They say ‘variety is the spice of life’… and as it pertains to guitars, I would have to say that the old adage is spot on! I truly wish that I still had every guitar I have ever owned. Unfortunately, I don’t. Until recently I didn’t even own my own guitar. Regardless, this blog is about creating sounds with a guitar and all necessary (or, unnecessary) accoutrement. So, for the sake of nostalgia, and in an attempt to offer up some of my experiences for review, I will give you a brief ’run down’ of the electric guitars I have been lucky enough to own or borrow.
Guitar #1 – The Sears Special. To be honest I don’t even remember what the name badge on this strange little guitar said. I do know that I once Googled it (while I still owned it) and that is how I found that it had department store origins. It was a strange, undersized guitar with a very thin body, made of some type of hard wood. It was a reddish brown sunburst with a white pick guard and Fender Jaguar ‘like’ switches for the pick-ups. It had a rosewood fret board and the action was horrendous. I remember it sounding fairly nice. It was warm and full, with reasonably quiet pick-ups. It had a stop bar bridge, but was of a Stratocaster body ‘shape’ (albeit very undersized). The tuners were not enclosed and had white plastic thumb buttons that were very hard to turn. I actually remember liking how it sounded, but being in utter pain trying to play it. In hindsight, I am sure this helped me develop hand strength pretty quickly. I remember feeling like I could wrench any sound I wanted out of my next guitar…
Guitar #2 – I spoke of this guitar in my last entry. The sparkle blue MIM Fender Stratocaster. I got a lot of life out of this guitar before I made any significant mods. I remember it being such a step up from that Sears special, that I instantly progressed to the next level of ability. Before I talk about the mods I made to this axe, I have to give mention to the one stock part Fender always gets right; the tuners! Every Fender I have owned thus far has been a Mexican made version. At first this was due to my restrictive budget, later it became a choice I made due to my preferences. The tuners on every MIM Fender I have owned have been absolutely amazing! They are sturdy, quality made enclosed mechanisms that have never failed to keep me in tune. Right out of the case my MIM Fenders are never more than a hair out of tune. The sound that this guitar had right off the shelf could best be described as ‘classic, fat and muddy’. It would appear that Fender’s method for making an affordable guitar would be to skimp on the electronics. No MIM Fender I have ever played truly had the ability to ’sing’. However, swap out the POTs, pick-ups, switch and jack and you have a very nice, affordable alternative to the ‘real deal’. On this guitar I swapped out all of the electronics and had each single coil replaced with its matched Seymour Duncan, Little ’59. These pick ups do a decent job of recreating the sound of an all original 1959 Gibson Les Paul. Load three of them into a MIM Strat, and you have one special guitar. Because I was experiencing frequent string breakage, I elected to swap out the tremolo saddles and plastic nut, for graphite equivalents. The graphite is much softer while still maintaining the rigidity necessary to preserve sustain and provide bell-like chime. A mother of pearl pick guard was the icing on this cake. Once complete, this guitar was truly something special. Unfortunately, I was too inexperienced to realize this and soon got that wandering eye… time for axe #3!
Guitar #3 – Mid 1990′s, PRS EG, navy gloss with a black pick guard. The only guitar I have ever owned that I would never want again. This was PRS attempting to make an affordable guitar (bolt-on neck) at a time when they were known for making very high-end instruments. I found this guitar at Junkyard Guitars in Royal Oak, MI. At the time I purchased this guitar I was a huge fan of a band from Chicago called, The Lawrence Arms. For some reason their guitarist owned one of these and as soon as I spotted this guitar I had to have it. It was of the Stratocaster body style, but undersized a bit. The Neck was maple, with a rosewood fretboard and incredibly low and fast action. I do believe this would have made a fantastic ‘metal’ guitar. I could toss the thing around with great ease and still pull intelligible sounds out of it. The pick-ups were stock and fairly decent. I remember feeling self conscious about the small size of the guitar, as it made me look like a giant. At the time my college band was playing out at least twice a month, and I started to have massive problems with string breakage on stage. I could pretty much guarantee at every show I would break a string. I took the PRS to my tech and found out that the type of tremolo that PRS designed for the EG was prone to saddle burs. I had the problem ‘fixed’ but at the next three shows I still broke strings. So I traded the PRS in for a guitar that would spark a life long obsession….
Guitar #4 – Gloss black MIM Fender Telecaster. Once I was fed up enough with the PRS’ inherent problems I took it over to Guitar Center for a trade. My friend Klug was working at GC and made sure I didn’t get the total fuck over by the low life, asshats working there. I knew going in that I wanted a Telecaster. I knew it would be black (because black was punk). I got GC to trade me the Telecaster for the PRS outright. I thought it was a good deal, but in hindsight, I should have sold the PRS privately. I left GC immediately with the Telecaster and took it to my tech for a new Little ’59 in the bridge, all new POTs, selector, jack, Graphite saddles/nut and a beautiful tortoise-shell pick guard. When I got the guitar back I was in love. It sounded much more aggressive than my Strat and was significantly heavier. Because the bridge was fixed it had great sustain. The neck was fast and playable. I got a lot of use out of this guitar, and of all of the instruments I have sold this is the one I miss the most. I have been a Telecaster guy ever since…
Guitar #5 – Gibson Les Paul Studio, Walnut finish. After a long hiatus from music, my friend Eric and I decided to start something new. I needed a guitar, bad. I was borrowing a friends MIM Strat (no mods) to get the band off the ground, and it just sounded like complete shit. So off to GC I went. I found this run of the mill Studio on the shelves while trying every SG known to man. I had this idea that I would become an SG player. I’m not sure what made me love the looks of an SG so much, but I wanted so badly to love this horned devil of a guitar. However, after playing every SG I could get my hands on I came to the realization that Gibson has a flawed instrument in their line up. The SG was top-heavy, thin bodied and dirty sounding. So, much to my dismay I started looking at other options. My pal, Eric handed me this Gibson Les Paul Studio. It instantly felt great! Not just comfortable, no, this axe felt downright plush like a luxury car! It was heavy, but the neck was small and fast. The action off the shelf was extraordinary and the stock pick-ups had a nice warm and lively sound! With High quality machine tuners and chrome and black accents, I was easily sold. I fooled GC into giving me a credit card and away I went with a real Les Paul! I later sold the Les Paul to temporarily afford a lifestyle I thought I had to have. I loved this guitar, but I doubt I would ever buy another like it… I would hold out for the holy grail, a Les Paul Standard!
Guitar #6 – Metallic red MIM Fender Telecaster. After I sold the Les Paul, I was without an instrument to play for a year. It was a tough time, and without music in my life I was feeling desolate. This red wonder came into my life through very generous and dedicated friend/band member. My drummer wanted to play badly enough that he went and bought this guitar along with an amp (I will discuss amps soon enough!) for me to play through. This guitar came with a maple neck and a Duncan Little ’59 in the bridge. It pretty much came to me set up how I like my Telecasters set up. I added a tortoise-shell pick guard and left the bridge and nut stock. It sounds pretty great, and is now my number two guitar. Being that I am more comfortable on this guitar than any other I have played, I recently bought it from the generous band member. It will never be sold. I can’t wait for it to get that great patina that only a well-loved guitar can have!
Guitar #7 – Ibanez AS73 in Tobacco Burst (this finish is actually called something else by Ibanez). Project ‘build a better sounding Gibson ES-335 clone’ was a resounding success! I will start by explaining my stance on Ibanez guitars; I generally think they are complete junk! Most of them are definitely complete junk! However, with the AS73, Ibanez put out a very fast, beautiful and well-built guitar. I first played the AS73 at Guitar Center while I was there looking at Epiphone Dot’s and Gibson ES-335′s. I was surprised to find that I thought it was the best playing of the three! The finish on the AS73 was superb, and the playability was to die for. But the sound? The sound was absolute garbage. It sounded muddy and dull, like the sound was coming out of a cardboard box from 100 feet away. But the feel was magic. So I found a used one for under $300 (with a case! a shitty case, but a hard case none the less!) and plunked down on it, knowing that I would have a big project on my hands. After the Ibanez arrived I took it over to my tech to be stripped and ripped. I chose a Duncan ’59 for the bridge (this pick-up has basically defined my ‘sound’) and a Duncan Jazz in the neck. I had them ordered in the zebra (cream and black) scheme. I had the POTs, jack, switch and all wiring upgraded. I had a bone nut carved and installed for increased sustain, and a new stop bar and tune-o-matic bridg installed to properly emulate the ES-335. I then had my guy install Grover tuners and cut a custom tortoise-shell truss rod cover. The guitar is set up with .11′s (like all of my guitars before it). After all of the mods were complete (I basically only utilized the body and neck) it looked amazing! It sounds so full and lush! It screams with singing sustain and clean it is the most pure sounding guitar I have ever played! I will post some pics of this guitar soon!
As of now, this is where the archive ends.You have probably already noticed there is no mention of any acoustic guitars that I have owned. This was done on purpose; I simply have very little interest in acoustic guitars. I would love to own a high quality classical guitar and a Dobro, at some point, but both of those instruments will be purchased for the unique sounds they make. After all, I am all about quirky and unique sounds. I am already contemplating another project guitar. This time I am thinking a Fender Jazzmaster might suit me well. But first things first, I need to buy a house to store all of this (and future) gear in. I hope this was not too long-winded, and that it was at least informative and entertaining. Until next time…
Cheers!
