Collings I-35 in Pelham Blue Finish with Parallelogram Inlay and Lollar Humbuckers ID-11537

Collings I-35 Tobacco Sunburst - Flamed Maple and Mahogany with Lollar Humbuckers

Bill Collings has reinvigorated the industry with his take on classic design. The I-35 is Collings' reinterpretation of the semi-hollow body, two-pickup guitar. The first Collings I-35 in Tiger Eye Burst in our shop did not last long and we are now privileged to offer a classy Pelham Blue Finish.

The first customer who tried the I-35 model in our shop was glued to it for nearly 3 hours. You can tell just by playing it acoustically that you have something special in your hands. Plugged into one of our Carr amplifiers, this guitar really screams! You can hear every note in every chord all the way up and down the neck and will hear overtones you never noticed before in tunes you've been playing for years. From soft and sweet to thick and dirty, this guitar is up to the task with a sound is clear, focused, and articulate and sustain that goes on for days.

While the rest of the industry at large uses pressed plywood for their backs, and bent sides, Collings carves the back and sides from one single slab of Mahogany. This preserves the "look" of a semi-hollow bodied guitar while providing noticeable sonic differences to the player's ears. The top is carved from a mineral flamed piece of book matched maple. This not only looks more like the "original" late 50's and early 60's instruments, but more importantly, sounds like an older guitar.

Collings collaborated with Jason Lollar for all their pickup designs. While the particular pickups they use are specially wound to Collings specifications, they are very near in design to the Lollar standard Imperial Humbucking models. Lollar manages to capture the airy top end, tight lows, balanced midrange, and complex overtones of the best original PAF pickups.

In reviews, they are consistently given high marks for their balanced frequency response. Unbalanced coils keep the bottom end tight for the intense richness the pickups provide, as overtones build after each note is played. Alnico 5 magnets are de-gaussed to specific levels, unique to the neck and bridge positions.

The sound Collings has developed with these pickups can certainly be described as mature. The neck position pushes out a lovely warmth and depth - ideal for jazz chording or chunky blues. None of the pesky midrange honkiness that can be found with other bridge humbuckers is present. The bridge pickup is certainly hotter and more aggressive, but maintains full-bodied presence without any harshness.

Go ahead and check out some of our other Collings Guitars

Specifications:

Serial: I3517992

Top Wood: Maple

Back Wood: Mahogany

Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Scale: 24 7/8"

Bracing: Inset maple center block

Inlays: Parallelogram MOP

Neck Wood: Mahogany

Fretboard: Rosewood

Nut Material: Bone

Bridge: Kluson ABR-1(nickel-plated zinc w/ retaining wire)

Tuners: Collings w/ Ivoroid Buttons

Body Binding: Ivoroid

Fretboard Binding: Ivoroid

Headstock Binding: None

Pickguard: Cream

Headstock Shape: Solid

Headstock Overlay: Ebony

Headstock Inlay: Collings Logo

Neck Profile: C Shape

Body Depth: 2"

Lower Bout Width: 15"

Body Length: 17 5/8"

Total Length: 40"

Pickup(s): Custom Lollar Humbuckers

Pickup Controls: 3 Way switch - 2 Volume - 2 Tone

Case: Original Hardshell Case

Misc. 1: Setup High: 2/32"

Misc. 2: Setup Low E: 3/32"

Misc. 3: Pelham Blue Finish