I'm a gearslut... I still want a Trainwreck.

Get a Kemper.  You can have the Trainwreck and everything else in the known world too.

 
I don't see that ever happening... I've already tasted the honey.

batsbrew
i've always known this, since about 1977, when i first started trying out 'off the shelf' guitars...
 
 
i've built 5 customs to order, two of which i still own and use...
 
and the ones i bought off the shelf:
Ibanez Artist;
Carvin DC200K....
 
were both in my opinion at least equal to the most expensive gibson or fender i ever played.
 
i don't know why, but i always bucked the norm, i guess.
 
it kills me to go see a band play, and a guy is playing a $4,000 les paul, and it's out of tune.
LOL
 

I imagine it's a very cool thing when people listen and watch you play. They know that there is no doubt you are a guitarist and when they see you playing an instrument that isn't recognized by "brand" there is an amazing amount of curiousity that just isn't sparked as when one looks at that same old name brands....Fender, Gibson, Carvin, Ibanez, PRS etc.
 
I do believe that most guitarist would love to have a guitar that was made by one person especially for them but think that it must be just to expensive and maybe take to long so they don't spend the effort to find out and just decided it's easier to go to the store.
 
Variety is great and for us to have choices is better than it's ever been.
Sure not one to say what is better but I sure am one to look at options and enjoy talking about them.
 
Although you and I have had some communication "gaps" I do believe if we were in the same room with our guitars we'd have some fantastic time building great memories.
 
 
 

When I was a kid one of the older guys that took the time to teach me about guitars told me something I think was very wise... and accurate: "Don't worry about it kid, you won't even know what strings you like for at least 10 years."
 
Every off the shelf guitar I have purchased has been to feed a curiosity about their quirks, foibles, and strengths. They have also, bit by bit, informed my personal opinion about what I might personally enjoy on one occasion or another.
 
I value that as much as I value the idea of having something made that incorporates all the things that I have learned that I enjoy the most.
 
I hope that makes some sense.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

I use to love driving cars. Especially fast cars. Over time I acquired enough information to build one. So I did. I drove it for a few years and cashed it in. I know what it's like to drive a car and know about every little nut and bolt on it. There's many different cars -there are many different ways that people view them and acquire them.
 
Since I loved driving them so much I couldn't handle not knowing more about them.
That has happened to me with many things through the years.
 
I can say that the same thing happened to me with electric guitars.
 
I think the old guy was right- "don't worry about it".

spacey-
well, i'm a great believer in custom built guitars....
 
there are certain things i like, which have almost never been all put together in a factory production model...
 
and after it was all said and done, the product i ended up with was equal or superior to the best off the shelf models, PLUS i got it customized.
 
 
so i tell everyone 'build it'.
 
or in my case, contract someone to build it, my favorite guitar right now, is the one i bought pieces for from USACG and various other sources, and hired my local luthier here to properly put it together for me....
 
 
there is an obvious hipness to owning a 'known' name guitar....
it's a status symbol, that starts all the way back to your first love of music, and the artists your aspire too.......
 
but with guys like brian may building a totally unique guitar at home, in his garage..
to van halen playing a 200 dollar piece of crap, and customizing it to his needs, and making the records he did...
 
i'm inspired more by that.
 

Was it your SS that you built or some sort of sports track racer?
 
I love fun cars... to much too own one. :-)
 
A neighbor of mine just got a pretty red '67 Camaro SS. I saw it Saturday and almost wet my pants. A country road and a fun car.

Bat I assembled a guitar. I bought a Korina (black) neck and sent it to CA to have the frets done right and also have it finished. I had a Jap Strat body that was fantastic. When I got it assembled MAN! What a lucky combination of parts.
I had it no time and was telling a friend that picks about it and...there it went. He wanted to trade his Strat for it and I couldn't say no to him.
I was probably nuts....I had almost 700 in the neck alone...oh well...I have a very happy friend LOL.
 
 
Mike it was the SS. I was glad when I finished...building it about killed me. Ground up.

but with guys like brian may building a totally unique guitar at home, in his garage..
to van halen playing a 200 dollar piece of crap, and customizing it to his needs, and making the records he did...
 
i'm inspired more by that.

 
I remember reading an interview with Chet Atkins where he said that when he was a young guy he started doing his own set ups and fret work because there really wasn't any one for him to ask to help do it.
 
That and the old Tom Wheeler book inspired me to not be afraid of digging in.
 
Or how about Paul Bigsby? That fellow had a great attitude about making stuff.
 
 
 
 
As a matter of perspective, Fender and Gibson's stock factory "Standard" guitars of the past 20 years have in a way mimic'd what guys were doing as "custom retro" back when I was a starting out in the early 1980s. The old style guitars weren't around... people had to insist that they wanted the best of the vintage style parts to come back and seek out small vendors that kept the ideas alive.
 
It's sort of been institutionalized these days ala Rock an Roll cafe marketing but cool vintage details like Alnico pickups, paying attention to the tone instead of max level output, and bridges that stay in tune were almost forgotten because small innovative custom shops were the order of the day. Crazy.
 
 
all the best,
mike