Most electric guitarist with a decent history behind them know the meaning of terms like "Keepers". "The One(s) that Got Away". "Never Looked Back". "Lifelong from First Picked Up". "If I could have done this over". ... The bonding or lack of is part of the player / instrument life partnerships that might cover the short span of a year or less or last a lifetime. Sometimes they lead to careers or signature tones. Other times it's more personal to the player that had to work to earn the bread to act on their own gear decisions and then bare the results of both good and bad choices during the months and years that followed. In the world of electric guitar players, the instruments, amps and effects they chose to partner with, combined with the much harder to develop skill levels achieved over time through practice, trial and error, etc. results in the cumulative present of the guitarist who's captained this process from the first day they picked up the instrument and silently said "Yes".
I do appreciate and commend you one and all for the skills you've mastered over the years. What I'd like to ask concerns the gear you've tried out over the years. The pieces you instantly recognized as keepers. The pieces you purchased, questioned, sold, and then wished you hadn't. The pieces you never questioned, never sold and still have to this day. The pieces you screwed up on and sold and then just had to repurchase at a higher price later on. The thread is about Gear. Look at your current signal chain. Guitar, Effects, (if you use them), and Amp. Any love at first sight? Relationships that have lasted forever? Found, lost reacquired partnerships? Relationships that took some time to develop? Which brand. Which Model? Which type of Gear?
For myself .....
1). My first true quality piece of gear was a Gibson SG my father purchased for me after I'd been playing guitar for 11 years. A brand new 1st release '71 / '72 SG Deluxe with a Bigsby trem / tailpiece. $499.99 including a hard shell case and full lifetime warranty. I've often thought my selling it four years later was a mistake but, in hindsight, replacing it with an Alvarez 12 string acoustic and finding my songwriting output tripling immediately was an eye opener moment. I'll be thankful forever for having been introduced to the 12 string guitar at that time.
When I sold the SG I didn't know the rarity of it's production or what was in it. It turns out dad acquired mine from a music store that had received a pre production model that Gibson had thrown everything they had into it. From mother of pearl block inlays to the original, (first version), T-Top Les Paul pickups Gibson started producing in '68. When the full production run came out maybe six months to a year later some of the special parts had been lessened or deleted so the street price could be lowered to just over $400.00 and I don't know if they carried the lifetime warranty. I don't know the number of pre production models Gibson sent out to dealerships but it wouldn't have been many. I'm glad I bought the Alvarez 12 string but I should never ever have sold the SG.
2). A Wah Wah pedal. No specific brand in the beginning. Blame it on Clapton. Between "White Room", "Sunshine of Your Love", and "Crossroads" I was sold on this effect for a lifetime. Robin Trower and Frank Marino's use of the Wah Wah just solidified my love for the effect. I have three pedal boards set up and all three have a Wah pedal on board with spare Wahs sitting on a shelf.
3). My Acoustic Control Corp. "Black Widow" six string electric. I purchased it when I mustered out of the U. S. Navy along with the purchase of a Kasino Fever amplifier. While not my favorite electric guitar it certainly holds the spot as the guitar I owned the longest as well as the guitar listeners expected to see strapped on me when I played. It was always in constant use. My three children grew up thinking of it as "dads" guitar. Between the late winter of '77 to just prior to the turn of the century I wore it completely down. Three refrets and finally the fretboard itself worn to the point of needing to be fully replaced. At that point I quite using it but I've never been able to part with it. It no longer has a case. The case finally fell apart into scrap. It no longer hangs on a wall rack but rather just sits tucked in a corner behind some shelves in the music room. I know it's there.
4). My Mesa Boogie, (fully loaded with every available build option), Mark III Blue Stripe head. This was the 4th of 5 versions of the Mark III that virtually made it a reproduction of the Mark IIC+. I loved this amp because it was the first amp I'd found that had massive amounts of gain on tap but didn't give up the warmth or mids the way most other high gain amps of the time were doing. It was extremely versatile. It could go from tweaked Fender Tweed to mid '60s Deluxe or Twin Reverb or, with the use of the graphic equalizer sound like a Marshall JTM45 to a Superlead to JCM800 or even go into SLO territory. While I never used it for Metal I know the boys in Metallica, (I'm told Kirk Hammett's was a blue stripe), did so with great results. The amp worked great until it didn't. Somewhere between 7 and 9 years ago it was cranked and singing sweetly one minutes and making booms and pan fried sounds with smoke billowing from the back along with tiny flames flickering inside. I took it to three different amp techs in the area and learned that all amp techs emit the same woeful laugh when looking at a chassis burned in hell. I've tried to replace it numerous times but virtually all of the used Blue Stripe Mark III's still available on the market aren't the fully loaded versions or have been modified in one way or another. Mine was born and died stock. Of note* From the Mark III's day of purchase until it's untimely death it was always stacked atop a Marshall Vintage 4 X 12" slant cab loaded with Vintage 30s. They paired up beautifully. Up until I discovered Bruno and Cornford amplifiers the Mark III Blue stripe was far and away the finest amp I'd ever owned.
5 & 6). Both my Mesa F-30 combo, (about 22 watts but able to produce 30 watt bursts when required through some type of Mesa proprietary magic) and my Marshall DSL 401 40 watt combo. Both sounded great. The F-30 was much smaller and less versatile but fit perfectly behind the drivers seat of my old Buick Century and was sized perfectly for a grab and go amp to take to friends homes for get togethers and family jams. The DSL 401 was much louder and more versatile than the F-30 but also twice as large and came from the factory with a build flaw that used to routinely toast a circuit board located too close to the vacuum tubes. The reason these two amps are grouped together is because they provided my first insight into the use of EL84 output tubes. Sure. I'd known the Vox sound forever but I thought that the Vox sound was all EL84s were good for and I couldn't have been more wrong. Out of all the amps I currently own only five will follow me into retirement and all five of them use EL84 output tubes. Both Tony Bruno Underground 30s, both Cornfords, (Hellcat and Carrera) and my Mesa Boogie Mark V:35. The EL84 is mandatory for all of my most required amp tones.
Currently I own instruments that took me a lifetime of saving up for and purchasing. Among these are a select few that will never be sold. Looking back on life choices is the lesson plan that taught me to recognize a keeper, pass on a hyped model, only buy signature models based on the instrument itself with no thought to the player whose name is included, taught that the way an instrument melds with me when I play it X build quality and attention to detail are paramount and I have to go in with a price is no object perspective. On multiple occasions over the years I've passed on purchases because of the instruments cost and later came to regret those decisions terribly. I'm not saying an instrument needs to be expensive to be a lifelong keeper. I'm saying no instrument in consideration for purchase as a lifelong keeper is ever too expensive.
After completing my current downsizing the remaining electric guitars that will never leave include my #1 favorite Giffin Standard, 2 Melancon T-style models 2 Gibsons, (a Custom shop CS-336 & a Les Paul Traditional), a Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster and a Rickenbacker 1993 Plus 12 string. Seven electrics out of more than double that amount currently in the studio. There are also two lifelong keeper acoustics but this thread is about electric guitar gear so I've save them for a later thread.
Anyone else have some history to share? Scores? Mistakes? Discovering your lifelong keepers? Surprises along the way? Something given to you or something stolen at a gig or whatever? Electric guitar player history 101. We can share and learn.
I do appreciate and commend you one and all for the skills you've mastered over the years. What I'd like to ask concerns the gear you've tried out over the years. The pieces you instantly recognized as keepers. The pieces you purchased, questioned, sold, and then wished you hadn't. The pieces you never questioned, never sold and still have to this day. The pieces you screwed up on and sold and then just had to repurchase at a higher price later on. The thread is about Gear. Look at your current signal chain. Guitar, Effects, (if you use them), and Amp. Any love at first sight? Relationships that have lasted forever? Found, lost reacquired partnerships? Relationships that took some time to develop? Which brand. Which Model? Which type of Gear?
For myself .....
1). My first true quality piece of gear was a Gibson SG my father purchased for me after I'd been playing guitar for 11 years. A brand new 1st release '71 / '72 SG Deluxe with a Bigsby trem / tailpiece. $499.99 including a hard shell case and full lifetime warranty. I've often thought my selling it four years later was a mistake but, in hindsight, replacing it with an Alvarez 12 string acoustic and finding my songwriting output tripling immediately was an eye opener moment. I'll be thankful forever for having been introduced to the 12 string guitar at that time.
When I sold the SG I didn't know the rarity of it's production or what was in it. It turns out dad acquired mine from a music store that had received a pre production model that Gibson had thrown everything they had into it. From mother of pearl block inlays to the original, (first version), T-Top Les Paul pickups Gibson started producing in '68. When the full production run came out maybe six months to a year later some of the special parts had been lessened or deleted so the street price could be lowered to just over $400.00 and I don't know if they carried the lifetime warranty. I don't know the number of pre production models Gibson sent out to dealerships but it wouldn't have been many. I'm glad I bought the Alvarez 12 string but I should never ever have sold the SG.
2). A Wah Wah pedal. No specific brand in the beginning. Blame it on Clapton. Between "White Room", "Sunshine of Your Love", and "Crossroads" I was sold on this effect for a lifetime. Robin Trower and Frank Marino's use of the Wah Wah just solidified my love for the effect. I have three pedal boards set up and all three have a Wah pedal on board with spare Wahs sitting on a shelf.
3). My Acoustic Control Corp. "Black Widow" six string electric. I purchased it when I mustered out of the U. S. Navy along with the purchase of a Kasino Fever amplifier. While not my favorite electric guitar it certainly holds the spot as the guitar I owned the longest as well as the guitar listeners expected to see strapped on me when I played. It was always in constant use. My three children grew up thinking of it as "dads" guitar. Between the late winter of '77 to just prior to the turn of the century I wore it completely down. Three refrets and finally the fretboard itself worn to the point of needing to be fully replaced. At that point I quite using it but I've never been able to part with it. It no longer has a case. The case finally fell apart into scrap. It no longer hangs on a wall rack but rather just sits tucked in a corner behind some shelves in the music room. I know it's there.
4). My Mesa Boogie, (fully loaded with every available build option), Mark III Blue Stripe head. This was the 4th of 5 versions of the Mark III that virtually made it a reproduction of the Mark IIC+. I loved this amp because it was the first amp I'd found that had massive amounts of gain on tap but didn't give up the warmth or mids the way most other high gain amps of the time were doing. It was extremely versatile. It could go from tweaked Fender Tweed to mid '60s Deluxe or Twin Reverb or, with the use of the graphic equalizer sound like a Marshall JTM45 to a Superlead to JCM800 or even go into SLO territory. While I never used it for Metal I know the boys in Metallica, (I'm told Kirk Hammett's was a blue stripe), did so with great results. The amp worked great until it didn't. Somewhere between 7 and 9 years ago it was cranked and singing sweetly one minutes and making booms and pan fried sounds with smoke billowing from the back along with tiny flames flickering inside. I took it to three different amp techs in the area and learned that all amp techs emit the same woeful laugh when looking at a chassis burned in hell. I've tried to replace it numerous times but virtually all of the used Blue Stripe Mark III's still available on the market aren't the fully loaded versions or have been modified in one way or another. Mine was born and died stock. Of note* From the Mark III's day of purchase until it's untimely death it was always stacked atop a Marshall Vintage 4 X 12" slant cab loaded with Vintage 30s. They paired up beautifully. Up until I discovered Bruno and Cornford amplifiers the Mark III Blue stripe was far and away the finest amp I'd ever owned.
5 & 6). Both my Mesa F-30 combo, (about 22 watts but able to produce 30 watt bursts when required through some type of Mesa proprietary magic) and my Marshall DSL 401 40 watt combo. Both sounded great. The F-30 was much smaller and less versatile but fit perfectly behind the drivers seat of my old Buick Century and was sized perfectly for a grab and go amp to take to friends homes for get togethers and family jams. The DSL 401 was much louder and more versatile than the F-30 but also twice as large and came from the factory with a build flaw that used to routinely toast a circuit board located too close to the vacuum tubes. The reason these two amps are grouped together is because they provided my first insight into the use of EL84 output tubes. Sure. I'd known the Vox sound forever but I thought that the Vox sound was all EL84s were good for and I couldn't have been more wrong. Out of all the amps I currently own only five will follow me into retirement and all five of them use EL84 output tubes. Both Tony Bruno Underground 30s, both Cornfords, (Hellcat and Carrera) and my Mesa Boogie Mark V:35. The EL84 is mandatory for all of my most required amp tones.
Currently I own instruments that took me a lifetime of saving up for and purchasing. Among these are a select few that will never be sold. Looking back on life choices is the lesson plan that taught me to recognize a keeper, pass on a hyped model, only buy signature models based on the instrument itself with no thought to the player whose name is included, taught that the way an instrument melds with me when I play it X build quality and attention to detail are paramount and I have to go in with a price is no object perspective. On multiple occasions over the years I've passed on purchases because of the instruments cost and later came to regret those decisions terribly. I'm not saying an instrument needs to be expensive to be a lifelong keeper. I'm saying no instrument in consideration for purchase as a lifelong keeper is ever too expensive.
After completing my current downsizing the remaining electric guitars that will never leave include my #1 favorite Giffin Standard, 2 Melancon T-style models 2 Gibsons, (a Custom shop CS-336 & a Les Paul Traditional), a Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster and a Rickenbacker 1993 Plus 12 string. Seven electrics out of more than double that amount currently in the studio. There are also two lifelong keeper acoustics but this thread is about electric guitar gear so I've save them for a later thread.
Anyone else have some history to share? Scores? Mistakes? Discovering your lifelong keepers? Surprises along the way? Something given to you or something stolen at a gig or whatever? Electric guitar player history 101. We can share and learn.
