Bill Collings AT-18 Deluxe Archtop
c1990 Bill Collings AT-18 Deluxe Archtop
About as good as it gets, this is an 18” archtop made by Bill Collings himself.
Specs / Measurements
~1990
Spruce / Maple
~1.7” nut
~25.5” string length
23 frets
~2.05” string spacing at saddle
~18” lower bout
Piezo pickup in saddle
Grover tuners
Calton flight case, yellow
Dan Del Santo CD showing the guitar on the album cover
Condition / Setup Notes
Excellent(+); For its rarity and age, it is in extremely clean condition. There is some finish checking here and there, and it’s possible an errant mark can be found, but in beautiful shape. Currently set up with string height about 6/64'“-4/64”, with minimal relief. The saddle has only a little bit of room left to go down, but it’s playing great as-is, and should it be desired there is plenty of material that can be removed for an adjustment.
***
One of the finest instruments I’ve encountered. Collings archtops in general are special, and even more so are the ones of an age that would have been made by Bill Collings alone. This one was made around 1990 before the Collings company started keeping records for archtops in 1995. It was said that early on, Bill Collings made archtops on a limited basis for artists that he admired. This particular one was made for Dan Del Santo, a DJ and performer who was at one point a fixture in Austin promoting world music. A CD of his is included, which shows him holding this very guitar on the album cover.
For this early of a year, it is surprising to see all the features of the models that came to be designated as “Deluxe”: it’s made with a cutaway, more contemporary S-holes, multi-ply bindings, and the broken glass inlays. There are also a number of features unique to this particular guitar, including a tailpiece that appears to be custom fabricated, and a zig zag theme at the end of the fretboard and on the pickguard. The binding and purflings here are executed beautifully.
Exceedingly rare, and a superlative guitar. While this one was made before records were kept, only a scant nine 18” archtops have been noted as being produced. Icing on the cake, it comes in an eye-catching yellow Calton case, itself a beauty. Austin meets Austin in spectacular fashion.
$35000
Thanks for looking, any questions please feel free to get in touch.
This instrument ships for free via UPS Next Day Air to the Continental US / Payment for this instrument must be made via bank check or transfer.