The success of the Collings OM1 JL combined with Julian Lage’s love of electric guitars meant a second Collings-Julian collaboration was inevitable. But following such a highly praised signature model with yet another meant leaving nothing on the table. From its organic beginnings, the process envisioned by both parties was something designed and built from the sound up.
The Collings 470 JL results from years-long conversations, engineering, testing, tweaking, playing, and listening, and then doing it all over again until it was right. From first sketches through plugging in the final prototypes, every aspect of this model inside and out results from a unique approach, technique, and style – both from the builder’s and player’s point of view – culminating in a one-of-a-kind electric guitar experience. In collaboration with Julian Lage, here is the Collings 470 JL.
It represents everything I love about the electric guitar and is infused with the elegance and mastery that Collings brings to every instrument. It speaks to the early days of electric guitars, raw and powerful and alive, and points to the future as well. I can’t wait to hear it in the hands of other guitarists!
Julian Lage
| Construction | Fully hollow w/ trestle block |
| Body | Solid Honduran mahogany |
| Top | Maple laminate |
| Neck | Honduran mahogany |
| Body Binding | Non-grained ivoroid |
| Fingerboard Binding | Ebony |
| Peghead Binding | None |
| Bridge | Pinned ebony base w/ tune-o-matic saddle top (nylon saddles) |
| Tailpiece | Bigsby vibrato B3 |
| Fingerboard | Ebony w/ graduated pearl dots |
| Fingerboard Radius | 12″ |
| Pickups | Ron Ellis Ellisonics (custom adjustable height) |
| Pots/Caps | DiMarzio 500K / Jupiter Vintage Yellow / Orange Drop Treble Bleed |
| Knobs | Black/Silver or Black/Gold Reflector Top |
| Pickup Rings | Black Phenolic |
| Nut | 1 11/16″ Delrin |
| Scale Length | 24 7/8″ |
| Neck Joint | Extra long mortise & tenon |
| Frets | Medium 18% nickel-silver |
| Peghead Veneer | Ebony w/ MOP Collings Script logo |
| Peghead Profile | 470 Haircut |
| Tuners | Relic nickel Waverly with vintage oval buttons (16:1 ratio) |
| Wiring | 470 Wiring (master volume, two tones) |
| Guitar Finish | High gloss nitrocellulose lacquer |
| Pickguard | Acrylic Tortoise (1-ply) or Parchment (3-Ply) |
| Truss Rod Cover | Black/Cream/Black |
| Strings | D’Addario NYXL1149 (.011″ – .049″) |
| Case | Deluxe hardshell case by Ameritage |
