26 replies to this topic

[Ron Payne]

A visit from the UPS man yesterday prompted me to share some photos of my growing guitar collection. Even if you're not a musician, the woodwork on some of these instruments is quite stunning!

First, yesterday's delivery - an Ibanez EW20AS with figured ash front, back and sides, mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard - exquisite!




Next up, my Dean acoustic electric in African Bubinga wood, again with a mahogany neck



This is the 5-piece mahogany headstock of my Ovation Model 1124, sporting an ebony fingerboard on the other side



Next is the spruce body of my Charvel 625C, with rosewood back and sides and rosewood extended fingerboard



One of my favorites - this is the back of my 1964 Goya classical - flamed maple with a mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard



Last, but certainly not least, this homely little guy is my 1961 Gibson C1E, with maple top, mahogany back and sides and rosewood fingerboard. It may not look as good as some of the others, but the sound is the sweetest of all!

[hannerhan]

Beautiful. I am not a musician, and I don't have a particular affinity for musical instruments, but I do appreciate fine craftsmanship and those are awesome.

[JBB]

Those are beautiful. Learning to play the guitar is one of the things on my bucket list. One of these days...

[John S.]

Beautiful! As a fellow guitarist (albeit electric) I appreciate the fine crafstmanship and beautiful figured woods that go into these instruments. Not only do they sound good and are fun to play, but the higher end models appreciate far faster than the rate of inflation. That's why Asian investors/collectors buy up choice vintage models and drive some of the prices sky-high. Not likely this long established collector's market will crash anytime soon. Thanks for sharing...

[Ron Payne]

Ah! Electrics, you say? I have only these two, and the bass actually belongs to my daughter and is "on loan", meaning she took her 2 Strats but left the bass behind when she moved! Not a true Gibson Les Paul, but the best I can do on my (wife) limited guitar budget



I have a 'Wish List' of 16 guitars, and the current item in the #1 spot for next purchase is this Charvel. Besides liking the color and shape, my A/E Charvel has been good to me, so I'm hoping for the same in an electric.

[John S.]

Nice. Charvels are great but there are so many quality guitars on the market in addition to the Fender and Gibson custom shops that it's hard to decide if price is not a consideration. One thing's for sure, high-end custom guitars tend to retain their value and even appreciate over time. So, when you think of them as an investment, the multi thousand dollar price tag is less daunting. Asians and the Japanese collector market in particular have really pumped up the market for vintage guitars. An early 50's mint Strat or Gibson LP goldtop from the same vintage and condition can cost as much as a new exotic Italian sports car. I'm sure some of the best guitars being made today will become collector's treasures over time.

Myself, I'm just a po' boy so I've still got my 1975 Gibby SG (bought new in '75) and a more recent Fender Strat made in Corona, CA. Since they each have their distinctive sound, (and I have a modeling amp (Rocktron) with a MIDI foot controller for even more sound choices) I like them both. If I were to win the lottery or something, I'd amass a guitar collection like a rock star and then my heirs would profit handsomely when I'm gone, but I'm happy with what I've got and play just for the sheer pleasure of it.

[Ron Payne]

Very cool! I just saw an episode of "Pawn Stars" where a guy came in with a 1960 Les Paul to sell - turned out to be a '74, so not worth the $25k to $45k he thought, but still a great guitar! I've been to the Fender museum in Corona - my mom lives in Norco, just to the north (but, according to the locals, 'Norco' does NOT mean 'North Corona'!). A lot of great guitars and guitar advertisements in there!

Some examples:

Guitar Steve's Dragon Strat



Kind of gaudy/cool:



WILMA!!!



How can you not buy from the Stooges??



Ah Stevie - may you rest in peace



I just found out last night that my daughter's boyfriend of 4 years has been keeping from me the fact that his dad has about 60 guitars! There has to be some vintage stuff in there, so I think it's time he and I got together!

[John S.]

I just found out last night that my daughter's boyfriend of 4 years has been keeping from me the fact that his dad has about 60 guitars! There has to be some vintage stuff in there, so I think it's time he and I got together!



Bet you're already wanting to get together with the Dad to talk about the kid's blossoming relationship...nah, we know what you will be talking about... Hey, thanks for the photos, always love to see guitar eye-candy!

[Ron Payne]

I just received a new addition to the 'family' - a Charvel Desolation double-cut, with mahogany neck-through body and 3-pc mahogany neck, along with a carved flamed-maple top, all in "blue smear"! Love it!

[John S.]

Always a pleasure to see more guitar eye-candy. Double the pleasure when you get to hear the sound too. Bet you'll be able to knock out some wicked licks on this one! Surely, its a "tone monster". Congratulations and enjoy!

[Ron Payne]

Thanks - this one is definitely a different sound than the Les Paul - almost sounds distorted through a clean amp! I've got a little tune called "Zombie Attack" in the works, which will predominantly feature this new guitar...

[Ron Payne]

"Zombie Attack" has invaded youtube! Really just a bunch of noise, as the description states, but I do love this new Charvel! I couldn't resist using my photos of the creepy T&P warehouse for the background pictures...

RPQx2 music - Zombie Attack!

[Ron Payne]

Time has passed, and so another guitar was needed to continue the obsession! This one is an Ibanez hollow body in cherry sunburst - haven't recorded anything with it yet, but I like it's 'twangy' sound! Since this one hasn't made it to the "studio" yet, here's a link to the most recent addition to my youtube channel using my '61 Gibson, '90 Charvel and the new Ibby 12-string:

Modd-O-Slahd!

The new hollow body:

[John S.]

The simple, straightforward body design and layout remind me somewhat of Gibson's famous ES-335. I actually prefer the look of the Ibanez to the ES-335. If the sound is agreeable and it frets well it should be a pleasure to play. "Twangy" is not a sound I would expect from this one...that's interesting. Congratulations on the new addition.

[Ron Payne]

I'd love to have one of those old Gibsons! Isn't that the era when Chuck Berry was making his Gibson hollowbody sing? I suppose the term 'twangy' is relative - I fell in love with my previous purchase - the Charvel Desolation with EMGs - and have been playing it to death. Now hearing this hollow body played 'clean' through a Peavy amp, it has a twangy sound to me - probably enhanced by my impression that this style of guitar is kind of an old country music staple, going back to the Carter Family days (?). It seems to be well built - no fret buzzing that I've noticed (although I did read some reviews saying this is a problem), stays in tune as well as can be expected this time of year with the constantly changing weather, etc. I hope to grow as fond of this one as I am of the Charvel!

[John S.]

I'd love to have one of those old Gibsons! Isn't that the era when Chuck Berry was making his Gibson hollowbody sing? I suppose the term 'twangy' is relative - I fell in love with my previous purchase - the Charvel Desolation with EMGs - and have been playing it to death. Now hearing this hollow body played 'clean' through a Peavy amp, it has a twangy sound to me - probably enhanced by my impression that this style of guitar is kind of an old country music staple, going back to the Carter Family days (?). It seems to be well built - no fret buzzing that I've noticed (although I did read some reviews saying this is a problem), stays in tune as well as can be expected this time of year with the constantly changing weather, etc. I hope to grow as fond of this one as I am of the Charvel!

Many folks think a guitar is a guitar, period, But players know every guitar has its own distinctive sound and that sound works best for some music but not for others. A keen observer at concerts will note one or more of the guitarists will change instruments from one song to the next. It's all about sound texture and tone. Yes, Chuck Berry used to play a Gibson ES-335 as did Alvin Lee of 10 years after and Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane/Starship. So the ES 335 has some versatility for different kinds of music. The Ibanez should have versatility as well. I listened to some of your tunes, nice! Maybe we can jam somewhere-sometime down the road. After many years of playing, I'm still a learning amateur but I've appreciated music all of my life. I do mostly compose my own tunes, though. (that way, when I play something it always sounds "right" lol)

[Ron Payne]

Being a shopper of Barnes and Noble's 'Bargain Section', I've picked up a handful of music-related books (mostly table-top with lots of pictures!), and what you're saying is echoed in many of the stories told by the artists. They may have a dozen or more Les Paul's (Yngwie Malmstein has something like 200 "identical" yellow Strats) yet each has it's own sound - Billy Gibbon's "Pearly Gates" is reputed to be the best sounding LP ever made. Thanks for the comments on the Youtube channel - I've recorded somewhere around 80 of these songs/abominations/bits-of-amateur-music, and have a ball doing it. Like you say, if it's mine, it's always right and always in tune!

I too am a 'learning amateur' (for about 30 years now) - knowing the basic chords, some bar chords if I think about it long enough, maybe a couple scales, but music has always been my soundtrack to life (weird how a particular song can take you a certain time and place in the past with amazing clarity). Just name the time and place - it would be fun to get together - then I'll ask my wife if I can play! Whenever I buy a new guitar, I take it to work for "show and tell", so having a new audience is always a plus! My direct email is rpayne@nwpipe.com

[John S.]

Ron,
I sent you a PM. Also listened to many of your videos-some pretty cool stuff in there. You're not a big C & W fan...I get that too. However, at least on some of your pieces I hear some Wilco sounds and given their acclaim, that's not a bad thing. Best of all is that you are set up to create any sound you want, so creatively, that's akin to total freedom. The other side of that is having so many choices it's hard to decide which way to go. The fact that you're not afraid to experiment musically is to your credit.

[Ron Payne]

Time to add the latest acquisitions!

This one is a Paul Reed Smith Tremonti SE in vintage cherry (over mahogany)





And this is the one that arrived yesterday - a Gretsch Pro Jet "Goldtop" with Bigsby tremolo

[McHand]

I just discovered this thread, and wow! I play guitar and I would love to play that Gibson C1-E - those old guitars age into their sound so well.

[Ron Payne]

I agree - like a Stradivarius, the wood ages nicely on a well-built instrument and only improves with age. It is definitely my favorite out of the acoustics, despite its less-than-glorious appearance!

[McHand]

Ron, it's not only the wood, it's also the lacquer, which I understand is now banned for new instruments because of environmental reasons. At least that's what I used to hear during my Guitar Center days.

[Ron Payne]

I tells ya, I learn something new everyday! I did not know that about the lacquer as far as sound goes, but it does make sense. I did know about the environmental side though, because a friend of mine built this gorgeous '40 Ford in his garage, by himself, including the application of the pale yellow lacquer because he could not find a shop (at least in CA) that would spray it for him. Funny how all my obsessions and the limited knowledge I have of each tend to intertwine!

Guitar Center, eh? My favorite place to window shop, but I generally buy from Musician's Friend (I know, same people) to save the tax. I've visited several smaller guitar stores locally (2 in Keller, 1 in Haltom City, 2 in FW) and was surpised by the employees' complete lack of interest in the customers, so have gone back to buying from the 'big boys' - sad, but true (to quote Metallica).

[Ron Payne]

Here we go again - I made a trip to the Fort Worth guitar show yesterday and came home with a 1998 Parker Nitefly. This is one of the guitars on my wish list that I never thought I'd actually own (they run around $3,500 new), but I spotted this and was able to get a killer deal on it. While not as pretty as some, she has a Swamp Ash body, a carbon fiber fingerboard, a selection of pickups - a humbucker, a Wilde single coil, Fender Lace and piezo in the bridge (for acoustic amplification).

And an update - I was concerned because the serial number should be 6 digits and mine is only 2 (# 17), so I emailed Parker and they came back and said it is from a limited run of 25 guitars! SHWEEET!!

[Ron Payne]

Here we go again - another addition to the pile - this time a used 2009 Washburn EA-17 acoustic-electric in padauk wood!







And at home with it's new friends!

[McHand]

Nice addition!

[Ron Payne]

Thanks! I was a little concerned with it because the low E and A strings sounded 'dead' when I got it home, but a new set of strings fixed that - it sounds great! I also noticed that Clapton was playing one for his MTV unplugged show (albeit a higher model than mine, I'm sure), and then found that Tony Iommi and Greg Allman also play the EA series!