I don't get it

[omphalopsychos]

How does Collings get away with charging a premium for this atrocious lacquer checking? I won't even get into relic vs no-relic. Even if you are into relics (I can appreciate a light relic done well), you have to admit this is terrible.

COLLINGS I 30 LC AGED NATURAL W/THROBAK P90S 2022 - Aged | Reverb

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[vinnyv1k]

+1 Yuck !

[ruger9]

Wow that's horrible!

[DawgBone]

I'm not a picky guy but yeah that looks like crap.

Not sure how Collings gets away with any of their pricing tbh. Overrated and overpriced, Collings guitars.

[deacon Mark]

I buy a new guitar I want a new finish. Lots of old guitars to buy if I want that……the whole idea is nuts!!!!!

[zephyrregent]

It doesn't look "reliced" to me. It looks like it melted in the sun. I don't get it either. Vintage enthusiasts want a genuine vintage finish, not this disaster, and those who like new guitars want an unblemished finish. I heard someone dragged Telecasters around a parking lot to get the aged look.

[nyc chaz]

That really is atrocious.I have seen some aged 335 type Collings that looked nice but they really dropped the ball on this one.Have to agee with DawgBone about Collings in general being overpriced.

[Archie]

I think that cracked lacquer look is better when it has the micro cracks all over. That cracking looks like the guitar has been exposed to extreme environments and the finish has failed.

Which is probably exactly how they did it and what subsequently happened.

[Skip Ellis]

Terrible

[Jimmy blue note]

That's an excessive amount of finish checking and cracking. I've seen things like this on poly on a guitar that's been subject to mis handling, either being banged around or temp adjustment shock, but yeah if that's a nitro finish, it was put on heavy and the instrument itself seems to have been subjected to some kind of knock if you ask me.
Notice the way so many fractures originate along lines of a flexing point? All the places where the integrity of the top is breached by a hole for the pots, bridge posts, F holes, they all form a point where the force of an impact will find a flexing point.
I kinda think it may have been dropped in the case, the whole body did a twist knock and the momentary shock wave found a 'fold' that sought out any break in the surface. Now I'd LOVE to see what's going on with the finish on the neck just below the nut. That's the very next place to look after seeing the story of that top.
Intentionally aged? I don't think so. Look at the finish at the neck pocket. It's ALL crackled. You don't "age" that. That's a serious knock and the disruption of the finish tells of a LOT of shock concentrated at one point as the neck was leveraged against the body.

Age-ing and Relic-ing are done under controlled circumstances so it doesn't actually destroy the integrity of the guitar. Those checks are simply chaotic and tell of finish parting ways with the patterned deformation of an instrument that's been subjected to trauma. Most likely a case drop.
I've seen relic-ing. I've seen damage. I've been on the QC line of a big name guitar maker and inspected for signs of trauma.

Very suspicious if anybody is actually trying to claim this was done intentionally. This is like an abusive spouse claiming that a black eye and protruding bone break are just signs of maturity when their spouse "walked into a door".

Don't think that just because it's new that this is not damaged. LOTS of guitars sustain damage in shipping. LOTS. Shame on the receiver for not just sending this back. If it were a relic job, they'd have to be a little dense not to apply an aged finish, or at least an amber patina. Ain't no intentional applied effect. No, I don't think so.

[Cunamara]

Yikes! That really looks like a thick, gloppy finish, probably poly rather than nitro. I've seen vintage guitars with finish checking that was actually pretty attractive, underscoring the seniority of the instrument and usually paired with good, honest playing on all the other parts. I certainly would not pay a premium for that instrument- in fact, I wouldn't even buy it at a steep discount. That poor thing should just be refinished.

[wintermoon]

First thing I thought was the same as what Jimmy and Cunamara thought, looks like poly checking, though on my old poly finish Aria there's only a few checks but mostly of the long vertical variety on top only.
Not being very familiar w the model but what makes this guitar so expensive compared to say a Gibson 330?

[Stringswinger]

I relic my guitars the old fashioned way. I use them on gigs.

[omphalopsychos]

Not being very familiar w the model but what makes this guitar so expensive compared to say a Gibson 330?

Marketing BS.

[wintermoon]

Marketing BS.

I've played a few Collings acoustic guitars way back when Bill was making them. They sounded fine but didn't knock my socks off. They were semi reasonably priced back then.

[omphalopsychos]

I've played a few Collings acoustic guitars way back when Bill was making them. They sounded fine but didn't knock my socks off. They were semi reasonably priced back then.

I’ve never liked Collings acoustics. I’ve owned 3 of their electrics which were cool for their price then (about half what they go for now). Not as inspiring to me as a Gibson, even a contemporary Gibson.

[omphalopsychos]

In contrast here’s some beautiful 70 year old checking on a Gibson I used to own.

[wintermoon]

In contrast here’s some beautiful 70 year old checking on a Gibson I used to own.

Well that's lacquer checking. What finish is on the Collings?

[Hammertone]

1254270]Yikes! That really looks like a thick, gloppy finish, probably poly rather than nitro.

1254288]First thing I thought was the same as what Jimmy and Cunamara thought, looks like poly checking, though on my old poly finish Aria there's only a few checks but mostly of the long vertical variety on top only.

1254301[/URL]]Well that's lacquer checking. What finish is on the Collings?

Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, clearly stated on the Collings website.

[Max405]

Yeah, that’s not right. However, I like the case though. At least it won’t stain the bindings. I think more guitar makers should ship their guitars in cases that have plush white lining.
JD

[Jimmy blue note]

Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, clearly stated on the Collings website.

I've never seen a lacquer applied so heavily as to create this kind of crazing. That comes from a lot of integrity on a surface broken all at once, not like what usually happens on nitro. That's not to say it's not possible, it certainly is, but how many layers of spray did they actually apply? I might put up to 7 nitro coats (with sand backs) and it never comes to nearly the thickness needed to do this. Lacquer is generally applied in a very water thin coat and most of that is vaporized within minutes leaving next to nothing. Subsequent coats 'melt' with previous coats so it results in layers of REALLY thin finish. Poly goes on thick and fast, deadly without a suit, and it's sometimes subject to crazing like what I see here. I HAVE seen and used polys that go on thin and buff out with a lustre not unlike a layered lacquer, but it seems that's not what we're talking here. (You can't layer thin poly because the layers don't amalgamate, so the danger of witness lines from the layers) Oh well. If lacquer it says, lacquer it is. Shame on how it came out either way.
It's hard to introduce chaos in a controlled manner (relic). I hope it finds an appreciative match, maybe a guitar player who's been recently mauled by a bear? To every guitar, hopes for the right player.

[skykomishone]

It looks bad.
Like taken from a 120 degree room into a subzero freezer.

[omphalopsychos]

The collings guitar is definitely nitro. To be fair, I've seen some nitro checking on vintage guitars that isn't as beautiful as others. (Example below)

First instrument: 1953 Gibson ES 175. Gorgeous checking. Notice that there isn't really much checking on the neck, although there are dings.




Second Instrument: 2021 Murphy Lab ES 355. It's not perfect but it's MUCH better than Collings (checking as well as tone). I think they overdid the checking on the neck. However, I will say, when you know what 70 year old lacquer feels like, you know how its supposed to feel. Gibson really nailed that with this guitar. The neck feels just like my 53 ES 175 (slightly different dimensions).

Third instrument: Nach Banos Telecaster. Nacho is highly regarded for his ability to recreate aging and wear patterns. I got luck and got one that didn't look too beat up. It looks more authentic than the Murphy Lab for sure.


Final instrument: 1957 ES 175. This one recently traveled during a heat wave and to my disappointment experience some less-than-stellar checking. It doesn't matter to me now as much as it probably will if I try to sell it (yes those are PAFs). It's definitely lacquer, not poly. But this is an example of what extreme temperature shocks do to an instrument compared to gradual expansion/contraction of guitars over the years that causes the nitro to expand and crack like the 53 ES 175 above.

[ruger9]

THAT is what real checking is supposed to look like!

[omphalopsychos]

I also have guitars from the 50s with absolutely no checking. The prior owners must have kept them in a case in a climate controlled environment, as the finish looks practically new (with no sign at all of overspray).