What is your guitar whim right now?

[Splatocaster]

2018 Elite. Somebody bought it and shoved it in a closet. It’s minty fresh.

 

[skolacki]

LOL! Bizarre Guitar! I've been there once or twice in 31 years living in the Phoenix metro area.

Bizarre Guitar in Reno sells online only now. It’s a bummer cause they have a nice store. I bought my Taylor there.That leaves me with GC and they don’t have the inventory they used to. Not in Reno anyhow.

 

[rog]

I actually just grabbed my guitar whim, a couple of weeks ago:




It's really scratching the itch, and I don't currently desire anything else...but a Rick Toone Goshawk is a dream guitar for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to justify the cost, unless I get a late-in-life gigging resurgence that puts some money in my pocket, but it's an amazing instrument (as are all of Rick's crazy guitars).

 

[rossipedia]

I haven't had an S-style HSS guitar for a while now, but I just can't stand the standard Strat-style bridge. I'm much more a Floyd kinda player, so I have my eye on this one here.



The white one has the pickups I'd prefer (Fluence), but the finish on this one is so much more my jam. I can always put Fluences in after the fact, too.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I haven't had an S-style HSS guitar for a while now, but I just can't stand the standard Strat-style bridge. I'm much more a Floyd kinda player, so I have my eye on this one here.

View attachment 108712

The white one has the pickups I'd prefer (Fluence), but the finish on this one is so much more my jam. I can always put Fluences in after the fact, too.

Yeah, I've been eyeing that one too for a while.

 

[iaresee]

Were money no object though...

 

[TSJMajesty]

It's really scratching the itch, and I don't currently desire anything else...but a Rick Toone Goshawk is a dream guitar for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to justify the cost, unless I get a late-in-life gigging resurgence that puts some money in my pocket, but it's an amazing instrument (as are all of Rick's crazy guitars).

View attachment 108710

This is pretty sweet!

 

[rog]

This is pretty sweet!

Thank you!

 

[Henry]

I haven't had an S-style HSS guitar for a while now, but I just can't stand the standard Strat-style bridge. I'm much more a Floyd kinda player, so I have my eye on this one here.

View attachment 108712

The white one has the pickups I'd prefer (Fluence), but the finish on this one is so much more my jam. I can always put Fluences in after the fact, too.

I have that one. It's a pretty good one. Shortly after I bought that one I got the Schecter Exotic Black Limba, for very similar price, but have to say that one is just a bit nicer, especially the push-in trem. I still have both and play them too.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I have that one. It's a pretty good one. Shortly after I bought that one I got the Schecter Exotic Black Limba, for very similar price, but have to say that one is just a bit nicer, especially the push-in trem. I still have both and play them too.

I have that Schecter model too, though I’ve swapped the pickups and rewired it. Good to know how it compares.

 

[rossipedia]

I have that one. It's a pretty good one. Shortly after I bought that one I got the Schecter Exotic Black Limba, for very similar price, but have to say that one is just a bit nicer, especially the push-in trem. I still have both and play them too.

Honestly, I might still be a bit biased, but I just don't have any interest in Schecters. About 20 years back when I was touring I would pick up the Schecters from other bands that I was touring with and they just always felt... off. Not bad, per-se, just... off. Maybe I should give them another shot though... (My band at the time had a deal with ESP, which is where my love for that brand comes from).

 

[Piing]

Honestly, I might still be a bit biased, but I just don't have any interest in Schecters. About 20 years back when I was touring I would pick up the Schecters from other bands that I was touring with and they just always felt... off. Not bad, per-se, just... off. Maybe I should give them another shot though... (My band at the time had a deal with ESP, which is where my love for that brand comes from).

The Schecter Nick Johnston Custom Shop USA is the best Strat I've ever played. Above Fenders and Suhrs

 

[JasonE]

Well, I had a whim to get a proper telecaster for about a day, then this popped up at the local GC of all places:View attachment 108648

I played one exactly like this for about a decade. I really liked the one I had. I ended up playing a different genera of music and sold both of my Telecasters because I wasn't using them. Well, two years ago I got the Tele bug again and bought two of them to replace the two I sold.

I recently got the bug again for a Nashville Tele. I have always wanted one but for some reason I never bought one. I started looking at them again and then made the decision to turn the Ultra Tele that I bought two years ago into a Nashville Tele. The last of the parts just came in this week so it will probably get converted this weekend. Now all I have to do is resist the urge to own one with a B bender in it.

 

[Sorenspete]

I'm much more a Floyd kinda player, so I have my eye on this one here.

I've discovered this recently. I'm so used to OFR's I can't play anything else - not even Gotohs. My Horizon has a Gotoh floyd and it just doesn't feel right.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Got my eye on a used Collings City Limits, but I want to play it first, and I'm out of town this week.
We'll see..
View attachment 108294

So I played this today and I liked it, really liked it, a lot. Rang my bell way past anything else in this recent birthday exploration.

Super dug the tones, all 3 positions. Articulate, fat, rich, classy, and just plain cool. Think I might have just discovered I'm a Throbak fan, but it's probably not just that. Neck was a bit chunkier and rounder than I'm used to, not a bad thing, just different.

I also played a used Gibson 60-something-replica 335, and a used "Gibson Custom Shop WW Spec 60 Les Paul Standard" (WW being Wildwood, the shop), neither of which lit me up.

Only reason I didn't buy the Collings on the spot is that it's really a lot of money, for me at least, $4500 plus almost $300 sales tax. I've never paid anywhere near that much for a guitar ever.

Nice guitar though. Pretty much what I was looking for, so I guess I'm either willing to spend that much on myself right now or I'm not. Shop is 5 minutes from my house, told them I'm thinking on it.

 

[Dave Merrill]

So I played this today and I liked it, really liked it, a lot. Rang my bell way past anything else in this recent birthday exploration.

Super dug the tones, all 3 positions. Articulate, fat, rich, classy, and just plain cool. Think I might have just discovered I'm a Throbak fan, but it's probably not just that. Neck was a bit chunkier and rounder than I'm used to, not a bad thing, just different.

I also played a used Gibson 60-something-replica 335, and a used "Gibson Custom Shop WW Spec 60 Les Paul Standard" (WW being Wildwood, the shop), neither of which lit me up.

Only reason I didn't buy the Collings on the spot is that it's really a lot of money, for me at least, $4500 plus almost $300 sales tax. I've never paid anywhere near that much for a guitar ever.

Nice guitar though. Pretty much what I was looking for, so I guess I'm either willing to spend that much on myself right now or I'm not. Shop is 5 minutes from my house, told them I'm thinking on it.

Forgot another one I played, a b3 SL. On the face of it very similar to the Collings, a modernized and classed-up Les Paul, ish, quality guitar. Couldn't exactly tell you why, but I way preferred the Collings.

 

[Hellbat]

I believe Cliff grabbed himself a Collings a couple of years ago and he was pretty happy with it IIRC.

 

[marsonic]

If I saw one and it was good, I'd buy a Beato LP Special. But, it looks like I missed the boat for finding a new one because I just wasn't paying enough attention.

 

[Dave Merrill]

So I played this today and I liked it, really liked it, a lot. Rang my bell way past anything else in this recent birthday exploration.

Super dug the tones, all 3 positions. Articulate, fat, rich, classy, and just plain cool. Think I might have just discovered I'm a Throbak fan, but it's probably not just that. Neck was a bit chunkier and rounder than I'm used to, not a bad thing, just different.

I also played a used Gibson 60-something-replica 335, and a used "Gibson Custom Shop WW Spec 60 Les Paul Standard" (WW being Wildwood, the shop), neither of which lit me up.

Only reason I didn't buy the Collings on the spot is that it's really a lot of money, for me at least, $4500 plus almost $300 sales tax. I've never paid anywhere near that much for a guitar ever.

Nice guitar though. Pretty much what I was looking for, so I guess I'm either willing to spend that much on myself right now or I'm not. Shop is 5 minutes from my house, told them I'm thinking on it.

So. Decision time.

This Collings is pretty much what I was after, a quality LP-ish guitar, only better. A lot of money by my standards, but used, so significantly less than most Collings, and local, so I can actually play and hear it.

What's left to decide?

First, am I ok spending that much? TBD.

Second, which I didn't know I might care about until I realized I was thinking about it, am I a "nice guitar", "classy guitar" guy? Mostly my guitars have been sort of funky, not fancy. This one isn't super ostentatious or it'd be a hard pass, but it is a couple levels up from anything I've owned, in quality and appearance.

That's also connected to the money -- am I comfortable being a guy who owns a guitar that costs that much? I work at a non-profit. I'm not gigging any more, haven't for as long time. I can do this in the sense that I can pay for it, but it's not like we're super well off, and I'll be 70 this week. The Ritz this is not.

I don't know how to think about this, except to wait until I think I'm sure, one way it the other.

Thoughts? Given the all the shiny PRS sightings around here, I'm guessing most folks in this neighborhood don't have my downscale instincts.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Best of luck. When money really means something, it’s always a tough choice, I know. I hope whatever way you go you can do it with a sense of peace.