Why did you choose your guitar?

64Firebird

64Firebird

New member
I'm talking about your MAIN guitar and not all those others.

I chose mine largely because in the style of music I play (Blues) everybody plays a Strat. So, when I go up there with my Firebird people see something differant and I think it gets their attenion. Also, it sounds differant from other guitars and I'm very tall and it fits me like no other guitar I've ever played. Lastly, I got a sweet deal on it. I bought it at a guitar show for about $300.00.
 
Besides all the techniqual specs, you have to fall in love with your guitar.

I had a friend who had the chance to buy a great Tom Anderson guitar at a pretty low price. He had him for about 2 months and then he sold it back. Many told he was insane but he simply stated: I didn't fall in love with that guitar.
 
Gibson Les Paul Custom (1984), White:

Well, I was 15 and went to the store to buy a flying V that was on sale. They had sold it by the time I got there and I saw this white LP hanging on the wall. I swear it said "Chriiiiiisssss, plaaaaay meeeee...." so I did. It was over. It was on sale, too, because it had some damage to the finish and a trem bar that no one wants on an LP. I snagged it and I still love it. I have never played a guitar that is more playable than the LP Custom. About 4 years later I had the frets filed down and the action lowered. It kicks butt.

Applause acoustic:

Got it used for $200. Still the best sounding guitar (that I can afford) that I've played. Most people don't believe it until they hear it. I've had it since I was 16 and I know it really well. I can get whatever sound I want out of it between my fingers and mic placement. Its on its way out, though, and I've been eyeing the Taylors for a while... :D I love the big babies. (I still can't afford to drop as much as I did on the LP way back when I didn't pay rent...)

I also had the frets and action done on the Applause. Its a pretty darn playable rock/folk guitar. I'm pretty happy. :)

Take care,
Chris
 
My main electric is an Ernie Ball Musicman Sillouette Special. For me, this was a perfect instrument. Very comfortable, kick as tones and lots of them, and the craftsmanship is flawless. $1200 well spent... unlike some guitars, it feels like $1200. It's also one of the most versatile guitars I've ever played. The only base I can't cover is the high-output modern metal sound.

My main acoustic is a steel string Washburn. I'm not sure of the model number, but it's about 8 years old now and was $1800 brand new. I bought it because it did everything I needed. It has a fishman transducer and has both 1/4" AND XLR output. The neck is wide for fingerstyle, and it sounded better unplugged than anything else I played. And I played everything in the $1800 range... I've never seen another one like it, so I don't think a lot were made or sold. I was a bit reluctant to buy a Washburn, but it has been a wonderful for instrument for me and my style of playing.
 
A really great guitar just speaks to me. It's a vibe. The guitar says to me "take me home'. That's how I choose.
 
A generic answer

I suppose that I chose my Strat because I first learned to play on a Squire II and my muscle memory liked the feel better. The Strat neck was so similar from my years of practicing that it just felt comfortable. After that, I bought a Les Paul Standard. It was quite a change but a pleasant one.

Why I buy guitars:

-they feel comfortable or close to comfortable to play. It's that simple. Close to comfortable means that I can tell I can adjust to playing it.

-I'm a wood slut. Any guitar with a nice finish I want. Mainly stains or naturals where you can see nice wood grain underneath.

-tone, but then again, I'm a lowly hobbyist. If it sounds good to me, I'll consider it.

Dick
 
My main guitar is the second electric I ever bought. It's a red Peavey Odyssey. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this model, it has a sort of Telecaster body shape, except with an archtop and a Les Paul-style electronics setup (2 humbuckers, four knobs). The only difference is that it also has a coil tap switch. It has triangular mother-of-pearl fret inlays. The pickups sound pretty damn nice. I spent about $500 on it with a hardshell case--it was used. When they came out they retailed for around $1000 but nobody wanted to spend that much on a guitar that said 'Peavey' on it. When I bought it I really wanted something that looked like an SG, so I played an Epiphone SG for a while and was pretty ambivalent about it. Then I played the Odyssey and I knew right there I was going to buy it. We shall never part.
 
When "THAT" guitar comes along, it is usually a case of "It" choosing you..............not the other way around.

:cool:
 
I chose my newest guitar and currently my "main" one, a Cort LCS-1 Larry Coryell signature model, because I wanted an archtop now and couldn't wait for some day (that might never come) where I could afford a Gibson L-5 or a fancy handmade archtop like a Bendedetto... and I can happily say it is an excellent guitar, not just a excellent guitar for the price (which was about $700).
 
Damn ausrock, you beat me to it. ;)


Generally I pick up my ESP MIII mainly because of its EMG-81 along with its decent neck. I don't play the ESP Custom as much because it doesn't have the 81 (and because I don't want to get it dirty). :rolleyes:
 
My main guitar is a 1980 SG. I bought it in 1992 to replace an SG I sold back in 1973 (which I think was a 1968 or 1969 - my first electric guitar). I loved the SG, but sold it to help finance a move to the West Coast - damn I wish I still had that guitar - but at the time I was drummer (still am) and I couldn't sell the drums - they actually paid the bills.

So I finally made myself buy another SG. I like the tone (I've always preferred the "Gibson tone" to a "Fender tone") and I like the style (I'm just not a Les Paul guy). I don't "love" this SG with the same passion as my first one, but it is still my main axe.
 
My main guitar, and only guitar, is a Webber OM (cedar top, rosewood body). It's my only guitar because I put all the money I had ($1,600) into the best acoustic I could afford. I chose this guitar because it is a fingerstyle dream. The tone and playability are like honey and butter respectively. And it is versatile. You won't get the booming tones of a dreadnaught with spruce, but the volume and projection is excellent. Did I mention the tone and playability?

I compared it to dozens of other guitars: Taylors, Martins, Larrivees, CF Fox, Breedlove, Legend, Bourgeois, etc. all in the same price cap. It wasn't the most visually impressive guitar, but no matter what I played, I just kept coming back to it. It was just the best out of that bunch. Yes, you could say it chose me.

Now I'm saving for a G&L ASAT. They are SWEET!
 
Gibson ES-135. This is my first and (presently) only guitar.

Chosen because:

1) I wanted either a semi-hollow or hollow electric archtop-style,
2) Only others I could find and afford in the stores were Epiphone Casinos and Dots--didn't like 'em all that much
3) When I saw the Big Black One on a web page I knew it was The One.
4) In the store, it sounded pretty much like I thought a guitar would sound in the store--but I was able to overlook that--I didn't really think it would ever be plugged in to a Marshall again :D

I love this guitar--I only wish they could have installed a pickup switch that didn't sound like someone shifting into 2nd on a '57 Harley.
 
1966 fender strat

i bought it in 1976 cause i was into jimi hendrix and it was 150 bucks (which i happened to have in lawn mowing money).

i've went thru les pauls and other guitars....the strat is the only one i have kept over 2 years.

i've never to this day picked up a strat that plays and sounds as good as my '66
 
my 78 SG, i almost bought a 72 instead, it being cheaper (headstock repair, but no affect to playability, very professional fix) (this was a recent purchase, i KILLED my sg-i at a show a few months ago, headstock off neck, nec very much pulled out of body by about 3/4", not even worth repairing), but the 78 screamed for me when i walked away from it. i wanted the ability to use the pickup toggle like a footswitch for clean to dirty, and the 78 delivered with that better then any guitar i've ever played. i've foudn that ability to be in the wood more then the pickups, my old les paul (standard) just didn't clean up like my studio did, with the same pickups in both (57 classic plus) the studio rivals the sg on sound, but the les paul just don't feel like an sg. in my opinion the sg is the ultimate rock guitar, and i can honestly say the 78 i own is the best i've ever played.

my other main axe is my taylor 314. i don't think there was any way for me to walk out without that guitar on that fateful day. i still can't help picking it up every time i walk by.

jake
 
I went to Orlando to buy a guitar on sale, a Fender I think.
Anyway, the place was closed by the time I got there, so we drove around looking for another.
We found one and they had this black Gibson in a red leather case sitting over against the wall.

I bought my first SG in 66 or early 67. It was a late 66.

In 97 it got ripped off while I was between sets while setting in with a local group. It was nicked, chipped and well used, but played just as well as it did when I bought it.

Now I have a 97 model.
 
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