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Another one for all the guitarists out there – favourite guitar(s) you own?

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At the risk of opening the guitar nerd floodgates, I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread where we can talk about our favourite guitars that we own.

I’ve always craved a Gibson Hummingbird or a Martin D-45 but unlikely to ever own one. I could never justify the cost and I’m a solid realist (ie: cheapskate) when it comes to spending money on musical instruments. I think once you get to a certain level it’s only marginal gains for mega bucks.

But I think you will always grow to love the instruments you have, if they are half decent and you have time to get to know them. I’ve had my two favourite acoustic guitars for years, and I’ve played them to death (which is what guitars are FOR after all). I love them both although I always feel slightly ashamed at people with fancier guitars: must remember it’s the player not the tools who makes the difference! Mine are both strictly consumer-level models:

– Takamine EF261S – bought about 2005: I’m pleased to see this model is now worth about double what I originally paid for it. I wanted a reliable gigging guitar and this has certainly achieved that. It has many, many nicks and scrapes, and something is now rattling in the pickup. But I’ve always found it just sings in my hands and has a really sweet sound; and sounds best letting notes ring out, or lightly strumming. The only downside is it’s quite a small body and is lacking in bottom end a bit.

– Yamaha FG-411-12 – a 12 string guitar I bought around 1996. I’ve no idea why I wanted a 12 string, I just liked the sound of it. Funnily enough though, most of the time I only have six strings on it as that chorus-y 12 string sound can get a bit tiresome sometimes. Played as a six string, I find I can get a passable John Fahey type sound on it, that big-bottomed, heavy sound. Great for finger picking. As a 12 string it’s nice and loud for strumming along in rowdy singalong sessions where there is no amplification.

So, tell me about your favourite guitar, or guitars! Is there someone out there with a Gretsch White Falcon or a vintage Gibson Les Paul?

I’m also keen to hear peoples’ thoughts on guitar ownership in general. Is it an indulgent hobby for people with money to burn? Do you buy them to play or to mount on a wall? Are younger people still buying guitars?

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Comments

  1. Well. I learned to play bass a good three years before learning to play guitar – and my favourite instrument is my beloved Rickenbacker 4001, which I got in 1982. Still my all-time fave bass (although I’ve gone from roundwounds to flatwounds as I got older). Still playing it, but less aggressively than I used to…

    I got a tax rebate in 1983 and spent it on a Brynn Hiscox lute backed 12-string: bowl-backed like an Ovation, but made of strips of wood, like a boat. Gorgeous sound and stupendous projection for live playing. Doesn’t get played so much these days, but couldn’t possibly sell it on.

    Electrics – favourite is my Gibson ES135. I was given this as a birthday gift by my late other half, so it has resonance for me beyond the guitar itself – but it’s a beauty. I added a Bigsby and swapped out the Gibbo P100s for OilCity Masterwound P90s and it sings like a bird. Also have an old GordonSmith like Steve Diggle’s, basically a double cut junior with a P90 at the bridge – I leave it in open G and use it for Stones/slide – but I did go through a phase of taking it to gigs and using it for everything, all night, it’s surprisingly versatile. Other favourite is a Tele, a Brad Paisley signature – bought for its extremely light weight – but I do like the silver sparkle finish and the V neck. A bit showy for me – but what the hell…

    I do have one or two others – but these are my favourites, as requested. I’m late to Fender, having mostly played GordonSmiths and other hollow guitars with P90s and Bigsbys…

  2. My fave is my late 90s Gibson J-45, which used to belong to Chris Difford. I didn’t buy it off him, but from a guy in Cornwall who’d kept the correspondence.

    Like Fitter’s Gibson, my 1996 MIJ butterscotch Fender Telecaster was a 50th present from my late wife, so it has great sentimental value.

    I also have a Danelectro U2 56 Pro, the one with the hot pickups.

    In Oz I have a little Australian Timberidge acoustic – beaut guitar bought for a song from a Frenchman selling up and going home. Also a Squier Strat with a humbucker.

    I don’t play much any more – like His Bobness I find my hands aren’t really up to it any more. I spend much more time on the piano these days.

  3. My number one guitar would be a Bond Electraglide (Mick Jones BAD style) that I picked up in my London days having been obsessed with the one in Waltons music shop window in Dublin for the ridiculous price of £1000 in 1984. I used to stare at it en route to signing on the dole. It doesn’t get played much anymore but I still think it’s a thing of beauty.

    The guitars I play most are two Sterling by Musicman ones that I picked up second hand; one is an Axis two humbucker pick-ups, five way switch, short scale, the other is a Cutlass, basically a Strat copy. They’re both reliably in tune with quality sounds. Very playable.

    I’ve also got a Yamaha TVL SA503 a semi hollowbody with Bigsby tremolo and three soapbox pickups, also with a short scale. It’s a bit heavy and requires patience with the complicated pick up combinations but sounds great and looks great with its unique f holes.

    I’ve a lovely nylon stringed Takamine G series that gets played a lot. I used to have the steel stringed version too but it’s out on loan and I doubt I’ll ever see it again.

    Among the rest I have a great Squier Standard telecaster, an early Variax which is good fun to arse about with and a Yamaha Pacifica HSS I was left by a friend who died.

    Bass wise I have a short scale Ibanez TMB 30 which is very versatile and easy to play, all for less than €200. I’d recommend it for guitarists looking for a bass.

    If only I had the time to enjoy all of these beautiful machines.

  4. I change my mind between them but the main ones are:

    Martin D28-12 – my 12 string which I love unreservedly

    Martin HD28v – just good at almost everything

    L’Arrivee OM-01 – smaller O body, my live guitar. Has its own voice and always fab

    I just got a Farrida Parlour guitar which I use for sofa pickin’ and playing ragtime (a current project to improve).

    Fender Strat “Roadhouse” – you have to have a good Strat and this is one. I modded the wiring so it has a kind of humbucker option using the third knob, and the second is now a master tone. Takes 20 mins and everyone should do it

    Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster – the Japan one, not the custom shop. My main recording electric. Good for almost anything

    Bailey Bandmaster Custom – built for me by Bailey Guitars in Scotland. My main live electric for rawk, SGish sound and clever trem arm you can do divebombs with.

    Washburn HB-50 – super rare, very pretty and classy sounding

    Basses – I have a Squier P Special (has a jazz bridge pickup too) and an Ibanez Artcore bass which is medium scale so very nice to play plus sounds nothing like a P. Really like them both.

    I wouldn’t want you to thing this is all of them. Honourable mention for my Paul Hathway mandolin which is a joy to play.

  5. I have a Burns Steer (the green one favoured by Billy Bragg in about 84-85.) Goodness me it’s seriously heavy and it gives me a bad back playing standing up for more than about 3 songs but seeing as my style is like a more primitive version of Billy’s (self-admitted) “chop and clang” then it’s a perfect match.
    Second is an Epiphone SG. Sounds great to my uneducated ears and much lighter than most other electrics I have tried. Which isn’t that many. I’ve had a couple of others-a Hondo Les Paul copy in the early 80s which even as a 15 year old I thought was pretty bad and an HS Anderson Mad Cat, identical to a butterscotch (?) leopard print scratchplate telecaster shaped guitar I’ve seen pictures of Prince playing, although I think his was a different make. Nice guitar to play even though it looked tasteless.
    I also have a tiny steel string Yamaha acoustic, which is great for stashing in the campervan and kidding myself I sound alright on an acoustic. I find an electric, especially the Burns, through my Roland Cube 60 amp, covers up most of my many limitations!

  6. You occasionally read of classic guitars players had in the sixties and seventies being significantly diminished in value by the owners fucking around with them. Resprayed , different necks , pickups etc.
    You lot, in general, don’t seem to have any reluctance to fuck around with yours.Are you not chastened by these stories from yesteryear ?

    • I always keep any original parts, but the reality is that very little from the modern era will hit those stratospheric levels of collectability. That was a one-and-done window. The great thing about Strats in particular is that they were so easily mod-able. It’s suspicious how many pristine 50s and 60s Strats are in circulation, considering that in the 70s just about everything had humbuckers, brass nuts etc installed. I can’t think of one famous big-name Strat player from that era who didn’t screw with their guitar in some way.

        • Apologies, Junior – not sure why I was so brief before – touch of the black dog, I think.

          I agree with Podicle. Wiring changes and pickup/switch swaps can always be reversed if you keep the original bits. I have an SG with a new pot (the old one was crackly to the point of being unusable except at the end of the track). I’ve kept the old Gibson one, just in case a future owner wants the original – they’d be mad to swap a faulty pot for one that works – but it’s there, anyway…

          Also, in the case of the 135: the pickup swap is reversible and I have retained the original Gibson P100s. Admittedly, adding a Bigsby directly (ie, without using something like a VibraMate) does make a change which is effectively irreversible. My reasoning at the time would have gone like this:
          I’m never going to sell it, so it doesn’t matter;
          If it reduces the value for the kids when I’m gone, hard cheese!
          The Bigsby improves the playability of the 135 by giving a better break angle over the bridge – and the extra mass doesn’t do any harm;
          I’ve been playing guitars with Bigsbys for so long now that it feels weird not to have one – future value pales by comparison with having a guitar that feels perfect.

  7. Taylor ‘Big Baby’ 6 string. I know nowt about guitars tbh but know when one fits me like a glove and this is the one. @Twang helped me select it almost 20 years ago and ‘dinged’ it that same night after a few beers – I forgave him. Also an Ibanez AF75 electric – again just right for me.
    I hardly ever play anything else but then again I only have a handful of mainly cheap and cheerful other ones lying about.

  8. Have a few but there a couple of key ones in particular

    A 1994 Epiphone Sheraton – one of the Korean ones with Gibson on the truss road cover which are apparently quite well regarded. Have had it from new and it was my main guitar through all my band playing days – has a natural finish which over the years has become a lovely butterscotch colour. Will ‘officially’ become a vintage guitar next year which seems pretty weird.

    The other is a Reverend Buckshot. Had this a few years, really good mix of T-style shape and control layout with Strat body contouring and Les Paul stop tailpiece. Tele style bridge pickup with Gretsch style in the neck. Lovely neck and generally my main guitar at the moment.

  9. Always interesting to hear the guitars that people have or have wanted. I’ve never head of some of these guitars and but it’s been a treat to go looking at them.

    I’ve only ever wanted four guitars and I’ve managed to get them all over the last thirty years or so…

    Gibson Les Paul Standard: Heritage Cherry Sunburst, looks stunning. Have never seen a cherry sunburst just as nice as it has just the right fade and depth of colour. Haven’t change a thing on it and is probably the one I would reach for first.

    Gibson ES 335: Tobacco Sunburst – the good one. Has a very different sound to the Les Paul, can be as loud but without the same crunch.

    Fender Jazzmaster: Olympic White, feels completely different to anything else I’ve played. Not as easy to play as the Gibsons and it’s the one I’ve played around with most to get it to just work. And the one I’ve read about most to get a feel how other people keep it in tune. The combination I settled on is heavy strings and to use a Buzz Stop and that seems to work

    Fender Jaguar: Turquoise Blue. Just beautiful. Almost too beautiful to actually pick up and play and it’s just not so aesthetically pleasing to look down at. Isn’t as difficult to play as the Jazzmaster but, electrically, it is more complicated as the Jazzmaster is, in spite of the controls, fairly straightforward.

    I also own a cheap bass for when I used to record on 4 track and a Yamaha acoustic. Don’t know the model as it isn’t to hand. Wasn’t entry level but certainly wasn’t top of the range.

    Amp-wise, I went – and only occasionally regret – going stupidly big and loud when, as a bedroom player, I should have gone small and sensible. My main amp is the first one that I ever bought, which is a Fender Dual Showman Reverb amp, which I originally bought when I was a student with a 2×12 cab. I’ve since swapped that out for the 2×15 that it was meant to be paired with and, in combination, they are a monster of an amp. It dates from the very early 70s and for its 50th birthday, I left it in with Leif at the RNR Workshop in Belfast, who did a fantastic job getting it back sounding as it probably did the day it was manufactured. Ridiculously loud and capable of rearranging furniture in adjoining rooms and at the other end of the house.

    Not just quite so loud but still really loud is a Marshall JTM 45 ‘Bluesbreaker’.

    Nothing even so fancy as a master volume in this house.

  10. Gah, I have too many guitars. I blame wall hangers.

    2017 Rickenbacker 620 in mapleglo. I worked for a miserable place and walked out with a big payoff. Said to myself if I had a decent amount of payoff when I next got a FT job, I’d buy a Ricky. Plays like a dream, has that early REM jangle. I love it.

    2008 Telecaster Custom (Japanese), present to myself after surviving a cull at work. My main ‘everyday’ guitar, records wonderfully.

    Bits and bobs Tele with Bare Knuckle pickups and a Bigsby. Saw a photo of one like it (but very expensive), so put one together.

    Home made Les Paul Junior with Bare Knuckle P90. Sounds amazing, looks the part but a bit of a fight due to the way I set the neck. Will never part with it as I made it with my Dad.

    12 string Daisy Rock hollowbody electric. Cheap, bought for a bit of jangle. If I won the lottery, would swap it for a Ricky 660-12.

    Newest electric, a bitsa Strat. Saw a Squier in a Cash Converters for £49 and over the months, have swapped the neck, the pickups (a loaded Fender scratchplate), locking tuners, brass tremelo block etc. Now plays really well. Much cheaper than a new Fender, and to my exact spec.

    Acoustics: A Lag auditorium electro, Yamaha 12 string, my first guitar (cheap Spanish) and my fave, a Yamaha auditorium solid top I found covered in gunk and strung with electric strings in a charity shop for £15. Turns out it was worth a lot more than that cleaned up. Put in an LR Baggs pickup, plays lovely. Plus, a cheap mandolin I bought for my album.

    Basses: ‘Trigger’s Broom’, as seen in my avatar. Originally a 1999 Fender Mexican Precision. I’ve changed everything but the wood and the frets and it’s the loudest, most resonant ‘rock’ bass I have.

    Other basses: a Cort jazz-style string with flats (main recording bass) and two fretless four strings – a Precision cut and shut and the latest, a Squier Classic Vibe jazz, which I’ve added the ‘jaco’ polished superglue coating to the board for that ‘mwah’ sound.

      • Indeed! There’s something about that shape. I lust after the 660-12 not the 620-12 as it has a slightly wider neck and I couldn’t get on with 12 strings on that narrow one – I have big fat fingers, to my eternal annoyance.

        You’ll have spotted that apart from the Rick, the Tele Custom and the Yamaha 12, none of my guitars are worth more than about £500. This allows me to tinker without worrying about resale value. My biggest collection is really my two drawers and two storage boxes full of guitar tools and parts.

  11. My first ‘serious’ guitar was a Rickenbacker 360 6-string. Bought it in 2001 and it remains my favourite axe. Didn’t realise how much a part of my style (insofar as I have one) until I bought…

    A Japanese Fender Jazzmaster during lockdown. Love the stability in tuning of the tremolo arm, which I love giving a good hammering, but I realise how effortless and blooming the Rick sounds in comparison. Wanted to challenge my playing a little with a different sound, but it really makes me realise how much I love the mid-focussed presence of the Rick.

    Rick 330 12 string bought second hand probably 20 years ago. I love playing it, but it is difficult under my clumsy fingers. The challenge is NOT jumping to all the familiar riffs and shapes.

    All played through two Vox ac15s in wet/dry configuration: both amps taking compression and some modulation, the second amp taking in addition delay, chorus, clean boost and a Boss SD1.

    My main bass is a hollow body Yamaha in fetching dark green. Kinda Gibson eb2 shaped. The only other model I’ve ever seen is an orange version played by Josh Homme in Dave Grohl’s Sound City film.

    • I think part of the Rickenbacker 12-string sound is the voicing and chord shapes that you need to use to get around the narrow neck. Whenever I pull mine out it takes a day or two to re-adjust.

      r.e. amps, once you go Wet/Dry it’s hard to go back! I’ve been using a Keeley 30ms as a splitter, which instantly makes everything sound like the 80s! Great fun.

  12. OK, since you asked:

    1983 Fender Standard Stratocaster (one of the two-knob ones, 3-colour sunburst) – Great guitar and was borrowed off me every weekend by Powderfinger as their backup guitar for a couple of years in the early days.

    G&L ASAT Bluesboy hollow body (3-colour sunburst) – Simply the best tele I’ve ever played. I did replace the Seth Lover neck pickup with a Lollar that is a bit snappier.

    EB/MusicMan Silhouette Special (Black): Astounding guitar and probably my go-to. HSS configuration

    EB/MusicMan Silhouette (White): Has 2 more frets than the above and HSH configuration. Just last night I removed the P90s that the previous owner had put in (which sounded spectacular) and shoved in some humbuckers to return it to stock. Sounds great but will need to work out which set I will keep.

    Rickenbacker 360/12 (fireglo): It is what it is. Every time I restring it I start listing it for sale. But it does what it does better than anything else.

    Larrivee RS4 (Cherry burst): This one has two Lollar humbuckers. It’s like a very high-end Les Paul. Same spec on a Gibson would be over 10K.

    Larrivee RS4 (Gold Bullion – i.e.like a goldtop all over): This one has P90s and is otherwise identical to the above, but with a slightly slimmer neck.

    PRS SE Singlecut Korina: Picked this up for a song years ago. I don’t use it but it’s handy to have around when friends/family want to borrow a guitar. Pretty sure I swapped out the pickups years ago.

    Jeff Beck Stratocaster (Surf Green): This is my most beloved guitar. It’s a 1991, the first year they made them, and has the baseball bat neck. I lusted after this when it used to hang in the Music Junction in Paddington (Brisbane) when I was at uni. I had agreed to buy it as soon as I could and used to go in and play it every week. One week, it was missing and I was pissed. Six months later my girlfriend of the time gave it to me for my birthday, albeit resprayed in midnight purple because she didn’t like surf green. About 15 years ago I meticulously scraped and sanded away the purple and returned it to its original colour. It looks fabulous. I changed out the pick guard with some regular single coils years ago (I still have the original pick guard with Lace pickups and electronics in a drawer somewhere).

    BSG Steel guitar: 3 pedals, 4 knee levers 10 string E9 steel

    Supro lap steel (red): From the early 60s with the sought-after Ry Cooder pickup. I have replaced the magnets with Lollars and it screams.

    Tune Bass Guitars x 2. I’ll be offloading one, not sure which yet.

    Larrivee OM-03: My favourite acoustic, and this lives upstairs near the sofa. It’s reasonably beat up but sounds sweet and is a dream to play. Small and comfortable.

    Larrivee SD-50: Mahogany back and sides, slope shoulder dreadnought, 12-fret joint, rings like a piano. This was my first Larrivee acoustic and was purchased after auditioning >50 acoustics over a weekend.

    Larrivee D-09: Rosewood dreadnought. This is the Ferrari of dreadnoughts. Very quick and easy playing.

    Gretsch Jim Dandy: Throw-around parlour guitar for camping etc. Authentically boxy sound.

    You can see a theme with my guitars, which is I target the smaller high-quality makers. The bang for buck you get, especially on the 2nd-hand market is unbeatable. I love Fenders, but none of them (even the custom shop) matches the quality of the EBs or the G&Ls I’ve played. I’ve sold every Gibson I’ve owned. Larrivee necks seem to be custom made for my hands.

    Amps?
    ToneKing Imperial Mk II – The most perfect Deluxe-style amp I’ve played. One channel tweed, one blackface. Built in attenuator. Lots of big names use these (including Mark Knopfler, for his clean tones). It was expensive, but easily the best amp I’ve ever owned, plus the attenuator makes it sound great from talking to stage volumes.

    Mesa Boogie Transatlantic 15 (head and cab): Mesa’s first lunchbox amp from a decade ago. One channel is a perfect AC15 top-boost and the other is a Fender/Marshall. Almost impossible to get a bad sound out of.

    Mesa Boogie Mark III (red stripe): In contrast, very hard to get a good sound out of it at anything less than spermicidal volumes, but when the planets align, my god!!! These were de-rigueur for rock bands and session musos in the 80s. Has the distinction of being the bit of gear I’ve listed for sale the most times (6-7). But then I go over to my mate’s studio, rev it up and take the listing down.

    BluGuitar Amp 1: Essentially an analogue Marshall head in a pedal. Sounds fantastic and is exceedingly portable.

    Pedals: About 100. If you are interested PM me and I’ll send you my Excel file.

    So, I know this seems obscene, but guitars have been my primary hobby for more than 40 years, and I tend to target good stuff and hang onto it. I live a quite frugal life otherwise and am in the lucky position of being able to shout myself a bit of nice new gear each few years.

      • The shop wanted to get rid of it. It was 1992/3, the Aussie dollar had tanked and expensive American guitars weren’t selling (I think it cost more then than a new one now). So when my girlfriend offered to buy it on condition they respray it, they leapt at the chance. They were such cheapskates that they paid for literally no prep on the existing paint. Over the years bits would chip off and I could see the pristine surface underneath, until one day I took the plunge and carefully chipped:sandwd it off. The only clue now is purple paint in the cavities.

        The girlfriend told me she was leaving me a few months later. The fact that the only thing I said to her was “Can I keep the guitar?” made it terminal. In retrospect it was an extraordinarily generous thing for a young person to give, and if I met her again I would happily recompense her.

  14. Excellent thread.

    Have a bunch of guitars – each of which deserves a more accomplished owner – but the faves are :

    Gibson Trini Lopez – custom shop from about 2016 I think, with factory bigs by. Looks beautiful, plays superbly, sounds amazing. Gigged it once and was so paranoid about damaging it that it stays at home now.

    1967 Gretsch Country Gent in factory black, again with bigsby, unusually with no binding rot for one of these. Bought it to satisfy my VU obsession. I sound nothing like Lou Reed with it though.

    1977 Les Paul Pro Deluxe. Again black, again with a bigsby, but loaded with p90s. Best, deepest, fullest, rockingest guitar I’ve ever owned, but too heavy to gig with now ( what with my back, doctor ) so probably up for sale if anyone’s interested.

    Custom shop cherry Les Paul DC with firebird p/up in the neck position. Bloody hell, these are good.

    Fano JM6, lightly reliced black with p90s and Duesenberg tremolo. Favourite gigging guitar, as it’s light, does everything well, the duesenberg tremolos are best on the market for my money, and if it gets a little bash you can pass it off as extra relicing.

    Now don’t get me started on amps….

      • The Trini is indeed a beautiful object and much more playable, in my admittedly limited experience, than a Coronado…which are beautiful guitars but take a bit of wrestling with. I see above that you are a fan of the tvl – I have quite recently sold one of those and slightly regret it now. They cover a lot of territory, and I love those sound holes…but by god they’re solid buggers. The heaviest semi-hollow guitar I’ve ever tried.

  15. I’ve got 4 really nice ones, one of which is an absolute pearl.

    I’m left handed, so play ‘the other way’ round. I don’t mind though unfortunately I have an aversion to left handed Stratocasters. The horns and cutaways look to me utterly skewiff on a lefty model. However a righty Strat flipped a la Hendrix is possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. So my aforesaid pearl is a righty Fender Strat. Mexican-made ‘61 reissue in Candy Apple Red with a Rosewood board and mint green scratchplate. 1998, from Rock City off Denmark Street. I don’t play in a band or record so it’s only ever been through small amps and a few basic pedals, but I think it’s a magnificent machine. The output Jack gets in the way and it’s hard to reach the dusty end but I have other guitars for the widdly diddly.

    The newest of which is a Harley Benton SG Junior. One dog ear P90 style pickup in Pelham Blue. Light as a feather compared to my. HB Blonde Telecaster, which is lovely but a boat anchor, and whoever set it up for me at the factory deserves a big sloppy kiss. It plays itself almost. As with all affordable guitars it’s let down slightly by the tuners, so I might replace those later in the year if they continue to slip. Otherwise though it’s a beaut.

  16. I can’t play Les Pauls. It’s not the weight, it’s the fact that they’re actually very small-bodied, and on a six foot brick shithouse, they look daft. All the people who look cool with them are shortarses who are built like a pepperami.

    I only have two electric guitars now, and the bridge has lifted off my beloved cheapo acoustic. Getting it fixed would be a total waste of money but I might buy a good one, one day.

    Neither of my guitars is a brand. One is my oldest: originally a black Squier Strat from 1996. Over the years, its original neck took a slight warp so I replaced it with a Mighty Mite all-maple job. Not pricey, and I don’t love the very thick poly lacquer, but actually it’s a great and very playable neck. I thought if I was going to go black Strat + maple, I might as well go the full Gilmour. Can’t stand Pink Floyd, but I’ve always loved that guitar, so it has a black guard now. I’ve also completely rewired and shielded it, replaced all the electronics with Fender aftermarket stuff, and the pickups are Bare Knuckle classic Strat ones. Beautiful. It’s Trigger’s broom, though.

    My other is my real main guitar. It’s a surf green Jazzmaster, built from custom made parts. Everything on it is unique: it’s wired like a Les Paul with two Black Dog PAFs (not dissimilarly from Sonic Youth’s tendency to mount Fender WRHBs in their JMs). Both pickups are coil-tapped. The neck is all-maple, with black block inlays and binding, and a big CBS-era Strat headstock. Lacquer is all nitro, and it has a Mastery bridge and aftermarket AVRI JM tremolo, switches and hardware. Vintage-style klusons, and that’s about it.

    I’ve become less fond of its setup in recent years, so it needs a new one – I’ve always played Thomastik jazz-bebop .0013s, which are huge great roundwound beasts, and the action is higher than a lot of people like. I love how it sounds but god, it’s tough on the left hand. My style is much less aggressive and punky than it used to be – I’m more interested in upper neck chord voicings and right-hand work than I once was, so I really need a lighter setup. A bit nervous about messing with it, though.

  17. I started guitar lessons about six months ago from scratch. I can play the piano a bit and wanted to try something different. As I like jazz, I bought a semi-acoustic guitar, purely on the basis of what I had read about in magazines. I deliberately bought one that was quite expensive for me, as I would feel guilty if I didn’t follow it up with lessons.

    What surprised me talking to a few people I work with who turned out to be guitarists is how addictive the guitars themselves become, as this thread also shows. They all seemed to have around 5-8 guitars, occasionally trading up for better models. It’s a bit alarming – am I about to acquire the habit as well? One bloke told me that when he got married, he suggested to his wife that he could sell a few to make them some money. She said, no, you don’t have to give up your guitars, but, please, sell the banjo.

    The guitar, a PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo, has both magnetic and piezo picks up which can either be used separately for an electric or acoustic tone, or combined for something else. I can see the appeal of trying this out, but I haven’t really got into the electronic and tone side yet, as there’s enough to learn on the musical basics. The amplifier is a Yamaha desktop which is enough for my use, which will probably always be at home.

  18. My Made In Japan 1996 ‘50th Anniversary’ Fender Telecaster (based on a 52 Tele I believe).

    Chosen while at uni with the proceeds of my summer job,. I had scant knowledge of electric guitars at the time, it just seemed to be what all the indie bands of the time were playing – Blur, Radiohead, Elastica. It cost around £320 I recall.

    It did seem to be a curious twist of fate that I should go for the Tele though. Apart from its Britpop credentials, it had to have a similar silhouette to an acoustic guitar; I felt guilty to be trading in an acoustic so soon after being bought an expensive hard case for it. I was convinced I’d be able to fit an electric guitar inside the case if only it was the right shape.

    Anyway, I thrashed the Tele about in a couple of short-lived bands, but never really played it seriously – I went back to being more of an acoustic guitarist, playing various dreadnought models over most of the intervening 25 years.

    …until last year, when I decided I fancied trying something different, and joined a new wave/classic punk covers band. I wasn’t even going to play guitar initially, just sing, but it wasn’t long before I was dusting off the Tele, and finally playing it properly. And boy, how I love it.

    Our lead guitarist plays a hot’n’growly SG, and my little Tele sound just slots in perfectly on rhythm. I’ve started playing the odd lead part too, a major departure for me after 30 years of strumming chords. Except the stock bridge pickup sounded pretty weak on solos, so I swapped it out for an Oil City Alligator 90. I’m finding I can hear it better in the mix now, without necessarily having to turn it up louder.

    The Tele was originally cream/‘blonde’ with a black pickguard, but at some point in the late 90s I stripped off the paint and got a red tortoiseshell pickguard, because I thought it would look like Prince’s guitar. My dad insisted on giving it a matt, natural finish, using a spray-on varnish – I wanted something more glossy but he was right. It’s aged beautifully.

    After years of being dropped, sweated on and literally thrown into the back of a car in a soft case, it’s got some great battle scars. The bridge plate is rusting nicely too. When you think of the effort manufacturers go to these days to ‘pre relic’ their guitars, I’m proud that mine is naturally worn. I feel very lucky to have it – to think that I could have chosen something very different if it wasn’t for my misguided ideas about guitar cases!

    It’s been quite the journey for me, being in this new band. Having had little interest in electric guitar amplification in nearly 30 years of playing, I’m now learning all about speaker cabs and ‘ohms’, things I always used to consider way too boring and technical.

    I’ve decided that I love Voxs, just the look of them – that diamond speaker cloth is just beautiful to me. However, I have very little in the way of disposable cash, which isn’t exactly compatible with owning a vintage Vox. So recently I invested in a Vox ‘MV50’ amp head. It’s a 50 watt amplifier about the size of a small digital alarm clock. Then I just needed a speaker cab. I had an old Vox ‘Escort’ combo, a solid state thing from the 80s, that looked gorgeous but didn’t sound great. I ripped out the speaker, spent £75 on a 12” inch Celestion and put it inside. Absolutely love it and – more importantly – it looks dead cool too.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/LNwp6wLVEtvRFKA47

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/CaSTTaHvBZ2qm5ZD7

  19. Looking at the guitars on the stands in the corner I would choose the following:

    1977 Fender Mustang that I got new for my 18th birthday. It has a lot of dings and was re-fretted a few years ago by a very good guy in Leeds that made it playable again.

    2017 Fender Elite Exotics Telecaster Thinline. It has a mahogany body made from wood from trees brought down by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. I wanted a tele with a humbucker in the neck and was trying some out at Guitar Superstore in Burton-on-Trent and wasn’t impressed by them, when my son’s partner looked at the guitars on the wall and said, “What about that one?” A few minutes later it was in its case and I was walking out the door with it.

    I’ve also got a Nashville Power Telecaster which has three pickups plus a Fishman piezo bridge which I got to avoid changing guitars when needing an acoustic sound when playing live. The neck seems to be a pretty standard C shape but if Fender ever offered me a chance to create a signature guitar, that’s the neck I would ask them to re-create as it suits me so well.

  20. Just to add my meagre two-penn’orth:

    I still cherish my mid-‘80s model Fender MIJ Telecaster ‘62 reissue, candy apple red, double bound. Saved up all my car-washing money for months, and asked my mum for an advance on a few years’ worth of birthday and Christmas money so I could get it from Kingfisher’s in Fleet, making visits every week until I had scraped together enough, praying it hadn’t gone. A generous and forgiving guitar which still manages to make me sound at least 30% better than I actually am on any given day. I originally paired it with a lunatic Laney Linebacker 50 (stupid teenagers, eh?) which I blew up sound checking for our second gig at the Fox And Hounds. Thirty five years on, nowadays it’s happy with a much more civilised Vox AC15 greenback celestion.
     
    For day to day fiddling: a very friendly Taylor 324 mahogany-top grand auditorium.

    • The AC15 is such a useful sound. Was fiddling in the weekend with a wet/dry setup using my Tone King Imperial and Boogie Transatlantic. The Transatlantic is a very accurate AC15 in its left channel and the TK is pure Fender. They make such a great pairing, as the AC15 just colours in that midrange scoop that blackface Fenders have, and adds a bit of growl. Easy to see why the pairing is a rock staple.

  23. I have a cheapo fender strat copy which I play through my macbook for effects. But I rarely use it. I also bought a Martin something or other acoustic, which is one of my biggest regrets as it was extremely expensive and I far prefer the really, really cheapo, battered jumble-sale-level acoustic I was given for free.

    • I really, really recommend, especially for a good acoustic, paying to get it set up properly. Many high end acoustics ship with slightly high nuts and bridges on the assumption that the owner will get them set up (and it’s easier to remove height than add). The same way that when you buy a car, you don’t leave the seat in the position it was in from the factory.

      Also, I adjust the trussrod on my acoustics 3-4 times per year with changes in weather, humidity etc. A small tweak can make a huge difference to playability. A decent US made, solid top Martin should be able to be set up to plat flawlessly and sound great.

        • It’s also why I try to buy guitars from my local shop. If you pop in a year later and say “this is odd” they will just fix things unless it really required tech timer. They also make sure it’s set up that way you want it when you buy.

          This fine emporium:

          https://www.coda-music.com/

      • I’ve always been terrified of messing with the truss rod as that way lies ruined guitar, but I know you’re right. What’s your process for deciding a tweak is required?

          • A good rule of thumb is: hold down strings at the first fret, and where the strings meet the body (a capo helps here). Then look across at the 8th fret. There should be a gap of the thickness of a credit card – you need a bit of ‘bow’ on the neck, don’t ask me why.

            If there is more of a gap, tighten the truss rod (turn right, about a quarter of a turn at a time, no more). If the strings are flat to the frets, loosen by turning left, again by a bit at a time* leaving to settle for a day.

            Also worth checking the nut. Hold down a string at the third fret. If the string is really heading downwards a lot, and there’s a decent gap at the first fret, then the nut should be deepened – but leave this to the pros unless you really know what you’re doing.

            * Way to remember is ‘lefty loosely, righty tighty’.

            • Thanks. My ancient Strat copy I play slide on has a seriously bowed neck which I’d like to straighten a bit. In a way it’s good for slide having a high action but a bit lower would be better. I’ve given it a quarter turn which made a slight improvement but I’m reluctant to push it too far. Might take it to a tech but paying for someone to turn an Allen key is annoying. I know, I’m paying for him knowing how much to turn it!

              It was a cheap guitar in the 70s so I fear there’s a good chance of the truss rod breaking if I overdo it.

  24. Re. collecting. I’m quite hard nosed, if something isn’t getting played I move it on (I have a couple for sale currently, just shifted one and there’s another one I’m looking hard at). I know someone who can barely play who has a Jimmy Page Les Paul, Jeff Beck Strat, Clapton Layla reissue etc etc but they are all in cases under the bed. Fine for him, but I’d rather they were being used. I impulse bought a cheapo resonator some years ago and never really played it and a local youngster was looking for one so I gave it to him, converting it from “should have left that in the shop” to “prized possession”.

    Great pal of mine went a step further and bought into a chain of guitar shops in New Zealand!

  25. I play an Avalon L320C, handmade in Newtownards, Northern Ireland in 2004. I bought it in Chandlers of Kew in 2013. Their current range includes a very similar looking one here https://www.avalonguitars.com/ard-ri/1310 I hadn’t really appreciated how big it was but I have to say I absolutely love it and it is the signature sound of my Folk / Americana trio. The only person I’ve seen playing one similar is Garrett Wall of the excellent Track Dogs, except his is an L32C whereas mine is the jumbo version. I discovered that the guy on whose behalf Chandlers were selling it co-wrote a big Christian hit so I like to think my guitar had a good religious upbringing even if I didn’t.

    I also have 2 that belonged to my best mate who passed in late 2015. He bought a Squier Telecaster a few years before getting a terminal diagnosis but never really played it. His wife gave it to me and I was surprised to find it was made in Korea in about 1993. I don’t think my mate knew it was that old when he bought it. The day after I bought my Avalon in Chandlers he went in and bought a Martin 000-16T. I became its official Custodian 2 years ago. It’s lovely to play but it’s not loud enough to take to an acoustic jam.

    I have a nice Crafter TK23 3/4 size travel guitar that I bought new in 2007. I haven’t seen it for a while as it’s been doing the rounds of my grandchildren.

  26. I have owned many, many guitars down the years, and have done my best not to keep them all. The collection peaked in terms of numbers around 83, when I was a very heavy-handed player, working up the string gauges trying not to break so many strings despite hammering them. One of the 13 guitars that I was maintaining and gigging with was an Italian Danelectro copy that was humming like a bow and arrow with the .013 strings on it. I had to take 3 or 4 guitars to every gig because I would break strings, or they would collapse out of tune, or come up with some other problem.

    Around then I bought an early 70s Telecaster ( I sold most of the pawn shop guitars to pay for it), which turned out to be a wise move. It was a lucky find, one of the few from that era that had not been routed out for a humbucker. It was a rock solid reliable guitar, and I didn’t break as many strings on it. By the mid 90s, they had become really fashionable, and my friend Jimmy Moon put me in touch with a nice chap who was desperate to own one. We ended up with a happy sale.

    The guitar I have used the most is a Moon Custom Strat, “Big Black”, which I bought in 86 for about the same price as a new USA Strat would have been in McCormack’s. It is a rocking machine, with loads of twang, and it still an uplifting guitar to play. A thing of beauty, and a joy forever.

    You can see both of them here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03qAihceOxI

    I also have a Moon Custom Tele, which I bought in 97, after selling the Telecaster mentioned above. Coil-tappable humbuckers, and an acoustic pickup in the bridge. Also a wonderful guitar to play.

    Main Primevals guitar these days is a Reverend Ron Asheton Signature Model – 3 P90s, and a great whammy bar.

    The other gigging favourite is Big Red, a DeArmond Starfire – heavy, but beautiful. This is the most photogenic guitar I have ever owned – it always attracts comments, from regular people as well as guitarists. When we supported Tav Falco in ’15, he watched our set and asked if he could borrow that one for a few songs in his set. “Of course, Tav!”

    I started out as a bassist, but I sold my bass guitar shortly after taking up 6 string. 5 years ago, I had a work trip to Germany which had significant flight delays. Thanks to the wisdom of the EU, I got the best part of £400 compensation, which was lovely. I spent that on a Sire Marcus Miller Jazz-style bass (white, with a black scratchplate – Dee Dee Ramone would have approved). It is gorgeous to play and an absolute bargain.

  27. I have 7 dreadnought acoustics. 1 Mexican tele(blonde, Nashville model I think. It has 3 pick ups).

    My wife bought me the Tele for my 50th, but I never play it.

    Favourite guitars are 2015 Gibson Hummingbird, which I play every day. I bought it new from Amazon, believe it or not, because it was £300 cheaper than my local guitarguitar. I wasn’t in when they delivered it, so they left it on my doorstep…….unbelievable! I dropped a harmonica on the top, and the stand that it sat on damaged the laquer on the back, so it has a few dings…oh well.

    Other favourite is a Yamaha A5R. R is for rosewood. This was less than half the price of the Hummingbird, but it’s every bit as good! I don’t gig as such, but I go to a lot of sessions, open mics and folk club/ acoustic sessions and I don’t like taking my Gibson or Martin. I have never had it set up. Played it straight from the box about 6 years ago. It just seems to fit my hands!

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