Your main guitar and its story.

EricTheWeary

just noticed the Dano 1969 within the graphic and is that a Fender logo on the head? Although I didn't think any bit of it was actually Fender despite the general shape?

chrishill901

My Tokai LP:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/66779984@N08/sets/72157629128916395/

It is a 2000 MIJ (open book headstock) LS60 which I believe given their naming equates to todays ULS90. I have always wanted a Gibson Les Paul but never had the cash, and if i'm honest around that time I played a few in Soundcontrol and was unimpressed with the feel. This guitar was more like what I was expecting. It is so heavy I get back ache after a long gig, but the tone is gorgeous.

I am its 3rd owner - I managed to use google to track its history through forums and found the first owners posts about it. He bought it new and and cared for it so much he had it microchipped like a dog. I think in the end it was too precious and he found himself not playing it. Owner 2 just couldnt get on with a Les Paul so sold it on to me. Somewhere down the line someone bought a Gibson case for it which I ended up with. Essentially I got a hardly played gem

I got it for £450, and managed to sell the Gibson case for around £110 - so effectively I got an MIJ Tokai for £340! I took the Seymour Duncan AP2s out of my other Les Paul copy and I have never looked back. Every guitar I own pales in comparison and heads turn when I get it out of the case. When other people play it they are amazed by its quality, even Gibson owners. Recently I bought another 2 guitars in an effort to find a suitable gigging replacement so I dont damage this one... some may remember the forum questions about guitars! - Anyway, nothing compares. I sold one replacement and kept the other because it was too pretty and I still gig this all of the time.

My bassist rather hilariously texted me after buying an Ibanez SR1800 saying 'its not a bass, its an extension of my mind' - I ripped him for it but on reflection I know exactly what he means - I can play things on that guitar that I simply could not imagine to on another. My hands just 'fit' and it just allows me to express myself. I will get other guitars in the future, and im hoping to upgrade my PRS copy and gig that too, but this will always be the main guitar I come back to - with it I feel like I have a 'sound' - I know there are loads of Les Paul players out there, and with the AP2s its a bit 'Slash', but its how it allows me to play that I feel contributes to the 'sound' - when I play other guitars I feel one dimensional in both technique and tone, but when I play this everything comes alive.

Danny1969

EricTheWeary;276090" said:

just noticed the Dano 1969 within the graphic and is that a Fender logo on the head? Although I didn't think any bit of it was actually Fender despite the general shape?

Yeah none of it is fender

xSkarloey

Probably not my main guitar, but still one of my very favourites and certainly one of the proverbial 'keepers', this story is about how I acquired my Classic Vibe Tele in March 2013. 

I had always loved Telecasters and Telecaster players, especially heroes of mine like Jerry Donahue. 

That said, I simply don't have time enough to play as much as I'd like to, so for better or worse (and call it false economy if you like) I've never bought a US or Japanese Tele or any other pricier brand of T-type guitar because I couldn't justify the outlay to myself. As a left hander it was always a case of either buy a Mexican model (none of which appealed) or spend big on a US Std, a RI or something like a G&L. For that reason I had always thought of getting a cheaper Tele, and had seriously considered making one for myself out of parts. 

Anyway, it seems that budget Left Handed Teles are like buses. Wait a whole lifetime for one to turn up and then two come along at once Imagine my delight to find that Squier had issued not only an Affinity but also a Classic Vibe. 

For months and months I hummed and hawed about the CV. It had absolutely everything I wanted in terms of looks and construction: It's just a classic Tele in every sense. It gets a lot of rave reviews on forums and in print to boot.  

Just a couple of problems for me though: number one was how do I justify to the missus the purchase of another guitar? And second, how the hell do I physically get out to a guitar shop to try one? You see I'm a 'try before you buy' sort of bloke, and buying off the net is something I'd rather avoid unless absolutely necessary. The other problem I've got is that I have so many other commitments that actually being able to get to a guitar shop is something that only happens once in a blue moon. 

Anyway, one day in March 2013 I got a lucky break. I actually had a couple of hours spare one day which meant I was a free man. I was suffering a particularly acute attack of Tele gas at that time. So I phoned Peter Cooks in Hanwell and lo and behold they had one in stock. 

"That's mine" I thought and a short time later I was in the shop where the owner had the guitar out for me waiting on a stand to try. 

Needless to say it was everything I hoped it would be. 

18 months on I still love the guitar, and my missus still doesn't know I bought it, since it lives in a safe and discrete location somewhere in the house.  

So please, no comments along the lines of "pics or it didn't happen" since I can't run the risk 

Megii

I'd have to call this my main guitar - it does the bulk of the gigs I get:

It is a lowly Korean made Shine that I bought about 2 years ago from Chase Direct in Manchester - they were selling them for £95 for quite a while, I have no idea why so cheap - the guitar model seems to have been last made by Shine in 2005 from what I can tell, and intended to sell then for around £350 ish. Maybe the ones Chase were selling were B stock that they bought up, or something - I have no idea. I have changed the pickups, fitting a GFS "Surf 90" from Guitar Fetish in the neck, and a Warman G-Rails in the bridge, plus re-wired with new push-pull pots, cap, pickup selector switch and shielding. Not boutique pickups by any means, but I really like the sound from the neck pickup especially - which is handy cos that's the one I use 99% of the time (I play in jazz bands mainly).  The body of the guitar is basswood - the quilt maple "top" is just a veneer - no matter, the guitar sounds resonant and lively acoustically, albeit with a certain smooth, rounded quality also, and it really works well as a jazz guitar workhorse.

I find the shape and dimensions very ergonomic (comfortable and compact) , and the build quality seems nice to me - good standard of finish, and the binding very cleanly done. Nice quality dark rosewood on the fingerboard too. Shortly after getting it, I gave the frets a level and dress, and the guitar now is set up with a fairly low action and 11-49 gauge roundwounds. I guess my total spend on the guitar was not quite £200, but despite the low cost, I would hugely miss this guitar if I lost it. Actually I also have a red one of the same model, which is also great, but that has alnico 2 humbuckers fitted, and on the whole I tend to prefer the fat single coil sound from the neck GFS Surf 90 pickup in the trans-black one above. I occasionally get guitarists asking what brand guitar it is, thinking it is something expensive, and there is some surprise when I tell them it's a "cheapo" Shine.

Other guitars I do use for some gigs include an Ibanez Joe Pass JP20 model archtop, and my partscaster swamp ash tele, but the one that I could use for every gig if I wanted is definitely the Shine...