Neck and Fretwire on Collings i-35

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BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
edited August 2013 in Guitar
I love my ES 339, in fact it's my go-to guitar for playing at home, but it's the basic plaintop model and I've been tempted to upgrade to something a little more refined.  

A couple of used Collings have really caught my eye recently - they generally seem feather-light, slightly smaller than a 335 (which is all to the good) and beautifully finished.

However I tend to prefer a slim neck and jumbo frets.  The Collings neck is described as medium fat and the frets as medium 18% nickel silver.  Anyone know what that actually means?  Will the neck be significantly fatter and/or the frets smaller than the Gibson (it's the 30/60 neck). I don't want to buy a guitar of that calibre if I'm immediately going to want to rip out the frets.
“To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Frets: 136
    edited August 2013
    The feel of a guitar is very much a matter of personal preference. That said, within reason I can get used to pretty much anything, given time.

    I have no doubt the Collings will be beautifully engineered guitars; whether one would give you more than your Gibson is debatable. Though modern Gibson build quality tends to be 'okay' rather than 'perfect', the one thing I alway find myself having to accept is that their guitars sound good.

    Collings/Suhrs et al will always beat Gibson & Fender in the perfection stakes; if you want a guitar that sounds like a classic Gibson or Fender, you may well find the boutique guitars 'miss' something....
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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
    Thanks Richard but that's a different issue - I'm really looking for something more objective information about fret and neck size on the Collings.  I have fairly set views on the boutique guitars v Gibson/Fender debate, and for me it generally comes down to whether you want a better guitar or an iconic badge.  That's not meant to be snide - I can perfectly understand the appeal of an iconic badge, and am by no means immune to it myself.


    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • LodiousLodious Frets: 1942
    I have a Collings 290,which has the same neck /fret wire description as the one your looking at. Personally, I think the frets are too fat and the neck too thin, so I guess you might be fine. Couldn't you tell how it felt when you played them?
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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
    edited August 2013
    I've ever played one.  Not near anyone who stocks them.  Just seen a couple advertised and based on my research they look exciting.  The tallness of the frets matters more to me than the width.

    It's funny I've seen a couple of 290s come up to and based on what I read I don't think I'd have a problem with the neck/frets on those.  In fact if I'd liked the colour more I'd have been tempted.


    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • MajorscaleMajorscale Frets: 1553
    edited August 2013
    Buy my 290 and find out for sure ;) Collings standard medium fat carve is perfection to my hand, sits midway between my fender strat with a 65 carve and my huge 52 tele carve if that helps.
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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
    edited August 2013
    Not a lot to be honest.  I've never owned a Fender guitar (as opposed to Fender basses).

    I did see your guitar. Looks tempting but I have real reservations about the dogshair finish. I don't necessarily dislike it, I just think it's risky. I could imagine after owning it for a few weeks I'd be thinking, yeah this is interestingly different, nice score.  Or I could be thinking what was I doing buying this, it's just not me. If it had been one of the more traditional finishes it would have seemed a safer bet.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • wellsyboywellsyboy Frets: 451
    Basically for the sort of money you'll be paying you need to get your hands on one
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  • joeWjoeW Frets: 459
    I have a City Limits with their normal mid c neck and a i35LC with a 60's style neck.  Quite a standard c shape neck profile and the 1st fret thickness is 0.865 and 0.835 resp, so I would put them at the slimmer and wider side of medium.  I can move from one to the other without any need to adjust.   I had a CS R0 before the city limits and it was thinner and I much prefer the Collings, mostly due to the neck feel.  Let me know if you need any measurements etc.  I highly recommend the Throbak options if you are going for humbuckers - they sound amazing and don't have a plenty of old school tone.  
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  • Isn’t this thread 8 years old? Assuming the OP found a solution by now.
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