Guitar aspirations...have they changed for you?

[PapaLobo]

My 48 year guitar adventure started modestly with a beautiful classical as a gift from my parents, as my career became successful I slowly added more and nicer instruments. After 41 years as a luthier, my tastes have blossomed and I now am able to appreciate the finer instruments available.

[Bob Womack]

Aspirations? I aspired to great things. Inspired by the guitarists of the '70s that I followed, I wanted to be the lead guitarist in a powerful band. I spent years learning to improv and create fills and do call-and-response with a lead vocalist, all while doing the band crawl and looking for the big break. In 1977 I was asked to join a pretty hot band and needed a good guitar. I had saved every penny for three years and bought my first Les Paul. That band an another made up of the same guys began to go places and even got a shot, but we were all in college and I was the only one who wanted the lifestyle, so I lost the vote. It was the best vote I ever lost.

After that I had to re-evaluate my goals. I wanted a happy family and none of the guitarists I followed were able to pull that off. Right about that time I fell in love with my future wife so I decided to pursue recording engineering/producing. I went to college for it but was hired away. In that period I also played my first recording session.

I kept playing in bands as much as I could and as a side venture eventually ended up in a pretty hot praise and worship band with a bunch of veterans. But given that my wife and I had started our happy family, I eventually eased into playing on recording sessions, which I've been doing ever since. I fell in love with creating music rather than performing music for a crowd, and it ended up using the skills I developed in the first place. I'm doing a lot of score work and some "album" work.

So, those were and are the aspirations.

Bob

[Rodger]

A chance to reminisce... good time to do so, as I'll be 70 later this year.

My parents bought me a Kapa electric in 1964 when I was 9. It's the only guitar I don't still have. Lost in a house move in 1984. Took lessons a couple times with it, but gave up.

1971, HS sophomore. Started playing guitar and writing songs with fellow HS student, Gil (you out there Gil?) He showed me how to really play. He played his dad's 1952 Telecaster. His dad said he bought it in 1952. No reason to doubt that as it wasn't really collectible in 1971. in relic condition. I wanted one bad.

Started playing on my own and got a Les Paul Custom in 1973.

When the AVRI series came out (1982/82?), I bought a '52 Tele reissue. Great guitar. Recorded many songs with it. Fast forward about 40 years and I have around 8 Teles including a few Custom Shops, most recently a 70th Anniversary Broadcaster. What a fantastic guitar. Also, several Strats, Andersons, etc.

On the acoustic side, started off with a Gianinni Craviola 12 string in 1974 and a couple cheap Guilds. 1992, got my first good acoustic... a Martin HD28. Sure, the binding came loose, but I glued it. Looks like heck, but plays and sounds fantastic. Now I have a couple more Martins, Bourgeois, 4 McKnights and several other top-of-the-line acoustics, almost all dreads.

I have more guitars and amps than any man deserves. On the other hand, I have no other hobbies - don't golf, fish, never owned a gun.

Musically, played in 4 bands from the 70's into the 90's. Played every Sunday/holiday in church for 25 years. Released a couple CDs of originals (to absolutely no acclaim).

Goal at the age of 17 was to be a rock star. Didn't make that aspiration. But far exceeded my guitar/amp inventory aspiration.

[mr. beaumont]

I thought the Gibson SG was the coolest looking guitar ever as a kid. I still kind of do. I just don't really have much need for something like that, so I never got one...

Maybe I still will someday.

Other than that, I haven't really had any guitar aspirations. In fact, my 3 favorite guitars, I just kind of stumbled upon while I thought I was wanting something else.

[davidd]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I thought the Gibson SG was the coolest looking guitar ever as a kid. I still kind of do. I just don't really have much need for something like that, so I never got one...

Maybe I still will someday.

Other than that, I haven't really had any guitar aspirations. In fact, my 3 favorite guitars, I just kind of stumbled upon while I thought I was wanting something else.

Bingo...

My 1976 Yamaha SG1500 was sitting on the floor of my local shop late 1999 it was something I'd never seen or knew about but it spoke to me. It rivals my Gibson Custom Shop Les Pauls.

1991 Martin D16M. Got it cheap and knew it sounded good but didn't realize they are a poor man's D18V. It eventually won out over the 2013 D18 I had.

The Yamaha LS16 ARE I bought for $350 w/HSC was too good to pass up. Later I realized I had bought a little gem.

Buy great deals that show up occasionally and sometimes you can find a unicorn in the bunch, dump the rest for a profit and move on...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by davidd

...Buy great deals that show up occasionally and sometimes you can find a unicorn in the bunch, dump the rest for a profit and move on...

Good advice - I've been financing my purchases that way for years, and owned a small herd of unicorns in the process...

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I thought the Gibson SG was the coolest looking guitar ever as a kid. I still kind of do. I just don't really have much need for something like that, so I never got one...

Maybe I still will someday.

Bob

[The Watchman]

I bought a D-18 (and later, a Les Paul) when I first started working in early 20s. I had no knowledge or interest in tone woods, nut width, or any of the other things that experts focus on. I just wanted a guitar like my heroes played, and that looked cool. I thought that a "good" guitar would make me a better player (making up for lack of talent) and the expense would guilt me in to playing more often.

My playing never really got much better, and I've owned several other guitars since, but I have the wisdom now to know my limitations and that owning more expensive guitars won't make me a better player.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by The Watchman

I bought a D-18 (and later, a Les Paul) when I first started working in my early 20's... I thought that a "good" guitar would make me a better player (making up for lack of talent) and the expense would guilt me in to playing more often...

Thing is that in many cases it does: when you're not constantly fighting your instrument to execute specific techniques, when the sound[s] you hear in your head naturally falls beneath your fingertips, when the guitar becomes an extension of your body - that's when the magic happens, and over 40+ years of teaching I've even seen it in some of my relative-beginner students when I handed them one of my guitars...

YMMV...

[tinnitus]

Aging rocker here, totally acoustic now and an AGF regular.

I notice brand names frequently touted here as icons of unquestionable quality/prestige with holy-grail type reverence. Guitars in some threads are referred to just by model number because it would be pedantic to belabor the conversation with the actual name of a manufacturer. Universally sought-after brands, it would seem, not unlike the "cool gear" in vogue back when I was playing bars in the 70s ("Yeah, I play a gold top and a plexi half-stack with greenbacks"). Comes off (to me) like "If you have to ask, it won't mean anything to you anyway." Indulging myself in this covetous longing over the decades, I ended up owning all of them at one point or another because it seemed that nothing else could possibly measure up. Some of those prizes I kept and some I sold because I just wasn’t that impressed after I actually gigged with them for a year or two.

Today as an open mic player (with a retired budget for whatever I want), I rotate through 4 moderate-price acoustics, all modified and set up to handle well and sound great (plugged and unplugged). While I’m extremely happy with all four guitars, I never stop wondering what might come next - which I feel is natural. Happy to report there’s no got-to-have-it, high-end/vintage name-brand or model to which I aspire. Instead, I’ll just keep playing random acoustic guitars wherever I go, and I'll know the right one when I play it, which feels liberating, adventurous and exciting.

[Beachrunner]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Bob

I hear ya.

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by davidd

This is a question that I have often wondered about over the years.
...

It seems that people value something far more that is difficult to obtain which then clouds our ability to judge objectively. It has to be a Martin, or a Gibson, or a Unicorn. It can't be brand X because brand XYZ is the standard we have come to desire.

Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man and have lost the thrill of aspirations...

David, you've commented along these lines recently, so your post isn't a shocker on your POV?

I don't think I'm especially swayed by brand, case in point, a couple of years ago I picked up a -42 style Bourgeois custom at the LGS, mostly because it was far and away the best looking axe in the shop that day .. it's sound completely failed to impress. I've played a range of pre-war Martin's OO-OOO-OM-D, 18-28 .. some absolutely floored me, some .. well it's a guitar (they all shared something you don't hear in new, or 10 year old guitars).

My own 2019 OM-28 is a standout among Martins I've played, and it's not even close to the Santa Cruz OM I ordered custom, and have had for a year and a season now (for what I like, the same size as shape, they're super easy to identify blindfolded)

I've just completed my first acoustic build, and I'm quite happy with it. Spruce>maple, it's a wonderful contrast to the Santa Cruz. And while I know its objective value is nothing like my SCGC, the opportunity cost I've got invested far exceeds what I paid for that axe.

Flip side, that opportunity cost approaches the price of my absolute favorite among those pre-war Martins. Not that I wanted to work all those extra hours in my JOB to afford a '34 OOO-28; I'm perfectly happy with the choice made, time spent, and instrument finished.

Next I aspire to 3+ more builds, hopefully my experience curve is positive .. negative experience/learning curves do exist.

[yammieplaya]

I’m very happy with my collection of mostly Yamaha acoustics $500 - $1000 from 1977 - 1993. Sensational woods all around. Gorgeous purfling aplenty. Terrific sounds. Today I filed away some fret sprout on a Fender Stratocaster Squier Series that I bought new for $179 thirty years ago and basically never played. It’s never had any work done on it and is a really nice piece.
I have no guitar aspirations.

[FrankHudson]

When I first became interested in songwriting with a guitar I knew next to nothing about the various makes and models. I stumbled around gaining a little bit of knowledge here and there. The old Guitar Player magazine was a big conduit for information about exotic choices that cost money I didn't have as I worked low-wage jobs.

I learned the basics on a cheap nylon string I bought with a J C Penny's store credit card. I was only about $40, but I had to spread that out to afford it.

I can remember when my punk folk band made it's recording that I brag that the recording budget was less than the cost of a Martin Guitar (would would have been about $600 at the time). That wasn't the cost of the studio, that was the cost of the instruments we used, the tape, the recording, and hand-duping the cassette tapes it was distributed on. The whole thing.

In the 21st century after my wife died, I bought a bunch of less expensive guitars, electric and acoustic. I still play many of them today. I enjoy the variety. I'm the kid (well, young man) who looked in the windows as the shiny guitars who likes having a bunch of them in my studio space to enjoy. I often buy used, often buy "player grade" scratch and dent examples.

I never got the collectable guitar or the I want the ultimate guitar bug myself. I enjoy playing the variety of instruments more.

As to writing songs, the reason I got my first guitar? I've written hundreds. Played some of them live a few times, recorded a bunch of them making use of the variety of guitars I've accumulated and have a small by Internet standards audience for the things that I compose, play, and record that I'm grateful for -- a few thousand listens a month for a big catalog of publicly available stuff spread out in various ways, never millions.

I probably hoped I'd still be playing 50 years ago if I lived so long. I didn't know all I'd accomplish. I'd have never thought I'd own a bunch of guitars that I accumulated in the second half of that 50 years, or that recording technology would come so far and be affordable to me. I enjoy playing guitar as much as I did then, and there still lots to learn.

[Br1ck]

To quote a line in my own song, I've set a low bar for high expectations.