2009 Collings CL City Limits Deluxe Premium Quilt Top ~ Cherry Sunburst

Just imagine a Cherry Sunburst swimming pool… 

Seriously… look at that top.

That isn’t merely quilted maple… That’s molten caramel, liquid sunshine, and a fireworks finale that somehow got trapped under nitrocellulose lacquer.

If this guitar were hanging on your wall, your other guitars would quietly start asking if they could be moved to another room to avoid the constant comparisons.

Welcome to the 2009 Collings City Limits Deluxe, built during the legendary Bill Collings era, when Bill was still personally obsessed with every tiny detail that left the Austin shop. Many builders make beautiful guitars. Bill made instruments that bordered on unreasonable.

And this isn’t your average City Limits Deluxe… That premium quilted maple top wasn’t an accident… Some maple says, “Hi.”… This maple says, “Excuse me… has everyone noticed how ridiculously good-looking I am?”

Today, ordering a City Limits Deluxe with a top like this would push you well north of $10,000, and while Collings continues to build phenomenal instruments, there will never again be another one crafted during the Bill Collings era.

Then there are those pickups… Lollar Imperials…  The unofficial answer to the question:

“What if vintage PAFs went to graduate school?”… They’re warm without getting muddy, articulate without getting sterile, and capable of making mediocre amplifiers suddenly question whether they’ve been underestimated their entire lives.

The Madagascar Rosewood fingerboard is another treat that has become increasingly scarce and expensive, while the ivoroid knobs, pickup rings, tuner buttons, and binding give the entire guitar an elegant vintage vibe without trying too hard.

And at 7.9 lbs, this thing is practically cheating…  It feels substantial enough to remind you you’re holding a serious instrument, yet light enough that your shoulder won’t file a complaint halfway through the second set.

The medium C neck measures .886″ at the 1st fret and 1.001″ at the 12th, landing squarely in that magical territory where chunky-neck players feel at home, while slimmer-neck fans somehow don’t want to put it down.

Basically… It’s the Switzerland of neck profiles…. Everybody leaves happy.

Specs

• Model: Collings City Limits Deluxe
• Color: Cherry Sunburst, Gloss Finish
• Top: Premium Quilted Maple
• Body: Mahogany
• Neck: Mahogany, Set Neck
• Neck Profile: Medium C, .886″ 1st Fret / 1.001″ 12th Fret
• Fingerboard: Madagascar Rosewood
• Inlays: Mother-Of-Pearl Parallelograms
• Pickups: Lollar Imperial Humbuckers (Neck & Bridge)
• Bridge: Adjustable Tune-O-Matic w Stop Bar
• Tuners: Collings sealed nickel with Ivoroid Buttons
• Hardware: Nickel
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-Way Toggle Switch
• Knobs: Ivoroid
• Trim Rings: Ivoroid
• Strings: fresh New Set of Ernie Ball 10-46 Gauge
• Weight: 7.9 LBS
• Serial #: 8363

Condition

She was born in 2009 during the highly sought-after Bill Collings era and remains in very good condition. She has only a few tiny nicks and light surface scratches that are difficult to find unless you’re actively hunting for them. Nothing distracting, nothing abusive—just the honest signs of a well-cared-for, high-end instrument that’s spent the last sixteen years making lesser guitars question their career choices.

The frets are in excellent condition, the neck is straight, the electronics work flawlessly, and she plays every bit as effortlessly as you’d expect from a Bill Collings masterpiece…  and we just put on a fresh new set of 10-46’s, so she’s all dressed up and ready to rock!

If you’ve been looking for a premium-top City Limits Deluxe, this is exactly the kind of guitar collectors hope appears once in a while… and usually doesn’t.

Because once someone opens the case, stares at that outrageous quilted maple top for about thirty seconds, plugs into an amp, and hears those Lollar Imperials…

…the phrase “I’ll think about it” suddenly disappears from their vocabulary.

Whoever brings this baby home is gonna be completely STOKED!!

LET’S GO!!