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A Modern Classic
Collings has been a high-quality acoustic guitar maker for some years now, and whether or not you are a fan, nobody can fault the flawless construction of their guitars. Now Collings is making electrics from jazz boxes to rockin’ solidbodies. The new 360 (named for a Texas highway) is at the low end of Collings’ line of solidbodies, but it is far from a low-end guitar. The body is sort of a stretched Les Paul shape, which is pleasing to my eye, though the 360 is thinner and lighter than an LP. The vintage Tobacco Sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer finish is flawless, period. Collings offers some options here, including parallelogram inlays, flame maple neck and quilted maple top. Our sample 360 has a shimmering curly maple carved top on a one-piece mahogany body, with a 24-7/8" scale mahogany neck (with 1-11/16" nut width), Indian rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays and an ebony peghead overlay—it’s a fine looking geetar.
The old-style top hat knobs are inset in the top, which is a classy looking detail, but may make the knob access feel a bit different to some folks. Two standard Gibson-style volumes and two tones with a 3-way switch are all you need to get some great tones from the Jason Lollar mini-humbuckers. Yes, that’s right, mini-humbuckers here and I like ‘em. Minis to my ear have a sound that has more in common with P-90s than full-size humbuckers—rich and open sounding but with plenty of power. The 360 is wired in what Collings calls ‘50s style, which they tell me means that it’s wired so that the volume control doesn’t make the tone bassier, and indeed the 360 has a nice, even response to the controls. Collings explains it like this: “The ‘50s wiring refers to the fact that we attach the tone circuit to the wiper, or output, of the volume pot instead of the input side, where the pickup comes in. This makes the tone circuit less sensitive, so it doesn’t get muddy when the volume decreases. It helps maintain clarity by not bleeding off the highs as the volume decreases.”
The 360 hardware starts with TonePros bridge and tailpiece, which lock in place so they don’t fall off if you take off all the strings, and they look rock solid. Lastly, the guitar is topped off with Sperzel tuners with vintage white buttons. The tuners work well, but personally I am not keen on the look of the buttons (just my personal taste, many will dig ‘em).
So how’s it sound? Another bit of personal taste here: I love guitars that are resonant, and the 360 is alive. The feel of high quality is obvious as soon as you pick it up. The fretwork is flawless and the setup is right on. The 360 comes strung with .011s, which is an unusual move these days and speaks to the kind of players at whom this guitar is aimed. The neck has a round, old-style LP feel and is very comfy. I plugged it in to my Carr Rambler and got a rich, clean sound with plenty of high overtones and loads of sustain, making this a nice guitar for jazz, roots and blues folks. I am so impressed by how this guitar feels; the body is thinner than a Les Paul, so it’s not too heavy. It feels very lively in your arms and plays perfectly—so I added a distortion box (Baby Blue OD) and tried some rockin’. The Baby Blue is a very transparent box and allows the character of the guitar to come through. The 360 delivers all you would want. For rockin’ some blues, the bridge pickup gives an almost Tele-like sizzle that kicks butt, and I loved the neck pickup for playing some slide. The minis don’t seem to get muddy at all, which can be a problem with full-size humbuckers sometimes. This would be a great roots rock guitar too!
The Final Mojo
So let’s review: the fit and finish are perfect; playability is more of the same—perfectorama; tones are all you might want from this kind of guitar (so again: perfection). Collings guitars are not cheap, but if you are a committed pickerhead this guitar will last a lifetime and reward you every time you play it. Because this is not a standard Les Paul shape, it comes with a nice Armitage fitted hard shell case. Some may be put off by the mini-humbuckers, but you really should give them a try before you just dismiss them. I would like to say something critical, but nothing comes to mind—it’s just that good. So it comes down to whether or not you like the look and feel, and I really do.
Buy if...
you want a high-quality American-made guitar that will last a lifetime.
Skip if...
you're looking for a real shredmeister.
Rating...
MSRP $2900 (base model); $3500 (flame top) - Collings Guitars - collingsguitars.com |
Duane Betts enjoys a control set modification that was preferred by his father, the late, legendary Dickey Betts.
Guest Picker - Duane Betts
Betts’ 1961 ES-335 has its toggle and volume-dial positions switched.
A: My favorite mod is the one on my 1961 Gibson ES-335. The toggle switch and neck volume knob positions have been switched so the volume knob is more accessible for volume swells using your pinky finger. This is something my dad had done when he obtained the guitar in the ’90s as he loved using the volume swell effect.
A pedal primed for vintage fuzz sounds.
Obsession: My current obsession is this DanDrive Secret Machine fuzz that JD Simo gave me a few years ago. I don’t use fuzz often but I’ve loved it as a way to change things up and give the listener something fresh. My normal tone is very natural with the amp turned up. This is just a great fuzz tone that gives me a new angle that I really enjoy pursuing both live and in the studio.
Reader of the Month - Steve Nowicki
A: A push/pull knob for humbucker coil split. It’s a sneaky little mod I throw on my tone pots. You won’t get amazing Strat tone, but the ability to instantly swap between Les Paul chunk and Fender twang during a jam opens a ton of possibilities tonally. Plus, no extra switches or routing needed—even though it’s fun to hack guitars apart.
Obsession: The EVH 5150 Iconic EL34 amp. Owning an 80-watt half-stack in a Brooklyn apartment might be overkill, but damn this amp is awesome. It delivers insane amounts of gain and distortion, yet every little nuance of your playing comes through crystal clear. I pair it with a Bugera Power Soak so I can crank the head and get that warm “Brown Sound” tone at lower volumes.
John Bohlinger - Nashville Correspondent
John Bohlinger and his Lukather-ized Strat.
A: I’ve hacked up a bunch of guitars over the years, but my favorite mod remains the highly intrusive, expensive, and quixotic B-bender install. It is the equivalent of open heart surgery, and there’s no going back—but the first time you play the Clarence White “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” intro right, it’s totally worth it.
John at work. When it comes to mods, he know the drill!
Obsession: I recently filmed a PG video where we swapped pickups in my ’90s Strat with an EMG Lukather set. I never thought I’d go active, but what gets me is how smoothly the volume and tone work. I’m rethinking all my gear biases. Like maybe there’s been some progress since 1957.
Jon Levy - Publisher
Let it bleed: Jon dials back the treble on his Tele.
A: Installing a treble bleed on my volume pots has changed how I play electric guitar. Previously, I never dialed back my volume knob because it dulled my sound. Now I can fine-tune loudness and gain while retaining tone—it’s a game changer. I still swap pickups and hardware, but one mod always comes first: the humble treble bleed.
Did you know both John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page played on Shirley Bassey’s iconic recording of “Goldfinger?”
Obsession: John Paul Jones. I’ve always loved his bass (and other instrumental contributions) with Led Zeppelin. But after seeing the Zep documentary [Becoming Led Zeppelin] I searched his session work from 1964–1968, which includes Shirley Bassey, Lulu, Donovan and more. What an amazingly versatile and talented artist he is!
