Photo Story: Collings Guitars

Photo story by, Kelly West News Photography One Class, Fall 15′

Collings Guitars, which started as a one-man shop in the mid-1970s, has grown to include more than 70 full-time employees and an expanding facility on the western edge of Travis County. Bill Collings dropped out of college as a pre-med major and started repairing and building guitars, and eventually hired his first employee in 1989, who still works for the company.

The Collings shop turns out high-quality acoustic and electric guitars, as well as mandolins and ukuleles, and most steps of the production process are performed painstakingly by hand. The cost of the guitars can range anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000 or more, depending on how custom the design is.

Collings instruments are played by a variety of musicians, including Lyle Lovett, Lloyd Maines, and Patti Smith.

[Students from the News Photography 1316 class spent a morning documenting the work and craftsmanship at Collings Guitars, and complied a photo story from the assignment.]

Jerome Little, an employee of Collings Guitars, a local guitar manufacturer since the 1970’s, sands a piece of an electric guitar inside the Collings facility in Austin, Texas. October 9, 2015. photo by Anneke Paterson
Hard at work – An employee Sands a piece of an electric guitar inside the Collings facility. Photo by Anneke Paterson.
Collings Guitars is a stringed instrument manufacturer established in 1973 in Austin, Texas. Reid Albach smooths out the sides of an acoustic guitar on Friday, October 9th. photo by Mario Cantu
Smoothing out the edges – Reid Albach smooths out the sides of an acoustic guitar. Photo by Mario Cantu.
Collings guitars, a handmade guitar and mandolin company located on highway 290 W in Austin, TX has been locally owned and operated for over 20 years. A satin finish A-Model MT mandolin made by Collings Guitars receives its final adjustments before completion Friday October 9th, 2015. photo by Nicholas Skelton-Tangredi
Collings guitars – A satin finish A-Model MT mandolin made receives its final adjustments before completion. Photo by Nicholas Skelton-Tangredi.
Jerome Little, an employee of Collings Guitars, uses a chisel tool to finish a piece of an electric guitar inside the Collings facility in Austin, Texas on October 9, 2015. photo by Anneke Paterson
It’s all in the details – Jerome Little, an employee of Collings Guitars, uses a chisel tool to finish a piece of an electric guitar inside the facility. Photo by Anneke Paterson.
Scott Butts assembles a bridge to a Mandolin at Collings Guitars in Austin, Texas on Friday Oct. 09, 2015. photo by Mario Cantu
Putting it all together – Scott Butts assembles a bridge to a Mandolin at Collings. Photo by Mario Cantu.
Andrew Murray makes small cuts into a guitar, a process called kerfing which requires intricate and skilled work. photo by Mario Cantu
It takes skills – Andrew Murray makes small cuts into a guitar, a process called kerfing which requires intricate and skilled work. photo by Mario Cantu
Ed Rodriguez repairs an old guitar at Collings Guitars, located in Austin, Texas on Friday, October 9th, 2015 . The C10 series acoustic was sent back to Collings for a scratch made at the headstock. photo by Chloe Bennett
Making repairs – Ed Rodriguez repairs an old guitar. The C10 series acoustic was sent back to Collings for a scratch made at the headstock. Photo by Chloe Bennett

 

For a look at how Collings employees take a break to have fun during the day, enjoy this short video at http://bcove.me/z93mtt9m.