bass is strong and consistent and doesn't overpower the trebles. No weak base notes up the neck as I found in amost every other guitar. Lower E between 8th and 12th frets kind of thing.

When I play, people are shocked by the quality of the sound and the projection.

You wouldn't describe the sound as bright. You can get an amazing snap from the round trebles when you really attack a song.

I adore the sound of this guitar. The indian rosewood gives it a little more volume and the sustain is beyond understanding. I held the guitar and played a note or two for my wife the other night, asking her to listen as I held the guitar out and waited for the sound to finally conclude.

There are many nice guitars out there. This is the first in my collection of upper end guitars, and it was a fantastic choice for me.

Perhaps marginally higher action than I would have liked. Collings string tension is a little higher than some other manufacturers. That's one of the reasons I went for a 12 fret. Slightly more relaxed string tension.

I find the Goodall's a little more visually stunning, but always my mind came back to sound.

Really strong guitars. A little heavier. Tons of energy goes into the finish and it's very strong. I had the pick-guard removed as I don't like the look and the final product is beautiful. Strong guitars, no issue here.

I've called Collings up and I've had numerous discussions and I've been involved in discussion threads on the internet. Pretty much the overwhelming response, including my own, is that they look after their customers.

This is my first top end guitar. It will not be my last. Indian Rosewood/Sitka. Didn't go for the Adirondack - could have, didn't go for the German spruce top. This one had the magic. It has inpired me beyond words and I pick it up every chance I get. The overwhelming bottom line for me has always been sound. I adore the sound of my 000-3C. And I enjoy the fact that even if there are a houseful of people chatting around me as I play, the projection of this guitar cuts right through it all, and somehow, in a very subtle way.


Bill Collings and his crew constantly try to improve what are undoutedly one of the finest lines of guitars in the world.