Bill Collings

I received an email from my good friends at Collings Guitars. They included an update on a new signature model that Bill Collings had worked on until his passing:

When Bill Collings first met the brilliant young jazz musician Julian Lage, in 2014, the two began a series of in-depth conversations about their respective crafts. Lage’s profound insights as a guitarist would play a key role in the creation of Collings”™ T (Traditional) Series guitars. This rare collaboration, which continued right up until Bill”™s passing, in July, 2017, has yielded another exceptional new guitar with an old soul. We are proud to present a highly personal extension of the T Series: the Julian Lage Signature OM1.

You can find out more about this beautiful instrument here.

From the Collings Guitars website:

We lost our dear friend and mentor Bill Collings on Friday. He was the amazingly creative force behind Collings Guitars for over 40 years. Through his unique and innate understanding of how things work, and how to make things work better, he set the bar in our industry and touched many lives in the process. His skill and incredible sense of design were not just limited to working with wood, but were also obvious in his passion for building hot rods. To Bill, the design and execution of elegant form and function were what mattered most. Perhaps even more exceptional than his ability to craft some of the finest instruments in the world, was his ability to teach and inspire. He created a quality-centered culture that will carry on to honor his life’s work and legacy. He was loved by many and will be greatly missed. Our hearts are with his family.

I have two of his guitars: a 2012 Collings D2H #20672, one of the best sounding acoustics I have ever played, and a 2010 Collings CL Deluxe #9408, one of the most beautifully made electric guitars I have ever played.

So sad to see such a master pass away too soon in life.

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Collings OM1 Julian Lage Edition