Collings CL Jazz 'Merlot' Preowned 2025

The Collings CL Jazz is one of the most refined and beautifully appointed thinline archtop electric guitars produced anywhere in the world today, a fully hollow instrument built in limited numbers at Collings' Austin, Texas workshop that delivers detailed, harmonically rich jazz tone in a lightweight, ultra-responsive package. The fully hollow Honduran mahogany body with carved European spruce top and parallel bracing produces a tonal character that is simultaneously warm and articulate, rich in harmonic complexity, highly responsive to touch and dynamics, with a natural resonance and airiness only true hollow construction can deliver. The Merlot finish adds a deep, jewel-like warmth to the spruce top that is as visually compelling as any standard finish option in the CL Jazz range.

A single Lollar Johnny Smith pickup in the neck position delivers the clear, warm, singing single-coil jazz voice the CL Jazz format demands, with thumbwheel 500K pots and a .047 ceramic capacitor providing refined, musical high-frequency rolloff under the bound ebony pickguard. The ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays, ivoroid-bound S-holes, a deluxe flared haircut peghead with ebony veneer and MOP Collings logo, an extra-long mortise and tenon neck joint, and nickel Gotoh tuners with Collings logo reflect the level of material quality and decorative refinement that sets Collings archtops apart, ideal for serious jazz players after a genuinely premium, hand-built hollow-body instrument. This 2025-built example shows only very light playwear and remains in exceptional, well-cared-for condition, complete with its original hardshell case.

Features

• Fully hollow Honduran mahogany body with carved European spruce top and parallel bracing produces a warm, articulate tone with natural resonance and airiness.
• Single Lollar Johnny Smith neck pickup delivers a clear, warm, singing single-coil jazz voice with exceptional note separation and harmonic complexity.
• Thumbwheel 500K pots and a .047 ceramic capacitor under the bound ebony pickguard provide refined, musical high-frequency control.
• Ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays and ivoroid-bound S-holes give the CL Jazz an elegant, traditional archtop appearance.
• Extra-long mortise and tenon neck joint and nickel Gotoh tuners with Collings logo reflect the exacting build quality Collings archtops are known for.

Specs

• Model: Collings CL Jazz
• Year: 2025
• Body: Fully hollow, parallel braced, thinline, Honduran mahogany
• Top: Carved solid European spruce
• Neck: Honduran mahogany
• Neck joint: Extra long mortise and tenon
• Fingerboard: Ebony, 12" radius
• Fingerboard inlays: Mother of pearl parallelograms
• Fingerboard binding: Non-grained ivoroid
• Soundhole: Bound S-holes
• Scale length: 25-1/2"
• Nut width: 1-11/16"
• Frets: Medium, 18% nickel-silver
• Bridge: Adjustable ebony
• Tailpiece: Ebony
• Peghead: Deluxe flared haircut profile
• Peghead veneer: Ebony with MOP Collings logo and parallelograms
• Body binding: Non-grained ivoroid
• Pickup: Single Lollar Johnny Smith (neck)
• Pots: Thumbwheel 500K
• Capacitor: .047 ceramic
• Pickguard: Ebony with non-grained ivoroid binding
• Tuners: Nickel Gotoh with Collings logo
• Finish: High gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, Merlot
• Strings: D'Addario NYXL1252W (.012-.052, wound 3rd)
• Includes: Deluxe hardshell case
• Made in: USA (Austin, Texas)