The Story of my Perfect Collings I-35 LC Deluxe 

My father played a 1960 ES355 which he passed to me and value aside the memories of seeing him play it and now me cannot be replaced as he cannot play anymore. Nothing else I have sounds like it, especially playing through his 1965 Gibson GA55 Ranger which I have.

Ive got a 64 ES 335 Reissue from 2020 and its a great playing and sounding guitar. Reason for me to get it was it being versatile and jazzy and the beautiful cherry red which is just so classy. total eye catcher. im really curious to try a Collings thanks to Julian Lage who is just incredible. My former guitar teacher highly recommended me a Collings over Gibson as well and they seem superb in craftmanship.

Great video Great playing Great Demo

Owned an Eastman T486B for years, which was great. Now I have one of the new Epiphone ES-335s, which I love (amazing neck). Also a Riviera, which is a variation on the theme. Love semi-hollows for how they feel seated. Nicely sized and well balanced.

Love my i35lc!!!! Had mine for about 10 years now. Ford and Carlton also influenced me. Scofield is my all time fave!!!!

That is a beautiful guitar.

I have a '59 ES345 with the varitone removed so it is essentially a 335. I loved the tones Larry Carlton got, plus a lot of the old blues guys like Freddie King, BB King, Tinsley Ellis, etc. I love the interaction of the semi hollow body pushing a loud amp, just seems more lively than a solidbody. I've tried the Collings and loved it.

Shawn, that I 35 sounds sick with the D20 and both sides of the Tilt! So glad you did a video on it; I saw your instagram post with it and meant to ask you about it in a comment but had to put my phone down at the time. I've got two old Washburn 335 copies that are great. The 335s just seem to have a lot of musicality and voice. Very pleasing to listen to

Great video Shawn. My main guitar is a Collings I35 LC in cherry. You asked for content as to why some of us play "335's". I was born in '62. I admit, that as a youngster in the 60's, it was TV that exposed me to "335's". The Partridge family had them, (Ovations), the Monkees had them (Gretch and Ovation) etc. As an 8 year old taking guitar lessons (on a classical) I really desired one of those guitars. My first electric was a Japanese copy in cherry; I was 13. Moving on to the late 70's, Larry Carlton and Rit were big influencers to me. By then though, I was playing a Strat. I went to Berklee in 1980 as a performance major and there were so many folks playing 335's. These days, I play with less and less gain so I wanted to go back to a semi-hollow for more "content" in my tone. That's what lead me back to a 335. I have 20+ guitars (Mostly USA Hamers for electrics) but the Collings is my number one now.

My second guitar (after a Fender Mustang) was a Gibson 335, sunburst with the weird tail piece that goes all the way to the end of the guitar (reminds me of that orthodontic head-gear!). Bought in 1972. TBH, I got it because an older guitarist in my high school whom I admired played one. At the time, I don't think I had access to any sort of overdrive/distortion pedals, and the 335 just had a whole lot more sustain through my Fender bandmaster than the Mustang did! Unfortunately, after a few years it developed intonation problems, and I didn't know a good guitar tech. Ended up selling it, biggest musical gear regret of my life!! I've always loved the look and sound of your Collings.

I got turned on to 335 guitars by 2 guitarists that one would normally not think about. They are: Chuck Berry and Alex Lifeson. None of my other guitar heroes played 335s except those two. Alex Lifeson especially, got some killer tones out of his. Chuck just has a phat "chug chug" type rhythm sound which i enjoy.

want one. beautiful, Shawn!

Great vid! just got my first Collings and it’s awesome. What pickups do you have in yours Shaun?

Beautiful guitar. 335 classic Lifeson!

I've got a lovely Gibson ES335 in cherry red with the flame maple top back and sides though I was originally after a plain top model in cherry red ala EC. I find the 335 to be extremely versatile and certainly for me much more of a go to than a Les Paul. While I love EC's 335 playing with Cream, it's Robben Ford & Larry Carlton that really caught my ear...now if only my hands could catch up! Awesome work as usual Shawn - love the sound and look of your beautiful Collings.

I tried a Collings i35lc against a CS 335, the Collings was perfection. I bought the 335 for the sound i was looking for.

That's a guitar I definitely want someday. I have a Collings 290 with Throbak p90s and it's my favorite guitar.

I want an ES-335 and an SG because there aren't any particular players I like that do play them. I feel like it would leave me with a blank canvas for creativity. I actually had this idea from the Tilt. The Tilt is not like a Marshall in a box, or any specific amp in a box. It's very unique and harmonically rich. When I turn it on, I don't know what to play and I love that. It makes me play with less influences and play like me. For ES players I only really listened to Joe Bonamassa, but I still see him more as a Les Paul guy. Recently I saw that Leo Nocentelli from The Meters played an ES-335.

The 335 is my favorite electric guitar...

Amazing Collings you have there Shawn. I’ve had my eyes on a Collings 335 style for a while and hope the wallet will allow it someday. So far my only real exposure to a 335 was a 60’s model Trini Lopez, which was fantastic. Definitely need a semi hollow in the arsenal, and some of your chops to go with it.

Hi Shawn, great video. I own a 335 and it is by far my favorite guitar that I have in the collection. If I had to part with all my guitars and could only keep one it would be the 335. I play in a cover band and do a lot of recording in my studio at home, for some reason it's always the first guitar I'll grab. I might also mention that thanks to you I bought a Revv D20 and I love it! Great amp and especially when I have my Lightspeed going into the Tilt OD, sounds amazing.

If I could afford one, I'd get one! Absolutely love the versatility. For me I always associate 335s with John Mayer's cover of Ain't No Sunshine at Crossroads Festival. One day!

Great video. You're an amazing player. I own a vintage '64 335 and love it to death. It has it's own thing going on. My Collings I35LC sounds much different IMO. It's smaller than the 335 and lighter weight too. My 335 weighs almost 8.25 lbs. My I35LC weighs 7.25 bls. I agree that the I35LC can sound like a great 335 on the bridge pickup. But the other pickups sound different, more mid focused on the 335. The I35 sounds clear and open, no midrange hump on it. I love both of the guitars but if money was no object and was blindfolded I would buy the I35LC. It's a very refined instrument.

Bought an Eastman T59/v after auditioning a dozen or so 335s and 339s at my three local Guitar Centers. Half the price and, really, as good as a custom shop-level 335.

Great sounding Collings guitar Shawn. Yes, I would love to get my hands on a Collings 335 style guitar. Also, to have this type of guitar would definitely force me to play more bebopish ideas like Scofield or Carlos Rios. Maybe one day when I win the lottery. LOL. Cheers Shawn.

Do you think these would work well for blues / rock? Also, what amp are you playing through here? Sounds awesome.

Love Collings!! Love 335’s! Clapton!!!

Thank you for sharing Shawn and for the story about the guitar. I've heard Throwback pickups are great. I have a Reverend Semi Hollow Club King, bigsby on it, and it has their own Mini humbucker pickups. It has a 25.5 scale length roasted maple neck. Carved out Korina body, solid spruce top. Don't know for how long I will be able to keep it but I like the acoustic quality of a Spruce top. Although I don't think it sounds like a 335 at all. Probably due to the longer scale and different build. Guitar has its own sound, beautiful cleans and overdriven tones are great too. I have a Godin Icon Type 2 Convertible with Wolftone Dr Vintage pickups and that guitar sounds more like a 335. Chambered mahogany body, shorter scale, ebony board. Sapele top. Take care Shawn! Would you ever consider doing a live video with just you playing through tracks? Sort of like a live but from your studio :)

For me it was Alex Lifeson, then Johnny Marr, then Dave Grohl, and even Jet at Live 8! Such a versatile instrument, and that's without the Larry Carlton/Steely Dan thing which I discovered later. Now I own a 355 Black Beauty with 3 pickups and talk about bling - it's a head-turner! As for Collings, I have an 1-35 and besides the pickups, which are too hot for me in general, I was surprised at the smaller body size. Mine is a 15-inch in comparison to the 16 inches in your average 335-style, and it really makes a difference. I honeslty prefer the full size to anything smaller in this case. In fact, if my Collings didn't have a Bigsy, I'd a have flipped it already. I'm a lefty and a 335-style guitar with a Bigsby is really hard to find! A quality instrument though. I can fully confirm Collings craftsmanship is excellent as advertised.

Love 335's... Larry Carlton was how I learned how versatile these guitars are.

Just one point to consider: If your pickups are Throbaks, then you ARE playing PAF pickups. The very winding machines from the Gibson factory, the minutia Jon Gundry goes into is beyond encyclopedic. The hotter than PAF that you mention makes me believe that the lack of wax potting (original PAFs were NOT wax potted) , is probably not what you have in other pups that claim to be vintage or PAF clones. My first love of the 335 was from Alvin Lee at Woodstock, with his boogie “I’m Goin Home” , but lots of guys have played them and most sound fantastic. There are also different alnico magnets available in Throbaks, so that is definitely a factor. Jon actually uses some microphonics in his humbuckers for headroom, which may or may not have been Gibson’s intent, but there are a few other pickup makers that prefer to avoid wax potting for that expansive headroom that PAFs deliver, like Curtis Novak, for one.

Love the 335 Guitars but for live they are a little bit to big for me end up using the Gibson 339 little bit smaller but with the throbaks they rule all day ... put them in my goldtop too different models of course but very good reproduction of the old PAF style Pickups... if you can try to replace the bridge to Faber ABRH-59NA Bridge that makes is even more 3D and dynamic.

Hey Shawn, beautiful guitar you have. My I-35LC is likely exactly the same, with some minor differences: top hat knobs with pointers, thin ('60s) neck profile, Throbak PG102 (Peter Green model) pickups, aged finish. The core quality of any Collings is just sublime. This is the only guitar that could match and possibly win against the vintage 1962 ES-345 TD-SV with PAFs that I had for many years (and sold to fund college studies for my sons). A superbly built and finished guitar, with slightly less "honk" and more "full range" tone v/s a 335. In general the 335 is likely the most versatile guitar style ever. Nothing she can't do, maybe except extreme high-gain stuff, which is far out of my interest. So, yep, keep enjoying her!

I have a satin red Gibson 335.. It's a tone machine BUT when I play it, I'm always having to fight neck rise. Is that typical in 335s, or do I just have a "lemon"? It sits in the case, and I play a Gibson 339, which is better balanced.

335 is may favorite Gibson. SGs next, even though I think a LesPaul looks cooler. SG is just so light, sits on the lap better. 1st fret does feel likes it’s a mile away though.

Definitely Carlton for me. Trying to save up the cash now to buy something 335-ish.

EJ tends to make a 335 sound pretty ok... Great tones here as always Shawn! I'd love a Collings in that style but I'm also a huge fan of the PRS Hollow Body guitars obviously quite different to a 335 but definitely a favourite and on the wish list.

I'm really lusting for a D20 lately, but does anyone know what colors the lights in it are? In some videos I've seen, it's blue, which looks AWESOME! but in other videos, it's purple, which I reeeally don't like...what color does it have by default, and can you change the colors in it or order it with certain colors?

IMO there's nothing you can't do with a 335. Extremely versatile.

I'd call that rear PU snarly

Holla holla holla body baby.

Collings are just perfect. PERFECT. in every sense. not for your wallet though, sadly.

Alvin Lee Cream Alice Coopers Band Freddie King