For me I would say:
PRS custom and JEM777 - it was 1989 I was looking for a new guitar and ended up in Chandlers in Richmond late one afternoon. I'd been in Denmark street earlier in the day and arrived just as the shop was shutting. They kept it open.and let me get on with it, handing me several guitars way out of my price rang in the process. Both were exceptional guitars.
Jackson Soloist - played on the same day in Denmark St.
Friedman Vintage T - what a guitar. Neck actually quite reminiscent of the Jackson above (no coincidence!)
My mates 2016 SG Standard, with P90s, which is a lovely instrument.
All of them had a really infectious feel to them that brought a ton of energy to how I played them. I still haven't worked out whether that is all in my head and the fact that they were all made of unobtanium.
So what are the best guitars you've played?
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But I did borrow a mate's PRS CE (don't know what year but quite new) and it plays very nicely, nice neck, and action is just about right.
More seriously I have some nice guitars and my opinion about which is the best varies all the time. Currently my Tom Anderson Short Classic.
It was the guitar i used whilst I was in a really fun band.
I sold it to finance a "better" bass to use as the gigs got more frequent... The band split up shortly thereafter & I still miss both the bass and the band .
Amazing sounding thing....
Just incredible, beautifully made, perfect guitars. The sustain is almost comical, especially for bolt-neck instruments.
I was really all set with my collection and about to order a custom build when I tried the first Asher. I'm now going to buy a third one instead.
Insanely easy, very fast, incredible neck and sounded great too
EBMM are very undervalued guitars
https://i.imgur.com/Vcns2uU.jpg
At a guess @Danny1969 has played that actual one?
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
Sorry about the toilet.
Incredibly resonant and musical-sounding - it would feed back controllably at will on almost any note... it seemed to almost play itself. One of the ones that makes you realise why there is something special about some (but by no means all) vintage guitars.
It's twenty years ago now, and the fact that I didn't buy it when I had the chance still annoys me!
"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
it got sold in a hurry as the owner went bankrupt and I believe I saw it surface in the usual second hand vintage circles soon after, before it going for what I (having played and bonded with it) believe to be a steal.
That guitar remains both my holy grail and my albatross.
Plus NGDs often have a quality of 'best guitar ever' about them... but a few years later the same guitar is up for sale. And, of course, there's the one you regret selling, because it was 'the best ever' (though if you hadn't sold it then, you'd still have sold it because, in reality, it was only the best once you couldn't play it anymore).
I reckon you need to spend a year or two with a guitar to really know how you feel about it - and even that might change over time. Probably why the 'best guitar you ever played' so often is one you can't play anymore.
That’s Jess Lewis, she’s a young protege type whizz kid guitarist and that’s her signature guitar made by Eternal. There’s probably only a few ever made.
https://youtu.be/HTcK5d-z8jk
Our Danny played some gigs in a band with her IIRC, I think it was a rockabilly band so not very much like that clip (!).