Pickup science (Summer NAMM 2007, part four)

July 30th, 2007

On Saturday afternoon, the Collings Guitars crew assembled in a conference room to show off some of their electrics. On hand were pickup winder Jason Lollar and Austin guitar tech Ed Reynolds, each of whom have helped Bill Collings match his vision of what an electric guitar should sound like. Demonstrating each of the models was acclaimed Berklee School of Music professor Jim Kelly; he did a great job of putting each guitar through its paces using a Fender amp and then a new Austin Tone Lab amp. (Kelly was also a special guest at the Collings’ Continental Club party on Saturday).

As you may have read, Collings tried out a lot of pickup manufacturers before settling on the Lollars they now all use. One thing I hadn’t seen previously was this prototype electric guitar that Collings made so that they could quickly try out different pickup combinations and A/B several without a ton of installation work.

Weirdly enough, minutes after I admired the Collings prototype above, I noticed this over at the TV Jones booth: a similar guitar with removable pickups. Great minds think alike!-JV

Entry Filed under: Guitar, Amps, Summer NAMM 2007