baritone 2005

McCollum Guitars were built by Lance McCollum in Sebastopol, California, between 1995 and 2009 — about 316 instruments in total. Lance passed away in 2009, so every McCollum guitar on the market today is preowned, rare, and desired. The work covered an unusual breadth for a single builder: harp guitars, baritones, twelve-strings, the Kayleigh model, and the small-bodied Meaghan that anchors his fingerstyle reputation. Across the line, players talk about Lance's guitars in the same language — precise string-to-string balance, surprising sustain for the body size, signature ebony fingerboards with a distinctive "S" cut at the soundhole, and fit and finish that holds up twenty-plus years on. McCollums turn up at Dream Guitars, Carter Vintage, and Willcutt occasionally; when they appear, they tend not to sit long.