Sapphire GTO by Michael Watts for Guitar Magazine

James Collins Sapphire Signature GTO – a eye-catching hollowbody guitar that showcases some of the best of boutique British luthiery

This high-priced but extremely high-end electric might look like an ES, but a closer inspection reveals a truly different and unique hollowbodied instrument – and not just because of the soundhole.

Although the history of the electric guitar is a story of mass production, there is a global community of luthiers who specialise in individual instruments made by hand. One of these is James Collins – a graduate of the prestigious Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair – who builds a selection of solid and semi-hollow electric instruments from his workshop in East Sussex UK. This deep blue Sapphire Signature GTO model being a prime example of his top-of-the-range offering.

How is this different from other ES-style guitars?

A double-cutaway ES-style guitar with a dramatic swept crescent F-hole on the bass side, the GTO Sapphire is not your average Gibsonclone. Yes, you have a 24.75” scale and a pair of humbuckers (more of which later) but the construction is very different.

The body is made of book-matched flamed maple (not laminate) and what appears at first glance to be a spruce centre block is in fact an integral part of the hollowed-out body and instead of the traditional bent maple top seen on Gibsons and Gretsches for decades, we have a hand-carved soundboard of European spruce. This takes us firmly into real Gibson/D’Aquisto archtop territory. Very interesting.

This cobalt blue instrument was built in tribute to the legendary archtop guitar luthier Steve Grimes – in particular the Jazz Laureate that Grimes created as part of the much-vaunted Blue Guitar Collection commissioned by the late super collector Scott Chinery in the 1990s and now under the stewardship of The Archtop Foundation USA.

As such the whole instrument is finished in deep blue nitrocellulose (not the legendarily volatile Mohawk lacquer no. 520-4146 that ennobled all but one of the 22 guitars Chinery commissioned) and the hand-made binding, switch tip and pickup surrounds are curly Hawaiian Koa as a further tribute to the beautiful island of Maui where Grimes makes his masterpieces.

The glued-on neck is also made from flamed maple – there’s a natural finish stringer of flamed maple running the whole length of the guitar which culminates in an inset laser-engraved coin on the back of the headstock with the instrument’s serial number. You don’t see that every day.

There’s an ebony fretboard with a delicate maple sound wave inlay and mother-of-pearl microdot position markers in between the medium frets. Intriguingly the neck joins the body at the 18th fret rather than the 16th.

The hardware is all high quality, from the nickel Grover machine heads to the Tone Pros bridge. The controls are a simplified arrangement of single volume and tone controls – these have been carefully recessed into the body of the instrument. It’s a sophisticated approach.

Flipping the blue beast over gives me a chance to admire the flamed maple control cavity cover which is perfectly cut from the back. This is a nice touch, and well executed. It’s almost a pity that it hides the elegant wiring from view.

Although Collins will fit any pickup that a client prefers, this guitar features a pair of custom humbuckers wound in-house. This guitar is straight – no chaser, but coil taps and other wiring options are available. It’s time to plug in.

How Does The James Collins GTO Sound?

Plugging into an old Cornford Hurricane for a family friendly good time I get immediate results. Part ES-355, part L5, it’s the sort of vocal and articulate lead voice that is the holy grail for the modern jazz/blues player. Anything from Larry Carlton to Robben Ford and Jocelyn Gould – this guitar covers a lot of ground on the neck pickup alone.

The in-between sound has more bite to it than the average ES model. It may have a little too much chunk for the funk but a compressor will push it through the mix nicely. If you want to go properly spindly you can always arrange a coil-tap with James himself.

The bridge humbucker takes us straight to soul/R&B territory. Think David T. Walker, Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale (not Gales – though he’d probably dig this too). It’s particularly delicious with a slice of wah-wahpedal as you ease into those expensive chords. There’s a lot of sustain on tap here too. The whole instrument seems pent up and ready to deliver.

Speaking of which – even though the Collins GTO is intended as a sophisticated clean sound machine so was the Les Paul and look what happened there. With this in mind I subject the GTO to a line of dirt boxes including a Vemuram Jan Ray, a Crowther Hot Cake and a Bigfoot Engineering King Fuzz.

Most players will probably stop at a gentle overdriven clip but it’s good to know that this guitar will rise to the moment if you decide to evil it with some fuzz. Does it feel wrong? A little – but in a good way. The results are an eye-opening good time.

That rich and sophisticated voice translates into a full overdriven sound packed with delicious overtones. Individual notes jump out of cluster chords like an acoustic guitar and it’s such a joy to hear sustained ideas spiralling off into life-affirming harmonic feedback, controllable by the player’s fingers alone.

One thing that makes an immediate impression is the fact that although the guitar feels superbly slinky the strings feel thicker. Yep, it’s strung with 11s but the playability remains excellent throughout – even the stylistically controversial “boomer bends” can be executed without leaning in too hard.

As the absolute top of the James Collins range – the Sapphire Signature GTO involves a huge amount of work and the thought-provoking price tag is indicative of this fact. Every aspect of this guitar, from the woods used (cocobolo, walnut and even ebony are among the myriad options available for the soundboard) to the hardware – including hand-buffed curly Koa pickup surrounds – can be customised to the owner’s needs.

We truly are living in a golden age of guitar luthiery and the James Collins Sapphire Signature GTO is a prime example.

By Michael Watts

April 05, 2024

Image: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com

James Collins Signature GTO 

The UK has been home to some of the world’s foremost luthiers over recent years, and this stunning new instrument is a shining example of the very best of their work.

The Signature GTO was developed with input from the artist Ashton Sellars, and is the flagship instrument in the James Collins stable. A double cutaway, it is longer, and at 15”, a wider-bodied guitar than its sister instruments. It comes with a solid AAA flame maple body that has been hollowed out and given a striking hand carved quilted maple cap featuring a crescent ‘f’ hole that reflects the ‘m.o.p. wave’ detailing on the fretboard. The quilted maple theme has been continued on the headstock with the facia being given a piece of quilted maple giving this instrument a look like no other. The truss rod cover is also in quilted maple, leaving the six individual nickel Grover machine heads looking a little simplistic beside the sumptuous woods (although they are the perfect match for the hardware on the body.

The Flame Maple neck has been expertly set into the body with a hand-set mortice-tenon joint. Atop the medium C shape neck is a marble like ebony fretboard headed by a 43mm bone nut and sporting 22 medium frets. As previously mentioned, there is a fine wave motif that runs the entire length of the fretboard, while 5mm mother of pearl dots and maple binding with 2mm side markers complete the picture.

Down at teh sharp end are two Bare Knuckle “Stormy Monday” humbuckers in plain enamel calibrated Almico II. These are connected to two GTC55k Pots, treble bleed together with a Jensen Paper & Oil Cap for superb tone control. Tone and Volume control are dialled in with the recessed knurled nickel dome knobs. Pickup selection is by way of a 3 way toggle switch with a solid ebony tip. Body hardware is completed by a pair of Grover Quick release locking strap buttons. a fully adjustable Tone Pro Nashville TuneOMatic bridge and stop tail piece. The Signature GTO has been given a pure nitrocellulose finish to optimise teh inherent tonal characteristics of the woods.

The Signature GTO is not a light guitar, its weight reminding yours truly of the Gibson Les Paul. The neck is fast and easy, but purely from a personal perspective, it’s too deep for me. I can understand the need for increased mass, as this help with the sustain and tonal qualities, and playing this instrument acoustically immediately tells you that this is some guitar!

Plugged into teh house DV Mark Little Jazz amp, the natural sonic qualities together with the lively Baer Knuckle pickups deliver a striking response. Teh treble bleed together with the Jensen Cap brings superb tone control, offering the player hard raw raspy tones right through to a sensuous, silky mellow tone that cries out for an emotive melody line.

Coming in a hardshell shaped case with four latch locks together with a plush lined padded interior with accessory pocket, this was never going to be a cheap instrument (prices are around £5499). But as the saying goes “you get what you pay for” which is certainly the case with this Signature GTO.

Mini Archtop with noble ingredients

The British luthier James Collins does his own thing in terms of design, but visibly respects the history and traditions of guitar making. This may be related to the fact that the 45-year-old works closely with 12th Fret Guitar Repair & Sales, a repair shop specializing in repairs in Heathfield / East Sussex (southeast of the UK), which is also the British Gibson Service Center. Work in the same building in the Firgrove Business Park and share the workshops – every now and then James has to help out with his expertise with the colleagues. He has old and very fine Gibson archtops on the workbench, that make him rave.
Not so long ago, James had a Gibson L5 and a Gibson Byrdland available for service, whose delicate design features inspired and inspired him. Spontaneously, he was eager to consider jazz guitar in his own portfolio and Archtop typicals Woods with similarly elaborate ornaments, inlays and Umran- to provide. The starting point was his model GTO, a semi-solid electric with a stylized F-hole, which already tends towards jazz in terms of sound. In order to push the Jazz further into the sound, he opted for a two-inch-deep body plus the proven archtop wood combination made of spruce top, maple body and maple neck.
“Deep Bodied GTO” is the name of this new model for which James especially unusual pieces of wood. It is planned that also in future copies of the Deep Bodied GTO the exclusivity should be underlined by particularly outstanding materials, every time anew. That’s not going to be easy though, as James set the bar high with the very first Deep Bodied GTO.
The program of James Collins Guitars shows a very clear profile: to date, there are only Electrics, all of which have the same symmetrical body shape with double cutaway. Differences between the models can be found in the selection of wood, the pick-up and the construction (solid body / semi-acoustics). Many other parameters, such as the neck shaping or the collar, can be easily adapted to the individual wishes of the customer. After all, all instruments that leave James’ workshop are lovingly handcrafted individual pieces.
Noble woods
 
Since the universal body design of James Collins is quite small and graceful, the Deep Bodied GTO for a jazz guitar is correspondingly small: a mini archtop! Also, the lower body compared to normal Electrics (and to other Collins models) changes little in this circumstance. Including the approximately one centimeter thick spruce top is the Zargentiefe about six centimeters. The ceiling consists of two mirrored (bookmatched) arranged halves and was provided with a hand-carved vault – in this regard, a genuine Archtop. The wood has a wonderfully uniform texture and color. In the upper half of the body there is a long-drawn stylized F-hole cut in the form of a crescent.
James spent a lot of effort on the body and neck, both made of the same piece of maple. If you look at the back of the guitar, the locking of the body wood on the back of the neck continues with equal intervals, the same color and “flame”. Anyone who loves exquisite woods, understands something about the craft of guitars and the material and has an eye for beautiful details, is guaranteed to be enthusiastic. Wow!
James carved the body as hollow as possible, leaving only a massive sustain block under the pickups and under the bridge. In order to make the inside of the body, which is obtained through the F-hole, beautiful, James dressed the bottom of the guitar with a reddish-colored maple veneer, which is color-matched to the mahogany parts of the guitar. Bottom line, the Deep Bodied GTO differs from traditional jazz guitars at this point because, firstly, its body is not completely hollow and, secondly, it has been hollowed out completely out of a solid, thin-line design. It is therefore a semi-solid electric, which weighs in at least three and a half kilograms. Of course that’s great to handle – but a bit more difficult than many a jazz box.
For the fingerboard came ebony used with point markers from New Zealand paua abalone as deposit. As with all Collins guitars, a three-strip maple serpentine line, which stretches all the way to the top plate veneer, decorates the fingerboard. A very beautiful and perfectly crafted detail that has made James his trademark. For the top plate veneer and the truss rod cover, mahogany with cloudy patterns was used – again exquisite wood, which was also used as the framing of the fingerboard. The same goes on the back of the guitar. The mahogany is then used again, because from the top plate to the body, a strip of about five millimeters wide runs through the center of the guitar. Incidentally, the head plate protruding to the rear at an angle of 17 degrees is not attached, but made from one piece, including the neck.
The Deep Bodied GTO has a Gibson-typical short scale of 628 millimeters, the string suspension also happens to Gibson Art with a stop tailpiece plus Tune-O-Matic Bridge (both by Tone Pros). Two humbuckers from the British manufacturer Bare Knuckle provide for the sound transformation; James twice chose the model “The Mule,” a pickup that, according to the manufacturer, “provides a credible reproduction of the best-sounding ’59 PAFs.” So here’s vintage sound says, and that should go well with the Deep Bodied GTO. Both humbuckers can be split using the two push / push potentiometers for volume and tone – together with the triple switch for pickup selection, this results in a whole host of different sounds. The mechanics – the entire hardware is gilded by the way – come from Grover. Speaking of: To create a truly consistent picture, James stocked the guitar on top with gold-tone fret wire – great!
That the Deep Bodied GTO is a beautiful, harmonious and tastefully designed guitar, you can already see at first glance. But to capture the full attention to detail and manufacturing precision, you have to take a closer look. All borders, for example, are basically executed in several stripes. Always with you: very narrow partly black colored maple stripes. Plastic is not used in the bindings, but only wood. The serpentine line in the fretboard or the mahogany medial stripe on the back are also realized with narrow maple stripes, the ceiling is set off from the body with three thin maple stripes on the sides. The edge of the F-hole is bordered with maple stripes. All this is done in a perfection that is second to none. The completely convincing picture of a perfectly executed high-gloss finish in clear nitrocellulose lacquer is rounded off.
Jazz & Beyond
 
Those who want to play jazz will probably be the first to be interested in the neck pickup of their guitar. If this sound is not right, it probably will not be love! Fortunately, the Deep Bodied GTO passes this discipline with flying colors: in the neck position the guitar sounds wonderfully soft, warm and “woody”. The wooden sound in the sound is perhaps not as pronounced as in a purebred jazz guitar, but certainly there. On the other hand, the sustain of the Collins is much longer, you can stand and sing sounds for a long time. That’s exactly what some people might miss on their archtop, so the Deep Bodied GTO will be the perfect intermediate thing. When the pickup is split, the output volume is lower, the sound a bit thinner and brighter. This is also an interesting option, which, for example in the jazz context, makes it possible to take back chord accompaniments at the touch of a button without sacrificing sparkling brilliance.
Although there has always been talk of jazz, it should be clear that the Deep Bodied GTO does not want to limit itself exclusively to jazz or old-school styles. Due to the semi-solid construction feedbacks are not in the least to be feared, so it may also like to be loud and distorted. The output of the Bare Knuckles is only partially sufficient for extreme Higain, everything between Blues and Rock, however, is perfectly feasible. It is fantastic how well the guitar reacts to the dynamic requirements of its player and converts what you have played into sounds in an extremely nuanced way. It delivers a very direct, fast response and a lot of punch – in my estimation, this is due to the wood combination spruce / maple, which does not sound bassy and slow, but manoeuvrable and fresh. The ability to split both humbuckers results in many more meaningful sound options. The Deep Bodied GTO can also be snappy and funky if you want it. Stylistically, it ultimately proves to be enormously versatile.
Summary
How passionate James Collins is in his work can be recognized by the enclosed pickguard, which James likes to install on request: All the wood types used in the guitar appear again in the four-ply wood pickguard. The top layer, like the ceiling, is made of spruce, and the grain runs (with the pickguard installed) exactly along the grain of the ceiling, as though cut from a single piece of wood!
Not every guitarist will need so much accuracy, jewelry and attention to detail – but the great craftsmanship class that James Collins works with must be recognized with respect. A perfectly hand-crafted instrument with beautiful woods that ranks at the same high level.

Sussex Life Magazine.

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Flame Maple GTB

Grand Gtrs Germany

In a world where there is almost everything or has ever existed, finding your own identity and handwriting is not easy. This applies to musicians as well as to luthiers alike. Sure, you could do everything radically new and different – but that should be one and certainly costs a lot of courage and assertiveness. The British luthier James Collins opted for the gentle path: He created the design for a symmetrically shaped double-cutaway solid body, which looks noble and traditional, on closer inspection but at the same time refreshingly individual and different.

The 44-year-old Briton seems to be so convinced of his creation that all five different basic models that his manufactory currently offers in East Sussex in the south of the Kingdom have the same body shaping. That makes sense in my eyes. On the one hand, I think the design is completely successful – the design represents a harmonious combination of tradition and modernity, a round synthesis of retrospective and its own contemporary style – and, on the other hand, it is probably a mixture of perseverance and healthy self-confidence which in our time is the only true way to gain recognition and business success in an artistic profession. If any. Anyway, by putting everything on a map, James Collins shows how much he likes his concept beliefs.

The fact that this belief in himself and his abilities is by no means unfounded is already evident when the Hiscox suitcase, which encases the GTB, is opened for the first time – incidentally, a special edition with an inset James Collins logo. The noble woods of the latest Collins model, in particular the wonderfully even-tempered AAA-quality flame maple top, look stunning and come into their own in the light of a perfectly executed high-gloss polyurethane paint finish. I like the fact that all woods have been left in their natural color – with such a high quality of material, the wood can be left to dry in unadulterated beauty. The view of the equally magnificent back of the GTB shows a one- piece mahogany orb, into which the neck, also made of Brazilian mahogany, was glued. The neck consists of three strips, including the top plate, which protrudes backwards at a 17-degree angle in a Gibson manner. The mahogany is placed in the middle of a narrow strip of maple about four millimeters wide. This sandwich construction looks great and adds extra stability to the neck thanks to the additional glue joints.

Classic role models
Just over half a year ago, colleague Christoph Arndt had already tested two models by James Collins, the GTA and the GTO (see grand gtrs 6.2017). At that time, the portfolio of Collins included four different Models, the GTB is in the meantime as fifth and newest Variant added. Basically, one has to say that Collins poaching primarily in the Gibson terrain with his Electrics guitars. The proven combination of a glued neck and a short scale of 628 millimeters is also used in the GTB. The strings are led Gibson-style over a Tune-o-Matic bridge by Gotoh, but here are not anchored in a stop tailpiece, but are pulled from behind through the body. The Tune-o-Matic bridge was lowered by Collins in the top, which is about six millimeters thick, so as not to have to bend his neck in relation to the body. This works great in itself, only the thumbscrews for adjusting the position of the strings are no longer easy to operate. To do this, you have to remove the strings and the top of the bridge – a small extra effort if there really is something to change. On the other hand, once everything has been set correctly, you will no longer want to change anything, and accidental adjustment is at least precluded by this method of construction.
Finally, of course, the body design of the GTB recalls Gibson traditions, because it almost seems as if Collins simply mirrored the lower half of a Les Paul Junior upwards. Incidentally, the symmetrical design offers the advantage that left-handed guitars do not mean much extra work for Collins. The neck-body transition that cuts through the deep cutaway cutaways high up on the 19th fret, reminds me of a Gibson SG, but above all makes a great playability of the highest frest possible.

Fascinating details
The fact that the GTB is an excellently processed guitar can already be seen at first glance. In order to recognize the fascinating beauty of certain details, however, it requires a closer look. The Ziricote fingerboard, for example, is not only adorned with the usual mother-of- pearl markings, but is also decorated with a narrow maple serpent line runs lengthwise over the neck. Great: even in the top plate veneer, just if from Ziricote, the line continues. The fingerboard edges are once again set off with a narrow strip of maple, in front as well as on the top and bottom side between the fretboard and the back of the neck. I must confess, at first I did not notice that the back of the GTB has no electrical compartment. All of a sudden, the penny falls, and I realize how cleverly and thoughtfully James Collins has mounted the entire electrical system of the guitar. The two backups are not held by the usual plastic frame, instead they are bolted directly to the top. Collins must therefore at least dispose of parts of the electrical system before the gluing of the ceiling and before painting the guitar at the location of its later have been installed before! Of course, repairs or modifications to the electrics are made extremely difficult, and many may be critical. On the other hand, the Collins design is unequally elegant! Those who like me have a penchant for hidden sophistication will get their money’s worth at the GTB.

Vintage vibe
As a true custom shop, James Collins offers a variety of options for his basic models, such as the pickup or neckprofile. The present GTB comes with a “medium C “profile, which, however, seems to me to be significantly stronger than one would intuitively derive from the name. For this, the full neck profile guarantees a healthy tone shaping, and after a certain acclimation I find myself with the vintage feel, which is emphasized by the delicate “Medium Small” frets, very well.

The two pickups from GTB come from the British manufacturer Bare Knuckle Pickups. For the instrument being tested, Collins chose a moderately-priced model of tonal samplers that shape the sound of the guitar in a traditional vintage direction – who in this regard.
Of course, Collins offers plenty of other options. At the neck he built a Blue Note P90, which in this case has the full size of a humbucker. There is a Stormy Monday Humbarcker in the bridge, which can be split with the push-push potentiometer. Incidentally, “push / push” is not a spelling error: you must press the volume knob to turn the split option on or off. A tone control and a triple switch for picking the pickups complete the electrical system of the guitar. Surprisingly versatile The GTB delivers a powerful, mid-range and assertive sound with long sustain, once again based on Gibson traditions. I like the fact that the powerful basic sound never seems stiff, immobile or dull, but always remains light-footed and lively. In addition, the GTB is much more versatile than you would expect it at first. Not only in blues and rock context, she gives a good figure, even sparkling funk riffs, they can authentically present. The split bridge humbucker brings out a bright and pleasant fine-grained single-coil sound, which does not sound like a lazy compromise, but can be used just as well on its own. I also like the combination with the P90 on the neck, which sounds nicely smacking and airy on a clearly set amplifier.

As soon as distortion comes into play, the GTB becomes rougher and more impetuous. The bridge humbuckeroffers just enough output to make singing hi-gain sounds possible with a suitably equipped amp. The sound alignment always remains vintage-oriented, with a clear midrange and airy overtone structure. I find the tuning of the heights particularly successful, which are clearly present, nevertheless do not sound scratchy, but pleasantly mild. The Halston customer offers one in volume well-balanced, soft antipole, with which you can celebrate warm, soulful lead sounds.

Final
The GTB by James Collins is a classically crafted stainless steel, made of only the finest materials and fascinating design details as well as a first-class vintage- oriented sound. It’s a great blues and rock guitar, but it’s also great for many other styles of music. The fact that she so elegantly masters the subtle difference between electric guitar tradition and fresh individuality makes her a truly extraordinary piece.

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Redwood GTO & Cocobolo GTA

Grand Gtrs, Germany

James Collins, a guitar engineer from Sussex, may have heard so few. Or you can change it, as I do, with the US manufacturer Collings. In doing so, the man builds true cuttings for the friends of the more glamorous department: welcome to “Collins British Delicatessen”.

Text by Christoph Arndt, Pictures by Andreas Huthansl

Z for test I received with the Cocobolo GTA and the Redwood GTO two interesting models. Currently, he offers four double-cutaway guitars with flat or vaulted ceilings, which to the names GT, GTA, GTS and GTO. Anyone who now thinks about Italian sports cars is right. As James told me in the phone interview, he not only has a passion for Ferrari, but could also use their model names without any appeal from the famous Automarke. Industry newcomer James Collins is one of the few authorized Gibson repairmen in the United Kingdom. You have to be an excellent guitar builder, so you can get such an award.
In 2011 he began with the construction of own guitars, the company Collins Guitars exists since 2015. At present, 15 to 20 instruments leave their workshop every year, with a long-term goal being 48 per year, which would be one copy per month of each model. At present, a full-time employee and a trainee are supporting the small company, which should then probably be expanded. Despite the small number of pieces, James offers a wide range of options, which means that he is in no way inferior to a custom shop. There will be no more models for the time being, the four cover the entire catalog of options with the broadest possible catalogs. Condition: The basic styling must fit, as James Collins’ design style polarizes perfectly. After all, there are plenty of boredom on the market.

The basis of the GTA is a one-piece, mahogany body. Ebony, Curly Maple, English Walnut or Cocobolo are available for the flattop ceiling. The glued mahogany neck is locked with a cocobolo looper and features a 12 inch rosewood fretboard. In the test instrument, the profile thickness is an average C, with the customer choosing between Thin, Medium and Heavy. In the case of the neck contact, the master attaches great importance to optimal vibration transmission, which he wishes to realize in classical design by means of a long throat as in the case of the old Les Pauls. A striking and, as I find, extremely tasteful ornamentation is the thin maple in the fingerboard, which extends over the entire neck length to the end of the head plate, supplemented by two narrow maple strips as “side outlines” and subtle mother-of-pearl dots as fingerboard markers. This design is the most prominent trademark, so to speak, the corporate identity of the Collins creations. Between the ceiling and the corpus is a thin layer of maple, which, like all the map elements, creates fine contrasts, which are opened to the observer only on closer inspection. An 18% nickel-silver alloy was used for the medium bundle wire, while a gilded bundle wire was also available for an additional charge. The cranks are flawlessly dressed and rounded, the Grover Keystone Tuner with an 18: 1 ratio and a bone saddle complete the high- quality equipment. In the case of the hardware, the customer can also choose between nickel, gold and black.

The GTA is available as a standard with stop tailpiece, for an extra charge also with Bigsby vibrato. James Collins is patriotic with the pickups, leaving the usual suspects from Amiland, picking up on Bareknuckle’s British provenance, which is undoubtedly one of the best and most famous representatives of the island. There are two pickup types available for the vintage (The Mule) and Vintage Hot (Black Dog) gain ranges; who likes it really hot, gets optionally with the Bareknuckle Nailbomb the full Highgain- Breitseite missed. This information should not be taken too literally, a practiced player can also elicit clear sounds from powerful pickups, and on the other hand, even with weak-brimmed vintage pickups, make a guitar sing. Nevertheless, prior to assigning an order, it makes sense to consider where the musical-stylistic journey should go – for this reason such a categorization is helpful.

The combination of reddish-brown cocobolo, bright maple and gold hardware along with gold monograms in the Cocobolo veneered head plate is very popular, but very elegant. Well-known details, such as the felt plate (glued under the gilded Bigsby vibrato) (as a ceiling fan) or the Trussrod cover (screwed to the side without a tool), fit to a high-quality presentation. The guitar is equipped with a “Black Dog” humbucker with gold cap and is equipped with two potentiometers for Volume (push-push for split) and sound- controlled. These are housed in cup-shaped sleeves, which are reminiscent of the sockets of a telecaster. This looks chic, but would be even more beautiful if the cups were sunk in the ceiling; its edge is clearly felt. Thanks to far more than four kilos of live weight, you have a good hang on the harness, but the instrument is well balanced. According to the manufacturer, CTS potentiometers and a Jensen PIO sound condenser are tumbling in the non- visible electrical compartment. There is no electrical cover – Mister Collins must have fumbled the pots by the pickup-milling and soldered to the prewired output socket, it is not. The pickup is framelessly screwed directly into the wood, which looks better with this look. The Gotoh Nashville Tune-O- Matic bridge rests in a shallow trough, making it less bulky and very close to the body. Unfortunately, the position of this trough has slipped one millimeter too far backwards (or the bar has been screwed too far forward) so that one of the two knurled screws minimally damaged the top coat. That was with the criticism, because otherwise the craftsmanship is beyond any doubt. At this point, James Collins certainly with the best of his guild.

Redwood GTO
The GTO is the only semihollow in the program. A beautifully carved Curly Redwood cover with a crescent-shaped “F-hole” decorates a second mahogany body in a dark brown sunburst finish with a sustain block that does not extend over the entire length. The hardware is completely nickel-plated. In contrast to the massive GTA, it seems almost 3.3 kilograms like a flyweight. Here, the neck profile is installed in the narrowest variant “Thin” and the fingerboard consists of Cocobolo. Many features of the GTA are found again at the GTO, so I would just like to look at the differences. In addition to the design, these mainly concern pickups and circuitry. The two calibrated “The Mule” humbuckers, which are set in cream-colored frames, are both splitable and are controlled by a volume and tone controller as well as a five-stage rotary switch for the pickup selection. They can be called individually and together (serial, parallel as well as out-of-phase), but can not be individually controlled. This, in conjunction with the splitting options, nevertheless promises an enormous sound diversity. Small vermouth drops: The electrical cover has different gap dimensions, which is certainly due to the factor of manual work.

Double play
Despite its minimalist features, the GTA offers a fine selection of sounds, ranging from crystal-clear pearling single note pickings to snappy crunch sounds to tubeless lead sounds. The controllers want to be operated wisely, only the “intermediate positions” bring the full potential of the instrument into effect. The “Black Dog” can grow not only snarling, but if necessary bark furiously! The homogeneity is very well-balanced, strings of the strings, there is truly joy. As far as the tonality is concerned, there is, as it were, a central- nasal basic characteristic, the frequency of which is higher than that of a Les Paul. This makes it a bit more difficult to find the sweetspot for a certain song, but that’s just the charm of such a guitar with just one pickup: you have to work more and listen carefully until all the sound controls on the amp are done the fine, then the mail goes off. The playability of the neck is excellent, only the transition to the corpus is too angular for me, the highest frets are thus for my rather narrow hands worse to hardly reach still.

The considerably more expensive GTO shows clear sound parallels to the GTA, whereby the 5-way switch opens up a rich universe of sounds, for which one should take time. Although the five positions are marked by mother-of- pearl inlays, a corresponding nose or similar is missing on the knob. After a while, the sound quickly identifies the position in which you are playing. Printable, focused lead sounds that are less deep, but more defined and more powerful than Les Paul, thin single-coil sounds that do not have any fender- eskes, quirky-hollow out-of-phase variations, and obey the possibility to split one or both pickups at the same time, impressively make clear, which abundance of sounds and nuances can be realized with two humbuckers. Like one of the characteristic basic sound of the GTO, everything is offered here, what the heart desires. Nice thing!

Summary
Pure craftsmanship, high-quality workmanship with minimal finishes, beautiful woods, first-class tonal qualities and an unmistakable styling characterize James Collins guitars. Great cinema, I am thrilled. Those who value all these qualities and dare to combine them visually with a dignified individuality can find more than just a find: a love for life could develop.

Redwood GTO by Lewis Turner

iGuitar Magazine

Many fine guitars pass through GI’s doors but every now and then we get something a little bit special that everyone wants to play. This time it was the Redwood GTO made by Sussex-based James Collins. We all know about custom shop guitars available from the big brands but having a guitar hand built from scratch is a whole different ball game and this is every inch a craftsman made instrument.

Regular GI readers will recall that we have reviewed Collins guitars before (GI issues 37 and 41) so you will already know that James is one of the very few authorised Gibson repairers in the UK, and you don’t just get that from doing a few good set-ups here and there – you need to be the very best. The two guitars that we have seen in the past, plus the work on our editor’s ancient and very worn Les Paul, which was when we first encountered James’s skills, have convinced us that he is one of the finest luthiers currently at work in the UK, so we were certainly keen to see what he had come up with this time!

Straight out of the case let’s just say that this guitar looks amazing – somehow familiar yet unique. The body shape has a classic feel with interesting alterations such as the crescent F hole and a cool maple line pattern that snakes down the fretboard. The high gloss fi nish with matching headstock gives it an extra classy look. Finish and attention to detail throughout were above and beyond. Even if you don’t play guitar you could be forgiven for just buying it to hang on your wall as a piece of art!

This GTO is constructed with a two piece hollowed-out Honduras mahogany body, meaning it started out as a solid piece, and is not just a hollow guitar with a centre block. To make matters even more luxurious, this sample came with a beautiful curly redwood carved top. The mahogany neck uses a mortise and tenon joint with a contoured heel making upper fret access a total breeze. On first glance you would be forgiven for thinking the fretboard is rosewood, but is in fact the little used wood cocobolo, once again underpinning the use of the finest materials. If you look

at our Tech Spec section, you will see that cocobolo has been used a fair bit on this guitar, which is a good choice as this wood creates a solid tone platform, a natural voice, with great tonal consistency throughout.

As you would expect, the GTO had fantastic natural resonance and sustain when unplugged, qualities that helped by the hollow body and overall light weight. Again, as you would expect, the guitar also felt very well balanced.

Grover Keystone 18-1 tuners and Nashville Tune-o-Matic bridge, plus a bone nut provided fantastic tuning stability and the guitar has a 24 3/4” scale with a comfy profile neck. Naturally, the action was set perfectly and there were no intonation or fret buzz issues anywhere. In fact I have to say that I was blown away by the intonation on this guitar, no matter how good a guitar is you normally fi nd a point where the tuning is a bit dodgy within a chord, it’s just the nature of the instrument, but on the GTO I really couldn’t hear anywhere where it sounded out.

The pickups James had chosen were a pair of Bare Knuckle Calibrated Mules, which, as you might expect are a high end choice mated with two CTS 500K Push-Push Pots, along with Jensen Capacitors.

Controlling the GTO’s output comes courtesy of a push function on the tone pot that splits the bridge pickup, and a push volume pot that splits the neck pickup. This is further controlled by a five way rotary selector, which gives you a variety of different settings to experiment with, all of which are demonstrated in the video.

This guitar really can do it all when it comes to tone. Warm Jazz, out of phase ‘quack’, shimmery clean, Country twang, classic Rock, biting lead are all at your finger tips. Sure it’s probably not going to be a Metal shredtastic guitar but that’s not down to sound or playability – more to the styling, but there are plenty of pointy ugly guitars out there to cover that…. (now, now! – Ed).

So was there anything I didn’t like about the GTO? In fact my only issue was the five way rotary switch. Yes it looks in place with everything else, and it works, but making

quick/seamless pickup changes on the fly is not easy. It’s of course doable, but nowhere near as slick and quick as just flicking a blade switch. I’m sure it’s something you could learn to live with and get used to though. And, of course, this being a handmade guitar, I’m sure it’s something you could discuss with the builder.

The Collins Redwood GTO was an absolute pleasure and joy to play, it has the potential to be used in a variety of situations, making it an ideal all rounder. It was light, well balanced with a mighty amount of tonal options. Fit and finish were top notch throughout as was the playability and set-up. The pickups sounded fantastic and as I mentioned above, the intonation was out of this world. I’ve no doubt that your first question when seeing the hand built part, was ‘So how much is this thing?’ Well, OK, it’s not cheap, but we are talking about a hand built from scratch instrument with the finest materials all put together by an expert builder and for that you are going to expect to have to pay some serious money and this is as good as it gets.

Who is it for? I think this guitar is probably going to appeal to two different types of people. The serious player who demands such high build quality/tone/ playability but wants something a little different, or a rich dude who can hang it on his wall purely to appreciate its beauty! That may sound sacrilegious but we have to face facts and a lot of the best guitars in the world end-up hanging on walls just being admired by people. That first group of potential buyers, though, is going to include the sort of owners who realise that however good a top of the line factory-made product may be, there is always something even better, something handmade by a great craftsman. That’s a rarefied world where the world’s most demanding customers are willing to go that bit further to get the absolute best. It’s the world this guitar comfortably inhabits and if you ever get the chance you really have to try one to fully appreciate its brilliance.

Cocobolo GTA

iGuitar Magazine

Collins Guitars, not to be confused with the US boutique guitar company, Collings, are made by luthier James Collins in East Sussex, UK. James is a highly experienced and skilled builder and guitar tech with a formidable reputation for excellence amongst those in the know.

James’ main model is the GT, a symmetrical, small body, double cutaway guitar available in a series of different specifications from both a hardware and construction perspective. James says ‘The concept for the GT models came from a custom build idea and a commission, with a scope to add a new dimension as well as create more of an identity. From the outset the guitar was to be a double cut and symmetrical design.’ For our review, James sent us one of his GTA Cocobolo guitars to check out.

The GTA Cocobolo is a flat topped variation of the original GT design featuring a one piece mahogany body with a premium cocobolo, book matched top and mahogany neck. The influence for the design is obvious but the smaller profile and less pronounced cutaways add a really cool, unique look to the guitar for a design that is individual enough to be remembered amongst the sea of boutique guitars on the market. Cocobolo is also used for the fretboard that features a gorgeous maple wave inlay across its length and up into the headstock, where a cocobolo veneer is used to further synchronise the design.

This level of detail extends throughout the guitar with the cocobolo/maple binding around the fretboard and body and the beautifully recessed control knobs, giving a design that is quality through and through without ever becoming gaudy or over the top. This is a really beautiful guitar in every aspect. Hardware is of equally high quality

thanks to James’ choice of a single Bare  Knuckle Black Dog humbucker in the bridge  position (other pickup options are available),  CTS pots, a Nashville TuneOMatic bridge and  a genuine Bigsby USA B5 Trem, all finished  in gold, which matches very well with the  cocobolo top (nickel is also an option ).  James also offers the option of a hardtail  bridge and a P90 as a custom order.

Each element of the GTA Cocobolo has  been lovingly thought through for the best  playability, stability and tone. The 17-degree  headstock angle aids sustain and tuning  stability from the Grover Keystone 18-1 ratio  tuners. The mortice and tenon neck joint  with its contoured heel adds to the strength  of the build, whilst aiding upper fret access  and comfort and the medium C neck with  its 12” radius combines beautifully with the  choice of medium sized, hard wearing 18%  nickel/silver fretwire for playability that  should suit a wide variety of players well.

The build quality is amazing from start to  finish with exceptional fretwork, finishing  and woodwork. All of the guitars in the  Collins range are hand-crafted and it  shows in the attention to detail that James  puts into each guitar. The wave inlay is a  particular highlight, demonstrating the level  of woodwork that this boutique builder can  achieve.

Tonally, the GTA Cocobolo is every bit as  good as its looks would suggest thanks  to the generous depth of its mahogany  body and neck joint adding plenty of  sustain to the guitar. It’s hard to know  exactly what the cocobolo adds to the  tone but it sure sounds great through that  bridge humbucker with plenty of bite and  punch and more versatility than you might  imagine, given that there is no neck pickup  here.

The lack of more tonal options is a shame  though, since whilst Collins do offer guitars  with dual humbucker set-ups and very in  depth tonal options, they are quite a bit  more expensive and it would have been  nice to see a dual pickup option for a  small upcharge here, as many will find a  single bridge pickup too limiting. However,  combined with the excellent tone and  volume pots you can get a wider range of  tones than one might imagine and the Bare  Knuckle Black Dog is a superb performer  with highly dynamic clean, crunch and fully  distorted tones, offering clarity and plenty of  grit when required, but subtler smoothness  for cleaner tones too with the tone rolled off  a bit. At last we have a guitar here where the  tone control is actually useful!

The GTA Cocobolo oozes quality in every  respect and considering that we have a  fully handmade instrument here, is a superb  price, especially for European buyers where  there is no import duty to pay, something  that heavily increases the price of US made  instruments over here. The reduced tonal  options may put some off, but Collins’ more  expensive guitars cover that ground well  and it may well be that custom options are  available to build a flat top version of this  guitar with a second pickup for an extra  charge. What we have here is a superb  instrument from a builder that deserves  a lot more recognition and exposure  in the boutique guitar world. Highly  recommended!

Flame Maple GTA

Guitar & Bass Magazine, UK

Should I be forced to choose a single word to describe the James Collins GTA, it would have to be `formidable’ – in looks, feel and weight. It’s an absolute timber-fest, too, with a one-piece Honduras mahogany body and a book-matched, flat-quilted maple top cap.

The mahogany neck is set into the body with a mortise and tenon joint and there’s no back angle. The neck has a multi-layered construction with a maple/rosewood/maple stringer all along the centre. More quilted maple is used to bind the rosewood fingerboard, which features a maple `wave’ along its length that continues through the rosewood peghead veneer.

There’s even a thin layer of maple veneer beneath the rosewood front, which adds definition to the GTA’s headstock shape. It’s all high-quality timber, and a very thin, almost perfect, high-gloss polyester finish really enhances the grain.

A single Bare Knuckle Black Dog humbucker teams up with volume and tone controls. Collins has come up with the novel approach of seating the T-style knobs in T-type jack cups.

The controls must have been pulled into the body through the pickup rout, `ship in a bottle’ style, because there’s no control cavity cover on the reverse.

The sides of the fingerboard are bound with maple but not the end, which effectively shows that the `wave’ isn’t simply an inlay. In creating the wave motif, Collins demonstrates his impressive woodworking skills by hand-cutting and rejoining the two separate parts of the fingerboard with a maple layer in between. Unfortunately, the finish at the end of the fingerboard does look a bit scruffy when it’s compared to the rest of the guitar.

GTA models are built to order, so many of the specifications given here can be changed. However, the standard features include a medium `C’ neck profile, medium frets, a Jensen paper/oil tone capacitor, a Bigsby B5 tremolo and a Hiscox hardshell case.

There’s an art to carving `fat’ necks which feel

wonderful, rather than just, erm, fat. The GTA’s doesn’t quite hit the mark, and my recent experience with mid-1950s Les Paul Goldtops provided clues to explain this – when studied closely directly from the back, the binding on the vintage Gibson necks was clearly visible and I could even make out the dots.

When the GTA is examined in the same way, the binding can’t be seen on the neck, which indicates that the profile is more of a straightsided `U’ than a `C’. The upshot of this is that it fills the hand but doesn’t have that `comfortable as old slippers’ feel. However, Collins will work with customers on an individual basis to achieve the neck profile they desire.

Having a neck with no back angle has possibly had a knock-on effect on the positioning of the Bigsby. Since the strings are closer to the body at the bridge position than they would be on, for example, a Les Paul Junior or Standard, the tuneo- matic bridge is obliged to sit in a routed recess.

One requirement when installing a Bigsby is to achieve an adequate break angle over the bridge. Because the GTA’s bridge is relatively low, the Bigsby’s front roller is positioned a little closer to the bridge than might otherwise be the case, simply to make the break angle more acute.

The upshot of this is that the position of the Bigsby, combined with the recessed bridge, meant I had to be careful to avoid hitting the Bigsby with my wrist.

Acoustically, there’s not a great deal of woody resonance, but the GTA sustains exceptionally well and there’s an even volume balance across all of the strings.

Starting with clean tones, the GTA delivers a surprisingly jangly and lively tone with snappy definition and a characterful hint of phasiness from the wound strings. The pickup isn’t at all microphonic, so it can’t quite match the airiness and open treble of an accurate PAF replica, but you can be confident of a squeal-free high-gain response.

The power hinted at by the clean tone comes to the fore when overdrive levels are increased. The bass end’s solidity and considerable depth become more apparent and the nasal midrange is transformed to a honking, raunchy bite.

Moving on to high-gain, the GTA is really in its element. Powerchords sound appropriately huge and lead tones combine full-bodied bite with crisp pick attack and sustain. Although there’s no treble bleed capacitor across the volume control, you can still back it off to clean up the sound while maintaining a consistent frequency response, clarity and body.

Compared to any two- or three-pickup guitar, a single pup will offer a limited range of tones. However, well configured volume and tone controls should still allow you to cover a lot of ground. The GTA has both, but access is somewhat restricted by the Bigsby and the T-style jack cups. The latter are a neat idea, but viewed from the side you’ll see that they sit proud of the top. Maybe a chamfered edge would allow the cups to sit a little lower, to expose more of the control knob and provide better access. It’s workable as is, but this tweak would really improve their usability.

Ultimately, the GTA has the sound, feel and (to some extent) look of a type of custom-built guitar that a really good luthier might have produced in the late 1970s or early 1980s. If you like to dial in a tone and keep things simple, then the GTA could really work for you.

It’s obvious that the GTA has been made with genuine love and care, and that Collins has incorporated some really good and original ideas. There are some minor details, which I feel aren’t quite on the money, but I’m left with a sense that the best is yet to come from this very talented guitar builder and I look forward to seeing more of Collins’ work in the future.

Quilt Maple GTS

Guitar Interactive Magazine

Sussex based James Collins is one of the  very few authorised Gibson repairers in  the UK. You do not become authorised by  Gibson unless you are the best of the best  at what you do. This is demonstrated by  James’s own line of guitars which are nocompromise  instruments and truly hand  built. Our review sample was one of the  quilt maple GTS models, and there are quite  a few options you can choose from, any of  which can be hand built for you with a few  variations of tone wood and finishes (more  details on the Collins website – see the Tech  Spec box – Ed). The version James sent us  featured a Honduras mahogany body and  neck with an unbelievably pretty AAA hand  carved quilt maple book-matched top which  is stunning. James is also fond of cocobolo  and walnut in construction which would  offer a different overall tone, but we are on  safe ground here with the classic mahogany  and maple combo we all know and love!

On the face of it this looks like a simple  twin humbucker guitar set-up, with its usual  neck/bridge/

rotary switch and coil tap. Each guitar comes with a diagram to tell you exactly how each setting is obtained, but I just used my ears and enjoyed the options whilst playing it. For those who really must know we have (deep breath)….

1 Bridge, Bridge split.

2 Neck screw pole pieces and Bridge magnet.

3 Neck & Bridge, Neck split & Bridge split, Neck with Bridge split, Neck split with Bridge.

4 Neck & Bridge out of phase, Neck with Bridge split out of phase, Neck & Bridge split out of phase, Neck split & Bridge out of phase.

5 Neck, Neck split.

In my demo I probably didn’t get through every option, but hopefully what does come across is the versatility of this guitar plus the sheer choice of tones available.

The craftsmanship in this guitar is up there with best I’ve seen. Worth a mention is the incredible maple wave inlay that goes the length of the 12” radius Indian rosewood fretboard and joins the headstock to carry on. This is just flawlessly done and very tasteful in my opinion. The neck is lovely to play because it’s a substantial C profile. Bigger necks always means bigger tone and this has a slightly bigger than usual feel to it which I love.

If James builds you a guitar, he will factor in your preferences, but trust me this is the neck you want. The 22 medium 18% nickel silver frets feel great and again are flawless in their installation and make string bends a breeze. The mortise and tenon neck joint has a contoured heel and access to the dusty end is stress free and easy. Another incredibly well done and tasteful appointment are the five pearl inlays denoting the five positions of the rotary switch. The ‘Tone Dome’ knobs are also recessed much like the input jack of a Fender Telecaster. The whole thing oozes quality and plays and sounds as good as it looks. The supplied hard case is also a thing of beauty too.

James Collins certainly knows how to make a guitar and will try to accommodate within reason any special requests that don’t deviate too much from the design of the GTS. I should imagine choosing a colour for this guitar would be a tough one, because with the fantastic quality wood stock that James uses, any colour stain is going to look great. Or you could simply check out in the finished guitars that are finished and ready to go via email or in the flesh. If you are looking for a Gibson style guitar that really delivers on all aspects and yet offers the ultimate in tonal flexibility coupled with the exclusivity that having a truly handmade guitar gives, then maybe you should give James a call. In fact you definitely should.

Electric guitars hand built in the United Kingdom

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