After playing hundreds — if not thousands — of acoustic guitars, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. Turns out, it didn’t exist. At least, not off the shelf. So for the first time in my life, I worked with a builder to create something made entirely to my specifications.

The result? One of the best guitars I’ve ever played. And yes, I sold two guitars to make it happen.

This is my custom Collings — and here’s the story of how it came to be.

Why I Couldn’t Just Buy a Guitar Off the Shelf

I want to be upfront about something: I almost didn’t make this video. I care far more about the music we make, than the tools we use to make it. Ninety percent of listeners probably won’t hear the difference between a great guitar and an exceptional one. And you don’t need the most expensive gear out there to make beautiful music.

But as I started using this guitar in my videos, the questions about this guitar kept coming on YouTube and Instagram — so here we are.

The truth is, after years of searching, I kept running into the same problem. I’d find a guitar that sounded absolutely stunning — traditional build, lightweight, responsive — and then the string spacing would be too wide. Beautiful for fingerpicking, but clumsy for strumming. And every time I’d go back to an electric or a closer-spaced acoustic, I’d feel completely lost.

It happened with a secondhand Martin Triple-O Golden Era (the 1937-spec model — incredible guitar, wide spacing, sold it). It happened with my Collings C10 Deluxe. I just couldn’t make peace with it.

So the choice became clear: I needed a traditionally built guitar with 2 3/16 inch string spacing. And I needed someone to build it exactly that way.

Why Collings?

If you’ve spent any time around high-end acoustics, you already know the answer. The craftsmanship at Collings is, quite simply, unreal.

It’s hard to put into words, but everywhere you look — every joint, every finish detail, every curve — it’s just perfect. Getting to watch the build process through photos they took along the way made it even more special.

The Specs: Every Detail, Deliberately Chosen

The guitar is a single-0, 12 fret model. It’s This a small guitar. Smaller than a Triple-O, smaller than an OM, and a world away from a dreadnought. But don’t let the size fool you.

The 12-fret configuration means the neck joins the body at the 12th fret rather than the 14th. This shifts the neck — and crucially, the bridge — further toward the center of the lower bout. The result is a different kind of resonance. The sound blooms. It’s rounder, mellower, a little less sharp. One word that keeps coming to mind: sweeter.

It also happens to be the perfect couch guitar. It hangs right next to the sofa, and I’ve picked it up almost every single day since it arrived.

The Neck: A Custom Compromise

Here’s where the real custom work happened. Traditionally, the wider neck carve that Collings uses is paired with wider string spacing at the bridge — that’s just how the geometry works. But I wanted the narrower 2 3/16 inch spacing.

The solution? They took the traditional neck profile and narrowed it slightly at the top to accommodate the closer string spacing, so you don’t end up with huge chunks of neck beside the outer strings. The result is a neck that goes from a mild C shape at the nut to a subtle V toward the heel — comfortable for my hands at every position. It’s one of the most natural-feeling necks I’ve played.

Tonewoods: Adirondack Spruce & Rosewood

The top is Adirondack Spruce — typically brighter and louder than Sitka, with excellent dynamic range and a sensitivity to light picking that’s almost startling. You can barely touch the strings and feel the whole guitar vibrate. But strum it hard and there’s still headroom — the sound has somewhere to go.

The back and sides are Rosewood, which adds warmth, depth, and that beautiful sustain that pairs so well with a responsive spruce top.

What really sets this particular guitar apart, though, is the balance between single notes and full chords. It’s something you have to hear to believe — a single note sits right alongside a strummed chord in the mix in a way that just doesn’t happen on most guitars.

The Look: Style 42 with a Burst Finish

I’ll admit it — I’m a little superficial when it comes to guitars. And I’m not sorry.

This is a Style 42 build, which means abalone trim around the top and soundhole, and stunning snowflake inlays up the fingerboard. It’s a direct nod to my Martin D-42, a guitar that’s been central to my playing and to the start of this channel. It felt right to carry that aesthetic forward.

As for the burst — I never thought I was a burst person. Then in 2015 I walked into Rudy’s Music in New York City and played a Santa Cruz Orchestra Model with one of the most beautiful sunbursts I’d ever seen.

It was way out of reach at the time, but I never forgot it. This guitar finally scratched that itch. And with the gold Waverly tuners on the slotted headstock, and a torch inlay on the solid headstock — honestly, it’s just gorgeous.

So Is It Worth It?

It exceeds every expectation I had. And I had high expectations.

But here’s the thing — and I mean this sincerely — it’s still just a guitar, just a piece of wood. It won’t make you a better player overnight. Most listeners genuinely won’t hear the difference.

What it does do is make me want to pick it up every single day. And if that translates into more playing, more practice, more music — well, maybe that matters more than we think.

I used the guitar when recording my instrumental piece Ambers Embrace — available on all streaming platforms. It was written for the tail end of summer: amber skies, long evenings, and that bittersweet feeling of wanting to hold onto something just a little longer. Fittingly, this guitar has an amber burst on its top.

As for whether a custom build is a good option for you to explore – if you’ve been searching for a guitar and keep hitting the same wall — right sound, wrong specs, or vice versa — it might be worth considering. It takes patience (and yes, some budget), but the process of honing in on exactly what you need is invaluable. And when it all comes together? You’ll know.