After playing for a number of years I'm starting to realize that there are a few inconic sounds that represent the best of what electric guitars have to offer. My playing tastes have changed slightly over the years so I'm becoming more aware of the tones that I didn't need before, and added these to my list of "gotta have it" tones.

The one guitar that made me painfully aware of this list of "must have" tones is my Line6 Variax. This guitar was supposed to solve all of my GAS for new guitars, and not fuel them, but I'm finding that this guitar has taught me about those guitars that I've been missing from my collection that I should have some day.

So with that. Here's my list of must-have guitars. These are the tones that I keep using on the Variax, time and again:

- Fender Strat
- Fender Tele
- Gibson ES-335
- Gretch 6120
- Rickenbacher 360

With these, you can cover just about every guitar tone that's ever been recorded in the past 40 years. Sadly, I don't own a real Tele, or 335, or Gretch or Ric. I find myself using the Tele sounds for so many things. I'm thinking that I may need to buy a real one someday, but then again, I don't own a real Gibson ES-335, or Gretch either, so I have some gaping holes in my "must-have" collection :-) More GAS, dang!!

--Jim