Guitar aspirations...have they changed for you?

[Monty Christo]

I was an electric player until I turned 40, when I got my first Martin. After owning several, I eventually moved on from the brand entirely.

Then I went through a J-45 phase, but ended that relationship when they became uncomfortable for me to play.

That's when I discovered small bodies, and that's where I've remained for the last decade, with a Gibson LG2 and a Waterloo WL12.

I've also got an electric, a pedal steel, and a resonator for all of my other dabblings, but I'm done buying acoustic guitars for the foreseeable future. I want for nothing.

[abn556]

When I was a teenager, everyone I knew thought that if we could have a Les Paul, a Strat, and a bang around acoustic that it would be all we would ever need. Then someone said - “what about a 335?”. Then “what about a SG?”. Then “what about a Tele?” Before long I had gone through 50+ electric guitars and at least 25 amps. Of those I kept 10 of the best electrics and 5 of the best amps.

Then someone said - “What about a good acoustic?”. Now we have 7 in the house. I’ll probably get at least one or two more.

Some people spend hundreds of dollars per round to play golf. Others drop $65k on a boat and $300 per trip to gas it up. Others buy condos at a ski resort. Still others spend a fortune traveling. I happen to like guitars, amps, guns, knives, and travel. If you’re lucky you can retire and still be able to scratch your itch - whatever that itch is.

[BluesKing777]

We can keep learning all kinds of things about guitars as we go!

Keep our eyes and ears open!

So a couple of things happened recently.......the binding came loose on 3 different Martins from 2014 - 2018 period that I bought after giving up smoking, kept hearing how great they were...etc, etc.

They are gone! Repaired, cost a bomb, gone! Disappointed. Martins are out - they have not fixed their binding problems and won’t admit it.

I have some Martins from 2002 and 2006 but there will not EVER be another new one! Keep ‘em.

7 or 8 years ago, I scored my 1993 Lowden S35 at a second hand instrument/pawn shop! Tommy and Phil Emmanuel had signed the top and everyone avoided it like a doggy doo.

But now we are in the high quality builds! Sensational.

So I watch that pawn shop online like a HAWK.

And in January this year I pulled another excalibur from that stone - my 1968 Ramirez Estudio classical guitar. Wow!

Not a huge cost, and the other name acoustics fade into the sunset.

I better check the pawn shop list again, see ya. Kidding. No interest in new guitars now.


BluesKing777.

[Wardo]

I have about 15 guitars. Need to get rid of a few.

Right now I would say that my HD28V, 7Oth Broadcaster and 57 Custom Deluxe amp is all I need to cover what I mostly play.

However, that opinion might change next week or the week after so I’m keeping the LP and 335 just in case .. lol

[Jim Owen]

I forgot to note how my aspirations have changed. I still play my Goldtop. But the current me would never, ever, ever buy a guitar that heavy.

And naturally I wanted a D 45 after CSN released their first record. But I now love 000 18s. And I admit to liking my J 50 just as much as either of my 000s. The younger me would never have bought a Gibson acoustic made after 65.

[RP]

My guitar aspirations have definitely changed. I used to buy inexpensive Yamahas and Epiphones and have "graduated" to Martins and Emeralds. I used to think that I could only own a single guitar at a time, but now I've got a couple. I'd be a whole lot wealthier if my aspirations hadn't expanded...

[Deliberate1]

Davidd, greetings from another David.

It occurs to me that your question has, within in its folds, room for each of the Seven Deadly (or Cardinal) Sins - pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust and gluttony. That is a heavy burden for such a lovely instrument. Though, to be historically accurate, it was a close cousin, the fiddle, that was excoriated for the merriment it created and triggered. Surely, were the guitar more popular in the 19th century, it would have been similarly censured.

The saxophone, which I have played for more than 50 years, is also in the devil's band. My clarinet, including the one I have played exclusively since I was 13, some 54 years ago, is also called the "misery stick." So it does not rely on the intervention of human punishment. It dishes it out personally.

To be sure, there is something about guitars that triggers lustful thoughts I have never experienced with my horns. Again, one clarinet in 54 years. One alto sax in 52 years. One tenor sax in 50 years. But 8 guitars (total) in the five years since my maiden journey into the rabbit hole. In my musical story, there is no youthful, lustful yearning for a guitar that was financially out of reach until decades later. None of my guitars (which are all luthier-built, save for an HD-35) were youthful dreams come to fruition.

So, if I had no decades-long quest for "The One," why do I now find myself with a harem of exemplary guitars that reflect the pinnacle of luthier craft. The cynic in me would say there is some sort of addictive agent, baked into the nitro finish, that triggers an irrepressible urge to visit the For Sale forum, or Reverb, on a daily basis. But that would be a copout. Rather, I think this is it, for me.

I just covet beautiful, hand-crafted objects, whether wood furniture, sculpture, weaving, pottery or two dimensional art. My wife and I collect those things. And, for the most part, they just sit or hang on the wall to be admired. That's all they do. That's all they can do. That's all they are supposed to do.

But a guitar can be a finely crafted sculpture. Convince me that a Wilborn Comma box is not a sculpture. And get this. It is a sculpture that has a voice. One that you can actually interact with to make music. And, even cooler, its potential is nearly limitless, restrained only by its human companion. It is, to my way of thinking, the ultimate two-fer deal.

So, in the five years I have been playing guitar, I have bought several of them. And some of the best of them, from my perspective. They make my eyes happy. They make my ears dance with joy. While I have been a winds musician for 60 of my 67 years, the guitar has opened a whole new musical world for me, of song-writing, and now performing. And a world of new friends and experiences at a time in a life when that sort of metamorphosis does not typically happen. So if that is, ultimately, the price of those Seven Deadly Sins, I say, bring it on.

David

[Myopic Squirrel]

From a "lawsuit" Takamine to an Eastman dred to an Eastman OM to a Larrivee OM, appreciating each upgrade in refinement. A fun journey and hope it isn't over!

[Mandobart]

My aspirations have always been more about learning to play the songs, genres and styles I enjoy than about acquiring a specific brand or model.

In the 70's I started on rock and bluegrass. I had one acoustic Applause 6 string, one acoustic Ovation 12 string, one electric Ibanez Musician 6 string and one Roth violin until I was 45. I always appreciated trying instruments out in shops, but never really "aspired" to anything else for a couple decades.

Then I accidentally started mandolin and soon dove in to the whole mandolin instrument family (including mandola, octave mandolin and mandocello). The more I learned about playing these instruments, the better my guitar playing and fiddling became as well.

I started to get into gypsy jazz so I bought an Altamira M20D Sel-Mac copy. Got a 40's viola that I converted to a 5 string. Then came some custom built obscure stringed instruments geared to styles and genres with no concern at all with brand or what was popular/desired by the general marketplace.

In 2020 I bought my first "good" acoustic guitar because I wanted something for bluegrass flatpicking. After trying out a whole bunch of Gibsons, Martins, Bourgeois, Collings, Preston Thompson,Taylor, Eastman, Blueridge and more I bought a 2017 HD-28. It more than meets my aspirations for a bluegrass dreadnaught.

I keep trying new things. I'd always wanted a round neck resonator. I tried what I could find within a 300 mile radius and bought a Gold Tone with a Paul Beard cone. I kept hearing great things about the Eastman E2OM-CD so I got one and found I really like it. About a year ago I bought a used Martin 000-15SM which is probably my favorite guitar. Beautiful tone and playability, especially for fingerstyle (and slack key).

I keep trying out and hearing other guitars. A friend's D18-VS is the best sounding acoustic guitar I've heard. It really stands out in our weekly jams. If I were shopping for a guitar I'd buy one. I also tried the new Touchstone guitars by Eastman-Bourgeois. Very very nice. But for now I'm very happy and content with what I have, no new aspirations other than keep learning.

[campfireplayer]

I’m happy with the guitars I have. My Martin 000-18 and my Zager are my favorites. I don’t need any guitar better than the ones I already own since my guitars are all better than I am a player.

[PapaLobo]

When I was in my 20's they did . Not since , I collect as a Luthier to find examples of guitars that inspire me as a builder.

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by davidd

Where this takes me is the question as to how much your aspirations have driven your purchases? Does the guitar that is a stretch financially mean more to you than something within reach? Do these aspirations cloud your judgement as to the real worth of a guitar and whether you want it?

I played a Gibson ES 335 while a freshman in college (and I was a trumpet major). I've had nice instruments for over 60 years and that's not going to stop now. When I was in high school it took me literally years (well, more than one) to save up for most equipment upgrades. But I've never spent more money than I had. Did I justify getting more quality than necessary just because I was a music teacher? Almost every time, but never with regrets.

And no, I don't find that my judgement was clouded. I spent money commensurate with my interests. I have friends who spend $20,000 on a motorcycle that's only good for 6 months of the year where we live. They didn't regret it, they loved it. If you spend what your heart wants (assuming it's not the rent money) it's easy to live without regrets.

The Marshall stack did turn out to be a less than practical purchase, but it was a fun experience and everything can be traded.

I'm fine with whatever other people play. I don't make assumptions about their motivations, just hope they enjoy their music. I enjoy mine more on high quality instruments.

[rmp]

I have everything I could ever possibly need. about 20 guitars alone.

Not gonna talk about amps and "gear" in general.

No plans to move or bring anything else in.

I'm heading for retirement in a few months and while I would really like a Gold Top, I can't justify it.

It would be the last hurrah of GAS. Do I need 3 LP Standards? Nope.
But just because I can, doesn't mean I should.

There are some things I could move, maybe that helps to procure the Gold Top, but I'm a bit tainted by the hassle of trying to sell stuff these days.

[jbeecham]

My aspirations have changed over the years, but so have my interests and my likes and dislikes. If I listen to a song I liked forty years ago, I hear it differently today than I did back then. As my musical knowledge and awareness have grown, so too has my appreciation for simplicity.

When I look back at my guitar choices over the years, they are like a road map in my development.

Jerry

[Tycobb73]

My collection consists basically of 2 things... birth year guitars of my family and small shop 1 isn't builds. In some cases like my 2003 webber, which is when I married my wife, they colide. I just find that 1 luthier guitars from shops that are relatively unknown but known by us here are the best value.