Sad news. Someone I really admire. A great example of how to run a company and make the world a better place.
Sad news. Someone I really admire. A great example of how to run a company and make the world a better place.
Thoughts and prayers for the family and friends.
Chris Cravens
Girouard A5
Montana Flatiron A-Jr.
Passernig Mandola
Leo Posch D-18
A giant has fallen. My condolences to friends and family. I know little of hotrods, but I've always thought the aesthetic of his hobby is so evident in his instruments, acoustically and visually: strip them to their essence, and polish them to an unbelievable glow. I know Collings accomplished much more, but I am personally appreciative of what he did to make high quality mandolins widely available.
I remember where I was when I heard about the deaths of Big Mon, Charles Sawtelle, Charlie Derrington, and Doc. This is equally sad...
Incredibly sad news. Bill will be missed. Praying for his family.
Condolences to his friends and family. So sad to hear this. What a legacy.
2010 Heiden A5, 2020 Pomeroy oval A, 2013 Kentucky KM1000 F5, 2012 Girouard A Mandola w ff holes, 2001 Old Wave A oval octave
http://HillbillyChamberMusic.bandcamp.com
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@hillbillychambermusic
Such a shock to hear his passing. He will be missed deeply.
Waterloo WL-M
Blues Mando Social Group - member
I always hoped I'd have the opportunity to meet Bill. Buying my MT several years ago is really what regenerated my interest in mandolin. Rest in peace Bill.
A sad day indeed for the mandolin and guitar communities. RIP Bill.
A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.
Orcas Island Tonewoods
Free downloads of my mandolin CDs:
"Mandolin Graffiti"
"Mangler Of Bluegrass"
"Overhead At Darrington"
"Electric Mandolin Graffiti"
so sad...
very sad to hear this news. what a loss for musicians the world over.
d
This is incredibly sad news indeed. We read about such folk as Bill Collings,& the wonderful instruments / products that they make,& we think that they'll be around for ever,sadly it does end,& in this case all too soon.
From this side of the Atlantic - my heartfelt condolences to Bill's family & friends - R.I.P. Bill Collings,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
A great loss. He will be sorely missed. My condolences to family and friends.
Trevor
Formerly of The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) Brighton England now retired.
This is my post from a Collings Facebook owner's site:
I met him at a guitar show in Miami about 10 years ago. I told him that I owned an MF and an MT and that they sounded and played every bit as good as the more expensive versions. He said jokingly: I lost money on everyone of those!" Great guy and he raised the bar on making high quality guitars and mandolins. What a loss..
He seemed like an interesting person. RIP, Bill.
My thoughts, prayers and condolences to his family and friends.
Orcas Island Tonewoods
Free downloads of my mandolin CDs:
"Mandolin Graffiti"
"Mangler Of Bluegrass"
"Overhead At Darrington"
"Electric Mandolin Graffiti"
larger than life.. we'll miss you on the left coast!
Thought I'd park this picture here for long-term keeping. Trading a few texts with Jim Baggett, the owner of Mass Street Music, the guitar guy on Antiques Roadshow, etc. He and Bill were best friends. There was a moment at Mandofest, an all-mandolin concert and workshop series we hosted for 13 years that most of you probably never even heard of that involved Bill Collings. In 2005 Butch Baldassari was still alive (also taken by cancer) and was playing on the show. Bill was there as was Will Kimble. At one point Will and Bill started talking general instrument building topics--I can't be sure they'd ever met, but certainly knew of each other. Butch leaned over to me and in his dry, wry manner said, "you could empty out this hall right now and those two guys wouldn't even notice they're so into what they're talking about." That was Bill.
Mandolin Cafe - Since 1995
Facebook - Instagram - Threads
Mandolin Cafe Case Stickers
Mandolin Cafe Store
My sincere condolences and sympathy to Bill's family and friends. He will surely be remembered through every tune that I play on my MT2V. Memories of him will surely be passed on through his spirit deeply ingrained in all the instruments he created. May he rest in peace....
...the guy was driven, and if he became interested in something, he'd want to know everything he could about it...
I remember having my brain picked several times about tonewood (one of the only things i knew a bit more about than Bill... ), and you could just tell by the questions he asked that he had given the whole topic a lot of thought...
A great learner and listener, which is a very valuable trait to cultivate if you want to do your best work....
And he was also a great teacher...
I remember getting him going on the topic of some plywood he was working on for his hollowbody electric guitars...how plywood suited those guitars well, what species of wood was best, etc. etc.
I came away thinking that Bill was going to wind up making the best 335-style guitars ever made, and I think he probably did...
He certainly made the best ukes and cases ever made, and candidates for the best mandolins and guitars...
Quite the legacy...
Orcas Island Tonewoods
Free downloads of my mandolin CDs:
"Mandolin Graffiti"
"Mangler Of Bluegrass"
"Overhead At Darrington"
"Electric Mandolin Graffiti"
As an owner of one of his company's superb instruments, (MF5#528) I am enormously grateful for his building expertise. His fretboard and neck designs, comfortable and smooth, along with his superb sounding instruments that grow better with age, not only filled a niche for people wanting a high end instrument, but also with average players with lower budgets who wanted a quality instrument at an affordable price. Along with Lloyd Loar, I think he stands as one of the greatest influences on the instrument in the last 100 years. There are many absolutely superb luthiers today. But Bill reached a huge amount of players, at a wide range of price points, with great instruments you could grow with, and would help you play better. I wish I had a chance to meet him, but I feel I know a little about him every time I pick up my MF5. RIP We will miss you.
Al in PT
One final thought. A good friend, himself a superb luthier, who builds guitars and mandolins, some years ago, when Collings brought out his first line of MF5's went and looked at them at a shop. He was so impressed he bought one for himself, and told me, "I'm never going to build another F mandolin, Collings are as good or better as I could ever build." He never built another mandolin and he still has and plays that MF5.
Al in PT
I remember I was at Tom Anderson's booth at NAMM years ago and he mentioned Bill's new 20's style 16 carved-top guitar and proceeded to usher me to meet Bill. The guitar was exquisite for its 'coming out' debut, I think I exclaimed wow when I first saw that perfect dark burst finish and bound FF holes! I'm sure he and Anderson got along very well because they are both utterly obsessive about tone, fit and finish. He gave me all the details of the guitar and then some. Very confident but a really genuine person.
Bookmarks