NGD - Semi-hollow beauty

CloudNine

My mind is blown by this guitar!

Feels like cheating it's so easy to play. Smaller than a 335 body so really comfortable, weighs around 7lbs. Lollar pickups, and tone is somewhere between 335 and LP also. Brazilian R/W fretboard and nice chunky neck. As you will guess with it being a Collings, cannot find a single anything that is not 100% perfect with it.

Highly recommend you try an I-35 if you come across it in a store.

Definitely one of those guitars that you immediately start to wonder whether you need all your other axes any more....

meltedbuzzbox

thats a real nice looking guitar. Was it bought new?

hubobulous

I agree, that really does look lovely. Congrats :-)

CloudNine

Cheers guys. It's a 2008 model, amazing condition though. I traded an acoustic for it. Have had a Collings electric before and sort of regretted parting with it. But always fancied an I-35 and this was the spec and colour I wanted, so took the plunge. No regrets, that's for sure! 

Brad

Beauty!

Philly_Q

Collings guitars are beautiful, congrats! 

I'm glad you confirmed it's smaller than a 335, I thought from pictures that they probably were but I'd never been able to find out for sure.  A bit bigger than a 339/336 though?

richardhomer

Lovely looking guitar - your home looks lovely too....

CloudNine

Sort of in between the two, but a bit nearer to the 339/356. It goes like this:

ES 335
Lower bout width: 16 1/2

I 35
Lower bout width: 15

ES359/339
Lower bout width: 14.25

Philly_Q

^  Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately that means I can't just say to myself "I can never buy one of those, too big for me".... could be expensive! 

>:D<

Gru

That looks amazing! You have a wow from me.

blueskunk

Lovely guitar.

CloudNine

Ha ha, sorry about that Philly.   It is bad news when more guitars creep onto the list..

Here is the full spec:

• Premium flamed maple top over semi-hollow mahogany body 
• Crimson finish
• Black/White top purfling
  
• Inset alder center block and mahogany neck
• Grained ivoroid top/back/neck/peghead binding
• Slim contour F-holes
• High gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish
• Single-bound "Haircut" headstock
• 15 degree headstock angle
• Brazilian rosewood peghead overlay with inlaid Collings logo
• Brazilian rosewood fingerboard
• Custom Collings pickguard
  
• Long mortise and tenon neck joint w/contoured heel
• 22 Frets, neck joins the body at the 19th fret
• Medium-Fat "C" neck shape 
• 12" Fingerboard radius
• 1 11/16" Bone nut
• 24 7/8" Scale length
• Medium 18% nickel-silver fretwire 
• Mother of pearl parallelogram fingerboard inlays
• Fully adjustable truss rod
• Custom ivoroid pickup rings and top hat knobs
• Dual Lollar low-wind Imperial humbuckers
• 1950's style wiring scheme
• CTS 500K pots and Xicon caps 
• Switchcraft toggle switch and output jack
• Tonepros AVR-II bridge and tailpiece
• Nickel Sperzel tuners w/ vintage-style buttons 
  
• Recommended string guage - D'Addario EXL-115 (.011"-.049")
• Collings deluxe hardshell case

Philly_Q

I'm intrigued by that slight construction difference - hollowed out mahogany body like a 336 (or 356), but a separate alder centre block rather than leaving a block of mahogany.  I wonder how much effect that has on the tone?

CloudNine

And crazy dutch man demoing from place I got it from.

He does loads of demos for various companies this fella, always enjoyable I think. Doesn't take it to seriously like many you see on Youtube. Check out the ones he does for Rebel Relic, mostly Strat's and Tele's. Some great viewing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6G74b_z_TY

Not much a of a demo in terms of the tonal variety available, as it is just rocking out on the bridge pup, but fun nonetheless.

breakstuff

Lovely.

Congrats.

ESchap

Lovely guitar. Happy NGD.   Tried one a few months back, definitely on the "bucket list".

Megii

That looks utterly perfect, I'd be scared to use it! But gorgeous, and congrats, what a guitar.

Phil_aka_Pip

I'd love one! Good GAS!

Philly_Q

That's your actual guitar in the demo, presumably.  Sounds great, lots of twang and woodiness in the tone. 

I thought he was playing through the little 1w Marshall at first, I thought oh, I've got one of those, could I sound like this?

CloudNine

Yeah man, that's the guitar. Actually if anything, the real beauty of it is in the clean tone. And you know that way really good guitars just sound more 'in tune' than others. It has that in a big way.

Wouldn't say it's a 335 replacement. Bit of a different thing, as you would expect from the construction. Having said that, you can dial it in to sound somewhere near to a 335, whereas you would struggle to get a 335 doing some of the tones this has. There is a bit more treble on tap with these, but the controls work so well, you can dial it out without ruining the tone at all.

I would probably still have a 335 as well. A really good Gibbo 335 is an amazing thing. Finding one is a bit more of a challenge. And I hate the skinny necks on regular production 335's. So options are limited even further...

Trotter

beautiful. Have a wow from me