41!
I guess my GAS is of the mild type,only 21 guitars to date!
My wife got me a T-shirt in Alabama in '99 saying: 'My old lady said she'd live me if I bought one more guitar. I'm gonna miss that old girl!'


------------------
Roy-Andrè

I don't drink, do drugs or chase women (anymore), but I'm a stringed instrument junky. I currently own over 200 pieces, including my first $17.95 Silvertone. Some are relly valuable, and some are junkers. I've only sold or traded three in my lifetime and I regret that. One was a triple neck Fender non-pedal steel, one an Ampeg baby bass and one a 335 pro (solid body-shaped like a 335).

Some of my favorites are junkers, or ones that will never gain in value...4 Carvin double-knecks..a Robin double with an octive neck, a rubber stringed Ashbury...

Only 4 steel string acoustics, 34 nylon strings. Lots of Gibsons...295, Les Pauls, 335, 345, 255's, two Howard Roberts, L-5's, a Trini Lopez, Barney Kessel. Stacks of Fenders, Guild Starfires and X-155's etc. Basses include a Zeta, three old uprights, Goden, Kydd, Carvins, Fenders, Guild...Misc...mandolins, banjos, lap steels
etc.


I love them all, but only end up playing about 6 or 7...a Parker Fly, Goden nylon string, Goden fretless bass, a Zeta crossover bass, an L-5, an old Giannini Craviola and my favorite 335.

I've been collecting for over 45 years.
Crazy about my keyboards as tools, but just can't get as attached to them as I do real
wooden "strings".

It's been my lifetime passion and a comfortable retirement if I could ever bring myself to liquidate.


Keep on "pickin and grinnin"

Russ

Russ I really do understand your passion for guitars. I certainly don't have a collection like yours but I do have more guitars and basses than I really need.

The only one I have that really has any value is a 1964 Gibson 335 that has grown old with me since I bought it back in 1976. I also have a US Fender strat with active EMG electronics that I like a lot though when I play with my band I mainly use a very cheap Agile Les Paul copy ( a fantastic guitar that cost under $300 ) and a cheap Schecter strat with Duncan pickups. Other than that I have a couple of Ibanez basses and a Fender Jazz Special fretless bass. I have about 12 guitars total and they take up enough space. I would need to rent another house if I had 200 like you Russ. But if I had the space, money and time I would certainly do it and LOVE it. Wooden instruments with strings are so organic and each has it's own character. Even comparing the same model of guitar to another there are differences. Every piece of wood is different .... what a wonderful thing. A few years back I bought a low end Gibson Les Paul Special from Guitar Center. They had 5 of them there looking exactly the same. The saleman looked at me strangely as I tried one after the other, then I finally kept comparing 2 of them. He said ..... "But they are all the same". I just said "No they're not" and they weren't.

About the only guitar I can't get exited about is the new Line 6 Variax that solely uses digital modelling technology for it's sound. Don't get me wrong, I really like Line 6's modelling and own one their POD amp modellers myself. But to tie a guitar's sound to that technology just seems strange. I prefer something I just plug into or perhaps one day I'll get a Roland GK MIDI pickup and put it on one of my conventional electrics. Yes I'd use the Variax if someone gave me one, but at well over $1000 that won't be happening and ten years from now that modelling technology will be obsolete so I don't figure that sort of guitar will even hold it's value let alone increase it.


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 01-16-2005).]

Nigel, it's funny how you get attached to a particular instrument. I have an old Guild I bought back in 1963. It's probably not worth much. Looks like a Barney Kessel but a little thinner, with those tinny sounding old pick-ups and sharp cutaways. They didn't make too many, and after playing it for 40 years, it's a little "long in the tooth". Has a bigsby, so it doesn't stay in tune if you use it. I put the pick-ups Al DiMiola uses in it and in an old ES 295, which was the predicessor of a 175 a few years ago (saved the old P 90's-don't worry!). Another is an Ibanez which looks like a 175-don't know the model number. Bought it for $200.00 and had a piezo pick-up installed. Had a body shop friend paint it 64 Brittish racing green...no value at all, but a great "beater". A third favorite is a 1970's Jazzmaster I installed humbuckers in during my "Three Dog Night" days.

Most of my collectibles are pristine, and that's kind of silly. I keep them for investments, and instruments, particularly stringed instruments, are meant to be played.

Love my "beaters"! And, everytime I take one out, I break into a big smile. Ah, the memories!


Russ

Info for you Guitar people.
If you ever get to San Jose, go to Guitar Showcase on south Bascom Ave.
Gary the owner has in sealed humidity controled glass show rooms maybe 100 or more guitars, and I have seen price tags on them like 15 and 20 thousand dollars. I don't know if he ever sells any or not.
They have a Sound Reinforcement also a keyboard department there that I have spent well over (a ton) of money over the years since 1968 when I started trading with him.
They have an online presence too but don't know the URL. maybe Google?
Best to you pickers and grinners,
from a guy that only has one guitar but 11 keyboards,
Bebop

Russ,

The description of your guild looks like a studio model 301/2/4-402 if it has two sharp cutaways and is an archtop.
(first built 1968)
With one sharp cutaway it looks like a T 100 or T 100D (first built 1958)
With a deeper body and one cutaway it looks like a CE 100(D) (first built 1956)

The serial number is impressed in the back of the headstock and will mostly point to the model as well.
(If the serialnr has a letter prefix I can tell you the model and date in a minute. )

Fred

Playing them gives them life and helps them wear in and mellow out. There is nothing sadder than a beautiful instrument that is never played. Though given the value of rare guitars I can understand why people can't afford to risk damaging them. I guess that's why good beaters can become favorites because you can be more relaxed about pulling them out in any situation.

Your Jazzmaster sounds very cool. I played for years with a friend who played a hot pink 60s Jazzmaster and it was a great guitar. But I can understand putting the humbuckers in it for a meatier sound. That must be quite an axe. It took Fender a while to realize that people do like humbuckers as well as single pole pickups. Now they have their S1 switching system that lets you combine single poles in parallel or serial but I haven't had a chance to try one of the new models to see how well it works. I have always liked the tone range from a strat so it can only be even better I guess.

You mention Al Di Meola. I saw him some years back with his electric band and he is such a fiery player onstage. I also saw him with Stanley Clark , Billy Cobham and Jean Luc Ponty at the Greek Theater in LA while it was a lot more mellow it was just as impressive seeing that lineup as I'd always loved Return To Forever so seeing Clark and Di Meola together was a real kick. Much of the reason I use a Les Paul nowadays is because years ago I really fell in love with the sound listening to Al Di Meola. The weight wearing it playing with the band is probably bad for my back but the sound is so big. I always start the night playing the strat because the sets are mellower and the out of phase settings are cool for those songs. But once White Wedding and Back In Black are coming up on the set list I always swap it for the Paul. Ideally I'd like a mahogany and slab maple top strat that would sound like a Les Paul but a bit slimmer without quite as much weight.

Fred...the serial number on the back of the neck is DE 104. It is a Barney Kessel look-alike; archtop,sharp double-cutaways,about 3 1/2" thick...less than an L-5.

I thought I bought it in 1964, but bought a Starfire about the same time....thought the Starfire was the newer one.

Actually, for all the use it's had, it's in pretty good shape.

Thanks for the info and anything else you can tell me about this. It's one of my sentimental favorites...the one I used as I began to study and play jazz.

Regards,


Russ

Nigel...saw Al DEMiola at the last concert with Chick Corea, Lenny White ans Stanley Clarke here in Lexington in the late 70's...last time that band played together.

I hear what you're saying about the weight of Les Pauls. I bought a Heritage Lite, which is a superb instrument...a lot lighter. In photos, I've seen Al with anES 175...is that his regular electric now?

russ

having trouble having my user name recognized...thi is a test
russ