*This is a used guitar in excellent condition
*This is a consignment item
*Includes original hard shell case
*Observations: This beautiful Collings dreadnought is in excellent condition. Aside from a few very light scuffs and scratches it is extremely clean. This one features one of Collings' terrific "Q Spruce" tops and the figured Ebony fingerboard is lovely. Playability is good with medium action and it sounds fantastic. The original hard shell case is included.
$5999 plus $45 for shipping (consignment item)
D2H Q TOP
The square-shouldered 14-fret dreadnought is the most popular steel-string acoustic guitar body shape in the world. While Collings is far from the only company to build them, they bring a new tonal clarity to the depth and warmth usually associated with such a large, deep-bodied instrument. Although its bass response makes the dreadnought ideal for vocal accompaniment, Collings' versions are also often employed by bluegrass flatpickers who must compete with inherently louder instruments, such as banjos and fiddles.
About the Q Top
“Q Spruce” refers to high-performance guitar soundboards supplied by Collings' wood vendor, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, that have been sonically graded using advanced acoustic science. While traditional wood grading (A, AA, AAA) focuses on aesthetics, Q Spruce is graded based on its physical and musical properties, specifically its damping coefficient, known in physics as the “Q factor.”
Q Spruce is typically Sitka or Lutz spruce that has been analyzed using a technology called BING (Beam Identification for Non-destructive Grading). Developed in partnership with European wood laboratories, this process involves striking a wood billet with a standardized impulse (a steel ball) and using high-precision microphones and software to measure its vibration.
The most critical metric is “Q,” which is the inverse of damping. In simple terms:
There are several benefits of Q Spruce from a player and collector perspective, including resonance, responsiveness, sustain, volume, and consistency. Since high-Q wood does not “swallow” the vibration of the strings, the guitar is more responsive to a light touch and more powerful when driven hard.
The process also provides Collings' head luthier, Steve Nall, with even more information for wood selection and voicing of individual instruments.
Finally, as Q-graded tops are increasingly recognized as premium offerings, knowing a guitar was built with “High Q” spruce also provides a technical pedigree that complements the aesthetic beauty of Collings' instruments.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AT (512) 243.6036 OR sales@austinguitarhouse.com
