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Now in Stock: Collings CWBaaaA

Custom options/Upgrades/Remarks: Adirondack spruce top, Brazilian Rosewood Back & Sides, consignment sale

Collings CW BaaaA, 2003. Many Bluegrass players consider this Collings CWBaaaA to be the holy grail of dreadnoughts. Automatically concluding there has never been a better guitar, maybe except for the Herringbone 1937 original D-28 first owned by Clarence White and now in possession of Tony Rice that was the template for this Famous Collings Winfield. But pre-war D-28 come with price-tags starting at around 100.000Euro; and are therefore only made for the lucky few who can afford one. If you feel there is downside to old guitars, because the construction from the early experimental years might have taken a toll on playability and condition of these pre-war boomers, this is likely one of those ultimate guitars of the new 'Golden Era' we seem to be in right now.

These guitar are perhaps even outdoing the oldies since they are constructed with all the Luthier-wisdom gathered over hundreds of years and the added knowledge of Bill Collings. Certainly it's even rarer than any Pre-war herringbone, will likely they sound the same after a number of years playing, and grow value in similar way. This one already matured very nicely.. The incredible set of oldgrowth, AAA grade Brazilian Rosewood used for back and sides is of a stunning quarter sawn condition. Old growth Brazilian rosewood cut way back in the days. It's said, and I agree, This type of quarter-sawn Brazilian rosewood brings out the very best in guitars.

The deep dark barking growl in the background brings a smile to your face, and the roundness of matured Adirondack adds that magical tonal dimension people buy vintage guitars for. We certainly should spend a few words on the perfectly grained wide (but not to wide) to small grained Adirondack spruce, it's common knowledge the wide to small grained Adirondack structure delivers the best tone. But it's very seldom to find a perfectly grained Adirondack spruce top, and this one is about the closest to perfection you can get! It means the tree this wood came from,  lived a life according to our (musicians) rules, thats just good luck, since the Adirondack spruce tree was first undergoing severe frosty winters and cool summers slowly changing into warmer summers and short winters. Adirondack often shows a bit or red lining hence for the nickname 'red spruce' and it shows very nicely in this beautiful top without getting to reddish!

Most striking when you play the guitar is its incredible deepness and the growl mentioned earlier. If you strum it hard, you expect it will refuse to give back what you have put to it, but this guitar only lets you know you will have to work much harder to find its limits! This CWBaaaA invites you to explore its endless dynamic range. This guitar was built with a bluegrass-player in mind that prefers a neck width that's just a bit wider, 44.45mm (1 3/4″) at the nut. fingerspacing at the bridge is 58mm and the scale length is 650mm. The neck on this guitar doesn’t have the chunky baseball feel but is more or less modern standard profile, making it very comfortable to play. Collings no long offers Brazilian Rosewood in its range or specs-list, it’s rare, and extremely expensive. That is why these unique instruments are only available pre-owned. This guitar is Near mint to Mint condition (we haven't found one single flaw) and comes with its original Hardcase.

Basic specs

• Back/sides: Solid Brazilian Rosewood (CITES under request)
  

• Top Wood: Solid Adirondack Spruce
• Fingerboard: ebony
• Neck Wood: Mahogany
• Body Binding:  Ivoroid
• Fingerboard Binding: Ivoroid
• Headstock Bindings: none
• Fingerboard Inlay: none
• Soundhole inlay: Multiple
• Bridge: Ebony
• Headstyle:  Tapered Square
• Headplate: Solid Ebony
• Pickup: none
• Purfling: Herringbone
• Tuners: Waverly
• Body Size: D
• Scale: 650mm (25.5")
• Nut Width: 43.8mm (1 23/32") 
• String Spacing: 56mm (2 3/16") 

• NO VAT - BTW - MwST included
  
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