Used Collings D3 advice required

mags · December 2017

I've been looking at a 20 year old Collings D3. I really like it, it' s in great condition and I think it may even outshine my Martin OM 28. It's priced at £2995 and I can probably get another couple of hundred off it. However, I am struggling to find what these guitars currently sell at new and also if used price is reasonable. Was wondering if any of you out there had any advice. Thanks in advance guys.

mgaw · December 2017

https://www.coda-music.com/collings-d3-cocobolo.html ; there is this one with expensive cocbolo wood as a guide? i always reckon that Collings seem to sell at 50-60% of new price privately, obviously more via a shop @guitars4you ; would be better placed to advise you

KKJale · December 2017

Welcome

Is that a shop price?

If private, then to me it sounds a little high. I sold a Collings for £2400 a while back, and that was mahogany but in sunburst with an Adi top, which are extras that Collings charges a hell of a lot for.

I wouldn't like to pay any more than about the same for a D3 in IRW/sitka, personally. You might even lose a couple of hundred on resale at that, but if it's a good one, then it's probably worth it.

For current RRP you might try emailing a dealer... UK ones listed here on the pull-down menu. http://www.collingsguitars.com/dealers/

mags · December 2017

KKJale said:

Welcome

Is that a shop price?

If private, then to me it sounds a little high. I sold a Collings for £2400 a while back, and that was mahogany but in sunburst with an Adi top, which are extras that Collings charges a hell of a lot for.

I wouldn't like to pay any more than about the same for a D3 in IRW/sitka, personally. You might even lose a couple of hundred on resale at that, but if it's a good one, then it's probably worth it.

For current RRP you might try emailing a dealer... UK ones listed here on the pull-down menu. http://www.collingsguitars.com/dealers/

Yes, that's a shop price but I was struggling to find ANY price for a D3 either new or S/H so didn't know if it was a good deal or not. It sounded amazing though.

mags · December 2017

mgaw said:

https://www.coda-music.com/collings-d3-cocobolo.html ; there is this one with expensive cocbolo wood as a guide? i always reckon that Collings seem to sell at 50-60% of new price privately, obviously more via a shop @guitars4you ; would be better placed to advise you

Thanks for the info. Anything cocobolo would be gorgeous but out my price range.

Lewy · December 2017

If you love it, and you think it’s got keeper potential then buy it - the impact of a few hundred quid over decades of joy of ownership is insignificant. But I predict you will lose a decent amount if you move it on. When you see D2Hs going for just north of £2k, the only difference between them and a D3 is bling which could work against you because it is not to everyone’s taste.

richardhomer · December 2017

Would buying it require you to off-load your OM?

If ‘yes’ - I’d think twice. OMs are great ‘all-rounders’ - Dreadnoughts are great at what they do - but not as versatile.

If you fancy a Dreadnought, there are cheaper alternatives which might fit the bill. One of the best I ever played was a ‘73 D35 at well below half the price of the Collings you’re considering.

This may not be a popular opinion - but I’m not a fan of Collings guitars generally. They are very precisely made - but don’t sound inherently better than their ‘less well-made’ competitors in my experience - and not a patch on the Santa Cruz guitars I’ve played.

mags · December 2017

Lewy said:

If you love it, and you think it’s got keeper potential then buy it - the impact of a few hundred quid over decades of joy of ownership is insignificant. But I predict you will lose a decent amount if you move it on. When you see D2Hs going for just north of £2k, the only difference between them and a D3 is bling which could work against you because it is not to everyone’s taste.

Thanks for the advice. Definitely food for thought.

mags · December 2017

richardhomer said:

Would buying it require you to off-load your OM?

If ‘yes’ - I’d think twice. OMs are great ‘all-rounders’ - Dreadnoughts are great at what they do - but not as versatile.

If you fancy a Dreadnought, there are cheaper alternatives which might fit the bill. One of the best I ever played was a ‘73 D35 at well below half the price of the Collings you’re considering.

This may not be a popular opinion - but I’m not a fan of Collings guitars generally. They are very precisely made - but don’t sound inherently better than their ‘less well-made’ competitors in my experience - and not a patch on the Santa Cruz guitars I’ve played.

Hi Richard, No I wouldn't offload my OM - it's just starting to open up nicely. I enjoy buying guitars at a good second hand price, playing them for a few years and then moving onto something else, having often recouped pretty much what I spent on then originally. I just couldn't find any info on Collings guitars in the UK, either new or used to know where the value of this guitar lay. Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

AuldReekie · December 2017

richardhomer said:

Would buying it require you to off-load your OM?

This may not be a popular opinion - but I’m not a fan of Collings guitars generally. They are very precisely made - but don’t sound inherently better than their ‘less well-made’ competitors in my experience - and not a patch on the Santa Cruz guitars I’ve played.

Pretty well my experience. I've had a Santa Cruz D/E in the past - you had to thrash it to get the best out off it but when you did, it was superb. I now have a Santa Cruz Tony Rice and it is superb, very "Martinesque", great build quality and responds to both gentle and hevy pick work. Has no natuaral compresion so harder you strum, the louder it gets. Every Collings I have plaid has been very well built but a bit stiff and sterile sounding

Lewy · December 2017

AuldReekie said:

Every Collings I have plaid has been very well built but a bit stiff and sterile sounding

Out of interest, were these new ones or ones that had been played in?

I'm not a defensive Collings owner - people like what they like - but the two I've had from new and very nearly new mellowed noticeably after about 6 months worth of play. They still have pronounced highs and upper mids but that's the Collings sound. You can adjust how you play to temper them, but then they are there when you want them.

In terms of stiffness, the longer scale on a Collings can have a bearing. That's why it's so important to set the relief properly on them - even a slight upward deviation from the spec .005" can have them feeling like hard work (I actually have .003" on mine with no buzzes whatsoever but your frets need to be in tip top shape for that).

uncledick · December 2017

Project Music in Exeter keep a decent amount of Collings in stock and they could probably advise you. A C10 deluxe remains the nicest sounding instrument I've ever played. I haven't tried Santa Cruz but it certainly blew away the Martins and Gibsons I stacked it up against.

crunchman · December 2017

uncledick said:

Project Music in Exeter keep a decent amount of Collings in stock and they could probably advise you. A C10 deluxe remains the nicest sounding instrument I've ever played. I haven't tried Santa Cruz but it certainly blew away the Martins and Gibsons I stacked it up against.

They can all vary from guitar to guitar. One Santa Cruz OM I played was probably the best sounding acoustic I've ever played but that was a 12 fret slot headstock guitar with a very wide fingerboard so wouldn't have worked for me from a practical playing point of view. I also played a Santa Cruz Pre-war D that was stunning. I then went looking for one of those, and couldn't find one that I liked. In the end I got a Martin HD28V - but they can vary too.

If you ask me the ten best sounding acoustics I've played, there would be 3 or 4 Santa Cruz, 3 or 4 Martins, a Brook, a Lowden or two and maybe one or two Czech guitars from Furch or Rosawood. Where I am in agreement with several others in this thread is that there definitely wouldn't be a Collings in that list. Most of the Collings I have played were new, so maybe they are better when they have a bit of age on them, but I really don't get the fuss about them.

AuldReekie · December 2017

Lewy said:

AuldReekie said:

Every Collings I have plaid has been very well built but a bit stiff and sterile sounding

Out of interest, were these new ones or ones that had been played in?

Yes, the only Collings guitars I have played have been new ones. I have read other comments similar to your own regarding how well they play in

crunchman · December 2017

AuldReekie said:

Lewy said:

AuldReekie said:

Every Collings I have plaid has been very well built but a bit stiff and sterile sounding

Out of interest, were these new ones or ones that had been played in?

Yes, the only Collings guitars I have played have been new ones. I have read other comments similar to your own regarding how well they play in

It's a lot of money to spend up front in the hope it will sound great in 5 years time.

Lewy · December 2017

crunchman said:

AuldReekie said:

Lewy said:

AuldReekie said:

Every Collings I have plaid has been very well built but a bit stiff and sterile sounding

Out of interest, were these new ones or ones that had been played in?

Yes, the only Collings guitars I have played have been new ones. I have read other comments similar to your own regarding how well they play in

It's a lot of money to spend up front in the hope it will sound great in 5 years time.

Obviously if you don't like the fundamental sound of a guitar you'd be a fool to buy it expecting playing in to change anything dramatically. A slight mellowing of the high end is what I have observed over time, but personally I didn't find the high end a problem to begin with because it can be moderated by how you play, pick choice etc etc.

Jimbro66 · December 2017

About 15 years ago I became very interested in Collings acoustics after gigging with an American flat-picker who used and endorsed them. In his hands they sounded great. IIRC a D3, if you could find one, was around £2.8k - £3k new at that time from the very few UK dealers. I would guess that 20 years ago a D3 might have been a little less. The price of Collings acoustics has increased hugely since then so it's very difficult to put a used value on them. I guess, as always, it is what buyers will pay.

FWIW I bought a Santa Cruz instead of a Collings and kept that for several years until I tried and bought an Atkin - but that's another story.

I will echo @Lewy's comment that the extra bling of the D3 might not make it more desirable, or even worth much more.

Lewy · December 2017

Jimbro66 said:

About 15 years ago I became very interested in Collings acoustics after gigging with an American flat-picker who used and endorsed them.

Who was that @Jimbro66 ?

Jimbro66 · December 2017

Lewy said:

Jimbro66 said:

About 15 years ago I became very interested in Collings acoustics after gigging with an American flat-picker who used and endorsed them.

Who was that @Jimbro66 ?

Steve Kaufman

Lewy · December 2017

Jimbro66 said:

Lewy said:

Jimbro66 said:

About 15 years ago I became very interested in Collings acoustics after gigging with an American flat-picker who used and endorsed them.

Who was that @Jimbro66 ?

Steve Kaufman

That must have been fun!

Jimbro66 · December 2017

Lewy said:

Jimbro66 said:

Lewy said:

Jimbro66 said:

About 15 years ago I became very interested in Collings acoustics after gigging with an American flat-picker who used and endorsed them.

Who was that @Jimbro66 ?

Steve Kaufman

That must have been fun!

It was. Steve has incredible flatpicking technique, is a shrewd businessman and most of all is a very likeable guy. He told me that through the period of his Winfield wins he practiced a minimum five hours a day, every day!

BTW his brother is a very accomplished bluegrass banjo player and during the noughties was living in England. I don't know if he still does.

Anyway, back to Collings D3s. Sorry OP

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