# General Mandolin Topics > General Mandolin Discussions >  Collings love

## mandocaster

I know that some people say that Collings mandolins are built by soulless robots, but my MF-5V has a lot of soul.  I particularly love the sweetness of the high register, the cut of the middle, and the thump of the lows.  I assume there are a few fans out there?  Their least expensive A model sounds amazing, as well.

----------


## JeffD

I have loved every Collings I have tried. I especially like the MT. 

Actually I have yet to meet anyone who didn't like Collings mandolins, and if the reviews on here are any indication there are many who love them.

----------


## JeffD

And you have a real beauty there.

----------


## Mike Bunting

> I know that some people say that Collings mandolins are built by soulless robots,


I've never heard that. Who says that?

----------

Misty Stanley-Jones

----------


## JeffD

The Collings MT is the one f hole mandolin that, to my ears, closely resembled the sound of an oval hole. I was in Pickers Supply, in Fredericksburg VA, and heard someone playing on a mandolin. Thought it was an oval hole and was surprised to see it wasn't. I then tried an MT, and, its a real real nice instrument.

----------


## mandocaster

> I've never heard that. Who says that?


Well, swipes are made at the CNC stuff.

----------


## Russ Donahue

I've had reason to talk with folks at Collings of late and found them to be quite proud of their work and  exceptional in terms of customer service.  

The MT I own has the voice of an angel, and I enjoy the same experience that Jeff describes above every time I pick her up to play...

----------


## Stok

I love the collings mando sound. Not that big of a fan of their guitars actually. But a collings mandolin is probably what I'm gonna buy when ever I feel like I've gotten good enough to deserve one, I guess it's my dream mandolin, I want one very similar to yours

----------


## Caleb

Collings is my dream mandolin (someday!), and having taken their factory tour, I can tell you for sure there is plenty of soul involved.  Lots of bench time and talent involved every step of the way.  It actually looks like a very cool place to work and be a part of.  I was there over two hours, was treated very well, and didn't really want to leave.

And, beautiful mandolin, by the way, mandocaster!

----------


## F-2 Dave

I love my MT.

----------


## Michael Weaver

Yeah using a CNC machine to take the grunt work out doesn't seem soulless to me. I think if most guys could get their hands on a CNC machine I don't think they would say that. It still leaves a ton for the luthier to do....but less than not having one. I've never seen a CNC machine that built an instrument by itself. It's also a lot more accurate allowing for persistence. Every Collings I have played I have liked. I'm sure yours wouldn't be any different.

Edit: by the way. I have heard the exact same thing.

----------


## Douglas McMullin

I have never played a Collings mandolin, guitar or uke that I didn't like.

----------


## Bradley

That is a beautiful instrument and will hold its own with anything made today or yesterday. For my ear some of the lower end Collings are too bright but when you start getting to the MF5 and above everyone I have played is flawless and sound great. Collings mandolins deserve more recognition and I believe they will get it when a few Pro players are seen with them. Look at what Steffey did for Northfield and Daley, he put them on the map big time.

----------


## bassthumper

Although I have'nt advertised it yet.... health issues dictate I sell my Collings MF.... it's one of the earlier (older) Collings and has been described as a BEAST... it deserves new strings and someone to play the taters out of it on a regular basis.... before I put her in the classifieds perhaps one of ya'll may be...or know someone who may be interested... presently I'm in a hospitol and the MF is safely guarded in another state... logistics could be overcome.... let me know...

----------


## oldwave

Beautiful instrument, they are exquisitely made and are very responsive. I love my birds eye maple MT-2, I plan on buying an Mf-5 to match it some day. You are a lucky man.

----------


## yankees1

Thank Tom Ellis as this is where Mr Collings learned to make mandolins !

----------


## devildog

+1 on loving my lefty MT.  Wonderful construction, sound and action.  My second one. The first was wide nut and I prefer the standard width i have now.

----------


## Zissou Intern

Well, actually, I believe you can thank Mike "Nugget" Kemnitzer, for it is he who mentored Bill Collings through the initial mandolin building process. Nugget also helped Bill get all the spec's dialed into his CNC machines and hand built the first two prototypes for the Tim O' Signature models.

----------

Tom Sanderson

----------


## Mandobar

> Thank Tom Ellis as this is where Mr Collings learned to make mandolins !


I've heard different stories, Nugget, Kimble, ……now Ellis.

----------


## StevieBGoode

My wife and I took the Collings shop tour a few weeks ago.  Didn't see any soulless robots.  Saw some CNC machines and a large number of skilled craftspersons.

-- Steve

----------


## ellisppi

When Bill started to develop the Collings mandolin, he did consult with Nugget, Gilchrist and Kimble. As most of you know, he spent 6 years working in my shop beside me 1980-86, but I don't how much he learned from me, probably how NOT to do it.

----------

AubreyK, 

dreadhead, 

F-2 Dave, 

John Soper, 

Mark Wilson, 

robert.najlis, 

Tom Sanderson, 

Zissou Intern

----------


## John Soper

I'd put a smiley on my thanks if I could... you do a lot that's right.

----------


## Russ Jordan

The first Collings mandolins were sold in 1999.  On Kimble website, Will says he started building in 2000.  How much Kimble input into Collings mandolin development could there have been?

----------


## Ivan Kelsall

For some folks,the mere thought of having anything other than human hands doing _all_ the work doesn't gel. Similar thoughts have from time to time been levelled at Bruce Weber's outfit. I'd still think my Weber "Fern" sounded superb if most of the work had been done by CNC milling -_ it's the end result that counts,not the process whereby it gets there !_. Your Collings looks like a super instrument,as have been the few Colling' i've seen myself - enjoy it & forget what the 'detractors' say, :Wink: 
                                                                                                                                                 Ivan :Chicken:

----------


## pheffernan

> The Collings MT is the one f hole mandolin that, to my ears, closely resembled the sound of an oval hole. I was in Pickers Supply, in Fredericksburg VA, and heard someone playing on a mandolin. Thought it was an oval hole and was surprised to see it wasn't. I then tried an MT, and, its a real real nice instrument.


That observation interests me because the Collings MT was my gateway drug to the world of f-holes. Coming from a guitar background, but not a bluegrass one, I started off with familiar flattop constructions and oval holes; even when I was ready to make a more significant purchase, I focused on a vintage Gibson and found my snakehead. I bought the Colings more out of curiosity, comforting myself that I had a lengthy approval period, but by the time that date arrived, there was no way I was returning it.

----------


## John Hill

I will always regret selling my MT. Great instrument at any price point.

----------

Douglas McMullin

----------


## lenf12

Collings mandolins are built by soulless robots. There, I said it............ :Wink: 

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

ps - Beautiful MF-5V you got there. The robots may be soulless but the mandolins have plenty of soul in spades.

----------


## Douglas McMullin

> I will always regret selling my MT. Great instrument at any price point.


Ditto.

----------


## Steve Ostrander

Without the CNC machine the MT would cost 5k.

I owned an MT and it sounded nothing like an oval. It sounded great, but not oval-like at all.

----------

Mandobar

----------


## Zissou Intern

Tom, thanks for jumping in. I didn't know Bill worked in your shop. He, no doubt, learned much about mandolin construction from from you. And I'd bet it wasn't how how to NOT do it. (The only one of your mandolins I have played, an F5, was as good as it gets in tone, fit, finish, aesthetics, and ergonomics.) Mike told me, first hand, what he did for Bill when Bill geared up for building mandolins and getting the TimO model started.

----------


## Zissou Intern

I have never heard about the "soulless robots", but I have heard "untouched by human hands". ;-)

----------


## Mandobar

The mandolins have evolved over time.  Bill's not one to stand still, and they are still evolving.  I know that will did some work on the varnished mandolins with Bill.  I don't think it's who you learn from.  It's what you do with that knowledge that will propel you forward.

Campanella apprenticed with Smart.  Yet, his mandolins look nothing like Lawrence's.  

You know, there are a lot of small man shops using CNC.  It takes the burden and the stress off your hands.  Personally, how you build it does not concern me.  The end result is what I am most interested in.




> The first Collings mandolins were sold in 1999.  On Kimble website, Will says he started building in 2000.  How much Kimble input into Collings mandolin development could there have been?

----------

Mike Bunting

----------


## Perry Babasin

Kym Warner from the Greencards has been kicking it on his Collings MT2-V, A-style, for years, and he gets amazing tone. BTW he also owns a Collings F but prefers the A. The Greencards guitarist Carl Miner, plays Collings too I believe...

----------


## bayAreaDude

I have an MT2 that I love as well as an amazing OM1A sunburst guitar - hope to have both until I kick the bucket.  I don't know if it's how they tap tune them or what, but it makes me smile when I bring a string up to pitch - hard to describe, but it gets so much louder and the vibrations get so strong - every time it's like 'yes!'.  They're cool people too - I emailed them a while back asking about tuners and they sent me replacement buttons in a different color free of charge.

----------


## Will Kimble

I love Collings guitars and mandolins and have had a couple very intense and animated discussions with Bill Collings, I may have got him thinking a little but I certainly didn't teach him anything. However I did order the first varnish Collings guitar, wish I still had it...

Will Kimble
www.kimblemandolins.com

----------


## WrapAround

I like Collings because they sound very consistent from one to another within the series/models they offer. This makes they very mail order friendly as well. While I like their mandolins (I own a MTO), I have yet to play a Collings guitar that I like.

----------


## mandopete

Going on 10 years with my MF5 and I still love it.  no idea where the notion of soulless robots comes from.

----------


## rfloyd

"... health issues dictate I sell my Collings MF... presently I'm in a hospitol and the MF is safely guarded in another state... logistics could be overcome.... let me know..."

Bassthumper, 

Best wishes, and here's hoping you're back on your feet playing something in the near future.

----------

bassthumper

----------


## mandocaster

I made up the "soulless robot" thing.  Admittedly, no one actually used the word "robot", and I kind of regret saying it.  Often, though, discussions of "Collings vs whatever" generate a post that mentions lack of soul.  The high quality control and consistent excellence of tonal properties are used as a criticism.  I've been loving mine for eight years.

----------


## CSIMelissa

NEver played one but they are gorgeous! American made so they HAVE to sound good! Yours is a beauty

----------


## Cheryl Watson

The luthiers at Collings are definitely not soulless, more like extremely dedicated and exacting.  I've always wanted a Collings instrument. Maybe someday.

----------


## bruce.b

I just love the sound of the new Collings tenor guitar.

----------


## lukmanohnz

I've played a half dozen Collings mandolins and guitars. Every one of them was a beautiful looking and beautiful sounding instrument that played like butter and sounded like heaven.  I would LOVE to get a model A Collings someday.  The only negative comment I ever heard about a Collings mandolin is that they are 'thin top' instruments that provide instant gratification but won't ever develop a more refined tone with age as a result of their construction.  I have no idea if this is true, as I am not a sophisticated connoisseur of high end mandolins.  I just know what I like.  And I like Collings instruments - even if I don't own one.

----------


## mandocaster

> they are 'thin top' instruments that provide instant gratification but won't ever develop a more refined tone with age as a result of their construction.


I haven't heard that one before.

----------


## pheffernan

> I would LOVE to get a model A Collings someday.  The only negative comment I ever heard about a Collings mandolin is that they are 'thin top' instruments that provide instant gratification but won't ever develop a more refined tone with age as a result of their construction.  I have no idea if this is true, as I am not a sophisticated connoisseur of high end mandolins.


My guess is that the comment was made because the MT comes with an Engelmann as opposed to a traditional Adirondack spruce top. Engelmann has a reputation for sounding broken in from the beginning and thus not showing the gains that Adirondack can.

----------


## Mandobar

> I've played a half dozen Collings mandolins and guitars. Every one of them was a beautiful looking and beautiful sounding instrument that played like butter and sounded like heaven.  I would LOVE to get a model A Collings someday.  The only negative comment I ever heard about a Collings mandolin is that they are 'thin top' instruments that provide instant gratification but won't ever develop a more refined tone with age as a result of their construction.  I have no idea if this is true, as I am not a sophisticated connoisseur of high end mandolins.  I just know what I like.  And I like Collings instruments - even if I don't own one.


Not thin topped by a long shot.

----------


## Jim Garber

I recently was at acousticmsuic.org in Guilford, CT and played quite a few of the Collngs mandolins there. I have to say that there were some that did not move me but the one that did was a varnish custom MT2V in a tangerine burst finish. One of their higher priced As but I have to say that were I in the market for such a thing (I am not) that would certainly be in the running.

----------


## Jesse Harmon

Hmm, Who would you be trying to convince you are not in the Market for such a thing?  (yet?)

----------


## Jim Garber

There are plenty of mandolins I would die for at the moment and I liked that one but it would not be #1 on my list. However, my list is prob much different from many other folks here. Just saying...

----------


## Dan Margolis

Plenty of humans touch each Collings instrument as its made.  It's a crazier world than I thought if folks get defensive about owning a Collings.

----------


## Dan Margolis

> I made up the "soulless robot" thing. Admittedly, no one actually used the word "robot", and I kind of regret saying it. Often, though, discussions of "Collings vs whatever" generate a post that mentions lack of soul. The high quality control and consistent excellence of tonal properties are used as a criticism. I've been loving mine for eight years.


If it's played soulfully, it'll have soul.

----------


## mandocaster

> If it's played soulfully, it'll have soul.


Naturally. That applies to a Rogue mandolin, as well. It is a big old crazy world, though. The search for new discussion topics can be difficult. I started the thread with the intent of letting Collings fans show their love.

----------


## dreadhead

I finally picked up my MT2 a few weeks ago and played with my regular picking partner for the first time with it today. I expected it to be better than my 600VS, but not this much better. The one I bought is slightly used and hasn't been played much. If the adi on this mando is anything like the adi on my Martins, then the sound should only improve the more I play it. I'm loving my Collings!

----------


## AlanN

I have played exactly one Collings F-5 copy. It was a beauty to look at, hold and play. I've heard those knocks against Collings. I always thought them to be shallow.

----------


## Jesse Harmon

I love my Collings Mandola, just wish I had more time lately to do it the justice that it deserves.  How sweet it is to be in the position to pick up my Rigel, National, Am Conservatory Bowl back or Collings Mandola, all slightly different in sound.  Glad I don't have to pick a single kind of sound I like as the only kind.  I played an Ellis which eats away at my mind in weaker moments.  I'm still in awe of some of the collections by cafe members.

----------

