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Been a long journey, though, 1960-present
I think I need to find some hands that my brain connects with.
I would say if you have the funds get yourself on a guitar set up course. Knowing how to do it yourself, and feeling the difference to a guitar which has been set up for you makes all the difference.
As others have said they are just planks of wood and bits of metal. (Quite why I have 6 is beyond me)
I found it was easier to find the right guitar when I stopped thinking it had to be a Strat or a Les Paul - Strats are too big, the controls are in the wrong place and the sound is too thin when I play them. Les Pauls are the wrong shape and I don’t get on with four knobs, and they usually don’t have a trem.
I eventually found that I’m a PRS player. They just fit me, and even though I went through a period of thinking they weren’t ‘cool’, I’ve come back to owning one - actually the most versatile one I ever have, which really does cover the Strat and Les Paul sounds very well.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I have dabbled playing both cheap and high end guitars, and the more expensive ones have definitely sounded better (presumably from their woods and pickups), had gorgeous finishes and been nice and light...however I have also found a couple of mid-range Fenders (Players and Classic Players) that suit my crap playing style very well - the neck and fret size feel absolutely right.
But their body wood and finish aren't to my taste. So have ended up re-finishing and upgrading pickups - to achieve guitars that I really enjoy playing. It does become quite obvious when you always grab a £600 over a £2600.
I recently road tested a CS Jazzmaster and a Ltd Ed Player Jazzmaster. The CS was one of the best sounding guitars I have ever heard - ever (particularly the neck pickup). However I just couldn't get the neck working for me. Given it was very expensive, I decided to pass. The Player (which had AVRI pickups) also did really well - I was so impressed. Sadly though it was too heavy for me so was a non-starter. Had it been a pound lighter I would have kept and refinished - and reckon it would have been a keeper (I will try again when they are back in stock in the summer).
When I was younger I didn't particularly like the sunburst finish on my Precision, but it was a heavy supersonic tool and I completely ignored aesthetics in favour of getting the job done - plus my back was in better shape.
So - times and concepts change, and finding guitars that we like is dependent on many factors. Personally, I enjoy the hunt...
Trouble is I still don't really like the sound of the bridge pickup. I thought it was ok but recently got an LTD Eclipse and the SG sounds so thin and twangy in comparison - no weight or depth to it, especially noticeable on palm mutes etc. I'm considering another Bare Knuckle Warpig or an Invader for it which did beef it up nicely IIRC.
Unfortunately after a load of surgery it was too heavy for me to keep playing it so it went.
Never found anything that sounded or played like it, and gawd knows I've tried.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
Whether I will ever chance upon "the one" in either category is very much up for debate.
But as the Stones once said ... "you can't always get what you want, but sometimes...you get what you need...".
Objectively it's an OK guitar. Its a strat with a modern neck, replaced SD pickups (nothing boutique) and it weighs 8 1/2 kg - so it's not light! But I've moved abroad with it, gigged it alot, run weekly jam nights for 15 yrs with it as the house guitar. It's battered and worn and it's the guutar I'll never sell.
Was it 'love at first sight' 'magical on first play etc etc - no, but absolutely familiarity breeds love!
It's comfortable, familiar and I just know it inside out. That makes me play well, reach further and push myself.
I have far more expensive, far 'better' guitars, but I go back to this!
So maybe it's a question of picking one, staying with it and seeing what happens.
I do not so much consider myself connecting with a particular guitar as much as it allows me to connect with some aspect of myself.
Sure there are tonal differences , differences in feel /ergonomics that cause us to play differently, but, personally, I don't believe that bonding with a particular guitar needs to be a thing.