Guitars

[Sertsa]

Cool Harmony archtop you have there Sertsa....

Thanks, that was my dad's first guitar. Unfortunately it's not in the best shape and most luthiers don't want to repair a guitar when they'll charge more than it's worth. (One told me he used to do that, but too many people never came to get them). I was going to try to fix as much as possible, replace the tuners and other things, but I noticed the neck is cracking, and that's beyond my limited repair skills.

matei - Wow. (And same with everyone's posts). I keep thinking about getting a Gretsch. There's something about that sound. Well, I keep thinking about getting something Les Paulish, too.

By the way, what is about guitars that makes them multiply?
I mean it's odd; I once majored in music and spent a lot of time as a jazz sax player (I also played many styles and spent a lot of time in pit bands since I play all the woodwinds), but I never felt a desire to have more of one of any kind of instrument. When I moved up to better tenor saxes, I would sell the old one (well, I would have kept one, but it was stolen after a gig). Also, I only had one clarinet, one flute, one alto sax, etc., but as soon as I got a guitar, I kept looking at what else was out there.

[matei]

Back when I was a gigging musician, I started off with an extra guitar or two as backups of my main axe. As we grew as musicians and explored different tunings, I would use yet another for that.

Guitars can be pretty fragile things (even my Les Pauls, which may weigh a ton but have well documented weak neck/headstock joints), and I had several literally fall apart during shows. I've had tuners pop out, pots stop working, headstocks fall off etc.

Different guitars have different tones as well. Sometimes I'm recording a song that just calls out for a Strat, or an over-the-top Les Paul tone.

I have to admit, however, that I'm a fan of the instrument itself. I think that they are works of art (albeit functional works), and I enjoy having them around.

[Burnsie]

Here is my beloved Guild DE-500...this baby has been to England, Holland and Finland with me! Had it since 1987...

[Warbaby]

I used to be pretty serious about collecting vintage guitars - back in the 80s I had a vintage and custom guitar shop in Boston. But after getting up to somewhere around 40 or 50 instruments in my personal collection, I decided that I couldn't really justify hoarding all those guitars (and banjos, mandolins, ukuleles) since I wasn't playing professionally and wasn't all that good a musician anyway. I sold most of them gradually over the years, usually when I needed the bucks for other toys. I still play a little, though, and have kept a few of my favorites.

I'll start off with my #1 favorite, the last guitar I built for myself. The body is alder, a very sculpted version of a strat. The neck is maple with an African ebony board and the back of the neck us shaped to an asymetrical contour that I developed. The tuners are NOS vintage Grover Imperials. The pickup is from a 1933 Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" lap steel. I had it re-plated and Lindy Fralin rewound the pickup with the same wire as originally used. It screams. The tuners are NOS vintage Grover Imperials.

My favorite picks are the real tortoiseshell ones I make myself. Once you've played with real tortoise picks, you'll never go back to plastic.

I sometimes play the guitar lap steel style with a gizmo I made that slips over the nut and raises the strings and keeps them on a flat plane. For fingerpicks I copied the old Nationals in sterling silver.

I'll post some of the other guitars if the sun ever comes out so I can photograph them.

[Sertsa]

matei - Thanks, and good point. Come to think about it, I never really worried about a sax or clarinet failing during a gig. Baring something catastrophic, there's not a lot you can't at least temporarily fix on those instruments if you have a lighter, a small screwdriver and maybe a couple spare pads. Guitars are a bit different. Still, I don't really need three of them, but they're all played often.

Burnsie - That's a beautiful Guild. This thread isn't helping curb my desire for a hollow body.

Warbaby - Wow. I'm wondering what that sounds like. I don't suppose you have a short soundclip anywhere on the net?

[MK]

I have played guitar most of my life.....but I don't play vintage instruments or a vintage style.....well....I guess 80's is considered vintage by young folk these days. I would like to learn to play swing style one of these days.

Here is my guitar:



Most of the other gear has been replaced. The technology has advanced to allow be to downsize AND get better tone and more sounds.

[Absinthe_1900]

I have a couple of old guitars, a 1968 Gibson SG Melody Maker I, and a 60s Gibson sunburst acoustic, a couple of Fender Stratocasters, and a law suit era Tokai Tele.

I need to take pictures of my guitars, I also collect vintage effects like these babies.

[matei]

Hiya MK - how is the AxeFX working out for you? I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it...

Warbaby - that has got to be one of the most unique electric guitars I've ever seen. Very cool...

Burnsie - I second the opinion, that is a sweet looking Guild.

I would have to say that like MK, I've got more of an '80s-influenced style than vintage. I might be a Gretsch fanatic, but I'm not a rockabilly guy (although I dig Setzer... more so because we're both from L.I.).

I have played guitar most of my life.....but I don't play vintage instruments or a vintage style.....well....I guess 80's is considered vintage by young folk these days. I would like to learn to play swing style one of these days.

Here is my guitar:



Most of the other gear has been replaced. The technology has advanced to allow be to downsize AND get better tone and more sounds.

[H.Johnson]

I don't play guitar anymore (did for 50 years) but I still have a couple of handmade acoustics that I'm find of, including one by the legendary and accentric Norman Wood (known to some as the Merlin of guitar makers due to having his workshop atop a cliff in Cornwall) and another by Bruce Cooke modelled on a Hot Club de Paris jazz guitar.

[dit dah]

It's probably not wise to mess with the guy in charge but:

The technology has advanced to allow be to downsize AND get better tone and more sounds.

As someone who has spent the last few years getting rid of virtually all the new stuff from his studio setup I feel obliged to disagree. IMHO there is not a box on the planet that can simulate the real thing. Yes it's easier to cart about (my reverb unit is an 8ft metal plate) but for tone, old wins.

More options, sure, pocket sized, sure, tone? No way

Amps in the studio closet include 40's Gibson, Supro, 40's Epiphone Zephyr