Wow! This should end up being a sticky. I might make it one.
I’ve always been a Fender and Gibson fan. But back in the early 60’s with the Sears catalog one could see many guitars, like Kay guitars and other brands.
My first guitar was a Sears Silvertone.
My next guitar would be a Greco Les Paul model that I bought in Okinawa.
Then I bought 3 other guitars and shipped them here where I live now and that was years ago. I know longer have them.
My next guitar would be an Aria classical guitar which I still have.
About 3 years ago I bought a Gibson Les Paul Studio as a Christmas gift for me. It was on sale half price. I could never afford the asking price.
Since then I’ve been hitting up the local pawnshops and buying 20 dollar to 50 dollar fixers.
My collection is 6 guitars and one bass.
I have too many guitars. 🙂

I chose my G&L guitars because of being a fan of Leo Fender; G&L guitars are his final offerings to the music world and they don’t disappoint.

I bought my Peavey JF-1 because of Alvin Lee’s Big Red. I will never own an Alvin Lee Signature model, whether a Gibson, Heritage or Tokai, and the Peavey is quality 335 copy that I’m very satisfied with.

I recently bought a Breedlove Concerto acoustic guitar made with solid Myrtlewood top, back & sides because it is the best sounding acoustic guitar that I’ve played. After dealing 18 months with a very disappointing Martin, the Breedlove is totally inspiring. Played 4 other Breedlove models, a Taylor in the same price range and a “high quality” Fender acoustic and my wife & I kept coming back to the Myrtlewood model. It still has the WOW factor after 6 months

I own 2 Ibanez thin line semi-hollow guitars that I bought the first one in flame maple due to looks and was so impressed that I bought the same model made with Bubinga.
From what I’ve seen, I view Ibanez semi-hollow guitars as “the poor man’s Gibson”, quality build and materials ……..

Great question!

My first guitar I got for Christmas when I was 10. It was a new mid-70’s Yamaha Classical. Decent student guitar although I abused it a bit. I put steel strings on it at one point until someone told me it would ruin the neck. Luckily it didn’t and I still have it though I haven’t played it seriously in about 15 years.

My second guitar was a used Alvarez Dreadnought. Probably 15 years now. Back then I really wanted a Godin SD electric as I’d read great reviews and liked that they are made in Canada and assembled in US. It was out of my price point at the time. At some point I picked up an Ovation, which I found more comfortable than the big dreadnought.

My fourth guitar I bought after I joined Active Melody. A friend introduced me to this site and he had just purchased a Gibson Les Paul and wanted to learn the blues. Gibson was out of my price range, but I was interested too and found a nice used Epiphone Les Paul in a local shop, which was my first electric.

I then went through a phase of buying bargain used guitars. Couldn’t pass up a good deal and wanted to try out different designs, necks, pickups, etc. Bought and sold several, including the Epiphone. Early on I found a Godin Freeway Classic cheap on Craig’s list. Someone had sanded the neck to the wood and replaced the original pickups with $15 Ebay pickups. The pickups actually didn’t sound too bad, but I soon upgraded them myself and put a thin coat of Tru-oil on the neck. Now that guitar is a keeper and in regular rotation.

Too long a story but my current stable, in current order of favoritism is:
Godin SD (I finally found a used one and love the short scale)
Godin Freeway Classic (long scale works better for some songs)
Seagull S6 Concert Hall (acoustic)
Ibanez AFS-75T hollowbody (used in mint condition, great sound)
Squier Vintage Modified Tele Custom II (used with an aftermarket neck, P90’s for something different)
Ibanez SA-260 (used $100 office guitar)

I think the next guitar is going to be a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin (similar to Brian’s Vega) as I really like that style and sound, but it will be the most I’ve spent on a single guitar, is a bit redundant to my Ibanez hollowbody and my guitar room is a bit crowded. It is really hard to justify another purchase without selling something. Am waiting to see if a bargain one comes up.

For me, they are more than just tools. I’ve had fun with each one I’ve owned and I’ve learned a little bit more from each one. It might be getting to know my preferences, it might be learning the mechanical or electrical aspects or it might just be enjoying the craftsmanship.

GnLguy wrote:

I recently bought a Breedlove Concerto acoustic guitar made with solid Myrtlewood top, back & sides because it is the best sounding acoustic guitar that I’ve played. After dealing 18 months with a very disappointing Martin, the Breedlove is totally inspiring. Played 4 other Breedlove models, a Taylor in the same price range and a “high quality” Fender acoustic and my wife & I kept coming back to the Myrtlewood model. It still has the WOW factor after 6 months

I live in Bend Oregon (for now), and I toured the Breedlove factory when it was still owned by Larry Breedlove. They were bought out a few years ago by something like Two Old Hippies. I played a myrtlewood acoustic in their showroom. Beautiful guitar with great tone. What I remember most about that tour, is that they were putting the finishing touches on a mandolin for Chris Hillman of Byrds fame. I don’t know what it sounded like, but it was a work of art.

Bob

Bob S wrote:

GnLguy wrote:

I recently bought a Breedlove Concerto acoustic guitar made with solid Myrtlewood top, back & sides because it is the best sounding acoustic guitar that I’ve played. After dealing 18 months with a very disappointing Martin, the Breedlove is totally inspiring. Played 4 other Breedlove models, a Taylor in the same price range and a “high quality” Fender acoustic and my wife & I kept coming back to the Myrtlewood model. It still has the WOW factor after 6 months

I live in Bend Oregon (for now), and I toured the Breedlove factory when it was still owned by Larry Breedlove. They were bought out a few years ago by something like Two Old Hippies. I played a myrtlewood acoustic in their showroom. Beautiful guitar with great tone. What I remember most about that tour, is that they were putting the finishing touches on a mandolin for Chris Hillman of Byrds fame. I don’t know what it sounded like, but it was a work of art.

Bob

I think that tour would have been interesting. I’ve read that Breedlove uses only trees that have fallen or have been is storage for years rather continuously harvesting new trees for their production

Many things stand out about my Breedlove but 3 in particular:
1) It is the most sensitive to pick attack of any guitar that I’ve ever played. I usually play fingerstyle without picks and this guitar can be very loud or very soft, all depending how hard you play. No other guitar that I’ve played comes close to the sensitivity
2) Breedlove sands their tops thinner on the bass side which results in the dynamics of the bass & treble being much more even. Mine is almost like an electric guitar with a compressor pedal on it to tame the dynamics
3) The depth of the tone of a Breedlove is just different, I hear it with the one that I own but also the spruce/rosewood models have their unique tone as well. I’ve played Taylor, Martin, Alvarez Masterworks, Yamaha, etc that sound great but this Breedlove resonates differently. Something that has to be heard to understand

The neck is really sweet too – almost like a slim taper neck that is found on some Gibson Les Paul’s and 335’s. Tension is low enough that I may look at a 12 string at some point…….much later LOL
The Concerto body is a design that Breedlove developed, taking the Concert size body and making it longer, deeper and reducing the diameter of the sound hole. The result is a guitar that competes with a dreadnought for volume

Yeah, I’m sold on them LOL

I started playing when my sisters formed a gospel singing trio with a friend. They played some crappy nylon string things, and I learned to play chords on that. Then they got a 12 string which I don’t think was ever in tune, but I played that a lot.

First guitar I bought, when I was 13, was a blonde Strat. I bought it for $375 from a shop that had three in stock. This was the only blonde one, and it most closely resembled Alligator, which was Jerry Garcia’s guitar. At the same time I bought a beater acoustic which I played for years, until the bridge detached.

About 12 years later, I was living in LA, and would hang out in McCabes a lot, one of the great music stores in the country. They were carrying guitars by this new California builder named Bob Taylor. I especially liked a Maple jumbo that they had on the wall. That year, my parents decided to get me a guitar for Christmas, the first Christmas I would not be able to come home. I had a budget, but couldn’t afford the Taylor with it. And when I went, it was gone. So I special ordered a Brazilian rosewood instead, serial number 4564 (I think they make that many per hour now). I still have it – refretted once – and it keeps sounding better.

Next was a Martin which I bought with a job signing bonus, about 7 years later. I got it from the Podium in Minneapolis, another store I would hang out in quite a bit. It was a jumbo limited edition. I ended up giving it to my brother for my 50th Bday.

Next, after another 10+ years, was also a Christmas gift from my parents. My sister usually asks for a list of things I might want. That year, at the bottom of the list, after the things I though were reasonable, I added that I would always like another guitar, either a Baritone acoustic or an electric, but that getting one was out of the question. Apparently it wasn’t. I got the Taylor 8 string Baritone that year.

My PRS Vela I got after joining AM. I researched and listened to YouTube demos for months. I decided that I liked the necks on PRS best, and liked the sound of the Vela best in the demos of the guitars I could afford. I might have gotten a Fender instead, but the quality consistency seemed to be lacking in the ones I tried locally. My wife gave it to me for my birthday, and I got it used on Reverb through a Sam Ash in Florida.

Finally, my Eastman Pagelli was basically a tit for tat with my wife. She bought an outrageously expensive bag, and I bargained with her to buy an equally unneeded guitar. I wanted an archtop, but good ones are really expensive and it’s impossible here in Houston to play them. Eastmans have a good reputation for cheaper hand carved archtops, and the Pagelli just looks so cool. I waited til I found a good deal with an OK return policy on Reverb. Got mine for about half what they cost new, and it’s a fabulous guitar.

Still thinking about:
A Nashville Tele – partscaster
A Garcia Wolf or Tiger clone
A National Tricone Resonator
A Gypsy Jazz, Selmer style guitar
A Laminate hollowbody – ES 175, ES 330, or Languedoc style
A good classical
A Precision Bass
A Lowden, and
A OOO-28

Is 13 too many?

My new guitar is a 2012 sunburnt Fender American standard. I just got it 2 weeks ago. My first guitar was a 250 Takamine that my grandfather purchased me in the 6th grade. It was a little tough on my young fingers and I didn’t play it much. When I was 18 (1990) i sold it and bought a red squire. Well back then we didn’t have all the internet resources for learning guitar like now. I took some lessons but didn’t devote enough time to playing. Soon I put it down and later sold it. I had friends that played and I new a good guitar should sound better than that squire. Well about 3 years ago my mother purchased a white Randy Jackson from hsn and gave it to me for Christmas. This how I started playing again. Last Oct i bought another squir e from a flea market and later bought a 60’s classic vibe. Unhappy with both of their tones i started think I need to buy me a really good guitar. I decided on an 3 tone sunburnt American standard. I started looking and was thinking abt buying new. 2 Fridays ago I went to a couple pawn shops and there she was. A 2012 American standard the exact color i wanted. And get this it still has the plastic pick guard cover on it. They had played it a enough to kinda tear the plastic cover a little bit that was it. If I had to guess she still had her original strings. I walked out with her, and since the setup i am very happy with her tone. She sounds beautiful and I am finally satisfied with my guitar. She came with custom shop fat 50’s. Along with my bass breaker 15 watt fender amp they sound great together.

These are pics of my new love
See the original 2012 fender sticker?
Someone did me a favor and left it on

Hey Fitna, what a great story. It would actually make a great movie. And here’s the way I look at it: There is no such thing as The Perfect Guitar, because if there was, all guitars would be the same. For me, it’s all about comfort when playing it. Thanks to modern electronics – amplifiers and effects pedals – I think it’s possible to get almost any sound out of any guitar. So I consider ergonomics, weight, and physical size as the main criteria. My ideal guitar would let me play all over the neck without straining my fingers too much, it would be light weight so that I can easily move it around when I’m playing, and it would be small so that it doesn’t conflict with my arm position or cut into my body. Leo Fender had those things in mind when he designed the Fender Strat, so that was my first and still most favorite guitar. Thanks for bring up this question, because it’s made some good food for thought.

It was a strange journey for me to find my guitars, I have 6 guitars now 4 electrics, my Cv 60’s strat, a SE which is known through out the Squier guitar owners world as a “white rhino”..I call it Mr Bond cos it’s serial number is 007.
A Squier Telecaster which goes by the name “Goose”, the day I went to buy this guitar there was a woman on the car radio who was thanking her daughter for all the support she gave during her recent heart transplant, the daughter’s name was “Goose” so my Telecaster was named in her honour.
My Squier partscaster which I put together myself, I think I did a pretty good job on it though strangely enough I’ve not played this guitar in a year or more..
My Epiphone acoustic which I bought as a present for myself to celebrate 6 months of no smoking.
A Vintage (the brand)semi acoustic, which is an amazing guitar to play with it’s incredible low string action.
I have had a good few more,les Paul and SG but didn’t get on with them because of the neck width, I much prefer the thinner fender style necks and guitars..
Oh my, I could go on here about going to night school to learn how to do set ups, refrets making nuts and whatever else..
Time I was back at work though.

Thats is a quit funny question as I purchased yesterday a new guitar 😉

Do you choose or is it the other way round?

When I saw Jimi Page I also wanted to have a Les Paul – and for me it is still the most beautiful guitar.

After I made my Bachelor Degree my parents gave me one as a present. I liked it very much but it was quit hard to get around and I found myself playing a lot of Hendrixy stuff, John Frusciante, Philip Sayce, SRV.. and they all used Strats. So I wanted a Strat – and I love the Strat for exact those things to play I mentioned.
But play Zeppelin with a Strat? Kind of wired and to play riff based stuff I prefer a good chunky neck that I can grab. But I am not the tallest and my hands are def not the biggest. To play up the neck is super hard and the LP literally has to be hanging under my chin 😉

And yesterday I went to a store – I saw the Gibson SG Faded 2018 Worn Bourbon. Holy Shit!!!What a guitar.
I never even thought about buying a SG. Big ACDC fan right here, but it never crossed my mind. And I love it so much.. tone wise, when I stand up, when I sit, the neck..just everything is awesome to me. I never thought that I am an SG guy, but now I think: SG all the way!
I am able to play different styles and the tones suit me. No matter if it is some hard rock riff or under the bridge by the Peppers – it feels good to play. And it is the cheapest guitar I own. I have a Fender Stratocaster 60s Road Worn, a Friedman Cali, a `59 Custom Shop Les Paul, a Dean ML (I don’t really play that a lot. I am a big Pantera fan and this is more a tribute to the pink beard in the sky and a little investment (maybe) as it is a 40 Anniversary Special Edition), and an original 1964 Stratocaster, which my Grandpa had for years in the attic. He didn’t even play, we didn’t know it was there and we don’t know from where he has it and WHY?. Unfortunately he is dead already and we cannot ask him. But one thing is sure, the nut was replaced but horrible. the String spacing isn’t right and the vintage spaghetti frets are worn and almost unplayable. I still need to find a luthier where this baby is safe (anyone know one in Zurich??).

For me it is also important to spend some time with a guitar. After an hour at store I generally can’t tell you if it is a keeper or not – besides the SG 😉 I knew it basically right away.

With all that said I just think as a player you need time to figure out what suits you and what not. And it will take time. In the end, at least for me you get suprised by yourself or your playing habits. And it is nothing wrong with: Jimi Page plays LPs that’s why I play them too. But in the end of the day, your progress and your playing will benefit from what will suit you and not what your favorites play. But I guess it starts there a lot. Because someone or some music made you wanna play.

And that will be my answer when someone asks me in the future why I play an SG: Because everything on it suits me and my playing.

This is a cool topic for sure. Here are the guitars that I have owned or still own and some story to go along with them…

Some little Nylon string guitar – When I was about 11 or twelve, my grandparents got me a little nylon string guitar for either Christmas or my birthday, cant remember which one. I don’t even think it had a brand name or anything on the head stock, and I am pretty sure it was more of a toy than an actual guitar. Anyway, after I got it, I took guitar lessons in some ladies living room. I remember the first things she taught me were only on the first two strings. She taught me how to play Yankee Doodle out of one of those Hal Leonard books. I learned to read the notes. It was extremely boring and gave me absolutely no inspiration to want to play guitar at all. I was supposed to practice at home, and tried to some, but just had a really hard time putting any real time or practice into it. Not long after learning a few songs on the first string, I had to do a recital at an old folks home. I played the entire melody to yankee doodle on just the high E and B strings in front of a room full of elderly people who seemed even less enthused than I was. This was about the time I quit. It was only maybe a month or so after I started. After that, I didn’t pick the guitar up for awhile.

Squire Standard Strat – Later on, I had a few friends who played guitar, so decided I would get back into it. I was probably 14 or 15 when I got a Squire Standard Strat for Christmas along with a little squire amp. This was my first electric guitar. I still have it, and still play it, although it went a good 15 years or so being extremely neglected. You will see me play it in some showcase or challenge videos. Since first getting it, I have put locking tuners on it and replaced the electronics with a loaded pickguard straight off of a MIM Fender Classic Series Strat.

Some Acoustic Electric guitar – After playing the the squire for a bit, I decided I needed an acoustic. My Dad took me to a guitar center and bought me one of the cheapest acoustic guitars we could find that also have pickups (I thought at the time I would need to plug it in for what I ‘Jammed’ with my buddies). I think we paid like $150 for it new, and I do not remember the brand. I gave the guitar to my brother years ago, who was going to give it to someone he knew but never did, so I think its sitting in his basement.

Washburn Folk Style Acoustic – After about 4 or 5 years of never picking up my guitars while in college, I decided to hit up a local small music shop just outside of the town I live in. Found this guitar in there used and fell in love with the way it sounded. Walked out with it and the hard case for like $350. After getting it, I learned a few strummy songs, and got pretty decent at the whole camp fire strumming thing, which was great, but then got a job and life happened again, and did not play it for years after that. Anyway, I still have this one also, and have played the crap out of it in the last 3 years or so. Still love this guitar.

Fender Standard MIM Telecaster – My wife bought this guitar for me for my birthday a few years ago. She knew I wanted to get back into playing guitar, so she told me I could go pick one out. Found it used at a Guitar Center, but honestly did not play it much. That is until I joined Active Melody! Now its my go to and gets all kinds of love.

My main guitar is a 2014 Guild Savoy that came strung with flatwound strings.

I started playing guitar again in 2014 on the one guitar I hung on to, a 1998 Alvarez-Yairi that I bought new in 1998.

One weekend in early 2015 I was out at Sam Ash getting strings for the Alvarez and looking around. A salesman asked me if he could help me, and in half-jest I said “Whatever is closest to a 1964 single-pickup Guild Starfire for $400” (my favorite of the guitars I sold off … and regreted selling). He brought the 2014 Guild Savoy out. I liked it right away, but I wondered if I was going to keep playing, and if I really wanted one. I did, and having such a nice, responsive guitar made me want to play a lot more frequently.

In 2016 I bought a 1968 Univox Rhythm & Blues model on eBay because it looks exactly like the guitar Earl Hooker played (but I don’t know if it really is—I have some doubts), a 1978 Tele because I liked it and wanted a Tele (while I was out buying strings), and a 1952 Kay K-150 that resembles my Guild (except its intonation is better! it’s as close to perfect intonation as I’ve ever experienced). The Kay has a nice chunky neck. I really like the way it feels and the way it sounds when it’s plugged in (but living in an apartment, I don’t plug in very often, so I don’t play the Kay that much.

My main guitar is a 2014 Guild Savoy that came strung with flatwound strings.

I started playing guitar again in 2014 on the one guitar I hung on to, a 1998 Alvarez-Yairi that I bought new in 1998.

One weekend in early 2015 I was out at Sam Ash getting strings for the Alvarez and looking around. A salesman asked me if he could help me, and in half-jest I said “Whatever is closest to a 1964 single-pickup Guild Starfire for $400” (my favorite of the guitars I sold off … and regreted selling). He brought the 2014 Guild Savoy out. I liked it right away, but I wondered if I was going to keep playing, and if I really wanted one. I did, and having such a nice, responsive guitar made me want to play a lot more frequently.

In 2016 I bought a 1968 Univox Rhythm & Blues model on eBay because it looks exactly like the guitar Earl Hooker played (but I don’t know if it really is—I have some doubts), a 1978 Tele because I liked it and wanted a Tele (while I was out buying stings), and a 1952 Kay K-150 that resembles my Guild (except its intonation is better! it’s as close to perfect intonation as I’ve ever experienced).

frankie05 wrote:

WOW! GnL, thats a beautiful looking guitar. congrats on that purchase!

Thanks Frankie, I really like it for its looks, tone and playability

One neat thing about Myrtlewood is that due to the grain, every guitar is different. None of the pictures below are Custom Shop models, just production models as they are being built

I was quite lucky I walked into our local shop,seen this Ibanez over £100 pound off, I asked why the clerk stated it was a return the person who purchased it did not like it, there was some marks nothing major, so for that price why not, £220 pounds for a Ibanez RGA42 FM

I do have plans for it since my preference is the blues, Humbuckers will be eventually swapped out for Alinco 2 Tonerider has a great pair, I was even thinking of a push pull system on the volume and tone and lastly locking tuner. It’s a great guitar to play the neck is brilliant, and with the extra length more tones can be found,

The Amp was another find in the local paper VOXVT20X got for the £80, so a pretty decent setup for just £300

It wasn’t my first choice but the price was right and it just feels great to play,

Hi guys:

I have an acoustic one, and that is good for beginners like me.
Soon I will buy a Fender Stratocaster… and here comes the question. There are Strats and Strats, even in the “classic” bracket there is much quality variation, price variation, neck sizes, different types of response and intonation, etc.

Does someone offer good tips for a cost-effective “broad and easy going coverage: rock-country-blues”?
I add something important here: my style is “JJ Cale like”.

Thank you friends,
Marinho

Today, random stop at a locally owned shop, guy asks me what im looking for… nothing. Just looking. He says, what are you missing? I said it sounds goofy but id love to have a surf-cool looking guitar with humbuckers. He handed me this, i fell in love, and my wife said “Get it! I haven’t seen that look in your eyes in a long time”. And its flippin AWESOME!

This..

My first guitar is a Flamenco guitar as well. My aunt gave it to me. I really wanted to learn Flamenco (I grew up with it) But I lived in the States and before the internet there were not many resources to learn So the guitar was just sort of a nice instrument to accompany myself while “singing”. Then I discovered The Blues, thanks to a little tongue in cheek book called “It’s Easy to Fake Blues Guitar” that I bought because it was beat up and therefore cheap. (2 or 3 dollars) And it looked funny. I got on Youtube and found some videos. After sliding up to and bending my first note, I was hooked. Although Flamenco music moves me in a way that nothing else can, The Blues is so much more tactile-ly pleasurable to play on guitar. And it is such a neatly self contained little system that offers endless possibilities. And I love this site. Brian really keeps it interesting and knows how to explain things well.

I also own an cheap entry level acoustic guitar that is really nice in my opinion ION and a Chinese Fender Starcaster that was given to me because the pawn shop refused to take at any price. I took it in to my local store, and the guitar repair guy tweaked it and now it plays great.

I think that was a great story. I live in a nice quiet neighborhood but there are times that I wish I lived above a music store. Volume is always a concern in my house so the only time I really get to cut lose is when I take some time off work and play when nobody’s at home. I’ve always primarily been an electric guy but I have owned a few acoustic guitars. Right now I have a couple of American strats, a d’angelico archtop, and a cheap tele knockoff, (which I actually like a lot). I recently read or heard a guy discuss how many guitars you actually need and I really liked his take on the subject. If you just stick with a few guitars, you become very acquainted with their unique nuances. While having a lot of guitars is nice, you really need to stick with 1 or 2 “go-to” guitars if you really want to excel.

My first guitar is a late 70s Japanese steel string acoustic (Kiso Suzuki) that I got from my mother. She was learning guitar but found the steel strings too hard and switched to classical. I didn’t really take to learning guitar at the time, but I still have it all these years later. I don’t play it much though.

Second guitar was a graduation present to myself. I went to the local music store and they had two guitars that I could just barely afford, both second hand. First was a MIA standard strat in blue. Lovely guitar and looked great but I just didn’t like the neck profile. Second was a horribly ugly MIA G&L Climax (yes, this was the late 90s) in red sparkle, HSS, active hair-metal pickups and a black Floyd Rose. I don’t play metal at all, but once I played this guitar I fell in love with how it felt. The neck was a thing of beauty to play. No surprise which guitar I came home with. A few years later I had the body refinished in tobacco burst and I fully blocked the tremolo in both directions and removed the tremolo bar. A few years after that I replaced the active pickups with Dimarzio true velvet singles and a 36th anniversary PAF. Yes, I still have this ugly thing and it’s currently my daily player.

Third guitar is a work in progress. I am building a HH thinline telecaster. I wanted something very different to the G&L, so humbuckers, semi-hollow, rosewood fretboard (engineered rosewood which is horrible to work with, but that’s another story), and a fixed bridge. Oh how I am looking forward to a fixed bridge! Gotoh locking tuners, and I am leaning towards Tonerider Alnico 2 pickups. Finishing it in a metallic blue with white binding and white pearloid pickguard. I cut a strat headstock because I like them more (plus both Samantha Fish and Clapton played teles with strat necks).

I also have a Yamaha classical and a tenor uke, but the three guitars above are the ones closest to my heart.

DC

A brand here in the UK called Vintage by JHS Trevor Wilkinson helps design them I picked up a hardly used Advance Series Vintage – V6PFCB – Deluxe Vibrato Cherry Burst Electric Guitar – Red Flame
It has 3 P90’s Stacked the chap was desperate for the money basically I could not refuse pretty much cheaper then a bullet squire it cost me so I did not hesitate., cannot wait to plug it into my amp on Wed

This is my second guitar my other one is an Ibanez RGA FM 42 ,

I can’t afford to be a collector, nor do I really have the chops to own a whole bunch of guitars. I do prize quality though, and I want each of the guitars I own to be special to me. No matter which I pick up, I want it to be “Stuff That Works,” as Guy Clark put it, and I want to have an affinity for it. For that reason I keep trading and upgrading.

I’ve got a Fender CS ‘59 Esquire reissue from 2005 that’s pretty special, “Spanky.” A Gibson ‘61 SG Std reissue much like one an older cousin played in various bands when I was a kid, “Billy Jim.” I’ve got a Strat that will be upgraded very soon. It’s a 2013 American Deluxe. I’ve had it 3 or 4 years and it never acquired a name; I take that as a sign from God. Finally, I’ve got a Martin 000-15M. It’s a wonderful guitar, in case anyone is thinking of a new acoustic; I would highly recommend that you look at one. Reasonable price and Martin quality. Oh, I’m on a wait list for a custom built Lucky Dog T-style.

Hi all,

I am a new member residing in UK. I bought my first guitar in the 80’s. It was a Sigma acoustic by Martin (Korean made). My son has it now. I never really got past strumming a few chords, but did drag it around a few countries whilst working.

My next purchase was a series 10 electric that I bought in Ridgecrest, California when working there for a little over 6 months – it wasn’t great. A colleague suggested that I buy a Gibson as they were a good investment and were more expensive in Uk, so one weekend we drove down to the Guitar Centre in in Hollywood and both came away with a vintage sunburst Les Paul Custom. This was funded from the per diem money that I had saved by living on a budget. I took this home at Christmas before returning to Ridgecrest in January without a guitar.I still have the Les Paul today, 30 years later.

Whilst at Ridgecrest I had some lessons with a local tutor and felt a bit silly turning up with brand new Les Paul, not being able to play!

Upon my return to Ridgecrest after the Christmas break I purchased a American Standard Strat at Ritcher’s Music shop in Ridgecrest. I still have the Strat. It is the guitar I play most today and my favourite as it is so comfortable to play.

I love the Les Paul but it is a bit heavy. I have considered selling but can’t bring myself to part with it. When i bought it the deal included a professional set-up at the Gibson Custom shop. I took it to their workshop and it was set-up by Roger Giffin (ex luthier to Eric Clapton and others), who was a Brit living in USA. He is still there now I believe.

Since then I have added an acoustic and electric traveler ultra light guitar to my collection, and an Epiphone PR5E acoustic. The travellers are a bit odd to play but do fit in a suitcase and are better than nothing!

Still on the steep learning curve but enjoying the ride!

Martin

There is so much to say about this. My first real guitar that I could afford was a Harmony H72V. I bought it because it was available, reasonably priced, and I thought it looked pretty cool. I loved the way it played and everything fit well with me, but I did not know why. When I dreamed about more expensive guitars, I gravitated toward the Fender Jaguars and the Les Pauls. I had no idea why back then. I did not know anything about scale length, fretboard radius, neck shape, etc. I just knew what fit me well. As I learned more about those things, I began to realize why I gravitated to the ones I did. I have large hands for my fingers, or short fingers for the size of my hand. The short fingers is why I liked the Harmony H72V- scale length 24.25, the Jaguar-scale length 24, and the Les Paul- scale length 24.75. Shorter scales fit my fingers. On the other hand, I like a neck shape on the thicker side. The Gibson”60’s slim taper” makes my hand hurt. I also prefer, but it is not a requirement, the vintage fender radius. 7.5. especially for playing chords. When it comes to sound, I like fenders for anything from clean up to the beginning of tube break-up. Anything more distorted and I like the Les Paul. Anyway, I have at least one of each of the three mentioned above.

Hi everybody

Petter from Stockholm Sweden here. A couple of month ago I had the opportunity to play a fantastic guitar(original LP standard 1959 Burst) in almost mint condition)….I’m not joking, and it was magic. But I hardly dared to play on it. ..it was enough to just hold it….
But I was so inspired and decided to buy a reissue of almost the same type. A Gibson Les Paul Historic R8 Custom VOS. Way to expensive(1% of the R9) for my playing but it’s beauty and it really plays and looks wonderful. The owner who CAN play guitar tried mine and says its almost as good as his R9….;) (Kind guy )

My guitar it’s uniqueness , a Stratocaster Style Guitar with 3 Stacked P90’s, the chap who was selling it really had no clue what he was selling, the guitar was brand new hed id not like the red burst maple cap and sold to me about £300 off the list price,
I do not believe in the name in the head-stock, I own a Vintage Reissued V6PFCB Flamed Cherry Burst this is a strong statement especially with the level of players on this site, but Fender wished they could make a guitar like this. I understand it’s a mass produce but the level of quality in the build and the quality of the parts is unbelievable. I would stack it against any Fender Mexican Range, in a heart beat. It’s at the guitar tech getting a check up , even the tech was surprised at the accuracy of the weight and having a solid steel trem block, I was going to get the tech to place a tone pot but it does not need one the tech stated, “Just had a quick look. Looks like it was a pot that when rolled off gradually sends one coil to ground. Nice way of doing it, because you can actually keep some of both coils of the pickup, not just an ‘All or nothing’ split coil switch ”
It’s one of those guitars the longer your own the more you love it, and it’s certainly the case with this beast, the Wilkinson Hardware including the Stacked Hum Cancelling P90’S are brilliant and many Wilkinson parts are used in many High end guitars.
I would say the guitar choose me lol, I will never sell it, will I do any upgrades, Roy Fullton has one early version he said to me in a video response not to change the pups,
That’s my long winded story,

Fitna wrote:

Wow that are gorgious! I hope they sound as good as they look

I’ve owned this guitar now for 2+ years and it still inspires me every time that I play it. Pick sensitive, great slim taper neck, very clear & articulate tone.

My search for an acoustic was over when I bought this one.

Highly recommended that anyone looking for a guitar to try one

What a thought provoking post! It made me think about my own guitar journey anyway.

My first guitar was a Christmas present in my teens, I don’t think I ever knew what the make was but it was a second hand archtop style guitar which made an individual statement amongst my friends at the time. It was immense for bending strings and it got me interested in playing although I never made much progress in actually learning to play. Times were different then, I never had lessons and all the teach yourself books were full of dry and boring tunes. No sites like Active Melody to teach and give you tips on playing the kind of music we all wanted to play. Like rock and blues.

That first guitar disappeared shortly after I received an Epiphone acoustic as a birthday present a few years later. I still wonder what happened to it and if its in some cupboard at my parents house but its never been found. The Epiphone turned out to be a bit of a disaster. The neck wasn’t adjustable and the frets were very fine making it a pig to play, so much so that I gave up and family life took over instead.

It wasn’t until 30+ years later, when I was working away from home in Singapore for two week stretches that the next guitar arrived. To amuse myself at the weekend I’d wander around the local shopping mall and ended up going into a Yamaha store there. Over a number of visits I tried out a few of their acoustics and the difference in playability from that Epiphone was revelatory. I decided to give learning another go and bought an “LL6SB”, a small bodied acoustic in a sunburst finish. I can’t say I did a whole bunch of research but I figured it was a good enough instrument at a reasonable enough price for me to restart my guitar journey. I still have it, my only acoustic and I can appreciate now it was much better than I realized at the time.

My first electric followed a few years later. I started looking for a hollow bodied and did lots research this time. In the end, I think it was mainly looks that swung the decision to buy a Red Gretsch G5622T, but its a beast of a guitar, a joy to pick up and play, with an inspiring range of tones you can extract from it.

A Gretsch resonator followed and earlier this year I decided it was time for a solid bodied guitar. Since my early teens I’d always hankered after a Strat, the players I admired, Knopfler, Clapton etc all played them. So I went out looking with a Strat in mind and month or so later I bought a ………… Fender Player Telecaster in Tidepool. I guess it was one of those moments in a store when a guitar just felt absolutely right and I’ve certainly no regrets, its mighty fun to play. The Strat’s time will probably come at some point!

A few weeks ago I got me a Taylor acoustic right around the time I signed up here. Today I got a present from my partner in crime. A Yamaha RevStar502T with a matching small amp and a headphone. Also came with a relay G10. Never had an electric guitar before, never even touched one. Immediately I learned it’s so much easier playing blues and other stuff with it. I don’t know why my partner got a yamaha for me but it feels perfect. I used to take to the hills on my Yamaha dirt bike decades ago so maybe that was she was thinking. I love it. This is my guitar. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My guitar is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My guitar without me is useless. Without my guitar I am useless, and all that good stuff, ha!

Well, I can see this thread has stirred up a lot of interest. As far as I can tell there are two types of guitarists: those that love guitars so much they line their walls with then and the second kind who finds one or two guitars special to them.

I fall into the second type. I have had my Tamura Classical for over 40 years and it is very precious to me. I picked up my Squire Stratocaster and customized it to my taste – its an instrument I thought I would get because it was cheap and, maybe I would get a fancier one later. Turns out it has grown on me over time and I am gonna stay with that guitar.

I think guitars are very personal. Try lots of them and when you find the one that feels right, pick it and make it your own.

I got into guitars because I looked at the folks playing and thought that don’t look too hard, first mistake.
So I bought a Yamaha acoustic never really got on with it. Sold it then the list went like this.
Electrics
Cort cl1500 semi hollow,
Yamaha cheap strat copy
Epiphone nighthawk
Hamer telecaster
Squire carbonita
Airline Tuxedo
Hagstrom xl
Hagstrom hj500
Hagstrom viking select allegedly signed by CJ Ramone
Eastwood sidejack
Hagstrom super swede select custom (favorite)
Ovation celebrity
Finally another Yamaha which I keep at my mums house for when I visit.
I hope my wife don’t see this as I am still struggling to get to grips with making a decent noise.
I look at them as pieces of art as well, and hope that IF I ever had to sell one that I have bought wisely.
No bragging rights here it was just that I was in a good position to buy a the time.

Interesting thread!

My first was a cheap classical guitar at the age of 13-14 when I started strumming and would play gospels at Sunday mass. I then started studying classical guitar and my parents got me this beautiful Aria made in Japan who sounded great (still regret giving that one away) but lost interest in classical so a loud black epiphone acoustic was my main axe for years. Tried few cheap electric guitars during my 20s but never really got into being good at it and sold them both.

On my thirties I moved abroad and once in Ireland I bought a Yamaha acoustic from a pound shop which haven’t played much during the years but has a very low action and plays really well, I still have it.

Last year, at 47 years of age I got back into guitar and bought my first electro acoustic. Went to local shop, because of Covid couldn’t spend much time in the shop or try many guitars but I spotted this Fender Redondo player California series which looked very different and sounded great. Would have never thought of buying a Fender acoustic but just fell in love with it https://shop.fender.com/en-IE/redondo-player/0970713010.html?rl=en_US

Next thing – with a small THR5 amp I got into recording in GarageBand etc and thought I needed to add some lead as wel but didn’t want to spend too much. Went online and after a bit of research, got myself this Harley Benton PRS style in ocean blue which is a beautiful guitar for the price (200€). I’ll probably do some mods on it but I love the looks and sounds great too! https://m.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_cst_24_bk.htm?o=1&search=1620550461

Next thing I know, my next trip to the local music shop and with Christmas around the corner, saw this Fender Strat (player series) in sunburst which was calling for me and I couldn’t leave it there 😊. Found Brian on Active melody in the meantime and got hooked!

I’m at 4 guitars now and have to say my two favourite ones are the Fender (strat and acoustic) with the Harley Benton also perfect for when I want bit more crunchy tones/play rocky tunes.

I should be happy considering I’m only playing at home as a hobby. Still, don’t know why but I’m constantly looking at guitars online so I fear this is not the end…maybe another Harley Benton for Christmas (still deciding if a Tele or jazzmaster style, or both). First will have to convince my wife on why I need another guitar 😂

Happy picking folks!

I started on a Kay at the tender age of 10 with a teacher that was ‘old school’ which is saying something given it was 1967. He was into the big band rhythm thing when the guitar was considered a percussive instrument. lol
Anyway I had several guitars thru my garage band years and one was a solid body Gretsch that was modded and then a Gibson Les Paul copy from Epiphone in the late 80’s that I probably should’ve never sold along with a 12 string that I can’t remember. Guitar has been in and out of my bucket list at least 3 times. All gear dumped and then another foray into something that really does want to be in that bucket and stay there it seems. So now I have a Seagull C6+CW Folk, a Monoprice Indio Classic (one of cheapest and best Strat copies around I think) and the latest (arrived today) an Ibanez AS73-TBC. My amps are a Behringer ACX450 and a Carvin Nomad 112 (tube)
I am lusting after an SG, but perhaps the time spent here getting better at playing would be wiser! Blessings – Denny

I started on an Alvarez acoustic, which was decent. I had a buddy in college with a Seagull guitar and I loved playing it. I found a used one, and this has been my only acoustic for 10+ years:

I started playing electric last winter. I was in a big P-bass phase (still am) so I chose a Telecaster for its historical significance and simplicity:

The Tele served me well, but I got the sinking feeling it wasn’t “me.” I went to the guitar store and fell in love with this Ibanez semi hollow. The warmer pickups and beefier neck really suit me. I’ve only had it a few weeks but I think it’s a forever instrument: