My guitar collection - Collings
When the dreadnought was introduced by Martin now more than a century ago, it was not a guitar with a square shouldered body, 14 frets to the body, and a solid headstock. Rather, it was a slope shouldered model with 12 frets to the body and a slotted headstock. The body of a Collings DS is a little longer compared to its more popular D-model (see my D2H ), i.e. 20⅞” vs 20”, respectively. This affects the placement of the ebony bridge which is more central on the lower bout. Other dimensions of this model are a body width of 15⅝”, 4⅞” body depth, a total length of 40⅛”, but still a 25½” scale length. The Adirondack spruce top gives it a wide dynamic response. This particular DS is a Hill Country build (HC), introduced to the Collings lineup in late-2024, which gives it “... a strong fundamental voice that is both warm and woody.” Collings acoustics are known for their modern sound: somewhat bright with a lot of articulation. This does not take away there has been an ask for a more old time-y vibe in a Collings. The first step was set while Bill was still alive with the Traditional builds. My CJ-45 T is an excellent example where Collings comes much closer to, if not nails, the sound one expects from a Gibson J-45. The Hill Country is the next step in the journey to have an available choice of a Collings acoustic with a truly vintage sound, now more in the pre-war Martin vein. As such, these HC builds have their own construction employing pre-war HC bracing, absence of a tongue brace, an ultra thin high-gloss nitrocellulose finish used on the complete guitar, a custom made, hand-poured tortoise pickguard with matching rosette and butt wedge, a Honduran mahogany neck with a beefier DS Hill Country profile, and a custom solid headstock, instead of the usual open headstock on a DS. Hence, relic 20:1 gear ratio Waverly nickel-plated tuning machines are used. And on this particular guitar, the top has a Hill Country Sunburst. Instead of appearing on the front, the Collings logo on all Hill Country builds is stamped on the back, something also seen since olden days on Collings headstocks with elaborate inlays. Otherwise, it has similar specs and appointments as the aforementioned D2HA: East Indian rosewood back and sides, belly style ebony bridge with cut-through, aged bone saddle, ebony fingerboard with gold Mother-of-Pearl long diamond & squares position markers, aged bone nut, 2-style zipper backstrip, and an East Indian rosewood headstock veneer. Apparently, no TaylorWare hardshell case is available in the proper size because a TKL case is provided. The webpage on the Collings site can be found here:
Collings DS2 A SB HC
The story behind this guitar
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The title of this page indicates the kind of DS2 I was looking for among the many available versions. The reasons were 2 fold. First, I wanted to have something complementary to my D2HA, i.e. it needed to have an Adirondack top and East Indian back and sides. Second, it would be nice to have at least one Hill Country build in the collection. It was between that or a really early Collings DS2 from the ‘90s or go for a non-HC DS2 with Madagascar rosewood back and sides for about the same price. The latter would be nice in lieu of Brazilian but all my other rosewood acoustics are East Indian. So why not retain that here? My thoughts are that not withstanding the historical significance and sentimental reasons, one has to question whether Brazilian or Madagascar rosewood is really so much better to justify the higher cost? I believe that question can be answered in the negative given the preponderance of modern data. When the quoted body dimensions for this slope shoulder are taken as for a shoebox, this would actually be the biggest flattop model they offer, larger than my D2HA, CJ Mh ASB, CJ-45 T, or SJ. I do not want to waste water nor guitars trying to figure out what the correct order is. Lets leave it at this guitar is big! This DS2 A SB HC was purchased through Eddie’s Guitars in Maplewood, MO, one of 2 stores I was tracking for this model. I bought it through their website with a 10% September discount. Comparing to buying the same guitar on Reverb, that resulted in quite the savings. Whereas the DS2 A HC offered by the other store had the traditional slotted headstock, I do not mind the solid headstock on this guitar. Certainly not after I noticed the DS2 A HC pictured on the Collings page linked above also has a solid headstock. And it makes changing strings a little easier. The sound is as advertised: dryer and pronounced. I dropped a humidifier on the strings and they rang like a piano. Beautiful! A great addition.
The story behind this guitar
August 13, 2026
36904
Hill Country Sunburst, solid headstock
