Problem

Guitar Heel said:
Here's an entirely too long recitation of my guitars and why I do/don't play them, and why I am/am not trying to sell them. Probably best to ignore it, but it's certainly indicative of some DSM-5 disorder. Posting to show that a myriad of factors that have nothing to do with actual playing factor into my obsession.


The guitars I play a lot

Gibson LP Special: this was a Guitar Center impulse buy (@Chad thought about it the week before at the same GC). Chad did a couple mods, and it's pretty much my perfect guitar. Balanced, P-90 in the neck, humbucker in the bridge, great action, great neck, great feel, perfectly-balanced. This is the only guitar I've played on stage, and one of the few that I trust to work all the time. But for the reasons below, I would likely be happy only owning this guitar.

Artinger: This is the best-sounding guitar I own, with @telecaster911 's LP a close second. It's chambered, so it's neck heavy. And the neck itself is smaller than I prefer. But it's the only guitar where, every time I pick it up, I'm inspired to play it longer. It has a quality, tone, and resonance that adds another dimension (which is also why I'm going all-in on Greer pedals, but I digress). I have this one for sale right now, but I'll only sell it for a lot of money, if at all.

PRS USA SC245: This guitar sounds good, not great, even with a pair of my favorite pickups installed. The action is good, not great. It's beautiful and simple, light and balanced, and a great example of an understated PRS. I have this for sale because I think that I could realize both it's value to me, as well as it's actual value. I keep thinking about taking the listing down though, because it gets a lot of playing time and I'd miss it. EDIT - I sold it!

Blue Frankenstrat: Rosewood neck, decent weight, and the P-90's sound amazing. Maybe my third-best sounding guitar. I also don't worry about it getting dinged, as it's already relic'd (badly). The neck is awesome, and I don't worry about the headstock. I sometimes throw in the car without a case, Yngvie-style.


The guitars that I don't play much

PRS USA Custom 22: This was my first PRS. It's also, maybe, the most beautiful guitar I've owned. It doesn't play well, and the neck is not my preferred (but not the worst). It sounds great, and it's very ergonomic. It's beat to absolute shit though, and so I'd never realize it's value to me (this will be a common theme). This one lives at my Mom's house, to play when I'm there.

Corsa LCPG: This one is Chad's favorite, and it has the best neck of any guitar I've ever owned. It's chambered too, though, and neck heavy, and so I don't pick it up much. Because of the neck, I'll never sell it, no matter how little I play it.

Heritage H-150: This is the one with the repaired headstock. It's heavy for me at 9.3 pounds. It has the best neck I've ever seen on a Heritage, and because of that and the headstock crack we're back to the problem of never being able to sell what it's worth to me. Because of the weight, it gets dusty.

Gibson LP 58: This is the second-best sounding guitar I own, and the best LP I've played. Becuase it's also 9.3 pounds, and because I'm terrified of the boy or dog knocking it over, it doesn't get out of the case nearly as much as it should. Also, I'll only ever sell this to Mark, as it's a special guitar to him (and me).

SG Classic: I've been playing guitar a lot more these days (but not this guitar). So much so that the SG neck location messes me up (muscle memory-wise), as I have to think about where the frets are. Chad saw this in our last practice. This guitar is awesome though, with a great neck. It's also seen me through hard times (pawned twice). I'll keep it no matter how little I play it.

SG Faded: See above. Chad has been trying like hell to fix a noise issue. I will be selling this one.

Chibson: Bought this in a fit of misdirected anger at Gibson. It's a piece of shit. Chad and I have both tried to make a guitar of it, but it still needs a lot of work. I don't play it, because it sucks, and won't sell because I don't want someone to get scammed down the line (though even a cursory inspection reveals that it's a bad copy).

Edwards LP: This one is awesome, except that I reach for the LP special more. It's beautiful, great neck, great weight, and I wouldn't get nearly what it's worth to me to sell it. The market just isn't there for these. If it wasn't for the Special, this would be in the first group.

PRS SE 245: This one plays and sounds better than the USA one, but it's on the heavy side, like 8.6 pounds. Just enough that I feel it. I reach for the USA PRS more because of weight alone. Again though, it plays and sounds incredible, and they sell for nothing, so it's not going anywhere.

Taylor acoustic: Sounds like a choir of angels. I fucking hate the Taylor necks, and Taylor for refusing to give me a choice. This was my Dad's and so I won't ever sell it.

PRS SE acoustic: Thought it was great until I bought a similar one for Soo-Jin that's superior. in every way. Now I only want to play hers. It's for sale.

Ibby with KAOSS pad: The KAOSS pad is amazing and I want one on a guitar that has a neck not shaped like a razor blade. It's for sale.

Frankenteledeluxe and Cream Frankenstrat: Chad helped me put these two together. Both of them, though, need some adjustment to the bridge or nut, as the E strings are way too close to the edge. This was my fault, of course, when sourcing the parts, but I've tried two bridges on both for a quick fix, and neither worked.
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Where's "Howie"?
 
Modern Saint said:
They have tried with guitars by having pickups as a live swap through the rear of the guitar. As for the Kemper, not touching it.
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Definitely not for everyone. To me it's the best piece of musical equipment I've ever bought. I have a buddy that failed multiple blind playing/listening tests and still insists his tube amps "feel" better. I assume he means when he runs his hand over them, because otherwise he can't tell the difference.
 
Grant Harding said:
Definitely not for everyone. To me it's the best piece of musical equipment I've ever bought. I have a buddy that failed multiple blind playing/listening tests and still insists his tube amps "feel" better. I assume he means when he runs his hand over them, because otherwise he can't tell the difference.
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That would be a fun test to do.

FWIW, I don't only use tube amps but also play a Quilter as well. Depending on the style of music I play, I can tell the difference. However if I only play rock tones, it is quite close pending what you are trying to achieve. The one major thing that I notice when using the Quilter over tubes is the slight compression in the signal. FWIW when I am performing with a rock band, I like to use the Quilter (saves my back). For Blues/Country/Low volume Soft Rock, tube amps. Now this is for playing gigs. As for playing jazz, I am still on the fence and experimenting with both.
 
I like playing all kinds of stuff, so I have 6 electrics and 3 acoustics and a bass. No doubles, each for a particular thing. When I played for a living, I had 2 electrics ,one acoustic and a bass. Each time I buy a new guitar nowadays, I get super inspired and practice a lot and I'm digging that. I stick with one or two electrics at a time to feel them out but I still like to rotate the stock. I still have one to break in. Once I break in a guitar, I never forget. I think guitars are magic and becoming "one" with them is essential. That's why I haven't sold a guitar since 1990. It would be like selling an organ.
 
Modern Saint said:
That would be a fun test to do.

FWIW, I don't only use tube amps but also play a Quilter as well. Depending on the style of music I play, I can tell the difference. However if I only play rock tones, it is quite close pending what you are trying to achieve. The one major thing that I notice when using the Quilter over tubes is the slight compression in the signal. FWIW when I am performing with a rock band, I like to use the Quilter (saves my back). For Blues/Country/Low volume Soft Rock, tube amps. Now this is for playing gigs. As for playing jazz, I am still on the fence and experimenting with both.
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I've got a couple of Quilter clean profiles and they're great for a tight jazz sound.
 
Grant Harding said:
I've got a couple of Quilter clean profiles and they're great for a tight jazz sound.
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That they are!

Actually I don't really like it purely clean. Just want a small bite when you attack the string really hard on my ES175. Sometimes a small tube works better in terms of the roundness of the sound and less compressed.
 
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