Your next guitar?

[Uncle E]

They would take it back to Tokyo and lock it in a vault for 20 to 30 years and use the investment as a tax shelter.

That happens here, as well, both with guitars and art. The art world is well-financed by investment companies from all over the world.

[xtp]

They would take it back to Tokyo and lock it in a vault for 20 to 30 years and use the investment as a tax shelter.

That happens here, as well, both with guitars and art. The art world is well-financed by investment companies from all over the world.

Its hard on us players who actually want the instrument to make noise with rather, than to use as a penis-enlargement tool.

I am saving for a Gibson L-7c acoustic, by the time exchange rates to my local currency plus freight it makes something like this a considerable investment and shipping risk. I probably wont get much change out of $10k NZ which is a fair amount of dosh.

Archtops just get better sounding as they get older, and investors just push the prices up.

I've always thought investors qualify as one of the lowest forms of life, falling considerably lower on the scale of things somewhat below the amoeba.

[Dean Aka Nekro]

They would take it back to Tokyo and lock it in a vault for 20 to 30 years and use the investment as a tax shelter.

That happens here, as well, both with guitars and art. The art world is well-financed by investment companies from all over the world.

Its hard on us players who actually want the instrument to make noise with rather, than to use as a penis-enlargement tool.

I am saving for a Gibson L-7c acoustic, by the time exchange rates to my local currency plus freight it makes something like this a considerable investment and shipping risk. I probably wont get much change out of $10k NZ which is a fair amount of dosh.

Archtops just get better sounding as they get older, and investors just push the prices up.

I've always thought investors qualify as one of the lowest forms of life, falling considerably lower on the scale of things somewhat below the amoeba.

Its just the same here in england too and i don't get the whole thing either, same deal with the relicing, my stuff gets some heavy abuse as it is, why the hell would i want to buy an instrument with some belt rash wear on it! And cig burns in exactly the same place as Eric Clapton? Or Dave Gilmour's exact guitar but its not really since Gilmour can pickup any guitar and sound well like himself! 7ender are easily the one's laughing all the way to the bank on that one (well it was Keith Richard's who started the whole thing and that guy's an idiot IMO an teh rolling bones are very overrated again imo). Hofner violin bass guitars - awful sounding and plain nasty to play yet still because of McCartney they get loved/worth a fortune when they really are firewood (if you have not guessed i am not a massive fan of teh beatles and the songs that i dig there is always a section where McCartney pops in and ruins it and i just can not see what all the fuss is about), Rickenbacker 360's awful also and we all know the reason they are so lusted after as Harrison got given the second ever 12-String ricky; don't get me wrong i bloody love the 4001 bass, but there electric guitars are junk. The original 59' Les Paul Sunburst was not made in vast numbers either which further heightens the hype they withhold - how about going to Heritage for a decent USA handcrafted Les Paul - much more value for money IMO £10,000 is far too much for a guitar let alone £325,000! that is just like mentioned going on display and to be handled with gloves at all times for sure. If i were going for a great single-cut i think i would take a Vigier GV-Wood easily as for an archtop for sensible money i'd take a Peerless Leela or Contessa $1200 (made in korea but to an extremely high standard). The PRS Narrow Field pick-ups are definately humbuckers and i think under the surface there may well be more bulk than appears above kind of like what you see on the surface is protruding from a bigger thing sunk out of sight - however do not take my word on that as it was from a quick 5-minute looksy and play/ask many questins at my local FWIW. like this:

Coils visible on top look like mini-buckers:

|- - - - - -|
|-_____________-|

But underneath it opens out to make space for the windings and bobbins if that makes any sense and you see where i am coming from? The 'Narrow Field' name meaning they look small and narrow but appearences are usually deceptive. Like the 25th Swamp ash special which has three of them on it yet does not look crowded like the three bucker les pauls/SGs look. Pardon my drawng "Skills"

All the best to all

Dean/Nekro

[xtp]

as for an archtop for sensible money i'd take a Peerless Leela or Contessa $1200 (made in korea but to an extremely high standard).

I tried out Eastman Archtops. They are hand carved full wood [not ply] and made in china, so go for a cheaper price than the Gibsons.

They sound alright amplified but are not the sound I am after acoustically.

I played a few of them including a copy of the 1927 L4 I already own.

The finishes on the Eastmans are supurb but the sounds are just not for me.

I was really disappointed when I tried them because they look cool.

I really like the Gibson Archtop sound, the only reason I would ever buy another acoustic is because my one is only 12 frets at the neck and this really can box in your style. The L7 is 14 frets. I'd just replace the fretboard with an ebony one because I dont like rosewood..

I will pay the money evenually but at the moment i'm going thru the; 'it feels like I'm having teeth pulled' stage.

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Well if its one of 'those' situations resistance and all attempts to go cheap are futile and i am sure you'll get over it once your playing it everyday

[susiwong]

Just for a quick hello inbetween, no, I'm not dead (yet) but tied up in some very real real-world business , involving water(tons of), a leaking roof, a few half-criminals offering to fix it at horrendous prices - I'll spare you the Beatles quote.
Re old guitars, keeping the collector's mojo on the side (crazy, and it's getting old when guitars are bought as investments) it's hard to generalize imho, very hard.
Some observations I made personally, ymmv (a few friends deal with vintage and boutique stuff, and I've had my own share over the years):
- vintage guitars (to me that means roughly before 1970, all others are simply older guitars) are NOT better instruments per se, no way.
- what is true however is that the stellar/so what/lemon curve typically looks a lot better with vintage instruments, although depending on model very much
- a big factor is the type of guitar, the more influence the wood has on the final tone, the better your chances a vintage guitar will smoke all modern competition, but the reverse is also true.
Examples, ymmv:
- with 335 styles, and Gretsches even more, your chances of findng an adequate modern equivalent are pretty good, I know as a player I'll take my MIJ Gretsch RHH over any vintage one I ever played, similar for my (both MIJ too) Sheraton and Tokai semis (granted, over the years I played one '59 Dot and oee mid-60s 335 with factory Bigsby that were something else, most others were just so - so).
- with acoustics and solidbodies however the best examples I've encountered have all been vintage, unfortunately very much out of reach for us poor musicians - honorable mentions go to a few Les Pauls, especially one '57 with PAFs and some Strats and Teles between 57 and 63 afair, one wonderful early black guard Esquire, a certain mid-30s Advanced Jumbo - no real modern competition in sight I'm afraid.
Again, I'm not counting vintage mojo, vibe or stuff here atm, just tone and feel, and the modern equivalents mostly are bouique- / custom shop ones.
- my guess is it's wood related - first it's almost impossible to get (tropical) wood of remotely comparable quality today - and then, all of these great vintage guitars were amazingly light, as the wood had may decades to lose the last bit of moisture.
- perhaps the most striking example are vintage Juniors and Specials - that big chunk of solid, 50 years+ Honduras mahogany totally dominates the tone, good luck finding that kind of resonance in a current guitar.
- please note I didn't explicitly mention PUs and other hardware, all over the place imho, slight advantage for modern stuff mostly
- and finally, let's not forget many of these vintage guitars had quirks and issues that made them less usable in an everyday situation, and you don't simply change out a crackling pot or a worn-out tuner on a '50s Gibson or Fender ...
That's where it's getting kinda absurd for players.

All very subjective experience, certainly, ymmv big time.
CU next week, hopefully,
susiwong

PS: Dean, you were correct about Blackstar, the Series One officially is at the top of my list now. Forget all the mediocre tube clips ...
Plugged in, played three chords and my bass player said "why don't you just buy it ? "
Bass players ...
But he knows a great tone when he hears it ...

[hibidy]

Just for a quick hello inbetween, no, I'm not dead (yet) but tied up in some very real real-world business , involving water(tons of), a leaking roof, a few half-criminals offering to fix it at horrendous prices - I'll spare you the Beatles quote.

Oh no! Here's to hoping you get it taken care of asap!

[Dean Aka Nekro]

My roof leaks also FWIW, bloody flat roof design/a bricked-up car port, i've fixed most of them but there are a few that need attention. Im not a lover of DIY unless its audio related and glad to hear tht you got chance to try out a Blackstar for yourself since its the only way to really tell whether its for you or not the hype surrounding them is justifiable and they charge/command fair prices also which is why i am such a fan of there pedals and amps

hibidy did you hold on to the Ibanez in the end mate? and if so have you sorted out the trem issue you were hearing? Out of curiosity and because i enjoy talking about this sort of thing genuinely

All the best to all

Dean

[hibidy]

hibidy did you hold on to the Ibanez in the end mate? and if so have you sorted out the trem issue you were hearing? Out of curiosity and because i enjoy talking about this sort of thing genuinely

All the best to all

Dean

I kept it. Vibrato issues were minor...aamof it stays in tune really well. I swapped out the "b/e" not clamp with the "d/g" and never had the slippage again. I also wimped out and went with 9's I do have the worlds smallest hands and fingers so that was actually a good move.

I can't lie though, unless I have to get another car, I'm already looking into the next one

[Dean Aka Nekro]

hibidy did you hold on to the Ibanez in the end mate? and if so have you sorted out the trem issue you were hearing? Out of curiosity and because i enjoy talking about this sort of thing genuinely

All the best to all

Dean

I kept it. Vibrato issues were minor...aamof it stays in tune really well. I swapped out the "b/e" not clamp with the "d/g" and never had the slippage again. I also wimped out and went with 9's I do have the worlds smallest hands and fingers so that was actually a good move.

I can't lie though, unless I have to get another car, I'm already looking into the next one

Good stuff my friend no doubt i will have a next one inline soon so we can again converse all about them

[rectus_dominus]

Aatgh, I've got mine lil' Cort at the luthier cause of some administrative issues. :S
It'll have less rust, more chrome, and 11-50(or 70 yay) strings, and it'll be adjusted to D and drop C tuning. Will post some pics soon, it's already a bit unique looking

[hibidy]

It's not going to be my next guitar, but check this out

http://www.edroman.com/guitars/abstract/vamptooth.htm

They had this meatloaf thing on I was watching with these bizarre guitars (someone named paul crook) was playing. Just thought it was kinda trippy seeing a guitar with a headstock and no machine heads

[Dean Aka Nekro]

It's not going to be my next guitar, but check this out

http://www.edroman.com/guitars/abstract/vamptooth.htm

They had this meatloaf thing on I was watching with these bizarre guitars (someone named paul crook) was playing. Just thought it was kinda trippy seeing a guitar with a headstock and no machine heads

I am pretty sure its one of Floyd Rose's 'Speed loader' locking trems man. I have seen them on BC Rich guitars with the Widow headstock and also on Floyd Rose's own guitars too. A Widow headstock that serves no purpose looks ridiculous (well they look ridiculous anyway IMO). The pointy body shape type guitars are fine when standing/on a strap but try and sit down and play comfortably and it just ain't happening from any of the ones i have tried. Have not seen that one before though

There are some pretty whack ones in this video:

- Plus more in the related videos! Whom ever ordered them i wonder WTF were they thinking? I'd love to know

[hibidy]

cool link, some people just have too much money I think

[rectus_dominus]

Yay, got my guitar back! No pics, it still has some rusty screws.
With the new strings and tuning there'll be some Lamb of God madness tonight!

I'm really on a tight budget, and I'm still a novice, but I'm planning an SX tele copy (in 2-3 years) to counter the darkness. I heard it is a good project guitar, and also playable out of the box. The youtube demos also show the vanilla ones are not that bad, just have to switch the nuts and tuners. Your opinion?

Btw what's the point in these BC Rich styla abstract guitars? They look fatally uncomfy