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!
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.. .
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
you want a high-quality
American-made guitar that will
last a lifetime.
Skip If...
you’re looking for a
shredmeister guitar.
Rating...
5.0
ONTHEWeb
Head online to watch a
video review of the guitar
in action at
premierguitar.com
Collings Guitars
MSRP $2900 (base model);
$3500 (flame top)
collingsguitars.com
