ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Need a Schematic? Check the Vault *MP-1 Classic Schematics Just Added!!

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: NGY - I may have a problem. But here are my latest two.  (Read 675 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Zilthy

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 195
    • My Youtube Channel

So, this year has been the opposite of what I intended the last couple of years.   My original goal was to cut down to 1 guitar and 1 amp, which was my mode of operation for many years, actually most of the time I have been playing. It seems I went the other way though.

I had not really planned on buying either of these at this time, they were on my 'someday' list, and I recently came across both at prices I just had to take advantage of.

The first was a Fender American Professional Stratocaster.   Which is something I never would have though I wanted on my list.   I hated Fender Stratocasters for years, maybe more than I hated Gibson Les Pauls.  That noisy single coil bridge pickup.   Sticky glossy maple fretboard.  Being a teen in the 80s I was all about humbuckers, Floyd roses.

Kramer.  Charvel.  Jackson.  BC Rich.  Freakin Fenders and Gibsons were for old people.  And yes, I get the irony of liking them now.  :)

Anyway, I finally decided after 35+ years of playing, it would not hurt to have that single coil sound available and I have been looking.   And I *so* wanted it to not be a Fender Stratocaster. I tried a whole bunch of guitars, and none of them really cut it. The searching local listings, up pops this Fender American Professional Stratocaster at a pawn shop in town.

It's a decent price for an American Strat, so I call them and ask if it's still there.   It is, and I ask them if they can hold it, it's going to take me awhile to get there.   They don't really do that, but they finally agree to put on layaway for $10 for a couple of hours and I make my way there.

Now, you may be thinking: "That's a little weird Zilthy, why didn't you just go there and check it out?"   Well, this year I decided to get rid of my car.   And the payments, insurances, and maintenance and gas costs that go with it.  I did this to lose weight, and it is proving highly effective for a couple of reasons, but it also means I had to hook my trailer up to a bike and cross town for 10 miles each way to go check out this guitar.  Now granted, there is a great Taco shop next door where I had an excellent lunch, but I'm not biking 20 miles with a trailer for tacos.

Anyway, I check it out and it feels really good.  And sounds really nice.   Needs some TLC, whoever set it up before had no idea how to properly set up a guitar, but check to make sure all those parts move and work right, and it's on it's way home with me.  The Strat I have been looking for, in the color I have been looking for.  And oddly enough, with tall frets (the American Pro that year came with tall, around 6105 fret wire).   And American at the price I've been seeing Mexican going for.  Not that the Mexican Strats I've tried have been bad by any means, but hey.  Mostly though, this one just had that 'feel' and feels right.

The other biggie is a 2016 Gibson Les Paul Standard HP in Cherry Burst.  Now, I have had my LP Trad Pro which has been my main for a couple of years, but I have wanted a cherry burst for awhile as well too.  That one was a 'well, maybe someday' as well.  As much as I love my Trad Pro, Gibson Les Pauls are a lot more hit and miss for me as far as what I actually like playing and what I want for a look.

Admission:  Part of the desire for a cherry burst is from Yui in K-On!.   I love that show and can relate to her far too well.

I had my choices narrowed down to another Trad Pro V in cherry burst (I like that neck) or potentially a 2016 Les Paul Standard HP.   It was really looking like the Trad Pro (not bad) but I stumbled across that standard HP at around 1/3 to 1/2 the price of normal, putting it right in the range of the used Trad Pro Vs.   I could not pass that one up.  That one is eventually getting a fret job as well too. :D

The amazing thing through this is that I have learned a few things about myself, and changed my mind of a few things.  Not only about what I want in a guitar, but how I perceive them.  I was a long time believer in "a guitar is meant to be played, not a piece of art".  That has changed subtly, and now I think a guitar is meant to be enjoyed.  As and instrument.  As a piece of art.

Though, I still think "as an investment" is silly. There are much better investments out there. :D

My Charvel, Kramer and other superstars and 80s guitars still come off the wall and stands and get played and taken care of regularly even as I continue to gravitate to the Les Pauls and Stratocaster. My modern hot rodded Schecter guitars are the first in my hands when I am recording/tracking certain things.

It took me 35 years to give them a chance.

But I now know why a Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul are daily drivers and why so many people love them.

Logged

rnolan

  • Administrator
  • Superhero Member
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5996

Go Zilthy  :whoohoo!: .  2 very nice (and quite different) guitars.  I wanted a fender strat for years, I bought an Anson MIJ strat (way back days) as that's all I could afford back then, it's been through may alterations and upgrades and was my main guitar for many years.  But then I got the Anderson pro am.  More recently, I have kind of satisfied the strat urge with a Squire bullet I bought for my daughter (who never played it).  Got the bug one day and totally upgraded it (see other posts on that one).  I still want to re-fret it with stainless and possibly thin the neck a little but the rest is done. 

On the les paul front, I lucked out to buy the Jimmy page JPLP #1 and loved playing it, but then got into "it's a collectable only 850 in the world" head space so it stayed in its case.  I've started using it again recently and am loving it.  Now I'm thinking to just play it and enjoy how beautiful it is to play, how great it sounds and not worry about keeping it mint condition as an investment.
Logged
Studio Rig: Stuff; Live Rig: More Stuff; Guitars: A few

Dante

  • Administrator
  • Superhero Member
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2123
  • Nothing more uncommon than common sense
    • The Best Cover Band In Sacramento

Zilthy,

First, Congratulations on the new investments!! Very nice

I totally feel that vibe - I've always hated Strats, even though I've had a few, I never kept them. One thing that always bugged me was the volume knob so close to the bridge PU - I kept on hitting that damn thing. Les Pauls were never on my list either, as the single cutaway bugged me like crazy when soloing past the 12th fret....which happens more than you think.

So...I totally understand where you're coming from.

One day, I found an Ibanez Les Paul (A PF series, I think). It weighed about 12 lbs, played way nicer than a real 1976 LP I tried at Guitar Center, and was half the cost. I bought it, played it for a couple years, and promptly traded it for a Schecter strat that I still have.

Last Christmas, I found a Mexican strat (Cherry Sunburst!) and promptly moved the volume down to the first Tone spot. I put a kill switch in place of the Volume knob (so I wouldn't hit the knob all the time) and have been very happy with the strat.

That said, I still reach for my Ibanez AR200 gold top for almost every gig. It's like a double cutaway LP
Pages: [1]   Go Up