We, as players, should all learn to wear the hat of guitar tech as well. Being able to set up your own guitar is not only convenient, its ultimately liberating. There isn't really that much to it. It can all be very easily learned and once you know how, it adds a whole new dimension to your enjoyment of the hobby we all love so much. If you think it feels good to find a guitar with that something special, you should try finding one that has the potential, and make it something special. Rescuing a forgotten, mistreated guitar and giving it a new life is an indescribable feeling! If you want to REALLY LOVE a guitar, rescue one. It will love you back!
@@castleanthrax1833 It really is a fairly simple process, it just takes a bit of patience. And when you can work on your own guitars flea markets and yardsales become music stores!
Never buy a guitar that you won't play, guitars, like cars, are meant to be used. I'm don't buy them because I think they might become a good investment. I buy them to play them.
I disagree. I've bought many guitars with no desire to play or keep them. I've been able to acquire the guitars that I do play by buying smart buys on guitars that I won't play.
@@ChrisEck13 missing the point. He's talking about people like Trogly who buy all of these "collectible " guitars that just sit around and never get played. Flipping them is different. The end goal is an instrument you will actually use.
I have owned and gigged with a number of collectable, vintage Martin acoustic guitars. My old, tired hands have fallen in love with a pair of new, Squire Mustang electrics under $200 each. They feel right and sound great off the back of a hay wagon, in someone's greasy, old machine shed or at someones back yard BBQ. Ya just wipe the BBQ sauce off, and you're back in business. They're made for playing in "the mud and the blood and the beer".
Same here. My Gibson Les Paul Custom "owned me" and I played it very little. Eventually I realized that the guitars I loved playing the most were the two cheapest ones I had. I got great deals on them and also learned enough to be able to set them up and tweak them until they sounded just right for me. They've been nicked and beat up a little, but who cares? I love to play them.
I briefly had a fender Player mustang. It was the most comfortable guitar I've ever had. I just really didn't prefer the way it sounded. I thought about putting some Tele pickups in it, but I decided to sell it instead.
@@jimmyparris9892 at first, I really didn't like the sound of electric guitars in general, but my hands were happy. I've come to terms with how my Mustangs sound now. One has single coil pickups and the other has humbuckers. I appreciate the differences between them and my hands are discovering how to make all kinds of new sounds. It's an adventure!!!
I don't know how old your "old, tired hands" are, but I think mine are even older. I've played the guitar since I was a kid, but now I'm having problems with my hands. I can't play any of the Fender (or others) guitars that have a 1.65" nut. So the Squire guitars are out of the question.
That’s a treasure. Not just that it is vintage but that it still resonates of your dad. Love it, enjoy it, and always say a few kind words to them as if he is there. He is.
My thoughts on dings - the first one usually hurts, but soon comes the realisation , this came about because you regularly get it out the case and play it. It's the sign the guitars a keeper, a badge of honour. There is surprisingly great satisfaction in seeing the guitar relicing naturally over time. Over time guitars improve with age but they have to be played and sometimes take the knocks and scrapes from transporting from one place to another and/or the bedroom wall.
Or your beloved dog knocks one guitar into another and the most expensive gets the dent not the one rescued from a pawn shop with two dents in its top (acoustic of course) already.
That first ding hurts a ton, but then shrug and go "Well, it's mine now!" and carry on. I have long since tried to buy used so I can just shrug and go "Huh, well another scratch/ding" and go right back to playing.
I got a 6-string bass second hand from someone I met at a guitar store. Had it for close to 15 years now. I've added a couple dings to it, and it survived being run over by a car (long story short, don't rush to band practice after immediately waking up from an all-nighter 🤦 Take the time to actually wake up and think clearly). I had a custom made pickguard cut from aluminum checker plate to cover up the car damage. It's officially a one of a kind instrument now, and to me, it's priceless. Nothing can replace it
#1 really resonates. I had a 2020 Troublemaker in black. It was perfect. I couldn’t stand seeing dust on it, let alone scratch or ding it. After two long years of cleaning it every time I played it, I sold it. What a relief.
Not so. My collection started when I began using double-locking trems and realizing that guitarists were using different tunings. I began buying different guitars and tuning them all differently. So, if I wanted to practice an Eddie song, I had one in Eb. One is tuned to drop D. Then, I started to buy guitars to do my own custom paint schemes. As an artist, there are more facets of enjoyment to guitars other than just playing them.
yup, when in 1987 I read that David Gilmour had bought too much guitar at over 360 of them, it was going to be in the way of anybody else enjoying any of them with our own hands. It's a good thing he made sweet love to our ears with them, or something like that.
Great episode and everything you said makes complete sense. I just want to say that your editing skills are great. Your visuals and auditory combination are spot on. I use to record and edit books on tape and worked on at least 100 or more books and when you get the timing and pauses right as well as to know the levels of the sound in the background and when to bring them up to the right level for the setting is so monumental, and you have that down in spades! It brings your guitar passion to the professional level that we so appreciate. Thank you and I proud to be part of the Five Watt World.
In 1977 I saved every nickel and dime I had to buy a Gibson J-55 arch back acoustic. It was way too expensive for me, but it was the only guitar I owned, so I had to play it. Everywhere and very time I played guitar and sang, that is the guitar in my hand and held against my heart. It is beat up as hell. But every nick and rub is a memory. A good memory. Playing guitar has been the best part of my life since I was 12 and this guitar has been there for almost every part. Would it be worth more to you with fewer nicks? Maybe. But it would be worth far less to my life and that is why I started playing in the first place. Thanks for the video and reminding me of what is important about owning and playing fine guitars.
If you've played long enough you should know how to adjust the truss rod, set pickup & string height, and set the intonation. It's not that difficult to learn how to do these things. Learning these skills will not only save you money, but will also give you a closer connection to your instruments.
Also - personal experience mostly from owning Fender guitars - when that's set just right you can tend to just leave it alone for a long while, excepting massive changes of climate like going somewhere that's hotter and more arid than the guitar usually lives. So all that time doing minor tweaks yourself saves you a fortune and other than maybe a fret job which is more complex, allows you to get a near-perfect setup.
I did walk in with experience in electronics and woodworking, but I started doing setup work because I don’t have a shop near me I trust. I also buy lower end gear, so got good at dressing frets then replacing nuts. The little things like setup, fret work, cleaned up nuts and saddles, and maybe a neck shim on a Fender make the biggest difference in playability. If it feels good, stays in tune, and doesn’t go “plink” when tuning or using a trem you’ll play it so much more. It was a short leap from that stuff to kits and restoration, now mid way through my first custom build. I’m better at luthier work (on electrics) than playing. I do a lot of restoration. The tools can get pricey, but I find it really rewarding. Especially getting a neglected instrument back into playing shape in the hands of a musician. But you don’t have to be leveling and crowning frets to make a good guitar great. And you rarely have to replace major parts, unless you just want to.
@@mikesalmo I ruined my setup on my Lp studio while changing strings last year. Had the strings off so I decided to tinker around thinking I could put it back how it was if things went south. I fooled around with that guitar for days trying to make it playable again. I have been a autobody tech for the last 24 years. And have done some pretty complicated major repair work in that time. But I was totally defeated with fixing the setup of this guitar. A week at the music store and 120 bucks later? I got it back and was blown away by how good it sounded. And it also felt way easier to play. I was a happy man. Anyway it made me realize that just because I paid for a gibson setup from the factory. And they send you a pic of your guitar on a bench. Don't mean a great job was done with the setup. I now feel no matter what guitar you buy. It needs to be taken in and have a real shop setup done for it to be any good.
When we were really young musicians, we had an older friend who could drive, and whose dad bought him a new truck. He loved to drive through mud and rocks and all sorts of inclement weather, but was weirdly worried about every little scratch. I remember saying to him, "Dude, it's a truck, it's going to get scratched. It's just the physics of driving a big machine through the world." He was a drummer, and as we got older, and I was finally able to buy better equipment, I remember him fretting over every little scratch my equipment acquired and kind of being weirded out that I was not more upset about it. Again, I would explain to him that this is just going to happen. Fast forward to the more recent relic craze, and I started to remember those days and really put into words what it was I was feeling and how that had changed over the years. I don't hate on people who like relic, it's a thing and a choice. But one day, in light of the subject, I said to my wife that our guitars don't so much just acquire their wear and tear, as EARN it. I do like the clean "newness" of my newer guitars, but it's nice to finally have touched upon a philosophy to help me reinforce my feeling that scratches and dents and chips happen, and a guitar exists to be played. Like us, our instruments earn their scars, and their scars deserve to be seen.
Oh my god, I think you've just given me a year or more's worth of therapy material. The word "blame" comes to mind... So, my mother is house proud, clean obsessed and chastised me through my entire childhood for wear and tear on clothes, toys, anything that accumulated damage or I broke. Also, I don't know if I'm just unlucky or I am rough handed - but the amount of items that I have owned that have just spontaneously broken.. its disproportionate to the average! I've cracked screens on phones plenty too - she has a running total of times I've had to repair a phone. She'd broken a far few herself, but when I point that out - her's is luck, mine is not being careful, and I've done it more. I remember being in a pub in my mid 20s and I heard an enormous SMASH sound... a few of us ran outside to find a woman in an giant SUV absolutely demolish my small hatchback car! In the carpark too.. no idea how she managed that. My mum still brings up the fact I've written off a car. Also, the woman didn't want to tell either her husband or insurance about the accident so she showed up the next day with a suitcase full of cash to the value of the car! I was very happy. I got a 2nd hand that was an upgrade from the last and spent the rest on upgrading my already ridiculous car stereo to the tune of some 25 grand total.
I totally agree on the objective lameness of Relic'd instruments. Reminds me of pre-worn jeans, and I don't mean buying them used, I mean they look ruined when they're "new". Get something that actually looks new and you'll naturally put little wear marks on or in as a result of living with it. I don't see all the little nicks on the headstock or the wear marks around the body and neck of my Jag when I pick it up, I see an instrument I like to play. A lot of those headstock nicks are from pointing the guitar upwards during solos and forgetting the venue has low ceilings so when I do remember that makes me laugh at myself for being so careless.
I'm the same way, there's something odd about relicing and there's also this odd business of whether the headstock is "right" which I've never understood. It's not just guitarists, bassists are also weirdly obsessed with choosing brands that have "normal" headstocks so I think there must be something connecting the same psychology there. Something from my experience: I recently bought a MIJ Fender Precision bass second hand, it's about 21yo Candy Apple Red and has a few dings and was cheap mainly, I believe due to the colour and the dings. It sounds amazing, but given how bassists tastes are, it had been sitting around for a couple of years unsold. The dings are inconsequential, that's earned experience and who doesn't like a red guitar?! Their loss, my gain 😀
@@MOSMASTERINGYour Mother's blaming you for that car accident? You weren't even in the car, and it was parked - what more could someone possibly want to prove innocence? Unless you are either extremely bad at parking, poured nails on the road next to a speedy highway (surely not,) or had 3 big red neon arrows over your car saying "CRASH HERE," I don't think she has a leg to stand on in blaming you. She probably has good points about taking care of different things instead of abusing them, but from what little I can see here, it sounds like she might also be _too_ worried about breaking things. Of course one should avoid breaking things unless they're working for the IIHS or something like that where crash testing is the job, but let it be water off a duck's back when or if it ever does happen. No need to blow a gasket over something unavoidable or accidental, but do be cautious as well as is possible.
Exactly. Over time your belt buckle is gonna put a wear mark on the back. You’re going to get scratches around the cable jack. You’re going to get a ding on the headstock from that time you didn’t see the mic stand. Like you said, it’s a tool. And while I don’t intentionally abuse my tools I do use them, sometimes roughly.
I couldn’t agree more! My guitars are made to be played or they wouldn’t be my guitars. I own a Martin 1990 OMC-28 Guitar of the month that was a gift from my wife on our 10th Anniversary. Yes, I actually picked out the guitar as my wife is not a guitar player, she is just married to one. I spent hours playing various Martin Guitars (I’ve always wanted to own a Martin since I sold Martin’s when I was in my 20’s and managed a music store. I’m now 73 years old but in 1990;I was 40 years old and married for ten years when my wife asked me what I wanted for a gift on our tenth anniversary. I didn’t think that I could never afford one in the past or even now that I was forty years old (on our anniversary in 1990) or that I was still going to be the one who was actually “robbing Peter to pay Paul” so that my wife and I will need to sacrifice something like a nice vacation I promised her when we couldn’t afford a honeymoon, I blurted out the one inarguable thing that I promised myself when I was in my twenties I would own one day - a Martin Guitar. When I blurted this out expecting to be reminded that we really couldn’t afford one (although I gave her the diamonds ring that she wanted when I couldn’t afford an engagement ring) we left for the local Guitar Center in Hollywood California and I spent the next four or five hours playing every Martin guitar in the store. I’m not a profeional guitarist, but I’ve been playing guitar since I was eight years old. I knew the moment I found “my guitar” among a wide selection of Martins from D-18’s to D-45s, I wasn’t interested in the embellishment’s, I fell in love with the sound and how it fit in my arms. I fell in love with a 1990 Martin OMC-28 “Guitar of the Month. “. I’m a finger stylist and this Orchestra Model (OM) series 28 sounded so sweet, the neck was perfect for playing blues to rag to folk. It was a cutaway series 28 with a small body clear tone that I simply fell in love with but still had to spend hours convincing myself that I was going to buy this Martin and take it home with us. I probably wouldn’t see my wife until some time the next day or two when I came up for air and some nutrients and put it back in it’s hard shell case that I kept opening to check and aee if there was really a Martin OMC-28 in the cas and it wasn’t just a dream. I’m nearly 74 years old and Mari and I have been married nearly 44 years, we met nearly 50 years ago and underneath the bed we shared for nearly fifty years is the same Martin hard shell case with the same Martin OMC-28 guitar. I’ll venture a guess that there are probable fewer than the 89 1990 OMC-28 Guitar oh the Month instruments left in this world and I still own the same one that my wife gave me on our tenth anniversary. Unfortunately, she lost her diamond ring a few years after we bought it and although I offered to buy her another, it doesn’t replace the intentions of the original ring I gave her on out tenth anniversary. In six years we will be married for fifty years and I will never regret one day of all those years, I only wish that time would slow down a bit.
My papaw gave me his 1977 Martin D-41. It's beautiful, it's an heirloom, and I learned to play on it.... It blows his mind that I'll choose to pick up and play my 94 Yamaha FG 410 😅 The sound doesn't compare to the Martin, but it sounds great still and is just easier to play.
I started with a squier Stratocaster that my dad bought for himself but decided to give to me. He got a Yamaha Pacifica which is still pretty good. Since then, I’ve had two Ibanez , two squiers , a PRs, a deangelico acoustic and a Taylor acoustic, a schecter, two Epiphone les Paul’s. I’ve tried to take time for each one. But that’s a tough thing with a full time job and a good wife. Those are more important but I do enjoy playing.
My grandpa always said, "dings on a guitar are like dents on a car.... adds character." I always loved that idea. That those scratches and dings are like scars, and each one tells a story.
The discussion points of “negatively impacting the guitar’s value” reminds me of the phrase “knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” The “value” of something as a measure of what someone else would pay for it is irrelevant if you’re enjoying it for its intrinsic value- that you’re enjoying the experience of playing it. That when you look at it in the case or on the stand, you’re reminded of the good times you’ve had playing it.
Understood but misquoted in most people's minds. They think something is worth a lot to themselves but in reality it's sadly not most of the time. It only matters when you enjoy playing it. But dropping a boat load of money on something doesn't make it any better than something that costs less than half of it. I know because I've played $2,000.00, $3,000.00, $4,000.00, $10,000.00 all the way up to $50,000.00 guitars and beyond.The value is what you feel when you play - not the monetary value. Just because something is expensive that doesn't make it a better instrument than something that costs less. I've played $400.00 guitars that I liked better than their $4,000.00 counterparts. So you're right - the cost doesn't always equate in the value of an instrument no matter what it is. My hands can't tell how much it costs or the brand but it can feel the quality of the workmanship.
18 hooks on the wall, full. I look at the beauty of all of them and know they will show wear and tear over time. Several are over a half century old, like me. The first ding is kind of a relief with a new guitar. Now it is "yours" and you can just have fun with it. I still take care of them, but it is not the same as freaking out over a scratch. All the same, in a store I ask before handling things and don't bother fondling stuff I am not really interested in buying.
@@ratwynd I understand. But I play everything even if I'm not interested in buy it just to see what's out there and the quality of the build - the finish, fit, frets, tremolo, electronics. You can't tell until you try it.
One of my guitar students thought the coolest thing about my strat was how dinged up it is. Bought it new over 40 years ago and every one of those scratches and dents just shows how much it is loved.
I bought an 2022 Epiphone Firebird last April, and it’s become my #1. At a gig in February, I tripped coming down a short flight of stairs. I landed with the case edge-on, and that prevented me from face planting on the floor. The case kept the guitar in perfect condition. That said, I toted my Ric to recent rehearsal, and yeah, I had forgotten how massive the Firebird case is. 😅
On my 18th birthday my dad took me to a shop to get my first "proper" guitar. I wanted an SG, having been smitten by AC/DC, but decided on a whim to try a gibson firebird. I knew immediately that it was the one coming home with me. Just felt too right to play
I owned a PRS wood Library. An absolute beautiful piece of art. I was terrified to play it just in case I dinged it. Sold it shortly afterwards. Those guitars are great for collectors not for gigging musicians.
@@jonbuckleythen why buy it? It’s just a tool. A pretty tool but a tool nonetheless. If youre just a working musician then ur not buying wood library to play anyways, and if you can Really afford a wood library you probably don’t need to worry about selling it next month to make rent. In which case any wear is irrelevant outside the ocd in one’s head. I gig both my custom Murphy labs. Go live your life my friend, that wood library wants to be shown off for the ppl in the back of the bar.
Used to own a 1977 Explorer from the first run of reissues. This guitar immediately came to mind when the "cool on stage" category was mentioned haha. I was lucky enough to find a buyer that got to do guitar tech for The Edge when the 360 Tour came to town. I was a kid in the bleachers for that show so it kind of came around full circle. He happened to know a ton of sources for vintage and knows everyone I know who is in that market so I'm lucky enough to have a trustworthy source. He even lent us a few vintage Fender guitars and amps while trying out the Explorer that I'd otherwise would never gotten to try. Was a fun summer! I feel even more fortunate to have that opportunity after seeing this.
@@SquirtHoliday No way! Our band won a local music contest right out of high school and received a gift card to a local music store. When we went in, my fellow guitarist and I used our portion to split the Explorer. It was brought in by someone who found it in a relative's attic who had recently passed. The store bought it off her for 1000CAD and we got it for not too much more. Took me a few years to realize how much it was worth at that point and stop gigging with it haha. Lots of great pics from those shows tho, mixing in Allman Bros. and Skynyrd covers!
@danpugatch I only got a Tele in the last few years and maaaaaaan do I love it. Was going to get a hollowbody but prioritized a 12-string electric. Only style left to get is a hollowbody electric now. I am taking recommendations! (Used to use an 80s Lee Ritenour signature Ibanez in jazz band and I liked that a lot)
Thanks for this video! I've felt surrounded by a world just saturated with obsession over purchasing and owning, but my favourite part of any piece of gear is the bond you get to form with it. I'm not the best player, and I like guitars that are inexpensive and feel like they align with my ethos of originality over virtuosity. Of course, whatever works for other people is fine, but I just don't have the type of mind or lifestyle for endless practice to where I'd feel that I needed a "precision instrument" so much as a guitar or amp that feels like that old flannel or your favourite pair of sneakers - it's just there for you, meeting you where you're at, and you get to take care of each other. Thanks for being a voice of moderation in a world that often feels like it's at the beck and call of product catalogue refreshes and convention cycles.
This will on some guitars, but not all. I have a '52 reissue Tele. The tech took the neck off and I thought "Oh hail no." I carved out a slot in the pick guard, bought slick littler wrench from StewMac and never have to remove the neck. If defiling the original pickguard bothers you (like it did me), get a replacement and use that.
@@glenlapwing8468 Here's something that you can do to avoid that altogether - stress relief. I put a quarter turn in the truss rod so that it has a very slight up bow to it. This allows the strings to pull the wood as far as it can go. This means that at full tension your strings won't pull the wood of the neck any further. I've done this for over thirty years and I still have yet to see one warped neck out of any of my guitars.
Great list and right on the nose on all. I'm a tech and builder and have some limitations of what I want to own too. Keep in mind that all guitars eventually become Vintage. My main Tele I bought new in 1993, so she an I have become vintage together, and while I at one time "retired" her from live use, I have since decided that due to her age and "pedigree" that she deserves to be played as much as possible and when she does finally die, it will be whilst being played, and not covered in dust, sitting safely on a stand in my office.
I always enjoy the calm and measured way you approach any subject. My collection is up to two acoustic, one electro'coustic, and two electric guitars. Prices ranged from $45 to $425, all are used, and all of them get played. Thanks for creating our Five Watt World, it's a great place to be 😁
For many years I avoided Explorers due to their reputation for being cumbersome or being "metal" guitars. Last year I found a great deal on a Gibson Explorer that was in mint condition and I realized that I've been missing out, its become one of my favorite guitars to play. The case is absolutely enormous but the guitar is so comfortable and feels great.
I bought an Epiphone Explorer off eBay about 5 years ago. Me and my Luthier Instructor opened the control cavity covers and it discovered it had Gibson pots, .022uF Bumblebee cap. I then took the strings off to see what pickups it had it had. Lo and behold it had REAL 59 pickups (my Instructor has books with almost every guitar ever made and he date coded them to a 59 Les Paul). We had a customer in the shop and asked what I paid for it..... Said he'd buy it for what I paid for the guitar. My luthier Instructor looked at me and just rolled his eye's. I said I'll keep this guitar until I'm dead and they'll bury me with it! It sounds great, in near mint condition, and absolutely plays outstanding. I guess when I bought it; I got lucky!
I have a Jackson Kelly (with a hardtail). It's relatively light, well balanced, feels great, and looks sexy. I love the sharkfin inlays. I replaced the stock pickups with a set of DiMarzio PAFs. Now it sounds like a Les Paul Standard. Nicely done, Jackson.
One of my happiest guitar-owning experiences was an Ibanez Rocket Roll Sr. Flying V. It sounded so good and was so much fun to play. Yeah, I eventually sold it because I couldn't play it sitting down, but I've regretted it ever since. It was so great at a gig.
I can relate to the last point ... having a guitar you are afraid to gig with, or even play. A member of the church that I pastor gave me an emerald burst Gibson SG Supreme several years ago. His reasoning is that, though I'd love to have a Gibson, I would never pay that much for a guitar on my budget with a family to support. I was afraid to take the guitar out of the case for a long time. I never played it anywhere but home for over 2 years. I finally came to the conclusion that if God blessed me with this, then I need to play it. I love that guitar now. It is so much fun to play. It sounds amazing, the neck is very comfortable, and, well, it's an SG! Some of my heroes played SG's ... Tony Iommi being the one that comes to mind, and Clapton for a short time played one with Cream. Thanks for another great video!
@@garydiamondguitarist Charlie Starr is now proving to the rest of the guitar community just how awesome the Les Paul Specials are. His tone is amazing!
Some years ago, my oldest brother got a great deal on a pre factory PRS (can't remember the model). It's a low production number instrument, probably one of only a few. In later years he and I were in a church band together and I asked why he doesn't use the PRS there. He said it's too nice and too rare to be playing out, so I reminded him that there's no point in having it, then. Two weeks later he showed up with it and frequently played it out after that.
I’ve got three vintage Harmony guitars. A 1957 department store special that I was given free and unplayable. I straightened the neck, installed a steel bar truss rod, a pickup, pick-guard with controls, body binding, vintage spec functional tuners etc. It looks 60 years old because it is, but plays and sounds better than new. Similar with the two 1958’s. Vintage when cheap guitars were made of really good solid wood. And they are NOT too valuable to use and try to wear out. There are some nice exceptions out there. But I still don’t have an Explorer or a Rickenbacker 12 string…
Been there, done that. However, I don't have regrets for it because it's really part of the journey of going through the learning process and seeing what's right/not right for you in terms of preference in the sounds and playabilty on various guitars. I've gone through over a hundred guitars bought-and-sold in the last twenty years. I've slowed down quite a bit, and finally realized what I need versus want. It's a relief to unload so much gear and focus/concentrate [key words] on the particular fewer things to get you to practice more often and enjoy it more frequently without being distracted by the unnecessary excess piling up around at home.
This is I why I think a vintage Greco or Burny are so special: the sounds of playing a hand made vintage instrument, plenty of dings and scratches to add to, and any tech can work on them because they cost the same as a current import.
I'm restoring a vintage greco P-bass at the moment. Ordinarily I would never dream of refinishing a vintage body, but this one wasn't just a relic, it was a straight up wreck and I had to glue big parts of the body back together, it was just a mess. Regretably, as part of that process I had to level-sand a big area on the body and with it sand out 50 years of dings and scratches. I'm going to repaint it vintage white, and it'll look like new, ready for another 50 years. But It's got me thinking about "vintage mojo", and how I've effectively robbed this bass of it's history, but I've come to the conclusion that if the vintage mojo is in the wood then surely it can survive a couple of coats of paint? Just a random thought.
This is why I LOVE vintage Ibanez and Ovation. I have a 79 ovation legend that I found at a pawn shop a few years ago, tops in rough shape no structural cracks but big gouges in the poly finish, $150 bucks, some new strings and some light tech work on the truss. Thing is a loaded gun. I saw in 1979 the guitar went for $660 new which is like $2800 accounted for inflation. It’s not worth anything these days, but it kills most acoustics I stack it against.
Dude, they cost as much as a new gibson and as a functional instrument are way worse. They have their own whole microculture around them that has inflated both their value and percieved prestige far beyond what they should be in reality
@@michaeldesrosier1068I don't know where you're from but Greco and Burny guitars are nowhere near the price of Gibsons of any sort. Most expensive ones I found are around the price of common Epiphones.
I have an addiction to buying cheap guitars, because these days they’re very good and the options on styles and colors are so many. It’s also fun to take a cheap guitar, mod it, give it a nice setup, and not be too worried about damaging or losing it.
@@TonyToledo22i guess estsblishing what cheap is is the first point , as he Said they are so good these days … and That is what i have found as Well and I also have a habit of buying cheap guitars … as they are so good these days but that’s not 200 bucks but can be 500- 800 bucks …. In that range they have become so dang good as of late
Some are not worth the effort and investment of replacing the hardware, but some are hidden treasure waiting to be unearthed. That is if you actually enjoy the work.
Nice to see different angles being taken on this. I bought a barely functional Ibanez for very little. The seller was okay but I guess if he was any easier to work with the guitar would have costed more. But now that the guitar has been fixed up, I just love how "nothing fancy" it is. Losing or it being damaged would suck but it's a very long way from any kind of a disaster. An over pricey guitar that would affect insurance and sleep is probably not for me. As for "vintage", naaahhhh, I've had a bitsa-caster vintage thing, it was an absolute PITA. Modern guitars all day for me, thanks.
@@strumminronin There are still some relatively cheap vintage ones. Silvertone 1448 and 1457 models (those 2 models are Danelectro built,) random imports from the 60s - 70s, Kay Vanguards, etc. Not all are going to be good out of the box, but a lot of the ones I mentioned are very light to hold.
Great video!! Thank you!! I started my guitar journey late in 2019 at the age of 45. Got a black Gibson Firebird, it was the oddball guitar I always loved. It’s a joy to play (but it’s the only thing I know ! ). Anyways,I’m 50 now and still try to play every day. Loved your short history of the Firebird and many other of your videos. Thank you !
Awesome video. Love your 5 watt world vids. Wifey and I are both 62 and play different instruments. Wife has a 1980 white/white/maple neck Strat Ala Hendrix and plays in all girl ( lady ) band. I mostly play bass and have a 1980 Jazz and a 2010 Precision and a 2016 Warwick Corvette fretless . We bought our son an Epiphone hummingbird, 2020 and a Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2022 . We all play all our guitars without thought to historical value. We play because we are all in our own separate bands and enjoy playing. I never wanted to think I own a historical instrument that I should not play. Great vid. Play what you own and Rock On.
More of a Drummer than a Guitar Player, I still love this channel! Some years back I picked up a Les Paul Special II. It was a nightmare to own, especial for a novice guitar player. I just could not keep it in tune going up and down the neck. I sat down in the basement for about 2 days, with a You Tube video on how to set the intonation, setting the truss rod, and what ever else was involved for a basic set up. (It's been a minute so I don't recall everything) I still have to be carefull when playing not to bend it out of tune by putting too much physical pressure on the neck with my left hand while putting too much pressure on the body with my right arm...(Again, a novice player) but the difference is like night and day after setting it up properly. It sounds great with my '67 Deluxe Reverb and the sense of pride of accomplishing the set up made it go from a nightmare to own, to probably out of 15 to 20 ish... my favorite guitar I have ever owned. Thanks, Keith. I appriciate all that you do and, Say hi to Rick for me!
I have been playing guitar for almost 50 years. Fate/circumstance/tragedy/The Good Lord Above has blessed me with 21 guitars and 5 amps. They each have a name and a voice, and I couldn't imagine my life without them. Since learning to play, the longest I've ever gone without playing was my first submarine patrol. All this rambling to say that no guitar sucks to own. In my experience, vintage guitars are a lot like owning vintage muscle cars; you have to swing wrenches and keep them happy. I do all of my own repairs and maintenance, so I don't have to pay anyone to do it for me. I had to recover from rotator cuff/biceps tendon surgery and couldn't play.... that sucks a lot more than not loving your guitar. Sorry for the long winded comment. I love 5 Watt World and I really appreciate all you do, Keith!
@@NoWayOut55 My wife and I were only blessed with one child, we lost him in 2016, at age 30, to the opioid crisis. We were also blessed with one granddaughter, who is my pride and joy. I am teaching her how to play and care for these instruments, and I hope they bring her as much joy as they have me. Rock On, Friend! 🎸🤟
It took almost 30 years for me to get a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I found a 68 reissue with a Koa top on consignment and pulled the trigger. It was almost mint condition when I got it, and I was really paranoid about damaging it so was really careful playing it (not my style). Best thing to happen to it was the case getting bumped while I was putting it away, causing the lid to close and the latch to put some impressions in the side, so now I don't worry as much.
My Gibson LPC was beautiful and sounded fantastic, but it was a case queen because I was afraid of dinging it. Finally wised up and sold it. Went back to my upgraded Epiphone LPCs and I'm happy with them.
I agree for the most part. I just got my first double cut "F" hole guitar, a 335 copy. I didn't like the volume pots and decided to change them. what a nightmare!! All of the electronics have to come out of the pickup cavity. They used small pots from the factory, which were put in through the F hole. but I wanted a CTS for the volumes which are much larger and had to chisel out part of the wood to get them out through the pickup hole. Also, since everything is grounded together, it ALL had to come out. Definitely the hardest guitar I've worked on. Probably won't get another one. Great channel!!
I've gone thru 3 purges - about every 15 years, I re-evaluate a guitar's money-making ability. Is it inspiring for composition? Inspiring enough to session work? NO guitar has ever sold tickets to my concerts - I do that, my playing does that. I don't lie to myself that "it's the guitar". No. It's me, my fingers, my years' of playing.
I agree with point #1. My favorite guitar was a Gibson ES 335. It was a tobacco sunburst, exquisitely beautiful. This guitar had a miraculous ability to sound great plugged into any amp without even adjusting the settings. Everything about the guitar was perfect, but it was impractical. I was hosting a blues jam, and I worried every time a jammer played the guitar, or bumped into the guitar. The ES335 was a big guitar with a high center of gravity. It was easy to bump into, and easy to knock over. My main guitar nowadays is a 1977 Tele, which I bought new. It's a canoe paddle. I like the weathered funky look of it. My friend left a cigarette burn on the headstock. The pick guard is missing a chunk of it. I love my Tele in a different way from my ES335.
Great vid, Keith! I finally came to my senses a few years ago and sold all my vintage and boutique guitars and rebuilt my collection with solid players that I'm not afraid to take on the road...I feel better abot the decision even without this video's validation but it's great to be in good company! I will admit to thinking wistfully sometimes about my old 66 ES 335 with factory bigsby...lol
I'm going through the same thing right now, I have a bunch of guitars and only play a handful of them. I just sold a '65 Melody Maker D today that hadn't been out of the case in over a year and I'm about to sell a bunch of others, including probably the best SG I've ever played but too rich for my blood, a 2003 Gibson SG Elegant Custom Shop. I know it's going to hurt but I need to just focus on what matters; playing and enjoying guitars.
I dont have to remove the neck on my 77 telecaster or my 73 telecaster bass. The stewmac truss rod crank for tele, or the 'free' paint can lid opener tool from the hardware store, will sneak in and adjust the truss rod, with the neck on, strung to pitch. You might have to remove your pickguard. Fenders either do or do not have a bit of wood removed at the body for access. I make room for the tool.
Great video, I own a couple of older guitars that I take out and play every now and then but my favorites are guitars that I leave out so I can plug in and enjoy. If I lost the older guitars I wouldn't lose any sleep over them but the one's that I play everyday I would miss dearly. Thanks again for the video!!!
No 1 I agree so much, I barely play my Gibson sg live because I’m terrified of the headstock being damaged. I usually gig with my Shecter V1 Platinum V. Yes it sucks sitting down but having to stand to play it is more natural to live, now I’m just as good sitting down and standing up because of it.
Keith - I stumbled across some of your videos, and as a man of a certain age with a collection of electric guitars I found your thoughts almost therapeutic. I am currently reassessing my collection: as someone who plays in a covers band it is rare that I'm able to use more than two of my guitars, particularly as our singer reads the room at a gig and shouts out (at speed) our next number. No guitar tech in sight! Keep up the good work!
Great takes Keith. I love to gig out with my guitars and consider all the dings little birthmarks. They are unique and I love to play them as much as they beg to be played. They become part of you and you them. It's symbiotic and I love it. Keep the great videos coming.
+1 on Number One. I lucked into a well-preserved '64 Strat with a mint '61 Princeton for $150. OK, it was 1981 but still a screamin' good deal. I proceeded to gig the Strat in the country bars every night for 3 years. It wasn't so well-preserved by the end of it all. Worn frets, stiff tuners and banged up to medium-relic level. Now it's WAY too valuable to even think about gigging it, but it'd be a lot more valuable if I'd remembered about how gigging a '64 Strat is a whole lot like commuting 50 miles into and out of New York City every day in a well-preserved '64 Chevy Impala. A guitar is at heart a work tool meant to be used to earn a living, but there aren't many of them that actually get commercial use, and those that do generally end up like Willie Nelson's Trigger.
I knew a guy in AZ who regularly bar gigged his all original '59 Strat, without a second thought. These "vintage" instruments only have value when you sell them for good money or you are actually using them to play out (or for studio work). Otherwise, they're completely worthless.
The other problem with owning and using a vintage ax is worrying about theft. I have owned and gigged with a 1953 Tele and a 1963 Strat since the mid 70's. It wasn't a problem until around the mid 80's when the guitar mags and the vintage guitar dealers started making a big thing of them. Before then only a small percentage of people (generally just pro guitar players who would not steal your stuff anyway) were interested enough to know a vintage ax when they saw one. There were guitar thefts, but usually they stole them because they belonged to a rock star, not so much that they were vintage, even though most of them were. Or you left your ax on the stage in the club during the day (a lot of cats did back in the old days), or in an unlocked car while you were "gettin' some". I've had to ask a band member to watch the stage/ my guitar while I used the head for decades now, they don't ever mind, they know the score, but I do worry about a break in when I'm not home, or stopping to get something to eat while my gear is locked in the car, etc. Loading into a club the guitars go in first and come out last, never leave them unattended in the car (locked or not), it only takes a second while you're grabbing your amp to have some thief run away with it. When I toured with a recording artist I never let anyone carry my ax back to the buss (there were a lot of offers), I took it myself and put it in my bunk (the buss was always locked and the driver had a 357 magnum, so no problem there). My vintage Fenders were already "player grade" when I got them, not mint condition collector's items, and now they're very worn old guitars, but I got them for just a few hundred bucks and I made a living with them, I have others now for places where I worry about security, but I use my old girls whenever possible, they have become a part of me, they won't be for sale until I'm dead. As far as repairs go I learned to do my own frets and nuts, etc. But yeah before that most of the techs that worked on my axes were guys like Glasser in Nashville, Toru and or Caruthers in L.A. Then again besides fret and nut wear there really isn't much needed for a pre CBS Fender, Leo knew what he was doing. Amps too.
Loved this video, Keith! This may sound funny, but there's always something calming about coming to your channel and watching your videos. I always learn something, and your vibe is so chill (in contrast to so much of the rest of the world lately). Hope you're doing well! :-)
Cool Video. I was looking at the marks developing on the back of my 2021 SG 61 the other night and kinda feeling some despair. Then i remembered "i bought it to play, not to look at." Thanks for reinforcing that feeling!
I own a ‘92 Gibson Custom shop Edition ES-350T. It’s my most expensive guitar. It lives in the case. I take it out maybe 8 or 10 times a year and play for a days or weeks then it goes back in the case. I don’t take it to gigs or jams because I’m afraid something might happen to it. I’m also like that with my Martin 000-28EC, although that now has its own wall hanger and I pick it now and then just to remember how great it is. Depending on the gig, if it’s with my band or I’m sitting in with someone or if it’s a funky bar or on the beach(I’m in Florida), this will determine what guitar I bring. Now a days, there almost always a telecaster involved, but I might bring my ES335 or LP or PRS SE or Sire S7 along and use the tele one set and the other for the next set. If it’s an acoustic gig, I like to use my J45 but if it’s a hot and humid summer day, I take an Epiphone. Yes I keep a close eye on things when the Gibsons come out, so the stress sucks. Then I realize how much I love them and why I spent the money them in the first place. To play them. I think I cherish some too much which makes it suck to own them…. But I can’t bring myself to sell them.
Just play em brother. They deserve to be loved and enjoyed. I play my expensive instruments every day and feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to do so. As it stands, you essentially spent a lot of money for nothing in return. If something actually did happen, at least you got some time to enjoy the instrument instead of it sitting in its case.
Lovely video Keith. I have a custom Martin D-42 that I had built in Nazareth, PA and picked up myself and brought back to the Netherlands. She is showing her 18 years as I am a hamfisted guitarist. In some ways the scratches detract from the pure aesthetic of this sea of abalone and prime woods. But she is just too darn good sounding. She doesn't even live in the case normally, and I play her every day. Over the years I have come to appreciate the scratches. She and I will go until my death. Last year I had a Strat custom built for me by a local (American but living in Holland) builder and I decided to go for a relic guitar. The freedom that the relicing has given, and the way she feels to play, have sped up the bonding process enormously. I love that thing. And also play that every day.
I played lots of different guitars and settled for a Wolfgang Special. The neck is graphite reinforced and is really stable. The truss rod is easy to adjust. The trem is non floating and that makes setup so much easier. Just a great workhorse guitar.
Thank you Keith, love this one! I'm about your age and waited to start learning to play the guitar until about 10 years ago. When I listen to your channel, I feel like a boy who has an amazing coach and mentor and I'm reminded of why I want to play, because of the art of guitar itself and of the art that can be made with it!! Thank you for reminding us of why love the guitar!!
Great video Thanks! I took my 1964 Gibson Banjo to a guitar shop and had them replace some missing screws for the tuners. First shock was he gave me back my old screws in a Ace Hardware bag. Yup, he replaced all the screws for the tuners with what looks like galvanized, big ugly screws (from Ace Hardware obviously). When I complained he said, "look its just an old banjo!" I learned a lesson that day. I don't trust.
I sold everything i had with a floating trem, and block the strats. I just don’t use trems, so keeping them maintained and in tune was a waste of my time and money
@@lahar2412i love my teles, but they stay at home, i have a single coil and a p90 tele, but i use humbuckers live. I wish i had a hardtail strat, and someday I’m gonna swap one of mine to it
I really think you’ve nailed it here! I’ve owned approximately 130 guitars and related string instruments and of those, more than half have been vintage instruments. I reached the point where it was a burden to own them. I felt like they owned me, for all of the reasons that you so clearly articulated. By the way, it can’t be over emphasized that there are a lot of crooks and ignorant dealers in the vintage business. Of all of the dealers that I’ve met, there are 3 that I trust. Oh, and modifying a true vintage instrument, if that’s what is required to make it playable, don’t buy it. That will totally destroy it’s value.
Good video, I once owned a ES335, Warren Haynes ‘61. It was so pristine that I rarely played it. In hindsight, I should have but it was intimidating and maybe more guitar than I could handle at the time. Live and learn. Love your videos, keep up the good work.
Wow, you totally nailed it in this video! Many years ago I owned a few Alembic basses and they were played, live, all the time. And then I finished college, got a job, got married, and… life happened! I’m starting to play again and have a beautiful Rickenbacker 4003S, it gets that Prog sound I grew up loving but it gets played! Great video that checked all the boxes!
I solved that by selling my Ric 12 string and restringing an unused danelectro to high strung or Nashville tuning. Doubling that with a standard 6 string gives you "that sound" - at least as for as recording goes.
Great insight about vintage guitars. As some may appreciate in value over the years, it is difficult to take them anywhere they may be dinged or stolen. Many a player has gone off on break only to return to an empty case or taken a flight only to find their prized instrument missing at their detination.
I’ve owned probably 10 different guitars throughout my playing “career” but I always gravitate back to my Squier Tele. I bought it about 6 years ago because I needed a cheap guitar in a pinch, but I’ve completely fallen in love with it. It’s a low maintenance guitar and feels great every time I pick it up. Literally have never had any issues with it; just made a few upgrades that I really wanted to do: new neck, tuners, nut and hopefully some new pickups soon. It’s the only guitar I’ve never ever considered selling, and I will probably play it for the rest of my life.
I remember when I was young I was scared shitless to try old Gibsons in shops of fear of having to pay if you dropped it etc.. Now I don't touch them because you can get a better new guitar for a fraction of the price. Guitars are to be played or they're antiques for folks with too much money.
I always think about how disgusted Leo Fender would be if he saw his old 50s and 60s guitars going for multiple millions, even the ones not played by famous musicians. He made tools for working players - in fact a lot of his best designs were made by getting country players among others to try prototypes out in the field (gigging), so there's a collaboration aspect too. I respect modern Fender a fair amount because they're still affordable and still can be workhorse instruments that'll last - my 2021 Meteora Mk. III is a good example of that. Nice sounding low output humbuckers too.
My Explorer has become my #1 again after years of Tele/Esquire fever. The massive case comment is SO TRUE but these guitars are a dream to play otherwise. The hidden virtues of the Explorer: -balanced weight that plays well sitting or standing (built-in arm rest?) -simplified control layout in a straight line for easy access (who needs two Tone knobs?) -6 in-line tuners (less G string string pull issues for tuning stability IME) -tonal sweet spot between Les Paul and SG -solid upper fret access IMO it's Gibson's best overall guitar design. I've emailed Gibson and MONO about the need for a super protective, professional-level gig bag for the Explorer. I think MONO's rigid design, neck support, and Boot bottom can be applied to the Explorer to deliver a bag that is protective enough for the city-navigating gigging musician like myself; I've hauled that massive case down busy Deep Ellum blocks (the guitar makes it all worth it) but would have no hesitation using a MONO or Reunion Blues bag for those situations. Gibson's current gig bag offering is no more protective than a Jansport backpack... Great video Keith, hit me up if you ever want to talk Explorers
I totally understand the need for a solid Explorer gig bag. I use a Gator for my Epiphone Korina 58 "Reissue," because the monster case will NOT fit in my trunk. I have "concerns."
@@ruminantmelanoid5444 When I traded in my old Tahoe to get a much smaller Mazda, I had to do some research to figure out if the trunk was going to be big enough to fit the case... A true testament to how massive the case really is. and perhaps, how obsessed with my Explorer I am.
@@MichaelC76x I would guess that roughly 80% of all Gibson USA guitars are not regularly played. Tons of people will buy a Gibson, but many end up living in the case or on a wall. They're definitely the #1 offender for guitars that don't get played, and there are likely thousands of them sitting around right now.
Guitars definitely stay in better shape and play better if they're played, no doubt. I'd rather have a guitar that was played regularly with a few dings than one that'd sat in a case for 20 years - for numerous reasons. Even if you play daily, you can only really take care of about 10 guitars.
I agree with several points. I play acoustic guitars largely. I volunteer to play/ sing at places where folks can't get out. About 20 hours a week. They all get played. Some with with specific songs. Thanks
I have six guitars. Four acoustics and two electrics. I have a hollow bodied Gretsch and I have also a Squier Strat with new bridge and tuning machines on it. It’s walnut finish with gold hardware. It looks beautiful and my garage also has gold hardware. I think this is about enough guitar for me maybe just one more and that’s about it. I do play a lot. I am a style solo instrumental guitarist I have been playing this year. Makes 50 years. I started in 1974 I love playing guitar. It brings me a lot of happiness and a lot of joy. I will play it until the day I die. Thanks for your videos, your pretty cool guy you got a lot of good ideas about guitars and having too many of them or some of them so touchy and sensitive that they become a pain in the ass. So good advice have a great night and a great day tomorrow. thanks for the video.👍👍🎸❤️😄😎
Great episode - each of my guitar has dings and nicks or something. Heck, I recently purchased an overexpensive Tremonti PRS and the first thing I did was sanddown the neck to get a satin feel (which I prefer on all my guitars). The Warmoth guitars I build also have limited finish on them as I want them to age. Guitars I had to look at ended up on Marketplace. Thanks Keith for continuous great content
I had a '37 Gibson L-7 that smelled like an antique shop when you opened the case. Dull purple felt lined. Varnish finish covered with hairline checking
Not true. Not all vintage guitars are highly prized Gibson, Fender, or Gretsch models. Many vintage guitars are just nice old instruments and they are quite affordable, even on a musicians budget.
I can think of one possibility to add to the discussion: the Rickenbacker 360/12 string. I have one, gigged with it, too. But there isn't a repair technician in town that will touch it. Indeed, it needed some repair work once, and I had to send it back to the factory in Santa Ana, CA. Luckily, the guitar was still under warranty. Would I buy that guitar again? Hell yeah! Because it just sounds heavenly.
Thanks for the well considered thoughts! I bought the Country Music Hall of Fame Gretsch G6120 1954 Chet Atkins prototype. It was an impulse itch that I was lucky enough to be able to scratch at the time. I was originally thinking of the history/story than as a working guitar. However, once I got it home and tuned in, it became a regular part of my guitar voyage being played almost daily. Like you said, it's a tool and tools are meant to be used.
@@RelicOnMaui back then, that was definitely the predominant theory, along with overwound pickups and brass everything! The YSG even had a brass “sustain plate” on which the bridge was mounted!
The Explorer was so balanced, you can set it on its tail end and it just stands there. Even with Schallers. I've repaired legions of snapped SG mahogany headstocks
As an owner of a Firebird (awkward to sit with), a Jaguar (annoying to stabilize tuning-wise and from weird errant noises), and a Lucille I added a Bigsby to (any ES-355 TDSV / Lucille with a Bigsby is 10 pounds, weighs a ton), I'm grateful for this video, and that I'm not alone 😂
In the mid 1960s I yearned for a Gretsch G6122 Country Gentleman and a Martin D-28. It took some time with intermediate guitars, but finally they became mine. I wasn't disappointed, they were well worth waiting for. Quality pays.
I bought a 1970 Martin D-12/35 on Ebay. I paid there then the guy emailed me and wanted me to send him the strings in the case which wasn't original. I had to send the guitar to Martin where they repaired the frets, straightened the neck and did other repair work for and additional 800 bucks. (That price was with my Owner's Club membership too.). It's a great guitar now.
Wonderful episode. Speaks to me at a different level. Growing up with Jazz, classical, blues, rock and metal, you learn many different techniques. It allows you to play to the instrument and is why my modest collection is played and does include all aforementioned guitars. Except… Still wanting a firebird and a good resonator to add over the next few years. No rush and not married to vintage.
Great video 5watt. The beauty of being 62 and having played for 48 yrs. is that equipment I worked and saved for ...esp. if it was quality stuff ... is that I now own guitars/amps that are at the very least 48 yrs old. I think it's better to BE the vintage item in the chain.
I love the line that Dan looks at the wear and tear on his guitar “with the knowing satisfaction of a guitar’s life well lived.” One of the recent trends that I really do not care for is pre-worn guitars. The joy comes from putting that wear and tear on the guitar all by yourself!
I like your take on the five reasons not to own a type of guitar. I purchased (finally) the guitar I wanted since Hard Days Night and Mr Tamborine Man, a 360 Rick 12 String. I bought one in 2017. My short fat fingers and creeping arthritis were no match for my Victoria. So I sold it. Regret buying it? No. It was an experience that was good to live through. It gave me insight into my needs as a guitar player at the age of now 73 some seven years later. I buy cheap Tele's then make them custom to meet my needs changing tuners, pickups, electronics, and even necks depending. As an arthritic player my hands continue to deteriorate and I'm playing bass more and more. My fav is my Carvin 4 string LB70. Great electronics, slim neck, complete with 18v piezo systems for unbelievable tone. Hard to get exact year as Carvin seems to be notorious for no rhyme or reason for there serial numbers. Thanx again. FILO
OMG I just sold my custom shop 36 AJ. It was too beautiful and I was so afraid of dinging it. It was a pure beauty to play but I was afraid to play it especially after a few pops. Bought a 72 D-18 with a few dings already but still in awesome condition and sounds great. I’m a big fan of reliced guitars as well. Just bought a 58 heavy aged ML LP with wildwood specs. Just awesome and a 72 tele refin that plays like butter but has built in dings as well so I can totally relate to number 1. Thanks Keith I’m glad you brought it up. The AJ just sat in the case. The guy who bought it loves it. I’m happy with that. I’d never buy a super fancy guitar again.
Great video! I just brought my favorite guitar of all time thank goodness a 1951 American Fender telecaster 2022 reissued satisfied me. The rest are very good-playable tributes . I fully understand the addition of the hobby 🎸🎸
Parker Fly is my favorite non custom guitar! I have two of them and LOVE them! Love my Collings SJ too! Met and visited with Bill many times. Got to tour each of his last two facilities! Such great guitars!
Thank you, Keith, for your take on guitars-to-think-twice-about. And I have nodded my head "yes" to many of these comments too. My 2 comments: if a guitar has sentimental value to you, then it's worth the extra trouble and cost. But if it doesn't have that special meaning, then don't buy it. My other point is that I lump newer guitars that are too expensive and older guitars that are too rare into one category; trophy guitars!
I absolutely agree that carrying around an Explorer case absolutely sucks, but it's hands down my favorite guitar I own and actually very comfortable to play sitting or standing.
Another great video that makes sense.❤ I don't are if I pay $300 or $3000 for a guitar, I'm gonna play it. Of course I know I'll have to do a lot of work on the $300 one. I've had a few where the neck goes in and out so I either sell them or get another neck. One thing I've noticed on those necks is that the grain is not as dense as the ones that stay true and are less effected by humidity and temperature changes. Have a good one.
Great video Keith! Your videos always make me think - in a good way - so thank you! I have to say I've fallen into several of these pitfalls - ESPECIALLY not wanting to take "good guitars" to a gig. I play mostly at church and periodic/regular "Jam Nights" with a few buddies. The latter has resulted in an occasional gig. For those I've been hesitant to take "my good gear" in fear of getting beer spilled on it or a drunk bumping into my expensive PRS. I have another buddy who owns all great gear and, as you stated, sees it as tools for him to use when he gigs. So... I think I just need to "get over myself" and use what I got for the very purpose for which I got it. So again - thank you for making me think!!! Have a great day!!!
The couple blues bars that Jeff plays here with his 60's sunburst Strat jus made the vieo for me. What a player he is man. Just a little bity of huge taste. Thanks Keith. Thanks Mr. McErlaine, Maestro!
About 20 years ago I bought a beat up ESP V for 6 bucks I took it apart and it was on the wall untill lock down when I repaired the damage to the body put it back together with parts laying around the studio, set it up and I love it. I am more proud of that guitar than any of my expensive guitars. My 6 dollar guitar is awesome
Two years ago I decided to follow a workshop to build my own guitar. In 8 days we created a les paul studio like guitar with a Martin acoustic guitar headstock and neck through body design. Starting from scratch 8 days later the guitar was ready. It needed some fine tuning which was done by Denzo custom guitars in Belgium. Now it plays fantastic and wouldn't trade it for any guitar in the world. I recomend it. It is a great experience. Workshop was in Berlin at Segler gitarren. Super teacher.
I’m planning on doing something like this for my upcoming birthday later this year. I think it would be so nice to gig with a guitar I built with my own hands
I appreciate your insight. Exactly why I decided to let a beautiful Les Paul Traditional that I coveted go. It became a case queen and I even had a decline in how often I found myself playing in general as I was chasing gear instead of just enjoying the music.
I bought my favourite guitar from a friend a few years back, a 98 PRS CE. He never played it as he said it was ‘too nice’. I’ve owned it for 8 years now and my sweat has corroded the bridge saddles, you can see scratches in the finish from my pick, I regularly hit the body with my fist during a gig but I get it set up every 6 months to keep the frets healthy. As long as it’s able to be played it’s never been kept locked away and it’s only going to get more battle scars/love for more years to come. Also I find guitars which are played more tend to stay in tune a lot better
I own some custom/limited edition guitars, basses, drums, and cymbals. While I make strides to care for them, I still take them to the studio and gigs. I definitely agree with you on the vintage point. I know many friends who've gone the vintage gear route, and most of them have put more money into repairs and maintenance shortly or consistently after purchase
We, as players, should all learn to wear the hat of guitar tech as well. Being able to set up your own guitar is not only convenient, its ultimately liberating. There isn't really that much to it. It can all be very easily learned and once you know how, it adds a whole new dimension to your enjoyment of the hobby we all love so much. If you think it feels good to find a guitar with that something special, you should try finding one that has the potential, and make it something special. Rescuing a forgotten, mistreated guitar and giving it a new life is an indescribable feeling! If you want to REALLY LOVE a guitar, rescue one. It will love you back!
Right on
Many beginners look at the words "guitar set-up" with a bit of mystique until they learn how simple it actually is.
@@castleanthrax1833 It really is a fairly simple process, it just takes a bit of patience. And when you can work on your own guitars flea markets and yardsales become music stores!
I wouldn’t condone “bringing back to life” vintage pieces, but:
SETTING UP YOUR OWN GUITAR IS THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY ACHIEVE YOUR SOUND.
Yeah it can be challenging and I was afraid to work on my guitar for a long time. But it's now fun !
Never buy a guitar that you won't play, guitars, like cars, are meant to be used. I'm don't buy them because I think they might become a good investment. I buy them to play them.
Hard to do as a lefty player
I disagree. I've bought many guitars with no desire to play or keep them. I've been able to acquire the guitars that I do play by buying smart buys on guitars that I won't play.
Words of wisdom. Right now I have a strat infestation in my mancave…lol
Exactly!✌️😎🎸🎶🎵🎶
@@ChrisEck13 missing the point. He's talking about people like Trogly who buy all of these "collectible " guitars that just sit around and never get played.
Flipping them is different. The end goal is an instrument you will actually use.
I have owned and gigged with a number of collectable, vintage Martin acoustic guitars. My old, tired hands have fallen in love with a pair of new, Squire Mustang electrics under $200 each. They feel right and sound great off the back of a hay wagon, in someone's greasy, old machine shed or at someones back yard BBQ. Ya just wipe the BBQ sauce off, and you're back in business. They're made for playing in "the mud and the blood and the beer".
Same here. My Gibson Les Paul Custom "owned me" and I played it very little. Eventually I realized that the guitars I loved playing the most were the two cheapest ones I had. I got great deals on them and also learned enough to be able to set them up and tweak them until they sounded just right for me. They've been nicked and beat up a little, but who cares? I love to play them.
I briefly had a fender Player mustang. It was the most comfortable guitar I've ever had. I just really didn't prefer the way it sounded. I thought about putting some Tele pickups in it, but I decided to sell it instead.
@@jimmyparris9892 at first, I really didn't like the sound of electric guitars in general, but my hands were happy. I've come to terms with how my Mustangs sound now. One has single coil pickups and the other has humbuckers. I appreciate the differences between them and my hands are discovering how to make all kinds of new sounds. It's an adventure!!!
@@thehaughtcorner You're definitely doing it right.
I don't know how old your "old, tired hands" are, but I think mine are even older. I've played the guitar since I was a kid, but now I'm having problems with my hands. I can't play any of the Fender (or others) guitars that have a 1.65" nut. So the Squire guitars are out of the question.
Dad left me his 1948 Gibson J-45 and his 1968 Jazzmaster accompanied with his Fender Deluxe Reverb amp. All original. I couldn't be happier.
jealous me
wow, Dads are cool,
That’s a treasure. Not just that it is vintage but that it still resonates of your dad. Love it, enjoy it, and always say a few kind words to them as if he is there. He is.
I enjoy setting up my strat, tweaking and fine-tuning it for an afternoon every few months.
Great vid
My thoughts on dings - the first one usually hurts, but soon comes the realisation , this came about because you regularly get it out the case and play it. It's the sign the guitars a keeper, a badge of honour. There is surprisingly great satisfaction in seeing the guitar relicing naturally over time. Over time guitars improve with age but they have to be played and sometimes take the knocks and scrapes from transporting from one place to another and/or the bedroom wall.
Or your beloved dog knocks one guitar into another and the most expensive gets the dent not the one rescued from a pawn shop with two dents in its top (acoustic of course) already.
I bought a couple of B-stocks and second hands with dings. It wasn't so bad. The dings on those as you'd expect weren't actually noticeable.
That first ding hurts a ton, but then shrug and go "Well, it's mine now!" and carry on. I have long since tried to buy used so I can just shrug and go "Huh, well another scratch/ding" and go right back to playing.
If a careless roadie or friend does it....different feelings again!
I got a 6-string bass second hand from someone I met at a guitar store. Had it for close to 15 years now. I've added a couple dings to it, and it survived being run over by a car (long story short, don't rush to band practice after immediately waking up from an all-nighter 🤦 Take the time to actually wake up and think clearly). I had a custom made pickguard cut from aluminum checker plate to cover up the car damage. It's officially a one of a kind instrument now, and to me, it's priceless. Nothing can replace it
#1 really resonates. I had a 2020 Troublemaker in black. It was perfect. I couldn’t stand seeing dust on it, let alone scratch or ding it. After two long years of cleaning it every time I played it, I sold it. What a relief.
"Buying too much guitar gets in the way of your enjoyment."
A lesson to live by.
Not so. My collection started when I began using double-locking trems and realizing that guitarists were using different tunings. I began buying different guitars and tuning them all differently. So, if I wanted to practice an Eddie song, I had one in Eb. One is tuned to drop D. Then, I started to buy guitars to do my own custom paint schemes. As an artist, there are more facets of enjoyment to guitars other than just playing them.
@@rinkydinkfretboard8737well said
I bet you learned by your mistakes...Poahahahah
I like that !! Who said it?
yup, when in 1987 I read that David Gilmour had bought too much guitar at over 360 of them, it was going to be in the way of anybody else enjoying any of them with our own hands. It's a good thing he made sweet love to our ears with them, or something like that.
Great episode and everything you said makes complete sense.
I just want to say that your editing skills are great. Your visuals and auditory combination are spot on. I use to record and edit books on tape and worked on at least 100 or more books and when you get the timing and pauses right as well as to know the levels of the sound in the background and when to bring them up to the right level for the setting is so monumental, and you have that down in spades! It brings your guitar passion to the professional level that we so appreciate. Thank you and I proud to be part of the Five Watt World.
In 1977 I saved every nickel and dime I had to buy a Gibson J-55 arch back acoustic. It was way too expensive for me, but it was the only guitar I owned, so I had to play it. Everywhere and very time I played guitar and sang, that is the guitar in my hand and held against my heart. It is beat up as hell. But every nick and rub is a memory. A good memory. Playing guitar has been the best part of my life since I was 12 and this guitar has been there for almost every part. Would it be worth more to you with fewer nicks? Maybe. But it would be worth far less to my life and that is why I started playing in the first place. Thanks for the video and reminding me of what is important about owning and playing fine guitars.
When I was growing up, nothing looked cooler than Bob Mould slamming away on his Ibanez Rocket Roll Flying V and screaming into that microphone. 🙌
and today nothing looks cooler than Bob Mould slamming away on his Strat Plus and screaming into that microphone!
@@metrokosmiko Bob Mould is definitely still the man
The Rocket Roll Flying V were great guitars, I owned one in 1980, I sold it to get a very good Gibson SG but I wish I had kept it...
HUSKER DU!
thanks for that
If you've played long enough you should know how to adjust the truss rod, set pickup & string height, and set the intonation. It's not that difficult to learn how to do these things. Learning these skills will not only save you money, but will also give you a closer connection to your instruments.
Also - personal experience mostly from owning Fender guitars - when that's set just right you can tend to just leave it alone for a long while, excepting massive changes of climate like going somewhere that's hotter and more arid than the guitar usually lives. So all that time doing minor tweaks yourself saves you a fortune and other than maybe a fret job which is more complex, allows you to get a near-perfect setup.
Isn’t it Keith Richards who said something like tune your Tele when you restring, 1 or 2 times a year, or when you hit someone over the head with it.
I am pretty sure he did not say that he did not know how to do it, he said that it takes too much time if he does it himself ;)
I did walk in with experience in electronics and woodworking, but I started doing setup work because I don’t have a shop near me I trust. I also buy lower end gear, so got good at dressing frets then replacing nuts. The little things like setup, fret work, cleaned up nuts and saddles, and maybe a neck shim on a Fender make the biggest difference in playability. If it feels good, stays in tune, and doesn’t go “plink” when tuning or using a trem you’ll play it so much more.
It was a short leap from that stuff to kits and restoration, now mid way through my first custom build. I’m better at luthier work (on electrics) than playing. I do a lot of restoration. The tools can get pricey, but I find it really rewarding. Especially getting a neglected instrument back into playing shape in the hands of a musician.
But you don’t have to be leveling and crowning frets to make a good guitar great. And you rarely have to replace major parts, unless you just want to.
@@mikesalmo I ruined my setup on my Lp studio while changing strings last year. Had the strings off so I decided to tinker around thinking I could put it back how it was if things went south. I fooled around with that guitar for days trying to make it playable again. I have been a autobody tech for the last 24 years. And have done some pretty complicated major repair work in that time. But I was totally defeated with fixing the setup of this guitar. A week at the music store and 120 bucks later? I got it back and was blown away by how good it sounded. And it also felt way easier to play. I was a happy man.
Anyway it made me realize that just because I paid for a gibson setup from the factory. And they send you a pic of your guitar on a bench. Don't mean a great job was done with the setup. I now feel no matter what guitar you buy. It needs to be taken in and have a real shop setup done for it to be any good.
When we were really young musicians, we had an older friend who could drive, and whose dad bought him a new truck. He loved to drive through mud and rocks and all sorts of inclement weather, but was weirdly worried about every little scratch. I remember saying to him, "Dude, it's a truck, it's going to get scratched. It's just the physics of driving a big machine through the world." He was a drummer, and as we got older, and I was finally able to buy better equipment, I remember him fretting over every little scratch my equipment acquired and kind of being weirded out that I was not more upset about it. Again, I would explain to him that this is just going to happen. Fast forward to the more recent relic craze, and I started to remember those days and really put into words what it was I was feeling and how that had changed over the years. I don't hate on people who like relic, it's a thing and a choice. But one day, in light of the subject, I said to my wife that our guitars don't so much just acquire their wear and tear, as EARN it. I do like the clean "newness" of my newer guitars, but it's nice to finally have touched upon a philosophy to help me reinforce my feeling that scratches and dents and chips happen, and a guitar exists to be played. Like us, our instruments earn their scars, and their scars deserve to be seen.
Oh my god, I think you've just given me a year or more's worth of therapy material. The word "blame" comes to mind... So, my mother is house proud, clean obsessed and chastised me through my entire childhood for wear and tear on clothes, toys, anything that accumulated damage or I broke. Also, I don't know if I'm just unlucky or I am rough handed - but the amount of items that I have owned that have just spontaneously broken.. its disproportionate to the average! I've cracked screens on phones plenty too - she has a running total of times I've had to repair a phone.
She'd broken a far few herself, but when I point that out - her's is luck, mine is not being careful, and I've done it more.
I remember being in a pub in my mid 20s and I heard an enormous SMASH sound... a few of us ran outside to find a woman in an giant SUV absolutely demolish my small hatchback car! In the carpark too.. no idea how she managed that. My mum still brings up the fact I've written off a car. Also, the woman didn't want to tell either her husband or insurance about the accident so she showed up the next day with a suitcase full of cash to the value of the car!
I was very happy. I got a 2nd hand that was an upgrade from the last and spent the rest on upgrading my already ridiculous car stereo to the tune of some 25 grand total.
I totally agree on the objective lameness of Relic'd instruments. Reminds me of pre-worn jeans, and I don't mean buying them used, I mean they look ruined when they're "new". Get something that actually looks new and you'll naturally put little wear marks on or in as a result of living with it. I don't see all the little nicks on the headstock or the wear marks around the body and neck of my Jag when I pick it up, I see an instrument I like to play. A lot of those headstock nicks are from pointing the guitar upwards during solos and forgetting the venue has low ceilings so when I do remember that makes me laugh at myself for being so careless.
I'm the same way, there's something odd about relicing and there's also this odd business of whether the headstock is "right" which I've never understood. It's not just guitarists, bassists are also weirdly obsessed with choosing brands that have "normal" headstocks so I think there must be something connecting the same psychology there. Something from my experience: I recently bought a MIJ Fender Precision bass second hand, it's about 21yo Candy Apple Red and has a few dings and was cheap mainly, I believe due to the colour and the dings. It sounds amazing, but given how bassists tastes are, it had been sitting around for a couple of years unsold. The dings are inconsequential, that's earned experience and who doesn't like a red guitar?! Their loss, my gain 😀
@@MOSMASTERINGYour Mother's blaming you for that car accident? You weren't even in the car, and it was parked - what more could someone possibly want to prove innocence? Unless you are either extremely bad at parking, poured nails on the road next to a speedy highway (surely not,) or had 3 big red neon arrows over your car saying "CRASH HERE," I don't think she has a leg to stand on in blaming you.
She probably has good points about taking care of different things instead of abusing them, but from what little I can see here, it sounds like she might also be _too_ worried about breaking things. Of course one should avoid breaking things unless they're working for the IIHS or something like that where crash testing is the job, but let it be water off a duck's back when or if it ever does happen. No need to blow a gasket over something unavoidable or accidental, but do be cautious as well as is possible.
Exactly. Over time your belt buckle is gonna put a wear mark on the back. You’re going to get scratches around the cable jack. You’re going to get a ding on the headstock from that time you didn’t see the mic stand. Like you said, it’s a tool. And while I don’t intentionally abuse my tools I do use them, sometimes roughly.
I couldn’t agree more! My guitars are made to be played or they wouldn’t be my guitars. I own a Martin 1990 OMC-28 Guitar of the month that was a gift from my wife on our 10th Anniversary. Yes, I actually picked out the guitar as my wife is not a guitar player, she is just married to one. I spent hours playing various Martin Guitars (I’ve always wanted to own a Martin since I sold Martin’s when I was in my 20’s and managed a music store. I’m now 73 years old but in 1990;I was 40 years old and married for ten years when my wife asked me what I wanted for a gift on our tenth anniversary. I didn’t think that I could never afford one in the past or even now that I was forty years old (on our anniversary in 1990) or that I was still going to be the one who was actually “robbing Peter to pay Paul” so that my wife and I will need to sacrifice something like a nice vacation I promised her when we couldn’t afford a honeymoon, I blurted out the one inarguable thing that I promised myself when I was in my twenties I would own one day - a Martin Guitar. When I blurted this out expecting to be reminded that we really couldn’t afford one (although I gave her the diamonds ring that she wanted when I couldn’t afford an engagement ring) we left for the local Guitar Center in Hollywood California and I spent the next four or five hours playing every Martin guitar in the store. I’m not a profeional guitarist, but I’ve been playing guitar since I was eight years old. I knew the moment I found “my guitar” among a wide selection of Martins from D-18’s to D-45s, I wasn’t interested in the embellishment’s, I fell in love with the sound and how it fit in my arms. I fell in love with a 1990 Martin OMC-28 “Guitar of the Month. “. I’m a finger stylist and this Orchestra Model (OM) series 28 sounded so sweet, the neck was perfect for playing blues to rag to folk. It was a cutaway series 28 with a small body clear tone that I simply fell in love with but still had to spend hours convincing myself that I was going to buy this Martin and take it home with us. I probably wouldn’t see my wife until some time the next day or two when I came up for air and some nutrients and put it back in it’s hard shell case that I kept opening to check and aee if there was really a Martin OMC-28 in the cas and it wasn’t just a dream.
I’m nearly 74 years old and Mari and I have been married nearly 44 years, we met nearly 50 years ago and underneath the bed we shared for nearly fifty years is the same Martin hard shell case with the same Martin OMC-28 guitar. I’ll venture a guess that there are probable fewer than the 89 1990 OMC-28 Guitar oh the Month instruments left in this world and I still own the same one that my wife gave me on our tenth anniversary. Unfortunately, she lost her diamond ring a few years after we bought it and although I offered to buy her another, it doesn’t replace the intentions of the original ring I gave her on out tenth anniversary. In six years we will be married for fifty years and I will never regret one day of all those years, I only wish that time would slow down a bit.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
My papaw gave me his 1977 Martin D-41. It's beautiful, it's an heirloom, and I learned to play on it.... It blows his mind that I'll choose to pick up and play my 94 Yamaha FG 410 😅 The sound doesn't compare to the Martin, but it sounds great still and is just easier to play.
I started with a squier Stratocaster that my dad bought for himself but decided to give to me. He got a Yamaha Pacifica which is still pretty good. Since then, I’ve had two Ibanez , two squiers , a PRs, a deangelico acoustic and a Taylor acoustic, a schecter, two Epiphone les Paul’s. I’ve tried to take time for each one. But that’s a tough thing with a full time job and a good wife. Those are more important but I do enjoy playing.
My grandpa always said, "dings on a guitar are like dents on a car.... adds character." I always loved that idea. That those scratches and dings are like scars, and each one tells a story.
The discussion points of “negatively impacting the guitar’s value” reminds me of the phrase “knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” The “value” of something as a measure of what someone else would pay for it is irrelevant if you’re enjoying it for its intrinsic value- that you’re enjoying the experience of playing it. That when you look at it in the case or on the stand, you’re reminded of the good times you’ve had playing it.
Understood but misquoted in most people's minds. They think something is worth a lot to themselves but in reality it's sadly not most of the time. It only matters when you enjoy playing it. But dropping a boat load of money on something doesn't make it any better than something that costs less than half of it. I know because I've played $2,000.00, $3,000.00, $4,000.00, $10,000.00 all the way up to $50,000.00 guitars and beyond.The value is what you feel when you play - not the monetary value. Just because something is expensive that doesn't make it a better instrument than something that costs less. I've played $400.00 guitars that I liked better than their $4,000.00 counterparts. So you're right - the cost doesn't always equate in the value of an instrument no matter what it is. My hands can't tell how much it costs or the brand but it can feel the quality of the workmanship.
18 hooks on the wall, full. I look at the beauty of all of them and know they will show wear and tear over time. Several are over a half century old, like me.
The first ding is kind of a relief with a new guitar. Now it is "yours" and you can just have fun with it. I still take care of them, but it is not the same as freaking out over a scratch.
All the same, in a store I ask before handling things and don't bother fondling stuff I am not really interested in buying.
@@ratwynd I understand. But I play everything even if I'm not interested in buy it just to see what's out there and the quality of the build - the finish, fit, frets, tremolo, electronics. You can't tell until you try it.
Great quote, and agree fully
One of my guitar students thought the coolest thing about my strat was how dinged up it is. Bought it new over 40 years ago and every one of those scratches and dents just shows how much it is loved.
I bought an 2022 Epiphone Firebird last April, and it’s become my #1. At a gig in February, I tripped coming down a short flight of stairs. I landed with the case edge-on, and that prevented me from face planting on the floor. The case kept the guitar in perfect condition.
That said, I toted my Ric to recent rehearsal, and yeah, I had forgotten how massive the Firebird case is. 😅
Thats just like the shockproof leather case I keep my phone in. Had never had a cracked screen when i dropped It on the floor.
Great episode Kieth
Oh man ! How are your wrists , hands ?
On my 18th birthday my dad took me to a shop to get my first "proper" guitar. I wanted an SG, having been smitten by AC/DC, but decided on a whim to try a gibson firebird. I knew immediately that it was the one coming home with me. Just felt too right to play
It wasn't a long fall, so fortunately I suffered no injuries. @@ianpadraig5263
I owned a PRS wood Library. An absolute beautiful piece of art. I was terrified to play it just in case I dinged it. Sold it shortly afterwards. Those guitars are great for collectors not for gigging musicians.
You could have played it. I have a PRS and it sounds and plays amazing. You only live once, brother. Money comes and goes, guitars are forever.
@@JS-nf1sn I already have a nice Custom 24 that I play. The wood library was not something you are going to smash around at a pub gig.
PRS are the best used buys, heavily discounted and with the best chance of being like new.
Like a car, you only worry until you get the first ding.
@@jonbuckleythen why buy it? It’s just a tool. A pretty tool but a tool nonetheless. If youre just a working musician then ur not buying wood library to play anyways, and if you can Really afford a wood library you probably don’t need to worry about selling it next month to make rent. In which case any wear is irrelevant outside the ocd in one’s head. I gig both my custom Murphy labs. Go live your life my friend, that wood library wants to be shown off for the ppl in the back of the bar.
Used to own a 1977 Explorer from the first run of reissues. This guitar immediately came to mind when the "cool on stage" category was mentioned haha. I was lucky enough to find a buyer that got to do guitar tech for The Edge when the 360 Tour came to town. I was a kid in the bleachers for that show so it kind of came around full circle. He happened to know a ton of sources for vintage and knows everyone I know who is in that market so I'm lucky enough to have a trustworthy source. He even lent us a few vintage Fender guitars and amps while trying out the Explorer that I'd otherwise would never gotten to try. Was a fun summer! I feel even more fortunate to have that opportunity after seeing this.
I had a used ~1988ish Explorer for a couple months back in high school. An impulse buy that I got rid of too quick, that thing was gnarly
@@SquirtHoliday No way! Our band won a local music contest right out of high school and received a gift card to a local music store. When we went in, my fellow guitarist and I used our portion to split the Explorer. It was brought in by someone who found it in a relative's attic who had recently passed. The store bought it off her for 1000CAD and we got it for not too much more. Took me a few years to realize how much it was worth at that point and stop gigging with it haha. Lots of great pics from those shows tho, mixing in Allman Bros. and Skynyrd covers!
@danpugatch I only got a Tele in the last few years and maaaaaaan do I love it. Was going to get a hollowbody but prioritized a 12-string electric. Only style left to get is a hollowbody electric now. I am taking recommendations! (Used to use an 80s Lee Ritenour signature Ibanez in jazz band and I liked that a lot)
Thanks for this video! I've felt surrounded by a world just saturated with obsession over purchasing and owning, but my favourite part of any piece of gear is the bond you get to form with it. I'm not the best player, and I like guitars that are inexpensive and feel like they align with my ethos of originality over virtuosity. Of course, whatever works for other people is fine, but I just don't have the type of mind or lifestyle for endless practice to where I'd feel that I needed a "precision instrument" so much as a guitar or amp that feels like that old flannel or your favourite pair of sneakers - it's just there for you, meeting you where you're at, and you get to take care of each other. Thanks for being a voice of moderation in a world that often feels like it's at the beck and call of product catalogue refreshes and convention cycles.
Love this one! Oh and to be clear I HATE taking the neck off of the guitar to adjust the neck. So it goes...
Loosen the strings till they’re slack, put a capo on the first fret & then remove the neck
@@glenlapwing8468 It's STILL a pain -in-the-NECK!!
Yep, I hear you, but the upside is you got a great Strat or Tele to play after the truss rod tweak and makes it worth the effort.
This will on some guitars, but not all. I have a '52 reissue Tele. The tech took the neck off and I thought "Oh hail no."
I carved out a slot in the pick guard, bought slick littler wrench from StewMac and never have to remove the neck.
If defiling the original pickguard bothers you (like it did me), get a replacement and use that.
@@glenlapwing8468 Here's something that you can do to avoid that altogether - stress relief. I put a quarter turn in the truss rod so that it has a very slight up bow to it. This allows the strings to pull the wood as far as it can go. This means that at full tension your strings won't pull the wood of the neck any further. I've done this for over thirty years and I still have yet to see one warped neck out of any of my guitars.
Speaking about waiting on videos,…
Still Waiting on _the Short History of G&L_ 🙁
That would be great, I love my ASAT classic semi-hollow, and just picked up a Legacy HSS too.
I'm lucky enough to have a few. Great guitars
I’m still waiting on history of Brown Face 😂 I’d really love to try a G&L Asat tho
Maybe a history of the brown face, using a G&L?
Ask Zac did one on G&L recently…
Great list and right on the nose on all. I'm a tech and builder and have some limitations of what I want to own too.
Keep in mind that all guitars eventually become Vintage. My main Tele I bought new in 1993, so she an I have become vintage together, and while I at one time "retired" her from live use, I have since decided that due to her age and "pedigree" that she deserves to be played as much as possible and when she does finally die, it will be whilst being played, and not covered in dust, sitting safely on a stand in my office.
Love the shout out to Matt at 30th St! Not only a legend but one of the nicest and fairest guys in the biz.
Cool... thank Keith for adding my Photo at the end... so cool to be part of your gig... regards from Prague... keep on Rocking! 👍👍😉😉😎😎🎸🎸🤟🤟🙌🙌😃😃
I always enjoy the calm and measured way you approach any subject. My collection is up to two acoustic, one electro'coustic, and two electric guitars. Prices ranged from $45 to $425, all are used, and all of them get played. Thanks for creating our Five Watt World, it's a great place to be 😁
Used cars are selling because if it’s preLoved some else took the initial hit. Price is not relevant if you don’t like to drive or play it.
For many years I avoided Explorers due to their reputation for being cumbersome or being "metal" guitars. Last year I found a great deal on a Gibson Explorer that was in mint condition and I realized that I've been missing out, its become one of my favorite guitars to play. The case is absolutely enormous but the guitar is so comfortable and feels great.
Explorers are best. All who disagree smell like squeaky farts.
The case is actually ridiculous. Why didn’t they just tilt the guitar and make the case smaller?
I bought an Epiphone Explorer off eBay about 5 years ago. Me and my Luthier Instructor opened the control cavity covers and it discovered it had Gibson pots, .022uF Bumblebee cap. I then took the strings off to see what pickups it had it had. Lo and behold it had REAL 59 pickups (my Instructor has books with almost every guitar ever made and he date coded them to a 59 Les Paul). We had a customer in the shop and asked what I paid for it..... Said he'd buy it for what I paid for the guitar. My luthier Instructor looked at me and just rolled his eye's. I said I'll keep this guitar until I'm dead and they'll bury me with it! It sounds great, in near mint condition, and absolutely plays outstanding. I guess when I bought it; I got lucky!
I have a Jackson Kelly (with a hardtail). It's relatively light, well balanced, feels great, and looks sexy. I love the sharkfin inlays. I replaced the stock pickups with a set of DiMarzio PAFs. Now it sounds like a Les Paul Standard. Nicely done, Jackson.
One of my happiest guitar-owning experiences was an Ibanez Rocket Roll Sr. Flying V. It sounded so good and was so much fun to play. Yeah, I eventually sold it because I couldn't play it sitting down, but I've regretted it ever since. It was so great at a gig.
I can relate to the last point ... having a guitar you are afraid to gig with, or even play. A member of the church that I pastor gave me an emerald burst Gibson SG Supreme several years ago. His reasoning is that, though I'd love to have a Gibson, I would never pay that much for a guitar on my budget with a family to support. I was afraid to take the guitar out of the case for a long time. I never played it anywhere but home for over 2 years. I finally came to the conclusion that if God blessed me with this, then I need to play it. I love that guitar now. It is so much fun to play. It sounds amazing, the neck is very comfortable, and, well, it's an SG! Some of my heroes played SG's ... Tony Iommi being the one that comes to mind, and Clapton for a short time played one with Cream. Thanks for another great video!
I love the SG, Eddie. Angus and Malcolm/Stevie Young, Derek Trucks and Dickey Betts are more well known players. It's also a physically light guitar.
Wow, my pastor covets my gear...
SGs rule. They should get even more love than they do. That and the Les Paul Special Doublecuts with the dual P90s - hugely underrated Gibsons.
@@garydiamondguitarist Charlie Starr is now proving to the rest of the guitar community just how awesome the Les Paul Specials are. His tone is amazing!
Some years ago, my oldest brother got a great deal on a pre factory PRS (can't remember the model). It's a low production number instrument, probably one of only a few. In later years he and I were in a church band together and I asked why he doesn't use the PRS there. He said it's too nice and too rare to be playing out, so I reminded him that there's no point in having it, then. Two weeks later he showed up with it and frequently played it out after that.
I’ve got three vintage Harmony guitars. A 1957 department store special that I was given free and unplayable. I straightened the neck, installed a steel bar truss rod, a pickup, pick-guard with controls, body binding, vintage spec functional tuners etc. It looks 60 years old because it is, but plays and sounds better than new. Similar with the two 1958’s. Vintage when cheap guitars were made of really good solid wood. And they are NOT too valuable to use and try to wear out. There are some nice exceptions out there.
But I still don’t have an Explorer or a Rickenbacker 12 string…
Been there, done that. However, I don't have regrets for it because it's really part of the journey of going through the learning process and seeing what's right/not right for you in terms of preference in the sounds and playabilty on various guitars. I've gone through over a hundred guitars bought-and-sold in the last twenty years. I've slowed down quite a bit, and finally realized what I need versus want. It's a relief to unload so much gear and focus/concentrate [key words] on the particular fewer things to get you to practice more often and enjoy it more frequently without being distracted by the unnecessary excess piling up around at home.
This is I why I think a vintage Greco or Burny are so special: the sounds of playing a hand made vintage instrument, plenty of dings and scratches to add to, and any tech can work on them because they cost the same as a current import.
I'm restoring a vintage greco P-bass at the moment. Ordinarily I would never dream of refinishing a vintage body, but this one wasn't just a relic, it was a straight up wreck and I had to glue big parts of the body back together, it was just a mess.
Regretably, as part of that process I had to level-sand a big area on the body and with it sand out 50 years of dings and scratches. I'm going to repaint it vintage white, and it'll look like new, ready for another 50 years. But It's got me thinking about "vintage mojo", and how I've effectively robbed this bass of it's history, but I've come to the conclusion that if the vintage mojo is in the wood then surely it can survive a couple of coats of paint?
Just a random thought.
This is why I LOVE vintage Ibanez and Ovation. I have a 79 ovation legend that I found at a pawn shop a few years ago, tops in rough shape no structural cracks but big gouges in the poly finish, $150 bucks, some new strings and some light tech work on the truss. Thing is a loaded gun. I saw in 1979 the guitar went for $660 new which is like $2800 accounted for inflation. It’s not worth anything these days, but it kills most acoustics I stack it against.
Those would be awesome if people didn't try to upsell them because "RARE VINTAGE CLASSIC..." Etc etc etc...
Dude, they cost as much as a new gibson and as a functional instrument are way worse. They have their own whole microculture around them that has inflated both their value and percieved prestige far beyond what they should be in reality
@@michaeldesrosier1068I don't know where you're from but Greco and Burny guitars are nowhere near the price of Gibsons of any sort. Most expensive ones I found are around the price of common Epiphones.
I have an addiction to buying cheap guitars, because these days they’re very good and the options on styles and colors are so many. It’s also fun to take a cheap guitar, mod it, give it a nice setup, and not be too worried about damaging or losing it.
It sucks to work on cheap guitars. Like Polishing a Turd
@@TonyToledo22i guess estsblishing what cheap is is the first point , as he Said they are so good these days … and That is what i have found as
Well and I also have a habit of buying cheap guitars … as they are so good these days but that’s not 200 bucks but can be 500- 800 bucks …. In that range they have become so dang good as of late
Some are not worth the effort and investment of replacing the hardware, but some are hidden treasure waiting to be unearthed.
That is if you actually enjoy the work.
Nice to see different angles being taken on this. I bought a barely functional Ibanez for very little. The seller was okay but I guess if he was any easier to work with the guitar would have costed more. But now that the guitar has been fixed up, I just love how "nothing fancy" it is. Losing or it being damaged would suck but it's a very long way from any kind of a disaster. An over pricey guitar that would affect insurance and sleep is probably not for me. As for "vintage", naaahhhh, I've had a bitsa-caster vintage thing, it was an absolute PITA. Modern guitars all day for me, thanks.
@@strumminronin There are still some relatively cheap vintage ones. Silvertone 1448 and 1457 models (those 2 models are Danelectro built,) random imports from the 60s - 70s, Kay Vanguards, etc. Not all are going to be good out of the box, but a lot of the ones I mentioned are very light to hold.
Great video!! Thank you!!
I started my guitar journey late in 2019 at the age of 45. Got a black Gibson Firebird, it was the oddball guitar I always loved. It’s a joy to play (but it’s the only thing I know ! ).
Anyways,I’m 50 now and still try to play every day. Loved your short history of the Firebird and many other of your videos. Thank you !
Awesome video. Love your 5 watt world vids. Wifey and I are both 62 and play different instruments. Wife has a 1980 white/white/maple neck Strat Ala Hendrix and plays in all girl ( lady ) band. I mostly play bass and have a 1980 Jazz and a 2010 Precision and a 2016 Warwick Corvette fretless . We bought our son an Epiphone hummingbird, 2020 and a Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2022 . We all play all our guitars without thought to historical value. We play because we are all in our own separate bands and enjoy playing. I never wanted to think I own a historical instrument that I should not play. Great vid. Play what you own and Rock On.
More of a Drummer than a Guitar Player, I still love this channel! Some years back I picked up a Les Paul Special II. It was a nightmare to own, especial for a novice guitar player. I just could not keep it in tune going up and down the neck. I sat down in the basement for about 2 days, with a You Tube video on how to set the intonation, setting the truss rod, and what ever else was involved for a basic set up. (It's been a minute so I don't recall everything) I still have to be carefull when playing not to bend it out of tune by putting too much physical pressure on the neck with my left hand while putting too much pressure on the body with my right arm...(Again, a novice player) but the difference is like night and day after setting it up properly. It sounds great with my '67 Deluxe Reverb and the sense of pride of accomplishing the set up made it go from a nightmare to own, to probably out of 15 to 20 ish... my favorite guitar I have ever owned. Thanks, Keith. I appriciate all that you do and, Say hi to Rick for me!
I have been playing guitar for almost 50 years. Fate/circumstance/tragedy/The Good Lord Above has blessed me with 21 guitars and 5 amps. They each have a name and a voice, and I couldn't imagine my life without them. Since learning to play, the longest I've ever gone without playing was my first submarine patrol. All this rambling to say that no guitar sucks to own. In my experience, vintage guitars are a lot like owning vintage muscle cars; you have to swing wrenches and keep them happy. I do all of my own repairs and maintenance, so I don't have to pay anyone to do it for me. I had to recover from rotator cuff/biceps tendon surgery and couldn't play.... that sucks a lot more than not loving your guitar. Sorry for the long winded comment. I love 5 Watt World and I really appreciate all you do, Keith!
Been playing as long...But, I was busy raising Children.
And they all turned out as any other Kid their age, with add ons!
@@NoWayOut55 My wife and I were only blessed with one child, we lost him in 2016, at age 30, to the opioid crisis. We were also blessed with one granddaughter, who is my pride and joy. I am teaching her how to play and care for these instruments, and I hope they bring her as much joy as they have me. Rock On, Friend! 🎸🤟
It was a slice of your life not a long comment.
@@davidcraft4919I'm sorry for your loss, and joyful for your connection with your granddaughter. I hope she loves the guitars as much as you have
Thanks, Friend!@@stevescuba1978
It took almost 30 years for me to get a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I found a 68 reissue with a Koa top on consignment and pulled the trigger. It was almost mint condition when I got it, and I was really paranoid about damaging it so was really careful playing it (not my style). Best thing to happen to it was the case getting bumped while I was putting it away, causing the lid to close and the latch to put some impressions in the side, so now I don't worry as much.
My Gibson LPC was beautiful and sounded fantastic, but it was a case queen because I was afraid of dinging it. Finally wised up and sold it. Went back to my upgraded Epiphone LPCs and I'm happy with them.
@thehaughtcorner I was thinking of selling it, but it was also partially a gift from my Mom who recently passed, so now has extra sentimental value.
I agree for the most part. I just got my first double cut "F" hole guitar, a 335 copy. I didn't like the volume pots and decided to change them. what a nightmare!! All of the electronics have to come out of the pickup cavity. They used small pots from the factory, which were put in through the F hole. but I wanted a CTS for the volumes which are much larger and had to chisel out part of the wood to get them out through the pickup hole. Also, since everything is grounded together, it ALL had to come out. Definitely the hardest guitar I've worked on. Probably won't get another one. Great channel!!
You live and learn. Due diligence in the guitar world is paramount. Never be afraid to ask how things are done!
Yeah the switch on my Heritage 535 went bad after a few years, and replacing it was an “adventure”.
I've gone thru 3 purges - about every 15 years, I re-evaluate a guitar's money-making ability. Is it inspiring for composition? Inspiring enough to session work? NO guitar has ever sold tickets to my concerts - I do that, my playing does that. I don't lie to myself that "it's the guitar". No. It's me, my fingers, my years' of playing.
I agree with point #1. My favorite guitar was a Gibson ES 335. It was a tobacco sunburst, exquisitely beautiful. This guitar had a miraculous ability to sound great plugged into any amp without even adjusting the settings. Everything about the guitar was perfect, but it was impractical.
I was hosting a blues jam, and I worried every time a jammer played the guitar, or bumped into the guitar. The ES335 was a big guitar with a high center of gravity. It was easy to bump into, and easy to knock over.
My main guitar nowadays is a 1977 Tele, which I bought new. It's a canoe paddle. I like the weathered funky look of it. My friend left a cigarette burn on the headstock. The pick guard is missing a chunk of it. I love my Tele in a different way from my ES335.
Great vid, Keith! I finally came to my senses a few years ago and sold all my vintage and boutique guitars and rebuilt my collection with solid players that I'm not afraid to take on the road...I feel better abot the decision even without this video's validation but it's great to be in good company! I will admit to thinking wistfully sometimes about my old 66 ES 335 with factory bigsby...lol
I'm going through the same thing right now, I have a bunch of guitars and only play a handful of them. I just sold a '65 Melody Maker D today that hadn't been out of the case in over a year and I'm about to sell a bunch of others, including probably the best SG I've ever played but too rich for my blood, a 2003 Gibson SG Elegant Custom Shop. I know it's going to hurt but I need to just focus on what matters; playing and enjoying guitars.
I dont have to remove the neck on my 77 telecaster or my 73 telecaster bass. The stewmac truss rod crank for tele, or the 'free' paint can lid opener tool from the hardware store, will sneak in and adjust the truss rod, with the neck on, strung to pitch. You might have to remove your pickguard. Fenders either do or do not have a bit of wood removed at the body for access. I make room for the tool.
i was thinking the same thing. the proper tool makes this a non- issue for my tele.
Great video, I own a couple of older guitars that I take out and play every now and then but my favorites are guitars that I leave out so I can plug in and enjoy. If I lost the older guitars I wouldn't lose any sleep over them but the one's that I play everyday I would miss dearly. Thanks again for the video!!!
No 1 I agree so much, I barely play my Gibson sg live because I’m terrified of the headstock being damaged. I usually gig with my Shecter V1 Platinum V. Yes it sucks sitting down but having to stand to play it is more natural to live, now I’m just as good sitting down and standing up because of it.
Keith - I stumbled across some of your videos, and as a man of a certain age with a collection of electric guitars I found your thoughts almost therapeutic. I am currently reassessing my collection: as someone who plays in a covers band it is rare that I'm able to use more than two of my guitars, particularly as our singer reads the room at a gig and shouts out (at speed) our next number. No guitar tech in sight! Keep up the good work!
Great takes Keith. I love to gig out with my guitars and consider all the dings little birthmarks. They are unique and I love to play them as much as they beg to be played. They become part of you and you them. It's symbiotic and I love it. Keep the great videos coming.
+1 on Number One. I lucked into a well-preserved '64 Strat with a mint '61 Princeton for $150. OK, it was 1981 but still a screamin' good deal. I proceeded to gig the Strat in the country bars every night for 3 years. It wasn't so well-preserved by the end of it all. Worn frets, stiff tuners and banged up to medium-relic level. Now it's WAY too valuable to even think about gigging it, but it'd be a lot more valuable if I'd remembered about how gigging a '64 Strat is a whole lot like commuting 50 miles into and out of New York City every day in a well-preserved '64 Chevy Impala.
A guitar is at heart a work tool meant to be used to earn a living, but there aren't many of them that actually get commercial use, and those that do generally end up like Willie Nelson's Trigger.
Trigger is one of the greatest instruments of all time. Willie has literally basically played that thing to death. It's inspiring.
I knew a guy in AZ who regularly bar gigged his all original '59 Strat, without a second thought. These "vintage" instruments only have value when you sell them for good money or you are actually using them to play out (or for studio work). Otherwise, they're completely worthless.
Just sold a 58 Princeton for 2k
The other problem with owning and using a vintage ax is worrying about theft. I have owned and gigged with a 1953 Tele and a 1963 Strat since the mid 70's. It wasn't a problem until around the mid 80's when the guitar mags and the vintage guitar dealers started making a big thing of them. Before then only a small percentage of people (generally just pro guitar players who would not steal your stuff anyway) were interested enough to know a vintage ax when they saw one. There were guitar thefts, but usually they stole them because they belonged to a rock star, not so much that they were vintage, even though most of them were. Or you left your ax on the stage in the club during the day (a lot of cats did back in the old days), or in an unlocked car while you were "gettin' some". I've had to ask a band member to watch the stage/ my guitar while I used the head for decades now, they don't ever mind, they know the score, but I do worry about a break in when I'm not home, or stopping to get something to eat while my gear is locked in the car, etc. Loading into a club the guitars go in first and come out last, never leave them unattended in the car (locked or not), it only takes a second while you're grabbing your amp to have some thief run away with it. When I toured with a recording artist I never let anyone carry my ax back to the buss (there were a lot of offers), I took it myself and put it in my bunk (the buss was always locked and the driver had a 357 magnum, so no problem there). My vintage Fenders were already "player grade" when I got them, not mint condition collector's items, and now they're very worn old guitars, but I got them for just a few hundred bucks and I made a living with them, I have others now for places where I worry about security, but I use my old girls whenever possible, they have become a part of me, they won't be for sale until I'm dead. As far as repairs go I learned to do my own frets and nuts, etc. But yeah before that most of the techs that worked on my axes were guys like Glasser in Nashville, Toru and or Caruthers in L.A. Then again besides fret and nut wear there really isn't much needed for a pre CBS Fender, Leo knew what he was doing. Amps too.
Loved this video, Keith! This may sound funny, but there's always something calming about coming to your channel and watching your videos. I always learn something, and your vibe is so chill (in contrast to so much of the rest of the world lately). Hope you're doing well! :-)
Cool Video. I was looking at the marks developing on the back of my 2021 SG 61 the other night and kinda feeling some despair. Then i remembered "i bought it to play, not to look at." Thanks for reinforcing that feeling!
I own a ‘92 Gibson Custom shop Edition ES-350T. It’s my most expensive guitar. It lives in the case. I take it out maybe 8 or 10 times a year and play for a days or weeks then it goes back in the case. I don’t take it to gigs or jams because I’m afraid something might happen to it. I’m also like that with my Martin 000-28EC, although that now has its own wall hanger and I pick it now and then just to remember how great it is. Depending on the gig, if it’s with my band or I’m sitting in with someone or if it’s a funky bar or on the beach(I’m in Florida), this will determine what guitar I bring. Now a days, there almost always a telecaster involved, but I might bring my ES335 or LP or PRS SE or Sire S7 along and use the tele one set and the other for the next set. If it’s an acoustic gig, I like to use my J45 but if it’s a hot and humid summer day, I take an Epiphone. Yes I keep a close eye on things when the Gibsons come out, so the stress sucks. Then I realize how much I love them and why I spent the money them in the first place. To play them. I think I cherish some too much which makes it suck to own them…. But I can’t bring myself to sell them.
Just play em brother. They deserve to be loved and enjoyed. I play my expensive instruments every day and feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to do so.
As it stands, you essentially spent a lot of money for nothing in return. If something actually did happen, at least you got some time to enjoy the instrument instead of it sitting in its case.
Lovely video Keith. I have a custom Martin D-42 that I had built in Nazareth, PA and picked up myself and brought back to the Netherlands. She is showing her 18 years as I am a hamfisted guitarist. In some ways the scratches detract from the pure aesthetic of this sea of abalone and prime woods. But she is just too darn good sounding. She doesn't even live in the case normally, and I play her every day. Over the years I have come to appreciate the scratches. She and I will go until my death. Last year I had a Strat custom built for me by a local (American but living in Holland) builder and I decided to go for a relic guitar. The freedom that the relicing has given, and the way she feels to play, have sped up the bonding process enormously. I love that thing. And also play that every day.
Thanks; we all needed to hear this👊🏽
I played lots of different guitars and settled for a Wolfgang Special. The neck is graphite reinforced and is really stable. The truss rod is easy to adjust. The trem is non floating and that makes setup so much easier. Just a great workhorse guitar.
Thank you Keith, love this one! I'm about your age and waited to start learning to play the guitar until about 10 years ago. When I listen to your channel, I feel like a boy who has an amazing coach and mentor and I'm reminded of why I want to play, because of the art of guitar itself and of the art that can be made with it!! Thank you for reminding us of why love the guitar!!
Great video Thanks!
I took my 1964 Gibson Banjo to a guitar shop and had them replace some missing screws for the tuners. First shock was he gave me back my old screws in a Ace Hardware bag. Yup, he replaced all the screws for the tuners with what looks like galvanized, big ugly screws (from Ace Hardware obviously). When I complained he said, "look its just an old banjo!"
I learned a lesson that day. I don't trust.
I also don't agree with using the hardware that they did. But I am curious if any of that was discussed when you took it in?
You know... at least he gave back the old screws..! 🫠
Now you can go to Ace and get nice stainless screws and polish them.
he wanted them all to match, he went to extra trouble.
I sold everything i had with a floating trem, and block the strats. I just don’t use trems, so keeping them maintained and in tune was a waste of my time and money
hardtail strats and tele gang
@@lahar2412i love my teles, but they stay at home, i have a single coil and a p90 tele, but i use humbuckers live. I wish i had a hardtail strat, and someday I’m gonna swap one of mine to it
@@Ottophilwhat about a telecaster deluxe?
I really think you’ve nailed it here! I’ve owned approximately 130 guitars and related string instruments and of those, more than half have been vintage instruments. I reached the point where it was a burden to own them. I felt like they owned me, for all of the reasons that you so clearly articulated. By the way, it can’t be over emphasized that there are a lot of crooks and ignorant dealers in the vintage business. Of all of the dealers that I’ve met, there are 3 that I trust. Oh, and modifying a true vintage instrument, if that’s what is required to make it playable, don’t buy it. That will totally destroy it’s value.
Good video, I once owned a ES335, Warren Haynes ‘61. It was so pristine that I rarely played it. In hindsight, I should have but it was intimidating and maybe more guitar than I could handle at the time. Live and learn. Love your videos, keep up the good work.
Wow, you totally nailed it in this video! Many years ago I owned a few Alembic basses and they were played, live, all the time. And then I finished college, got a job, got married, and… life happened! I’m starting to play again and have a beautiful Rickenbacker 4003S, it gets that Prog sound I grew up loving but it gets played!
Great video that checked all the boxes!
'It does exactly what it says on the tin' - RonSeal TV advert slogan, UK
You're right - I'd forgotten where that came from. I remember the ad now!
AKA "the most overused title used by unoriginal people writing an Amazon review". Literally seen thousands at this point.
That was a cool photo of Greg in the TruFire ad.
Any hollow body 12-string you expect to stay in tune...so all of them.
But what else has 'that' sound?😍
Gibson Double-neck solid-body is just as exasperating.... and, again, heavy as sht
I solved that by selling my Ric 12 string and restringing an unused danelectro to high strung or Nashville tuning. Doubling that with a standard 6 string gives you "that sound" - at least as for as recording goes.
Great insight about vintage guitars. As some may appreciate in value over the years, it is difficult to take them anywhere they may be dinged or stolen. Many a player has gone off on break only to return to an empty case or taken a flight only to find their prized instrument missing at their detination.
I’ve owned probably 10 different guitars throughout my playing “career” but I always gravitate back to my Squier Tele.
I bought it about 6 years ago because I needed a cheap guitar in a pinch, but I’ve completely fallen in love with it. It’s a low maintenance guitar and feels great every time I pick it up. Literally have never had any issues with it; just made a few upgrades that I really wanted to do: new neck, tuners, nut and hopefully some new pickups soon.
It’s the only guitar I’ve never ever considered selling, and I will probably play it for the rest of my life.
I remember when I was young I was scared shitless to try old Gibsons in shops of fear of having to pay if you dropped it etc.. Now I don't touch them because you can get a better new guitar for a fraction of the price. Guitars are to be played or they're antiques for folks with too much money.
So true
I always think about how disgusted Leo Fender would be if he saw his old 50s and 60s guitars going for multiple millions, even the ones not played by famous musicians. He made tools for working players - in fact a lot of his best designs were made by getting country players among others to try prototypes out in the field (gigging), so there's a collaboration aspect too. I respect modern Fender a fair amount because they're still affordable and still can be workhorse instruments that'll last - my 2021 Meteora Mk. III is a good example of that. Nice sounding low output humbuckers too.
My Explorer has become my #1 again after years of Tele/Esquire fever.
The massive case comment is SO TRUE but these guitars are a dream to play otherwise.
The hidden virtues of the Explorer:
-balanced weight that plays well sitting or standing (built-in arm rest?)
-simplified control layout in a straight line for easy access (who needs two Tone knobs?)
-6 in-line tuners (less G string string pull issues for tuning stability IME)
-tonal sweet spot between Les Paul and SG
-solid upper fret access
IMO it's Gibson's best overall guitar design.
I've emailed Gibson and MONO about the need for a super protective, professional-level gig bag for the Explorer. I think MONO's rigid design, neck support, and Boot bottom can be applied to the Explorer to deliver a bag that is protective enough for the city-navigating gigging musician like myself; I've hauled that massive case down busy Deep Ellum blocks (the guitar makes it all worth it) but would have no hesitation using a MONO or Reunion Blues bag for those situations. Gibson's current gig bag offering is no more protective than a Jansport backpack...
Great video Keith, hit me up if you ever want to talk Explorers
I totally understand the need for a solid Explorer gig bag. I use a Gator for my Epiphone Korina 58 "Reissue," because the monster case will NOT fit in my trunk. I have "concerns."
I bought a James Hetfield ESP Snakebite guitar which is an Explorer and it’s AWESOME, absolutely love it
@@ruminantmelanoid5444 When I traded in my old Tahoe to get a much smaller Mazda, I had to do some research to figure out if the trunk was going to be big enough to fit the case... A true testament to how massive the case really is. and perhaps, how obsessed with my Explorer I am.
John McLaughlin "The worst thing for a guitar, is to not be played"
It’s sad to think of all those Gibsons just hanging around in shops and wall art.
@@MichaelC76x I would guess that roughly 80% of all Gibson USA guitars are not regularly played. Tons of people will buy a Gibson, but many end up living in the case or on a wall. They're definitely the #1 offender for guitars that don't get played, and there are likely thousands of them sitting around right now.
Guitars definitely stay in better shape and play better if they're played, no doubt. I'd rather have a guitar that was played regularly with a few dings than one that'd sat in a case for 20 years - for numerous reasons. Even if you play daily, you can only really take care of about 10 guitars.
I agree with several points. I play acoustic guitars largely. I volunteer to play/ sing at places where folks can't get out. About 20 hours a week. They all get played. Some with with specific songs. Thanks
I have six guitars. Four acoustics and two electrics. I have a hollow bodied Gretsch and I have also a Squier Strat with new bridge and tuning machines on it. It’s walnut finish with gold hardware. It looks beautiful and my garage also has gold hardware. I think this is about enough guitar for me maybe just one more and that’s about it. I do play a lot. I am a style solo instrumental guitarist I have been playing this year. Makes 50 years. I started in 1974 I love playing guitar. It brings me a lot of happiness and a lot of joy. I will play it until the day I die. Thanks for your videos, your pretty cool guy you got a lot of good ideas about guitars and having too many of them or some of them so touchy and sensitive that they become a pain in the ass. So good advice have a great night and a great day tomorrow. thanks for the video.👍👍🎸❤️😄😎
Great episode - each of my guitar has dings and nicks or something. Heck, I recently purchased an overexpensive Tremonti PRS and the first thing I did was sanddown the neck to get a satin feel (which I prefer on all my guitars). The Warmoth guitars I build also have limited finish on them as I want them to age. Guitars I had to look at ended up on Marketplace.
Thanks Keith for continuous great content
Anything vintage I can imagine would be a pain in the ass to own
I had a '37 Gibson L-7 that smelled like an antique shop when you opened the case. Dull purple felt lined. Varnish finish covered with hairline checking
Not true. Not all vintage guitars are highly prized Gibson, Fender, or Gretsch models. Many vintage guitars are just nice old instruments and they are quite affordable, even on a musicians budget.
My vintage guitar is a player-grade ‘66 Mustang. It plays, intonates and sounds fantastic and has “mojo.” Best of all, I’m not afraid to gig with it.
I can think of one possibility to add to the discussion: the Rickenbacker 360/12 string. I have one, gigged with it, too. But there isn't a repair technician in town that will touch it. Indeed, it needed some repair work once, and I had to send it back to the factory in Santa Ana, CA. Luckily, the guitar was still under warranty. Would I buy that guitar again? Hell yeah! Because it just sounds heavenly.
Thanks for the well considered thoughts! I bought the Country Music Hall of Fame Gretsch G6120 1954 Chet Atkins prototype. It was an impulse itch that I was lucky enough to be able to scratch at the time. I was originally thinking of the history/story than as a working guitar. However, once I got it home and tuned in, it became a regular part of my guitar voyage being played almost daily. Like you said, it's a tool and tools are meant to be used.
Yamaha SG2000? As heavy as a Gibson double neck! 😂
I could NEVER understand the thickness of that thing. I guess the "Resonance/sustain theory"???
@@RelicOnMaui back then, that was definitely the predominant theory, along with overwound pickups and brass everything! The YSG even had a brass “sustain plate” on which the bridge was mounted!
SG neck dive
Myth. I have 3 that don’t
The Explorer was so balanced, you can set it on its tail end and it just stands there. Even with Schallers. I've repaired legions of snapped SG mahogany headstocks
@Ottophil no myth....I have two and the one that doesn't neck dive has a bigsby that acts as a counter weight
Let's be honest: the SG is a poorly-designed guitar.
@shanewalton8888 maybe...but I still love it
As an owner of a Firebird (awkward to sit with), a Jaguar (annoying to stabilize tuning-wise and from weird errant noises), and a Lucille I added a Bigsby to (any ES-355 TDSV / Lucille with a Bigsby is 10 pounds, weighs a ton), I'm grateful for this video, and that I'm not alone 😂
Jaguar with poor tuning stability sounds like it needs a good setup!
Way ahead of you, @@atealime . It took a Staytrem bridge, flipping vibrato screws, 1:19 ratio locking tuners, and shims to keep it stable.
In the mid 1960s I yearned for a Gretsch G6122 Country Gentleman and a Martin D-28. It took some time with intermediate guitars, but finally they became mine. I wasn't disappointed, they were well worth waiting for. Quality pays.
I bought a 1970 Martin D-12/35 on Ebay. I paid there then the guy emailed me and wanted me to send him the strings in the case which wasn't original. I had to send the guitar to Martin where they repaired the frets, straightened the neck and did other repair work for and additional 800 bucks. (That price was with my Owner's Club membership too.). It's a great guitar now.
Too intelligent. Too sensible. Too logical. No one is going to pay attention to this!
Buying a guitar that is very expensive for you sucks to own. You always worry about damaging it. Moderately priced guitars get a lot of play.
Wonderful episode. Speaks to me at a different level.
Growing up with Jazz, classical, blues, rock and metal, you learn many different techniques.
It allows you to play to the instrument and is why my modest collection is played and does include all aforementioned guitars.
Except…
Still wanting a firebird and a good resonator to add over the next few years. No rush and not married to vintage.
Great video 5watt. The beauty of being 62 and having played for 48 yrs. is that equipment I worked and saved for ...esp. if it was quality stuff ... is that I now own guitars/amps that are at the very least 48 yrs old. I think it's better to BE the vintage item in the chain.
I love the line that Dan looks at the wear and tear on his guitar “with the knowing satisfaction of a guitar’s life well lived.” One of the recent trends that I really do not care for is pre-worn guitars. The joy comes from putting that wear and tear on the guitar all by yourself!
Agree 100%.
I like your take on the five reasons not to own a type of guitar. I purchased (finally) the guitar I wanted since Hard Days Night and Mr Tamborine Man, a 360 Rick 12 String. I bought one in 2017. My short fat fingers and creeping arthritis were no match for my Victoria. So I sold it. Regret buying it? No. It was an experience that was good to live through. It gave me insight into my needs as a guitar player at the age of now 73 some seven years later. I buy cheap Tele's then make them custom to meet my needs changing tuners, pickups, electronics, and even necks depending. As an arthritic player my hands continue to deteriorate and I'm playing bass more and more. My fav is my Carvin 4 string LB70. Great electronics, slim neck, complete with 18v piezo systems for unbelievable tone. Hard to get exact year as Carvin seems to be notorious for no rhyme or reason for there serial numbers. Thanx again. FILO
OMG I just sold my custom shop 36 AJ. It was too beautiful and I was so afraid of dinging it. It was a pure beauty to play but I was afraid to play it especially after a few pops. Bought a 72 D-18 with a few dings already but still in awesome condition and sounds great. I’m a big fan of reliced guitars as well. Just bought a 58 heavy aged ML LP with wildwood specs. Just awesome and a 72 tele refin that plays like butter but has built in dings as well so I can totally relate to number 1. Thanks Keith I’m glad you brought it up. The AJ just sat in the case. The guy who bought it loves it. I’m happy with that. I’d never buy a super fancy guitar again.
Great video! I just brought my favorite guitar of all time thank goodness a 1951 American Fender telecaster 2022 reissued satisfied me. The rest are very good-playable tributes . I fully understand the addition of the hobby 🎸🎸
Parker Fly is my favorite non custom guitar! I have two of them and LOVE them! Love my Collings SJ too! Met and visited with Bill many times. Got to tour each of his last two facilities! Such great guitars!
Thank you, Keith, for your take on guitars-to-think-twice-about. And I have nodded my head "yes" to many of these comments too. My 2 comments: if a guitar has sentimental value to you, then it's worth the extra trouble and cost. But if it doesn't have that special meaning, then don't buy it. My other point is that I lump newer guitars that are too expensive and older guitars that are too rare into one category; trophy guitars!
I absolutely agree that carrying around an Explorer case absolutely sucks, but it's hands down my favorite guitar I own and actually very comfortable to play sitting or standing.
Another great video that makes sense.❤ I don't are if I pay $300 or $3000 for a guitar, I'm gonna play it. Of course I know I'll have to do a lot of work on the $300 one. I've had a few where the neck goes in and out so I either sell them or get another neck. One thing I've noticed on those necks is that the grain is not as dense as the ones that stay true and are less effected by humidity and temperature changes. Have a good one.
Great video Keith! Your videos always make me think - in a good way - so thank you!
I have to say I've fallen into several of these pitfalls - ESPECIALLY not wanting to take "good guitars" to a gig. I play mostly at church and periodic/regular "Jam Nights" with a few buddies. The latter has resulted in an occasional gig. For those I've been hesitant to take "my good gear" in fear of getting beer spilled on it or a drunk bumping into my expensive PRS. I have another buddy who owns all great gear and, as you stated, sees it as tools for him to use when he gigs. So... I think I just need to "get over myself" and use what I got for the very purpose for which I got it.
So again - thank you for making me think!!!
Have a great day!!!
The couple blues bars that Jeff plays here with his 60's sunburst Strat jus made the vieo for me. What a player he is man. Just a little bity of huge taste. Thanks Keith. Thanks Mr. McErlaine, Maestro!
About 20 years ago I bought a beat up ESP V for 6 bucks I took it apart and it was on the wall untill lock down when I repaired the damage to the body put it back together with parts laying around the studio, set it up and I love it. I am more proud of that guitar than any of my expensive guitars. My 6 dollar guitar is awesome
Two years ago I decided to follow a workshop to build my own guitar. In 8 days we created a les paul studio like guitar with a Martin acoustic guitar headstock and neck through body design. Starting from scratch 8 days later the guitar was ready. It needed some fine tuning which was done by Denzo custom guitars in Belgium. Now it plays fantastic and wouldn't trade it for any guitar in the world. I recomend it. It is a great experience. Workshop was in Berlin at Segler gitarren. Super teacher.
I’m planning on doing something like this for my upcoming birthday later this year. I think it would be so nice to gig with a guitar I built with my own hands
I appreciate your insight. Exactly why I decided to let a beautiful Les Paul Traditional that I coveted go. It became a case queen and I even had a decline in how often I found myself playing in general as I was chasing gear instead of just enjoying the music.
I bought my favourite guitar from a friend a few years back, a 98 PRS CE. He never played it as he said it was ‘too nice’. I’ve owned it for 8 years now and my sweat has corroded the bridge saddles, you can see scratches in the finish from my pick, I regularly hit the body with my fist during a gig but I get it set up every 6 months to keep the frets healthy. As long as it’s able to be played it’s never been kept locked away and it’s only going to get more battle scars/love for more years to come.
Also I find guitars which are played more tend to stay in tune a lot better
I own some custom/limited edition guitars, basses, drums, and cymbals. While I make strides to care for them, I still take them to the studio and gigs. I definitely agree with you on the vintage point. I know many friends who've gone the vintage gear route, and most of them have put more money into repairs and maintenance shortly or consistently after purchase
Thanks man, I'm going to play them all today. I love the feeling when I open the cases!