Collings I-30LC coming soon?

This is really the first new guitar to excite me in some time. I've already started thinking about what to sell to start funding...

 

I will definitely be visiting Collings at NAMM this year.

 

See you there!

 

Cool! As a TGPer or are you with Collings?

 

I am with Collings as a demonstrator.

 

I took the Collings factory tour today (with a guitar-playing cousin of mine visiting from out of town). A saw a few i30LCs in progress, got to hold one with a red aged finish. Seemed pretty awesome! Wanted it.

 

That aged black is just insane!

 

+1 on the aged black. Also the red without a pickguard is nice. I personally would chose a plaintop for this model. Somehow that fits more.

 

I really want one of these. I knew it was going to be expensive, but that’s probably too much for me to feel comfortable with.

 

Seems like a non-aged flame maple is 4680.

 

https://artisanguitars.com/collings-i-30-lc-hollow-body-tobacco-sunburst-lollar-p90s-id-11769

 

Just got a blonde I-30lc today delivered. Fantastic guitar. Really special.

 

I saw that Heritage in the other thread, beautiful guitar. I am pretty sure that Collings was using the original ES330 as a basis for the I-30lc. They already had the I-35 which is a 15" smaller 335-style, so it made sense to keep size.

 

I'm Pretty Sure I'm getting one of these.

 

Here's a little review so far:
I loved the I-30lc prototype I played at NAMM, but I think the newer one is more refined and alive and more sophisticated. Acoustically it really sings, it's like as if it has a built in reverb in it. I think a lot of that is coming from the tail piece. It is very loud unplugged.
Plugged in it sounds super warm and clear, very 3-d like and balanced. it sustains just beautifully. I tried it with some overdrive for some straight up blues and it absolutely kills for that. I borrowed a Collings 290 once and I remember that was a killer blues guitar as well with the two P90's. Clean I am liking the I-30lc must better. They both sounds killer with drive. When picking complex fast fusion lines, one can hear each note super clearly. A different experience than playing an I-35lc with humbuckers which I also love.
The I-30lc has a more hollow sound than an I-35lc but it has so much sustain ans such a singing beautiful voice across the whole spectrum of the guitar. Quite remarkable. I own and have played a lot of Collings an I am a big fan of their guitars, but this guitar really stood out from the first note when taking it out of the box. The set up and playabilily is perhaps the best I have experienced from them straight out of the box and they have always been perfect and amazing in that department. I was skeptical to the placement of the strap-button on the back, but it turns out it balances better than any other guitar I have tried. Just when you though they couldn't raise the bar any further, they found a way. I don't know how they did it.

 

How well do the the pickups balance? How is the feedback?

 

Your pictures aren't loading properly...

 

That's because I didn't post one yet.

 

Balance seems great between the pickups. I haven't used it on a gig yet, but I can't imagine feedback is a problem. The trestle bracing helps for that and also adds sustain. Just used my Collings Eastside jazz on a gig last night, its fully hollow(parallel braced. Handles louder volumes great)