James Collins electric guitars are made by hand using natural materials. As such each instrument is a unique creation with its own musical voice tailored to your needs as a player.
If this is your first experience with luthier-made instruments then we are happy to welcome you to a global community of guitarists who are looking for something outside of the big names. You may be a long-term collector or a new player – we make no judgements about what stage of the journey you are on. Anyone prepared to invest time in music making gets our attention and respect.
The electric guitar is a relatively young instrument – less than 100 years old at the time of writing and continues to prove itself an almost limitless blank canvas for musicians to express themselves. We appreciate and understand traditional designs from Gibson, Fender and Gretsch but despite James’s decades of expertise we would take no joy from recreating well-trodden paths. If you’re reading this then the chances are you feel the same.
Whereas the big labels use heavy machinery to produce many hundreds of guitars in a single day James works to tolerances of thousands of an inch by hand. No two of his guitars are exactly alike and that is intentional.
Working with natural, hygrokinetic materials brings its own challenges and if you are the original owner then your guitar has a lifetime warrantee. That is the life of the luthier – not the instrument. James chooses each piece of wood for its musical rather than aesthetic properties and he treats his materials with the utmost respect.
In short, you can expect an expertly made and highly responsive instrument with a detailed and inspiring voice with which to make music.
It will also look gorgeous.
The Process
We are delighted that you have chosen James Collins to create your new instrument. We do our best to make things as streamlined as possible throughout the process.
Initial Consultation
We will arrange for you to have a 1-on-1 chat with James to decide the specifications of your instrument in a 45 minute initial consultation. Following this a full spec list and quote will be sent to you for approval.
Payment
A deposit of 10% of the value of the guitar as quoted will get you in the build queue.
A further payment of 40% is due upon commencement of the build.
The remainder is due when the guitar is ready to hit the spray booth – at this point we should be just three 3 weeks away from completion.
Any and all shipping charges are to be paid when the guitar is ready to go.
