Been thinking about my guitars lately. And I’ve probably talked about this in a previous post. I’ve had 3 or 4 primary players over the last 3 or 4 years. Here they are (and maybe a couple of others) in no particular order with some thoughts.
The Telecaster
It’s a Fender 50s Road Worn. I know I’ve done a post or two about this one. Never bonded with it until I changed the pickups. It’s purple. I dig it! I put it back in the closet this morning, but it’s one I play pretty often.
The Les Paul
It’s an Epiphone 50s Standard. I may’ve done a post on this one too. Got it because I wanted a gold top, and it was a steal of a deal as a blem from AMS. No idea why it was a blem. Has 50s wiring in it, which I’m not always sure I know what that means. Came with ProBuckers. I eventually swapped them for BurstBuckers because I could. Although I’ve never swapped it back, I actually preferred the ProBucker in the neck and like the BurstBucker better in the bridge.
This one was my main player no question for several years. Truth to tell, during that time, it’s also about the only one I played. Even today, if I gig with an electric, this is probably the one that I’m grabbing. Weird thing is, up until this one, I always considered myself a Strat guy. Never really bonded with a humbucker guitar. Got this one, and I have hardly picked up a Strat since.
The PRS
It’s a PRS Custom 24 SE in bonnie pink. No idea why they call it bonnie pink. It’s hot pink. And, since hot pink is one of my favorite colors, I couldn’t not get it. There is so much to like about this guitar. For a sub-$1000 guitar, the fit and finish on it out of the box is unmatched. It has split coils too. And, with in singles-mode, it is the first split coil guitar I’ve ever had that can sort of get that spanky Strat style sound in the in-between position. My only problem is that, in humbucker mode, something is missing. I can’t put my finger on it, but the guitars I have that have PAF-esque pickups in them sound better. No idea what I think I’m hearing, but it’s there. The singles-mode is great, but the ‘buckers-mode is…generic and boring. I haven’t yet, but, even though I think the humbuckers are lacking, this is one that I might carry to gig with.
The ES-355
It’s an Epiphone IBGC ES-355. I know I’ve talked about this one in the past. I can’t say enough good about it. I love the neck. I love the CustomBuckers in it. I love the semi-hollow sound. I know that this is anecdotal and very well may be specific to the Gibson ES-335 that I had, but this Epiphone is everything that my old Gibson 335 wished it had been. If the Gibson had been like this Epi, I’d still have it. This one has been, and will probably remain my main player since I bought it nearly a year and a half ago.
The ES-339
It’s a Gibson ES-339. Technically, it’s a Custom Shop, but I think they were making all the 339s in the Custom Shop at that point. But it’s cool to be able to say it. I don’t play this one nearly as often as I should. This is what a Gibson should be. Everything about it is a cut above. The main reason I don’t play it is because of what I paid for it; I don’t want to screw it up. There is nothing about this guitar not to like. When it’s out and hanging on the wall, it’s the first one I grab. Caramel burst. ’57 Classics. It looks good, feels good, plays good, and sounds really good.
The Other ES-339
This one is an Epiphone ES-339. I think I’ve mentioned it before too. I pre-ordered it when Epiphone announced they were going to be making them because I wanted a 339. I got one of the second wave to hit the stores in early 2012. I bought it intent on upgrading the parts in it as soon as I bought it. But I liked it well enough that it stayed stock until it went into the closet because I got the Gibson.
When I got it, they had started putting the Alnico Classics (their version of the 57 Classic) in them instead of the ProBuckers (their version of the BurstBucker). About the time that I got the Gibson, I realized I had an extra set of ProBuckers on the shelf, so I swapped them out. I can’t hear much of a difference, but I’ve always thought I almost like the Alnico Classics better. This guitar was my non-Strat player until I got the Les Paul.
The Sheraton
This one is a 1962 50th Anniversary Sherry. I bought it back in early 2013 to try to scratch the 335 itch I seem have always had. It sort of scratched it, but it’s one that always seems to end up back in the closet. Not because it’s bad, but more because it’s never been my main player, and it’s the first one that gets bumped for the something else sound I want. It’s a really good looking guitar! It sounds really good too. It has Gibson mini-buckers in it.
I think the reason it always gets bumped is that it has a rattle in it that really bothers me and I’ve never found. After all these years, it finally occurred to me the other day that I think it might be a pickup spring that’s just not compressed. Some day I need to pull the rings off and see if that’s what it is. If it’s super simple like that, I’m going to feel really stupid, but it’ll probably stay out more.
The Others
I’ve got several others that I really like for one reason or another. I just don’t pull them out and play them very often.
There’s the Gretsch 5120 that I have basically upgraded to a 6120. I love the sound of it. It just doesn’t get played much.
There’s the Parker P-42. It’s another with coil splitting. In singles mode, it has a super nice clean sound. But it doesn’t get spanky like a Strat in the in-between. In ‘bucker-mode, it also reminds me of the PRS…kind of generic and boring. Super fast neck. And it looks really cool! I gigged with it several times in the late ’00s when I played every Sunday at the church where we attended.
The Squier Thinline Tele in natural. It’s a workhorse of a guitar. Wide range humbuckers in it. I like the look and feel of it. It’s another one that sounds kind of generic.
All the Strats. The two main ones are my Highway One and the American Design Experience (now called the Mod Shop). The Hwy 1 was my main guitar for years. It’s got the scratch and dent look to prove it. Workhorse of a guitar. And it sounds just like a Strat should. Then there’s the ADE Strat. I spec-ed it out and got it after a factory tour in Corona. It’s kind of my Custom Shop guitar because I’ll never get an actual CS Strat. It’s got CS69 pickups in it, and they sound AH.mazing. At this point, if I need a Strat, it could be either of those two…really whichever is closest to me at the time. They’re both great guitars.
Conclusion
For years and years, I considered myself a Strat guy. Weird thing was, I always kind of preferred that open, airy sound that you can get from semi-hollow like a 335. When I got my Epiphone 339, that started turning me a little bit from the Strat side, but it didn’t completely do it. Come everything re-opening in the fall of 2020 and me doing the Great Gear Purge of 2020, and that’s when I got the Les Paul. And that is the guitar that completed the transformation to being a humbucker guy.
Now, with the purchase of the 355 last year, I’ve finally landed with that sound that I’ve always said I preferred. That semi-hollow sound that you can’t get with another guitar. Oh, and I’ve always leaned towards a cleaner tone, so that airy tone isn’t being hidden under a lot of drive. That said, I’ve also recently been adding more drive. So maybe that airiness is beginning to be lost.
Anyways, the journey has been a little weird and circular. And I’m sure it’ll probably keep going in some form or fashion. Although, I have gone a year and a half without buying a guitar, and I think that’s about as long as I’ve ever gone since I started collecting them. So maybe the circle has slowed.