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Thread: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

  1. #1
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    i remember reading probably a year or more ago about Bill Collings working on his own cases to be made inhouse.

    i just noticed this at elderlys, yes its expensive, but i wonder what its made of. the shape is definitely more curved in areas than the old standard TKL that carried Collings to thier new homes.

    speculate its maybe a carbon fiber with covering to have this old standard appearance-need to call or email Collings to find out specifics. latches look more robust, etc.

    anyone have the skinny on these?

    http://www.elderly.com/collings-delu...dolin-case.htm
    Collings Deluxe Mandolin Case



    $765.00


    In stock
    sku: COLDXC-FMAN

    Brand: Collings


    Small, light, and strong. Built with the careful attention to detail that Collings gives to all its instruments. Perfectly contoured to the F-mandolin body inside and out. Silky green plush rayon lining will not react with lacquer. Latches and hardware specially designed and made. A perfected version of 30's era cases. Small oval nameplate near handle includes engraved serial number. Weighs approximately 4.7 lbs. Made in USA at Collings' Austin, Texas case factory.

  2. #2
    Registered User Stephen Cagle's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    That case looks like a 150 dollar tkl /
    Maybe just how I'm looking at it I don't know.....what's yall's thoughts?? 😕

  3. #3

    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Cagle View Post
    That case looks like a 150 dollar tkl /
    Maybe just how I'm looking at it I don't know.....what's yall's thoughts?? ��
    I had the same thought... If I spend $750 on a case, I want it to be flight-worthy like a Calton if I'm forced to gate-check it. That case looks like a super-nice TKL but not really flight worthy. Maybe we're wrong and someone will correct us..

    I hope it has the Collings smell!
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    Site founder Scott Tichenor's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Have seen and inspected closely. Nothing out there like it and you'd have to see one to get it. It's what old Geib cases can only dream of being in the afterlife. May have to have one. Not a TKL. Not even close, not in the ballpark.

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    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I'm sure that case is all Scott says, but the price point is going to be one heck of a challenge, with much stronger (I presume) flight cases at right about the same price. Collings may be a genius, but he's not a magician. And no case can be all things to all people. And I don't think this case was designed with the baggage hold of an airplane in mind. Instead, it's a modern, improved version of a the classic fitted cases of the first half of the 20th c.

    Now with guitars and banjos, the flight cases are heavy enough to be a bit of a pain for non flight uses. But with mandolins, even a Calton is fairly easy to carry around. So I think this is a fairly rarified niche. Looks nice, though...
    Last edited by BradKlein; May-18-2016 at 11:31pm.
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    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    It has some very attractive curves if you look close. Knowing what Bill Collings does when he makes something, i felt this would be a super premium case for real world use. I bet its Calton protection with a lighter weight.

    I'll email or call Collings/and or Demetrius at Elderlys tomorrow and get back with more info.

    I like!
    I'm always drawn to the $ items............

    d

    ** owners of the Calton mandolin cases-how much do those weigh?

  10. #7

    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Quote Originally Posted by darylcrisp View Post
    It has some very attractive curves if you look close. Knowing what Bill Collings does when he makes something, i felt this would be a super premium case for real world use. I bet its Calton protection with a lighter weight.

    I'll email or call Collings/and or Demetrius at Elderlys tomorrow and get back with more info.

    I like!
    I'm always drawn to the $ items............

    d

    ** owners of the Calton mandolin cases-how much do those weigh?
    8lbs... dont own but I saw earlier today

  11. #8
    wood butcher Spruce's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor View Post
    Have seen and inspected closely. Nothing out there like it and you'd have to see one to get it. It's what old Geib cases can only dream of being in the afterlife. May have to have one. Not a TKL. Not even close, not in the ballpark.
    Yep...
    Bill was pretty proud of that case, and with good reason. Just a well-built unit, like just about everything else he touches...


  12. #9
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    (weights taken on a neonatal unit in our hospital-so not junk and out of calibration, etc)

    i just weighed my TKL that came with the Northfield F5S( its not the higher grade TKL that comes standard with a Collings MF-but it is arch top) and it was 5lbs even.

    TKL that came with my Collings MF has more substantial latches, and overall slightly more robust build in looks, leather wrapped firm handle, green material and firm foam inside liner, and weighs in at 6.2 lbs

    So this being around 4 lb 7 oz(based on elderlys ad)would be more light. and i'm sure very protective, well fitted and built with surgical precision.

    impressive.
    and yes, i want one too.

    d
    Last edited by darylcrisp; May-19-2016 at 1:40am. Reason: removed all items in NF case to reweigh

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    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    As a fan of Pegasus fiberglass cases, I like the similar shape of this Collings case. Form-fitted cases are very easy to fit into a tightly packed car with PA gear and other instruments, or the overhead bin on a plane. It's good to see a lighter-weight option in this shape too, for those who don't like the weight of fiberglass cases.

    On the other hand... I can carry my Peg out in the rain and not worry about it, because it has a very good weather seal (six latches and a tongue/groove seal). It's a good case for conditions up here in the Pacific Northwest. I think I'd want a waterproof cover for that Collings case. Anyway, kudos for offering another option in a well-made case.

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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I does resemble the TKL 'shaped' case,why shouldn't it,but i suspect that as Scott implies,that it's made to a higher standard. My Lebeda "Special" was shipped up to me in a shaped TKL case & it rattled around in what i thought was a pretty flimsy shell. I'd reckon that Colling's new case is made from wooden plies,which,if the right type of wood is used,can be made light & very strong.
    I somehow doubt it they'd cover a fibreglass shell in leatherette material. Why it's costing so much i don't know. A CF Hoffe case is currently $800 US & this case is $750 US. Anyway,as they say - ''You pays your money & takes your choice''. I would however,expect the case to be of 'superior quality',but it is pricey & i could be wrong re.the shell material,

    Foldedpath - Both the TKL shaped & rectangular cases has a similar lid design. My TKL rect.case in which my Lebeda mandolin is housed,has been subject to torrential rain several times (i'm a non driver), & not one molecule of water has got into it. I'd expect every maker of decent cases to get that aspect right,
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    If you see one of these cases in person you would just be in awe. While not for everyone, they leave TKL, who should be ashamed of the quality of their product, in the dust. You spend 10k+ on a mandolin and then have to deal with a case where the latches don't meet right and one comes off in your hand, well, these cases are a breath of fresh air.

    Not everyone is discounting these cases either. There's no margin on them, and they are selling at a lot of dealers for $850. As with everything else, not for everyone, but a quality product always finds its market.

    These are nothing like a TKL. Absolutely no comparison.
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  19. #13
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    and I mistyped the cost at Elderly, its $765(not $750).

    d

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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Well ....I agree, I can't see spending that much money on a case that is not flight rated. I suspect it has all the differences between a working case and a great case. But a price point of literally five times the cost of a something "satisfactory" I just don't for see it gaining much of a following. But then I drive a Toyota not a Land Rover for a fiscal reason. I do recall the handmade Gibson / Loar era replica cases going for north of 500.00$, and me thinking " that would be nice". Time will tell. R/
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Love paradigms on parade. It sort of has the look of a TKL or Geib, so therefore that must be the goal. It has the cost of a flight case so therefore it must serve that purpose. Not the way Bill Collings works. You don't get the superior balance or the feel in hand with pictures. You don't experience how much better the latches are on the case or the fact they were smart enough to leave off the annoying (my opinion) lock near the center with the key--the one so rarely used on Geibs that are all lost. You don't get how much better the bedding where the instrument rests is compared to other cases. You don't get the feel of the exterior which looks TKL but isn't. Only stating it won't sell, which has nothing but opinion backing the statement, woefully neglects the question of "what is the true value of a crappy case your mandolin sits in, and was it worth the price you paid?"

    Bill Collings builds products for people that are passionate about stringed instruments. Go to a NAMM Show and see firsthand the reactions from musicians and dealers. This is Bill's market and simply an extension of his other pursuits towards building a better version of something we're all used to. The guitar dealers I know are pretty much flipping out over the guitar cases. As a mandolin enthusiast, I get what's going on here.

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  23. #16
    two t's and one hyphen fatt-dad's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    can I get one in the a-model? I love the idea of a high-quality old-school case.

    f-d
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor View Post

    Bill Collings builds products for people that are passionate about stringed instruments.
    Yeah, I'm sitting here trying to think of something that Bill has made that wasn't arguably "best in show"...

    Guitars and mandolins, obviously...
    Electric and archtop guitars, hell yeah...
    Tenor guitars, yep.
    Ukuleles? I think Collings ukes are the best ukes ever made...and did you ever see one of the archtop ukes?
    Oh my goodness...
    Probably my favorite uke on planet earth.

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  26. #18
    Site founder Scott Tichenor's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    What I had to say about this very case on January 22 and January 23.

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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I need to try one out. I am looking for a case I would be comfortable checking my mandolin on an overseas flight, or shipping it overseas. This might be it.
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  29. #20
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Can't wait till they release a case for my Collings CJ35. The TKL that it came with is very heavy and very bulky.

  30. #21
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Quote Originally Posted by UsuallyPickin View Post
    Well ....I agree, I can't see spending that much money on a case that is not flight rated.
    Well, "flight rated' is an actual specification for cases intended to be checked as baggage (ATA Spec 300, Category 1), like the cases made by Anvil and others.

    Composite shell cases by Carlton, Pegasus, or Hiscox aren't flight rated in that sense. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable checking any of those as baggage if I could avoid it. I'd want an Anvil ATA or mil-spec case with plenty of foam surround for shock protection. But then I wouldn't want to drag one of those ATA cases around outside an airport either. I did that for years with film and lighting equipment, and it's not fun.

  31. #22

    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I will never be comfortable checking a mandolin as baggage, regardless the case. But I'm not a professional/traveling musician who is routinely faced with this dilemma. If my mandolin was the vehicle of my livelihood (it isn't) and cost thousands of dollars, I wouldn't blink an eye at $765 to protect it in style. I bought my first decent mandolin used, and it came with a comparably used Boulder Alpine gig bag. It's still there. My more recent model A mando came with a decent hardshell case included in the price. Would I love to have it in a model A version of the Collings case? Yes. Would I buy one? No. Was Bill Collings thinking of me when he designed this beautiful case? I'm certain he wasn't. Will he sell lots of them? I'm certain he will.
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  33. #23
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I called Collings just now, here's the spill, in my words.

    Bill wanted a quality case where your mandolin drops in and fits-you don't have to push and pull material to get your F points in first, latches work as they should and smoothly, hinges work and stay straight, light and balanced to carry.

    Wood laminate, amp grade covering, did not build it to be specified as "flight grade worthy", high grade everything used inside(lining material). Response from dealers and purchasers has been beyond expectations, the guitar cases as well highly received by new owners, supply is low on everything and they are backlogged with orders. A style to follow-no time line yet.

    Whats that old saying............."build it right and they will come"

    d
    Last edited by darylcrisp; May-19-2016 at 11:19am.

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  35. #24

    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    Just saw one; The fit and finish are lovely, there is multi-density foam used throughout, and the velvetine has a really nice hand. That said, I think there are other cases on the market at this pricepoint (or lower) that have some better qualities for a flight case.

  36. #25

    Default Re: $750 Collings mandolin case at elderlys

    I believe the F style case fits an A as well. There are a lot of vintage collectors buying these cases for their vintage instruments (especially guitars). While production is limited, these are selling quite well.
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