2020s Collings 470 JL Julian Lage Hollowbody Electric Guitar
Overview: This is, essentially, a brand-new guitar. Guitarists in the know will have heard of Julian Lage and, like us, admire him greatly. This is his signature Collings model and, basically, it handles, sounds, and responds like the best '50s Gretsch ever made -- but better, of course, because the build quality is far higher. It's a semihollow guitar and featherweight despite all of the gear tacked-onto it and it has a retro-feeling neck and presence that's very familiar to my hands from playing all of the old guitars its varied design aesthetics come from. It definitely feels like money when you put it in your lap. It's luxurious.
Tone: The Ellisonic pickups give it very much a DynaSonic sound, though it's cleaner and less aggressive up-front. They remind me a lot of a more sparkly and nuanced version of the Gibson P90s with the Alnico polepieces from the late '40s. It's a great, transparent, '50s sort-of voice and note separation is excellent.
Feel: The neck feels sort-of like a mix of '60s Martin influence and '60s Gretsch influence -- it's medium-heft and C in shape but more substantial than, say, an early-'60s Gibson neck profile.
Interesting features: What isn't? It's semihollow and very lightweight, has no f-holes, looks stunning, and everything is built to a very fine level of quality. Despite Julian noting that he's not an avid Bigsby player (and likes the gizmo because of its looks and balance on the guitar), the Bigsby works beautifully and it keeps nicely in-tune with use. The ABR-style bridge with its translucent plastic saddles is also a nice touch.
Repairs included: I just have it the slightest hair of setup adjustments.
- Weight: 6 lbs 2 oz
- Scale length: 24 7/8"
- Nut width: 1 11/16"
- Neck shape: medium C
- Board radius: 12"
- Body width: 13 1/2"
- Body depth: 1 7/8"
- Body wood: mahogany
- Bridge: ABR-style, plaastic saddles
- Fretboard: ebony
- Neck wood: mahogany
- Pickups: 2x Ron Ellis Ellisonics (single coil, like DynaSonic)
- Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
- String gauges: 46w-10
- Truss rod: adjustable
- Neck relief: straight
- Fret style: medium
Condition notes: It's basically new and shows very, very, very little handling or usewear. There may be the tiniest scratches in the finish from light handling but I am not seeing anything obvious.
It comes with: It's got its original hard case.
Consignor tag: SCWD
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