Okay, here we go...(if you could have just one guitar...)

[Katastrophe]

QUESTION:


If you could have ONE gutar, and ONE guitar only for the rest of your days, what would it be??????

THE CATCH:

Stick to brand name, production, unmodified models only...

I think this would fit the bill nicely for me:

http://www.rondomusic.net/ps924.html

Dual humbuckers in the right places, with a coil tap for those spankin' single coil sounds. 24 frets for when I feel the need... the need fer speed. Set neck construction for good sustain. Quilt or flame maple over mahogany for looks. Wilky tremolo for gettin' whammified on da solos, without the complexity of a @#$@#$@#$!#$##$%%^%^&%& Floyd.

What model of guitar would you have in your stable, if you were limited to one?

P.S. Put in the General Guitar forum in the hopes that we can discuss all makes and models of guitfiddles... Post up, Gentlemen!

[Robert****]

I would get an old Fender Strat, the older the better!

[Spudman***]

This would do it for me. Except I'd probably have to have two. One for a backup you know.
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/parker_r...fsv_thkit.html

[SuperSwede]

Hard... perhaps I would go with a Ibanez JS-1, coil tap and dual humbuckers on that one as well..
http://www.ibanezregister.com/images...ibanez-js1.jpg

[Guitar-Chris]

I would get an old Fender Strat, the older the better!

Me, too: a 50s strat in sunburst with maple neck, hm...

In the moment I'm thinking of buing me a MIM Standard Stratocaster in that color.

In 2006 they have changed the frets to medium jumbo, and I like it. So now I have to collect the 400 Euros.

[Nelskie]

Well, I'm figuring that a lot of folks are going to mention models with dubious vintage credentials, others high $$ craftsmanship, and some with elite / custom bloodlines. My choice (and a very easy one at that) would be to give the nod to an old friend - one who has faithfully served my every every musical whim for the last (16) years. Yes, I need look no further than my very own studio to find six-stringed nirvana: my trusty '90 Epiphone Les Paul. To me, it embodies the very spirit of who I am as a player, and what music means to me. In my mind there isn't another guitar that would ever come close to this one - at any price.

Yeah, just call me sentimental. But it's all I'll ever want, or need in a guitar.

[jpfeifer]

This is a very tough question to answer ...

I like different guitars for different things. I've also found that certain guitars bring out different things in my playing. My strat likes to be played a certain way. My Hamer Newport likes to be played in another way ... Sometimes I get tired of playing electric and messing with all the technology, then I reach for my acoustic and play that for a while.

For electrics, I would have to say that my Newport would be the one I would keep. It's the one that I enjoy playing the most. It can be a pain sometimes since it doesn't have the sustain that my other guitars have, but it has a special tone and it's very versatile.

But I would also have to have at least 1 acoustic. An that would be my Taylor 514CE. It's the nicest playing acoustic that I've ever had.

-- Jim

[duhvoodooman***]

'69 Strat Relic. That's the year I graduated from HS and the year of Woodstock and the best performance of the Star Spangled Banner that's ever been recorded. How could I pass up credentials like those??

[Katastrophe]

Okay, I have a stoooopid question... What is it about vintage guitars that makes them so appealing?

I've never played a "vintage" instrument, so I don't know the difference. I know and am in awe of some of the players of these "experienced" guitars, and can certainly appreciate the history behind guitars like Stevie's "No. 1," or Clapton's "Blackie," or the Cream era SG he played, but what makes them better?

It's a question that plagues me, particularly when I see the astronomical prices that some of these guitars go for...

[jpfeifer]

Katatrophe,

That's a great question. I wondered the same thing. I only had an encounter with some good vintage guitars a couple of times in my life. I asked that same question to a few people over the years. The answer is different depending on who you ask. What I'd heard is that the wood used in the classic era (50's-early60's) Fenders and Gibsons, etc, was much better quality than the wood available nowadays. Also, many of the guitars were handmade and varied from run-to-run at the factory, so you had some variation in neck thickness, etc.

When I lived in the LA area I used to visit a guitar store called Voltage Guitar in the West LA area. They had a whole bunch of great vintage guitars there and you could try many of them if you asked. I played some '56 and '58 Strats and a few other really nice guitars. The main thing that I noticed about the older guitars is that the necks feel better because they are well worn and seen to have the comfortable feel like a pair of old blue jeans or something. With acoustic guitars, you can really tell the tonal differences in the older guitars because the tops are broken in and seem to vibrate more. I do think that vintage acoustic guitars are worth the extra $$.

But I don't think that I could bring myself to pay 10-15K or more for a vintage guitar when I could spend less money have a custom made axe made.

-- Jim

[Robert****]

Fenders from the 50s sound much better than new ones. Plus, it's cool to have a vintage guitar! They are too expensive for me though. I go the cheap route.

[Tone2TheBone]

Okay, I have a stoooopid question... What is it about vintage guitars that makes them so appealing?

I've never played a "vintage" instrument, so I don't know the difference. I know and am in awe of some of the players of these "experienced" guitars, and can certainly appreciate the history behind guitars like Stevie's "No. 1," or Clapton's "Blackie," or the Cream era SG he played, but what makes them better?

It's a question that plagues me, particularly when I see the astronomical prices that some of these guitars go for...

Kat - Not better. Just one word. Mojo.

Like Nel I love my Gibson so I would want either that or an original 1959 Gibson "Burst" Les Paul.

[Bloozcat]

C'mon, you've got to give us a little leeway here. At least make it any one guitar.

My choice would be my Lake Placid blue Strat clone that I made. If Clapton could cover his old Cream tones with his Strat, I know that mine will do a close enough approximation of a humbucker also.

Besides, I just plain like Strat tone...

[The G-string]

I don't play guitar, but ... I *loved* my dad's old Gibson - - I can't tell you the model or anything, but it was made in the 40's. He gave it to my brother who only barely "tinkers" with it - - but back in the day, dad sounded like Joe Pass on that thing.

*sighs*

I remember being a kid and going to sleep at night listening to him jamming with buddies in the living room on that thing. Oh what memories!