What was the last guitar you bought and what do you think your next one might be? Here’s my take. As mentioned in previous blogs, after a hiatus period of about 8 years, I am back into the whole vintage guitar thing. In the last year, I have bought just 4 guitars (and sold none). My most recent purchase is a stunningly gorgeous 1968 Gibson SG Standard.
It was sold to me as a ’67 but after careful examination, I reckon it’s a ’68. Barring the clichéd Angus Young references, it is a stunning instrument. Crawling over it with a fine toothcomb, it has new tuners, although the replacements are modern versions of would have been fitted originally. It has one tiny screw on the Lyre tailpiece cover missing but that’s it, the rest is untouched. It has been played and is not museum grade but lovely nonetheless. The finish is a deep, dark unfaded cherry (of course) over a single piece mahogany body. It has the ‘batwing’ scratchplate which suits it, even though aesthetically I prefer the earlier small scratchplate. It plays wonderfully and sounds amazing, as you might expect.
I bought the vintage version, so that I can sell my newer 1999 SG Standard. It allows an interesting like-for-like comparison that only reinforces my bias that I prefer older guitars. There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with the 16-year old model (guitar! Pay attention please!); it’s a perfectly good instrument. Now that I’ve got an old one, I can move on to my next acquisition. Why? Please don’t ask, it’s not rational or logical. Some newer ones will have to go to make way and help fund my addiction. Like many enthusiasts, I have a (long) ‘most wanted’ list. I won’t go through these here but it is a mixture of replacing newer instruments with vintage ones and/or filling in gaps in the ‘collection’. The exciting bit is not actually knowing for sure what the next purchase will be and whether I can actually afford what I might like! I want to add more Fenders to balance the brands but there is less choice from the big ‘F’. I quite fancy a Fender Starcaster or a Bass VI but they are now getting way too expensive (sadly). I quite fancy a familiar model but an interesting esoteric version, like an ‘80s Fender Strat Elite or Tele Elite, or even a Bronco. Purists may grimace but, heh, it’s my obsession not theirs. On the Gibson front, I quite fancy the idea of a non-cutaway ES-150 archtop with a P90, historically significant and different from just about anything available now. I’m missing a ‘proper’ Flying V and quite fancy an ES-355, a Les Paul Recording or RD Artist. I would love a ‘50s single-cut Les Paul Junior or double-cut Les Paul Special but they too are out of my reach at the moment. The list goes on.
I might even be tempted to stray from the CRAVE path (shock, horror) and look at a Gretsch or a Rickenbacker, let’s see. Part of the fun is doing the research, finding worthwhile instruments that fit the ‘cool & rare’ criteria. I hope to add to the CRAVE portfolio in 2015. Watch this space…
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