We’ve always felt that picking up an X-braced Waterloo is the closest any of us will ever come to experiencing what it must have been like to play a new Gibson L-00 back in the mid/late 1930s. Collings really did a remarkable job of capturing many of the defining characteristics of an original L-00.

This early WL-14X was assembled with protein-based fish glue, and built with non-scalloped braces, a wide-angle X, a tiny, thin maple bridgeplate, and a spruce top. Looking inside the guitar, it’s not all too different than a 30’s L-00, except that it’s built with the incredible attention to detail that Collings is long-famous for.

The WL-14X has a beautiful spruce top, mahogany back and sides, ivoroid top binding, and an unbound back. The neck has a substantial V carve, rosewood fingerboard, T-bar, and simple dot markers. The headstock features open-geared tuners, silk-screened logo, and an ebony nut. Ebony bridge and pins, bone through-cut saddle, firestripe pickguard, and ivoroid-bound soundhole complete the top. The WL-14X is finished in a very 1930’s Kalamazoo sunburst, with period brown back and sides. The neck measures 1-3/4” at the nut, pin spread at the bridge is 2-3/8”, and the scale length is 24-7/8”. The neck depth at the 1st fret is .99”; it measures 1.089” at the 9th. The guitar weight is 3.4 lbs.

The WL-14X offers mids that are punchy, strong, and up front; round and thick trebles and defined basses. There is an underlying warmth and rich overtone presence that makes itself shown in single-note melodic playing, and lots of horsepower at the ready when you need to dig in.

A K+K pickup was installed in our shop when the guitar was first sold. We’ve just set it up with a set of 12s and playability is excellent. The guitar remains in very lovely condition with light wear to the frets and finish.

With hardshell case.

Collings Waterloo WL14X sunburst acoustic guitar

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The black and white ladder-braced Waterloo WL-14LTR is built very much akin to a mid-1930’s Kalamazoo KG-14. It features a spruce bridgeplate, protein-based glue, and a lightweight build of solid mahogany back and sides and spruce top. The construction is simple, just as the 1930’s originals were, but the workmanship is all Collings. The guitar is beautifully built, right down to the saddle fit and fretwork.

The WL-14LTR has the focused low end and punchy midrange you’d hope it to; it’s a top-notch ragtime and blues picker, but that’s likely not a surprise!

The guitar plays, feels, and sounds astonishingly “right” – for lack of a better term. Blindfolded you’d be hard pressed to hear the difference between this ladder-braced Collings WL-14L and a really good Kalamazoo original. You will certainly notice a difference in feel and playability though. Unlike the Kalamazoo, the Collings WL-14 plays in tune, and plays easily with a contemporary-feeling neck.

1-3/4″ nut width, 24-3/4″ scale, 2-3/8″ string spread at the bridge. Bone saddle, ebony bridge pins. L-00 size body, with a lower bout 14.25″ across. The neck has a rounded carve with a 1st fret depth of .835”.

The guitar has been set-up in our shop with 12-54 strings and an action of 4.5-5.5 64ths. There are various dings in the finish and there is a little bit of fretwear that doesn’t get in the way of clean playing.

With original hardshell case

Collings Waterloo WL14LTR tuxedo black acoustic guitar

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The Gibson Custom Shop J-45 Historic 1942 Banner  is a modern recreation of one of the company’s most venerated models. The J-45 was introduced in 1942 and remains – some eighty years on – Gibson’s most popular flat top model.

The Montana-built ’42 Banner J-45 features a thermally aged (aka torrefied) red spruce top and scalloped red spruce braces, hot hide glue top construction, a 1940’s sunburst thin nitro lacquer VOS finish, mahogany back and sides, and vintage inspired appointments.

With a full C carve, 1-23/32 nut width and a 1st fret depth of .904”, the Gibson Custom Shop J-45 neck isn’t Banner-era “baseball bat” large in feel, but is definitely more of a handful than Gibson’s 50s J-45. In the hand, it feels like post-war J-45 neck, with a touch more room to move.

This example is in excellent condition and is well set up. It has been upgraded with a K&K Pure pickup, bone bridge pins, and a strap-button in the neck heel, but is otherwise original with near-new looks. The frets show light wear, but there is no playwear on the body or neck finish to speak of. We have it strung with 12-53 strings and have set the action at our shop standard 5-6 64ths.

A beautiful sounding guitar with plenty of warmth, a bit of sparkle, and a touch of J-45 thump, this Gibson Custom Shop J-45 1942 Banner J-45 is at home being strummed or fingerpicked and offers the sweetness and character a J-45 has long been famous for.

With original hardshell case

2020 Gibson Custom Shop J-45 Historic 1942 Banner J-45 reissue acoustic guitar

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From the Suhr Custom shop comes this Suhr Classic T Custom that features a striking Graphite Metalic finish with a matching headstock, dotless ebony fretboard on a roasted quartersawn maple neck and jumbo Stainless frets. The bridge is a Wilkinson 2-post tremolo unit with locking saddles and a steel block, and the headstock is fitted with Suhr-branded chrome locking tuners for tuning stability.

The guitar’s pickups are a Classic T in the neck and an SSV in the bridge. Wiring is straight forward, with a 3 way selector, volume and tone; but the tone control doubles as a push/pull coil tap for the bridge pickup.

The nut measures 1-5/8”, and the neck features Suhr’s Even/Slim carve, with a 1st fret depth of .795” and a 12th fret depth of .885”.

The Suhr Classic T Custom is in near-new condition and shows no playwear. The only flaw is a light scratch on the neck plate.

Set-up in shop with 10s.

With original hardshell case and documents.

2022 Suhr Classic T Custom electric guitar in black sparkle

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Old-world craftsmanship, master-grade materials, and true attention to detail went into crafting this piece. The Albert & Muller S6 is a very lightly built instrument of highly figured maple and German spruce with a unique mix of X bracing and classical-style fan braces. The instrument is finely purfled with mitred half herringbone strips and is bound in rosewood. Concentric half-herringbone rings form the soundhole rosette, and the fingerboard is decorated with pearl and abalone dot inlays. The pickguard is a recent addition.

The guitar really shines when you start playing it — it has a tremendous scope and clarity in all registers, great volume, and a wonderful bass response that carries through right up the neck. With a hi-def sonic character, this guitar would really appeal to a fingerstyle player who is looking for a full range tonal experience. It’s an extremely well-balanced acoustic with beautiful clarity and volume, life, and an unbelievably open response.

15″ wide cut-away body with German spruce top, figured maple back and sides, flush-heel cut away mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, and gold Schaller tuners. Compact feeling round neck carve with 1-11/16″ nut and a first fret depth of .802”. 2-5/16″ string spacing at the bridge, 25.5 scale.

The guitar remains in very good condition and is set-up well. There is a repaired top crack along the treble-edge of the fretboard, but no other repairs. Some playwear is evident on the top in the usual places. The top’s French Polish finish is incredibly thin, measuring a scant .001”. The frets show light wear and play cleanly. We have set this Albert & Muller S6 up with D’Addario XS lights and an action of 5-6 64ths.

German luthiers Franz-Ulrich Albert and Antonius Müller joined forces in 1984 to craft high-level acoustic instruments that sound excellent and are expertly put together. As they were in Germany and never imported to North America in any sizeable number, Albert & Müller guitars have sadly not been experienced by all too many of us around here. It’s a shame, really, as this is a positively incredible guitar.

With hardshell case.

2004 Albert & Muller S6 acoustic guitar

 

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The Atkin J43 pays homage to the ‘Banner’ era slope shoulder Jumbos that shipped from Kalamazoo during the WWII era. With a lightly built spruce and mahogany body, 24-7/8” short scale neck, and small rectangle bridge, “The Forty Three” is responsive, woody, and open, with a low-end rumble, warm mids, and round trebles. It’s touch-sensitive and responds well to a lighter touch, but can be hit hard and returns the effort with a plenty of headroom and volume.

The J-43 features a sunburst top, firestripe pickguard, simple appointments, bone nut and saddle, and strip-style tuners. The lacquer finish has a gently aged look with gentle craze lines throughout.

The neck has a round, medium-deep C carve with a 1st fret depth of .870” and a nut width of 1-11/16. Bridge pin spacing is 2-3/16”.

With deluxe hardshell case

Atkin J43 acoustic slope-shouldered jumbo guitar

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This Lange-built Bacon Professional FF Special features a 10-7/8”internal resonator rim, with wave soundholes, intricate marquetry, 24 brackets, and original Rogers skin head. The 5 string neck features a bound pearwood fretboard with intricate sea snail inlays and an engraved flowerpot on the headstock. The scale is 27-1/8”, and the nut width is 1-5/16”. The original frets play cleanly despite a bit of back-bow in the neck. We have the banjo set up with Aquila Nylgut strings, a ½” bridge and an action of 5/32” at the 12th fret, which frails nicely.

The banjo is in excellent condition and is original but for newer inlays on the back of the headstock and on the heel-cap.

Grained ivoroid ‘Forest Dale, VT’ plate, Bacon Professional, FF, and Special all stamped on to the neck stick. No serial number.

With modern hardshell case.

c.1910 Bacon Professional FF Special vintage openback banjo

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