The Best Guitar You Never Play

[Jupiter]

Early 90s MIJ Greco ES175 copy

I don’t think I have played it for a whole hour over the last decade. Every couple years I take it down and polish it up, change the strings and get it ready to try and sell it, but it has such a commanding presence on my wall that I’ve never actually moved on it.

 

[Lonn]

2014 Gibson Les Paul Studio Pro in Heritage Cherry Candy Sunburst. Case queen that comes out every couple of months for 5 minutes.

 

[Unionjack515]

I’ve got what I contend is the world’s cleanest ‘76 Bicentennial Firebird. It’s such a wonderful guitar. But it’s so clean…too clean…that it’s worth keeping that way. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen another with the gold plating completely intact.

 

[Fendereedo]

Man! I’d play the paint off that puppy

There'll be a time, just not right now. I seem to be playing my Squier CVC more these days, and it's starting to show too.

 

[FuzzWatt]

Mine was a Godin Session HSS. Godin makes the nicest necks I've ever played, hands down. Likely the most comfortable guitar I've owned and it just played itself. I just can't get past the esthetics. They're dorky looking and uninspiring.

 

[Gardo]

Mine was a Godin Session HSS. Godin makes the nicest necks I've ever played, hands down. Likely the most comfortable guitar I've owned and it just played itself. I just can't get past the esthetics. They're dorky looking and uninspiring.

View attachment 991799

Yeah, something about it just doesn’t look right. Maybe a different pickgaurd shape would help

 

[jimmywrangles]

I always wanted a gold top LP, can't afford one so I bought this, It's an Artist GT59 with push pull pots, absolutely beautiful but the pickups leave a bit to be desired so it sits in the case waiting for me to upgrade it.

 

[Short on cash]

This 1990 Les Paul Classic has it all going for it. Super thin neck with
a nice wide nut and great action. 1 zebra pickup with nickle hardware,
ABR 1 bridge and correct repro tuners.
This was Gibsons first production "historic" before the so called historic
runs. Yes, they did a few limited runs of "reissues" before this but this series
was a true production run. The first run classics, from 1990 to 1992 1/2 , were
as close as Gibson, in their infinite wisdom, could or would produce to try to
reproduce a 1958 to 1960 Les Paul.
In 1992 1/2 Gibson changed the Classic Series to "Classic" on the headstock instead of "Model" as on the original 58's through 60's models. Hardware was
chrome instead of nickle and they changed the ABR 1 bridge to the Nashville style
and in my opinion killed the series.

This one has absolutely no wear and the nickle hardware has developed a beautiful
patina that is stunning. I've never weighed it but I'd say it is around 8 lbs. so it's
pretty light for a later Les Paul.

I love the thing but it just doesn't have that over the top tone. It's not bad by any
means but I have other guitars that sound better to my ear so it doesn't get
played much.

 

[Mjark]

1959 T-100 Doesn't get out from under the bed that often. I love it but have yet to really incorporate into the music I play most of the time.

 

[Mjark]

I remember trying a Les Paul way back in the early 70s, at the beginning of my playing career when my own guitar was just a cheap acoustic. The Gibson was fabulous, the finish, the ease of playing, everything. Then I got seduced by Teles and didn't get a Les Paul until about three years ago. View attachment 988117

It's a Traditional in honeyburst and looks fantastic right? Feels beautiful, plays easier and smoother than anything I've ever played since that first encounter back in the 70s. Perhaps I've been playing Fenders too long, but I can't get a sound out of the LP that I like to hear and it stays in its very nice case. I try it again every few months, but quickly lose interest. I think it'll have to go to help fund something I really want to play.

I have a 2016 I love. I play it all the time. Sounds beautiful. Great guitar.

 

[PhoenixBill]

Ovation VXT

View attachment 988260
Seymore Duncan humbuckers and a Fishman. that 3rd knob dials between the buckers and the acoustic sound. the acoustic part has active circuits and some kind of synthetic tone generators or something because there a lot of stuff on the board to make it work. it sounds like a mic-ed acoustic. and, its stereo.... you can go mono out but with 2 amps you can really dial the individual tones. all the way between fabulous humbucker sounds to a really decent acoustic sound with infinite blending in between. these were American made in the Hamer factory. I keep thinking I should sell it

I have one of those, also in tobacco burst. Great guitar but I haven’t really played it in 12 years. However, Ovations have fallen out of fashion, I wouldn’t get much money for it if I tried to sell it so it remains hung on the wall.

 

[dogmeat]

plug it in... play it. play it loud. dayum... that is one honkin guitar by anybody's measure. period.

 

[57joonya]

My EJ Strat. I don’t play Strats much anymore so this one hardly comes out of the case. View attachment 988002

I would have a hard time resisting that one . Looks like it wants to be played !

 

[57joonya]

I have a 39? Gibson lap steel . I honestly am not sure I’m right about the year ,but pretty sure. The pickup in it, is the best sounding pickup I have ever heard . It’s insane , but I rarely play it anymore . Hopeful to change that injustice

 

[tfarny]

This is a really, really nice P style bass from Lakland. I like playing bass in a band context (which rarely happens) but I have just zero interest in practicing bass for its own sake. It's really nothing against this instrument which is phenomenal. Sometimes I wonder if a lightweight J-style would get me practicing bass instead of this hunk of heaviness, but I sort of know I'm just not into practicing bass.

 

[Skyhook]

Ibanez custom shop JEM 7 string. An exquisite guitar. Probably has the best pickup set of any of the hundred or so guitars I’ve owned over the last 40 years. It cost a mint and I never play it.
View attachment 983860

Lovely guitar!!!

Although... let me pick some nits here...

I thought all JEM:s were 6-stringers(with the thru-body monkey grip handle)...

... whereas the Steve Vai -designed 7-string(and grip-less) series was called Universe.

That thing sure looks like a Universe to me... CS or not.

On a semi-related note... the UV7BK was the first 7-string I ever touched.
Never owned one though.

 

[chillybilly]

Oh tricky subject ie one requiring some honesty even guilt.

This was bought for me mostly as a peace offering after moving from a place I love(d) to a place I don't/didn't. I had lusted after this guitar mostly for the rare TV Yellow finish as cherry SGs of any type are ten a penny. It didn't hurt that it was a VOS model: hardware aged just enough, Maestro/Lyre tailpiece/vibrato (useless but pretty), BurstBuckers.

Plays like a dream. A bit of neck dive but that's almost unavoidable given the body dimensions.

Sounds...equally dreamy? But it sounds like it sounds. That SG snarl regardless of signal chain, amp used etc. If you want classic hard rock eg AC/DC and Boston, look no further. If you want something else, you'll probably have to play something else. In my case, an ES-339 is a Gibson that is wonderfully versatile. And, more recently, a Nash Tele that has vanquished all other guitars in terms of playing time with the odd exception.

 

[arlum]

How long is never? I've got a Martin, JEM and Suhr I haven't had out of their cases for at least 7 or 8 months.

 

[Gardo]

Oh tricky subject ie one requiring some honesty even guilt.

This was bought for me mostly as a peace offering after moving from a place I love(d) to a place I don't/didn't. I had lusted after this guitar mostly for the rare TV Yellow finish as cherry SGs of any type are ten a penny. It didn't hurt that it was a VOS model: hardware aged just enough, Maestro/Lyre tailpiece/vibrato (useless but pretty), BurstBuckers.

Plays like a dream. A bit of neck dive but that's almost unavoidable given the body dimensions.

Sounds...equally dreamy? But it sounds like it sounds. That SG snarl regardless of signal chain, amp used etc. If you want classic hard rock eg AC/DC and Boston, look no further. If you want something else, you'll probably have to play something else. In my case, an ES-339 is a Gibson that is wonderfully versatile. And, more recently, a Nash Tele that has vanquished all other guitars in terms of playing time with the odd exception.

Ooo , I’m hearing Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

 

[telleutelleme]

BB King Lucille. Its there, It is beautiful and I even figured out how to use the stereo plugs and two amps. I love to look at it but I can't play it like it was meant to be played. Prefer my Gibson Tennessean or GB10 Ibanez and those don't get played enough.