When Did You Know You’d Found “The One”?

theatreanchor

I think I found it at Coda, but I also like my others…I think. Hard to say. I know I’d miss it if it was gone, but I’m sure, given the time and money, there might be another. 

Bigsby

I think the idea of 'the one' is a bit like Father Christmas when you're a kid: Probably doesn't exist, yet sometimes every shop seems to have one.

Faye

ScreamingDave said:

I bought my first SG Standard because I used it (in Coda Music when they still had a Luton branch) to try out a Boss chorus pedal.  The great thing was that, because they thought I was only interested in the pedal, they left me alone to play, rather than hanging around trying to “sell” the guitar to me.  I hated the pedal (sorry, Boss fans) but fell in love with the SG.  So I took the guitar and pedal back to the desk and the guy asked me what I thought. I said, “I don’t like the pedal, but I’ll take the guitar.”   He laughed and said, “Yeah, right!” and I said, “No, seriously, I’ll take the guitar” (getting my wallet out for dramatic effect)

Almost the easiest sale he ever made. 

I toyed with the idea of getting the one in Naturalburst, but that was £799 (2005) and the Heritage Cherry was £739, so I had the Cherry one. 

I realised it was “the one” because I always used to take three or four guitars to rehearsals and the SG was always one of them, and I then realised that if I wanted to play one of the others I’d better play it first, because once I strapped on the SG I wouldn’t want to put it down. 

So a couple of months later I went and treated myself to the one in Naturalburst.  No trying it out.  Just bought it. 

And THAT was the easiest sale he ever made. 

So similar for me - I was trying out SGs in Stevenage Coda in 2004. Came out with an '03 '61 Reissue. Over the next couple of years I just stopped playing anything else, so sold my other dozen guitars. It's still my no.1, and I've played it more or less everyday since I bought it. It's virtually an extension of my body. Cost £1199, I think. 

DavusPG

I'm not sure I have found one guitar to rule them all yet but I currently have 3 that I can happily play for an entire gig with no need or desire to change it: my Feline Lion, my Suhr Pete Thorn HH, and my most recent acquisition a PRS DGT. I'll happily pick any of them up knowing that it will feel just right, even though they're all quite different, but I don't have a favourite of the 3.

At some point I'll do a NGD post on the DGT as PRS had never been of interest to me, and I'd never even played one until the possibility of a trade came up on the forum, but I'm glad it did as it's one of the best playing and sounding guitars I've ever laid my hands on.... but whether or not it's "the one" remains to be seen

wrinkleygit

I realised I had found the “one” about 3 months after I had parted with it, luckily a couple of years or so later I managed to get it back. It’s been parked next to me by the sofa ever since………….. Oh, it’s a tele elite in Ocean Blue, ebony compound neck is probably the best I’ve ever played.

ScreamingDave

Bigsby said:

ScreamingDave said:

Almost the easiest sale he ever made. 

I toyed with the idea of getting the one in Naturalburst, but that was £799 (2005) and the Heritage Cherry was £739, so I had the Cherry one. 

I realised it was “the one” because I always used to take three or four guitars to rehearsals and the SG was always one of them, and I then realised that if I wanted to play one of the others I’d better play it first, because once I strapped on the SG I wouldn’t want to put it down. 

So a couple of months later I went and treated myself to the one in Naturalburst.  No trying it out.  Just bought it. 

And THAT was the easiest sale he ever made. 

Hang on, I'm confused... which one was 'The One' the heritage cherry one or the natural burst one? Or are they 'The Two'?

I tend to think of the phrase 'The One' to refer to one specific guitar, i.e. the 'one' SG/Strat/Tele/Les Paul/Etc. above all others, rather than the 'one' model you prefer to other models.

The Heritage Cherry is the one, that’s the one I play all the time, but SG’s as the one model if you look at it that way. 

Sassafras

Don't know about "the one" but my favourite guitar is the Telecaster.
Love the sound, shape, weight and feel of them.

imalrightjack

Reading the comments about owning only one reminds me of my Strat Plus I bought used. I did everything with it - because I had to. Then I started having spare cash and the madness hasn’t stopped. 

I swear this is true: I didn’t really understand the difference between single coils and humbuckers until I was in my thirties 

theatreanchor

imalrightjack said:

Reading the comments about owning only one reminds me of my Strat Plus I bought used. I did everything with it - because I had to. Then I started having spare cash and the madness hasn’t stopped. 

I swear this is true: I didn’t really understand the difference between single coils and humbuckers until I was in my thirties 

I agree with all this!

skullfunkerry

imalrightjack said:

Reading the comments about owning only one reminds me of my Strat Plus I bought used. I did everything with it - because I had to. Then I started having spare cash and the madness hasn’t stopped. 

I swear this is true: I didn’t really understand the difference between single coils and humbuckers until I was in my thirties 

I have a friend who had no idea they were different designs of pickup; he just thought some looked different to others because that's how the manufacturers made them. He'd never twigged the difference in sound, either. He was about 63 when I explained the difference.

Regarding The One, mine is my Soloist. When I got it my other guitars were that sparkly orange Performance and a PRS SE Holcomb, and after about a month I realised I'd barely played them as I was just picking up the Jackson all the time.

thomasross20

Both my PRS and Larrivee OM-02 the exact same story each time... I was allowed to be left alone and try every guitar in the store for hours. I came to the PRS / Larrivee last (both times) and it all just felt and sounded right, like the stars aligned. Simple as that. 

If you're going to spend £££ on a guitar I don't see how you can do it without the approach above. As opposed to the salesman hovering over you and handing you a guitar at a time ...

Same recently re my Sitka/Bhilwara Larrivee. As soon as I played it, I knew I had to have it. 

I had a similar feeling with a Martin recently but at £5k I passed... I returned the next day out of curiosity and it was gone. 

Re owning just one. I actually think that's for the best. I got by on one acoustic for 20 years, making music. This last year I'm now up to five and it's crazy - less is more, for me, at least.

stratman3142

imalrightjack said:

Reading the comments about owning only one reminds me of my Strat Plus I bought used. I did everything with it - because I had to. Then I started having spare cash and the madness hasn’t stopped...

I think my Strat Plus was my first 'the one'. It's 'the one' in my avatar.

Since then, there've been a load more 'the ones' all of which I still own.

Stevepage

I think my ‘one’ was probably the CE22 I had. Bought from Coda in Luton after racing over as soon as they opened on a Monday morning. Plugged it into a Marshall JVM combo and instantly loved it and it became my go to guitar for about 4 years. Then financial trouble came after being messed about by a solicitor we used when buying our flat, so I had to sell it to cover the debt. Only time I’ve shed a tear from selling a guitar. 

It did come up for sale again on Reverb and I was going to buy it but I couldn’t bring myself to do it as we were selling our flat and buying a house. 

^ not mine but looked exactly like it

tone1

When I heard someone else playing my Strat…

pt22

Great stories. 

Im not sure I’ve got “the one” but I did find something special when I didn’t expect. 

I want to the Yamaha shop in Soho to look at (but most likely buy) a Revstar pro gold top P90. Messed around a bit and enjoyed the Revstar but was looking around and saw a small wall with the SG and SA models hanging. There was an SG1802 gold top P90 model that caught my eye, but it was significantly more expensive. I had a schwang anyhow, and wow, it was in another league from the Revstar. Chunkier neck, low action, a more vintage color gold, and incredible detailing. I didn’t even need to plug it in to tell I wanted it. It just felt right acoustically. 

I guess they wanted it gone so they gave me a great price within a stones throw of the Revstar so it’s now my #1. I’ve since also purchased an SA to match as I was so impressed with the SG. 

So maybe it’s not my all time “the one” but it’s the best one so far. I’m very glad I gave it a go. 

Brio

My Am Pro II Strat was the one until I got my Am Pro II Tele. Now it never gets played and I'll be moving it on.
I have recently acquired a PRS SE DGT and I totally love it and it splits duties with the Tele. I couldn't say which I keep if one had to go...