Friday 6-21-13, The best Day Of The Week

I had the last of the leftover beef stew and it was as good as the rest!

It is open forum and I had a little time so I am going to bring up a topic that has been on my mind many times and not really discussed that much. All of us buy guitars for reasons that we can't always explain. Some of you are musicians and use them strictly as a tool for your profession. Others of us are part time musicians and some are outright collectors. There was a discussion the other day if anyone had heard from Yamato who apparently hasn't been heard from for many years. I looked him up in the registry and he has 120 G&L's registered with the newest one being a 1995. Now that is a bunch of G&L's. I would bet that Jos has one of the best Asat collections there are. I know there are others who own multiple guitars, for whatever reason, and I would ask that you share some of your reasons about what makes you buy what you buy. Also show us pictures!

I am a musician and have always loved guitars and to me they are a great piece of art and we display many on our wall. I started accumulating guitars and considered them a safe asset if purchased carefully. I did not have a plan but that has changed over the years. I now have somewhat of a plan. It has become clear to me what I appreciate with these instruments. I have more G&L's than any other brand and I started with a bunch of Fenders. Many of them are gone as are many of the instruments that I have owned in recent years. I am almost ashamed to admit that I have traded over 35 guitars in the last 5 years. This was not the plan but I am now very selective in what I want and what fits in with the others that I have. It has been a journey for me and also a great learning experience for me. So lets hear your stories. This is an open question but we are all G&L fans.

I have been looking to sell my L-2500 recently and get a backup bass that is lighter. I have a KOA Carvin that is my main player now but I do like the L series tone but would like something lighter. Last week the L-25500 went and I will be replacing it with an Asat Savannah bass that is on order. I intended to outright sell the L-2500 but when I was in the process of that I came across something that I have never owned, have never really been interested in and had never played. I was not smitten by these in the past but I found a perfect 2010 model and it was wow when I looked it over and played it. They really are an American icon and here are some pictures of my Rickenbacker 360 Mapleglo. Have a great day everyone.--Darwin

Hey Darwin ,
It's good that you are thoughtful and compassionate enough to be wondering about a fellow G&L member. i'm not suprised what I have read about you tells me you're a great bloke.There are many reasons while people go quiet on forum sites and life itself
Now my views on guitars and collections and investments.
firstly , like you I am a player and what is good about guitars is you can always play them if they lose money. Many people did when Financial bloody advisors starting recommending guitars as investments. in hindsight I should have sold my 60's Fenders and Gibsons. If I had I could have bought more of them back now. When I was growing up guitars in Australia were painfully expensive because the US dollar was twice the Australian. Thankfully for us in Australia the Australian $ has been hovering around the same $ value as the US.
Because of these 2 reasons I may or may not have imported some fine G&L 's into Australia.
Personally I think you have to be very lucky to make money out of guitars. Careful research helps as does time.
And on a positive note I saw a news report that said woman like men more with guitars.
Great news for this single man.
Anthony

lunch was hospital food. Mystery meat mashed potatoes and tossed salad. Had no chose I'm hooked up to IV getting antibiotics because of a
infected cat bite to the thumb.

I guess I'm a part time player/collector. I keep the guitars and music gear I buy because ever time I get rid of something I want it back not long after I sell it. Most of my guitars ain't worth much anyway.

I do wish I never sold the Rickenbacker bass I had in my youth. Always thought I'd like a 360 Rickenbacker.

I always wanted a Fender stratacastor , when I was old enough to have money available to purchase a Fender I found about G & L , then it was a no-brainer and G & L's are what I'm persuing ..... I bought two new ones , obviuosly no way to make money on those at a later date , I purchased two used G & L's perfect shape at a good price , I assume the used one will hold there value if I keep them perfect condition ...... I try to choose different G & L's based on sound and style , I don't want a bunch of the same sounding guitars and I prefer strats , teles and SC body styles

so far I think I'm doing pretty good

I buy guitars because I like 'em. I've bought most of mine new, and they're pretty much all G&Ls so they're definitely not investments. That never factored into it. The thing that keeps me buying new G&Ls is that you can order them like you want them and not pay crazy "artisan luthier investment guitar" prices. How good is that!?!?!

Anthony mentioned the exchange rate, and it's for that reason that I've been able to buy so many (well, three, but for a full-time student that's pretty good) in the last couple of years. When I bought my first two G&L's in 2008/2009, it cost me double what I've paid for the last two. Even the one I bought used in 2010 cost me $1200, which at the time I thought was a bargain. I remember shopping for a strat when I got my first full-time job, and a US standard was going to cost $3000! Once again, the exchange rate is slipping and stuff is going to get more expensive. The LB100 I have on order will most likely be the last for a while.

Nice Ricky, too

That's a pretty Rick, Darwin. Back in college a friend asked me to do him a favor and babysit his Rick 4003 for a summer (IIRC, he didn't have room for it in his car on the way home). That was a sweet bass.

I lusted after guitars for a long time before I could afford anything remotely decent. I figured that I was set for life with a Fender bass I rescued in high school, and an early SB-1 I had picked up along the way for the times when the Fender got too heavy. About three years ago I found myself in a dingy basement apartment, 300 miles from my family, when a job opportunity forced an unplanned move. I picked up my ASAT Classic to pass the time in the apartment, and shortly afterward the same shop talked me into a $500 Superhawk. The 'Hawk made me think how nice it would be to have a Strat-type, and an '82 S-500 followed shortly thereafter. That was the one that started the collecting bug. For a while I randomly grabbed any G&L guitar I saw locally for a reasonable price, and those all happened to be Leo-era instruments. After I had the basics covered (S-500, ASAT, ASAT Classic, Skyhawk, Superhawk, , F-100, SC-2), I started to restrain myself and concentrated on just filling gaps. I had the idea of hunting down one of each Leo-era model, but the cost of the last couple (Interceptors, Broadcaster and G-200) made me rethink that. Just over a year ago I decided to see what the G&L basses were like, and that started a whole new collecting theme. I have gone for a goal of finding one of each Leo-era bass model. I'm most of the way there already, with I believe three left to go. The other collecting theme I am trying for is a set of the student models (SCs and SBs).

As far as my current collecting pattern goes, I'm trying to avoid duplication for the most part. I've made exceptions for my very favorite models (SC-1 and maple-bodied ASATs), or models where the body wood has a big impact (ash and 'hog F-100s). Now I'm just watching for a couple of rarebirds, and whenever the GAS gets too bad I fill one of the easier gaps. I've never bought a new electric guitar or bass in my life, but I may end up pulling the trigger at some point on a model that I would play a lot but have no chance of finding used (the top candidate is a fretless L-1500).

Ken

It has been a journey for me and also a great learning experience for me. So lets hear your stories.

I wanted to learn,learn,learn and play and play. I started buying various forms of gear and guitars to have more first hand experience with the cool things that make cool sounds.
In high school this guy had a new F-100 .
10+ years ago I bought a couple a couple of of ebay to get a nostalgic spark...well that was that...I got the bug...so a little collecting followed.
I'm doing my best to keep them all in rotation.
I just freshened my old ASATs. ( pictures on monday's LR )

They really are an American icon and here are some pictures of my Rickenbacker 360 Mapleglo

I see the appeal in the Ricky , I can imagine some bite with a big round acoustic warmth on tap.
I remember a Rick bass my buddy bought for $600 in 1981 from Petosa Music (known for their accordians I hear).
I loved the slinky feel to the thin neck and finished fretboard.
My Mosrite was bought on a bit of a whim, never played on before...but this one seemed to be calling me,
I even tried to forget about it for a few days before I pulled the trigger....
....to see if I still liked it.

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I did !
I really need to get some good pics of it. (green sparkle finish with a maple neck)


elwood

here is a video as a response. there is relevance, but wanted to see if you guys recognize anyone.

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yeah Louis that skinny bloke playing guitar has your mannerisms for sure . And you only look skinny because the 6 string Bass Player is massive

Thanks everyone, I will respond on Monday, We had a big storm last night and lost power at 7 PM. Ginny and I stayed up all night keeping the sump pump in the basement from flooding. I bet we moved a thousand gallons with buckets. I have a gig this evening so I am going to hit the sack for a bit as the power came back on an hour ago.--Darwin

I only buy a guitar if it can contribute something to the stable that is not covered. That might be a drastically different sound, bridge type (gotta have a floyd around, just incase), piezo, you name it. I would like to get a floyd with a sustainer churning along, that could be a lot of fun. Wood and appearance are not enough to get a guitar through the door, especially not species that seemingly defy capslock . I can't say I have ever heard much good about those Rick guitars, so hope it is working for you.

Nice Ricks have lovely characters! Not Rawk at all, but musical and enjoyable. Maybe a living timewarp, but definitely something I'd consider if I ever had genuinely spare funds.
As for G&L, they got me restarted on paying attention to the sound I make instead of just playing Fenders. Wonderful.

Thanks for your replies and many of you share the guitar passion and that is great. Thanks to those who posted photos and clips for taking the time to do so. Especially concerned for cuswilly and hope a speedy recovery and stay away from mad cats! We still haven't recovered from the weekend but are working our way through it. Have a great evening.-- Darwin