2015 Waterloo Jumbo King Sunburst

Just Plain Bill”. That’s what John Sebastian named this wonderful Waterloo by Collings Jumbo King. Bill Collings was a hero to us in the all-too-short time he graced the world of guitars and guitar nuts with his presence. He left us all too soon, in 2017, but the instruments he gave us and that his company is still giving us will live on forever. This particular Waterloo Jumbo King came to me from John Sebastian, he of Lovin’ Spoonful fame and “Do You Believe In Magic” and “Welcome Back” fame, and it came to John directly from Bill Collings his own self. John was visiting the Collings factory in Austin, Texas one day, was being given a tour by Bill and picked up this guitar, Serial No. 1225, and immediately fell in love. It seemed to John to have a lot of Bill’s personality in it, and while Bill Collings was anything but a “plain” person, for some reason John decided to call the guitar “Just Plain Bill”, perhaps with tongue somewhat in cheek. He even put Bill’s picture on the outside of the case.

This is a rare version of the Waterloo Jumbo King, as its back and sides are mahogany rather than the standard rosewood. For some reason, certain commercial websites insist on listing it as rosewood only, but this is a very special guitar and wonderfully so. It is a most impressive instrument, with all those big, clear tones that the Waterloo Jumbo Kings are famous for and much more, and when you play it it feels just like home. John did in fact keep it at his home, called it his “bedroom guitar”, never took it out on the road, kept it beautifully. At this point in his life he has many guitars and decided that this one just deserved a new home, where someone would play it every day. He wrote a great two-page letter to go with it describing how he got it on his visit. This letter, hand-written by John on his own stationery, is included. $2475 w/ohsc