I have a number of production guitars as well. Most of them have been modified to better suit my needs; however, a few are still completely stock. Around 1997, I sold all of my guitars and gear and took a break from music entirely. I consequently sold a lot of older instruments I wish I still had. Luckily, I have managed to pick up a few vintage instruments along the way since then, and have a number of great guitars to use now.
Click pictures for full-size images.
1992 Gibson SG StandardAll original 1992 Gibson SG Standard in Heritage Cherry. It suffered from the typical broken headstock and has been professionally repaired.
In the ’90s, I traded my Gibson SG Firebrand for some stupid guitar synth (hey, we were all young once), and have missed it ever since. I’m not sure why, but I always tried the oddball SGs when trying to find that guitar’s replacement. I had a couple Juniors, an SG-X, and an SG All American I. None of them felt quite the same, and the SG-X and All American I both lacked versatility. I gave up on SGs for years until one of my buddies posted one for sale. I was broke at the time and tried to barter/trade to no avail. It rekindled the hunt for the right SG. JUST as I was trying to make a deal on Craigslist, another friend sent me a message saying he was selling this one. $400. Best $400 I ever spent. THIS guitar feels like a real SG. I needed to do a little set up work, but otherwise, it plays like an SG should, and sounds like an SG should.
Japanese Ibanez AX7521Ibanez first-year Japanese AX7521.
This is the first-run, manufactured in Japan, and far superior to the current models.
1976 Les Paul Standard.Original owner had added EMG boost switches, an EMG pickup set, replaced the tuners and bridge assembly, and took off the pickguard. I took out the crap and went with a GFS Vintage 59 pickup set. Got a replacement pickguard. Put switches in the holes – individual series/parallel for the coils, which gets a surprisingly realistic single coil sound (much better than a coil tap). Replaced switch tip to match cream hardware.
Otherwise, original. Now, this is a rare guitar anyway. It’s a 1976, double-slab, STANDARD with a DOT neck. Go ahead… try to find another one.
Washburn EA-36 Electric/Acoustic
This one is my main acoustic. Sounds like cardboard unplugged, but it comes alive through the PA. It plays almost like an electric, so there’s little adjustment to my playing when I grab it. These things weren’t cheap… close to $700 back in the early ’90s. It has a nice active EQ onboard, and suits my needs just fine. It’s no Taylor, but then again I only use it once or twice a year.
Alvarez Classical nylon string
Another one of those items I rarely use. I was going to college for guitar, and they only accepted jazz and classical majors. Being that I was into Parkening and Fisk, I figured I’d give classical a shot. I didn’t have much money and had no guitar for the audition, so I scooped this up at a steal from the store where I worked at the time.
I got accepted, but changed majors soon thereafter, and this guitar gets pulled out about annually for a once-over and restring.
Dean 6-string banjo.Just in case I’m feeling a li’l redneck coming on. Yeah, it’s a cheapie. Yeah, it’s a six-string. But hey, I can pretend to be a hillbilly whenever I want now.
Fender Equire Custom GTYou won’t see many real Fenders in my possession. They’re all the same thing… for the most part. This one has a set neck and a thinner mahogany body with contours. They all came with racing stripe paint jobs; this one in silver with black. Smoked chrome hardware, single Duncan Invader pickup, and a flat fretboard radius with jumbo frets make it a lot different than your regular Telecaster. Much more of a rock machine, it has a great tone and feel when I run it through a half stack. Musician’s Friend blew these out for $300 when they weren’t selling well at $800, and I snagged one cheap.
2010 Floyd Rose Discovery DSOT-3
Original Trem model, so there’s no need for those overpriced Speedloader strings. This is composite body material, cheap pickups, imported model. Picked it up for under $150 (NOS) on eBay. The trem is worth that much, so I figured, “why not?”. Well, it sounds and plays great.
Best budget guitar I ever bought.
1982 Kramer Pacer DeluxeA rare find, especially in this condition. This one is a salesman demo from the day: Maple (yes, maple) body with transparent red finish, Floyd Rose prototype prior to mass production. This one is a rare gem. It may not have the collector’s stature of the ’76 Les Paul, but it’s definitely a great find in my book.
Pickup and pickguard are not original, but the rest is. VH D-Tuna added.
1982 Yamaha SBG-200One of Yamaha’s best Japanese productions. While not as ornate as the SBG-2000 and other variants, this one is the stripped-down, easy-to-play, Japanese counterpart to the Gibson SG. I’ve owned my share of SGs throughout the years, and they always seem to be “almost good enough”. Not in tone, but in playability. The SBG-200 has a thinner profile and wider fretboard. Action is much better, and bending notes is much easier.
This one is all original except the pots and switch, which I had to replace when they started going haywire after 25+ years.
Ibanez SDGr 4-string bass guitar
Not a lot to say about this piece. I’m not a bassist by any stretch of the imagination, but needed bass on 4-track recordings (Yup, I said 4-track. This thing’s been with me since those days), so I bought this one to record the ideas myself.
It gets very little use, but still remains an important tool for when I need to put an idea down and can’t call a bassist to come help.
