This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, especially when I reach over to pick up a guitar from the rack. I've 6 in total, 2 of which (AO50's Tele & PRS SE SS) I'd consider nothing short of a perfect 10/10 to me. The neck profiles, the super lightweight, the tone? I'd not change a thing about either of them.
Then there's the other guitars I've picked up over the years - the ones that have survived cullings up until this point because they're really bloody good, but there's just little things about them I can't love. As an example, the Charvel I have, the neck profile is just ever so slightly too small, & the stylings of Ibanez guitars just do it for me much more. But that's it, it's still a brilliant guitar, & every time I pick it up I enjoy playing it because it plays incredibly well & sounds fantastic. But it's not perfect...
I'm sure many of you here have found yourself mulling over this over the years, so I'm wondering what you tend to do? Do you aim to surround yourself with nothing other than personal perfection, or do you settle for slight shortcomings in otherwise brilliant instruments even if they're not something that can be easily addressed (like changing pickups to fix a tonal quality you don't like)?
Comments
My trading feedback: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/210335/yorkie
Overall I'd say I'm happy making compromises on things that are fairly inconsequential, and accepting that I'm wired to always think the grass is greener - so I'm best off enjoying what I have and putting my energy towards playing rather than shopping!
I think setup is lots of the diff between and 9 and a 10/10. But im lucky my local guy is a complete old wizard and enthusiast.
I think you have to ask yourself, what are my guitars really stopping me doing.
In pic the LPC is a loaner, and that does have the special feel and sound, like driving a 6 cylinder petrol porsche, kind of irresistible. Keeping it is an option, but i wont.
Rest are my keepers and no need for any substitutes and pretty cheap guitars. Just late 80s USA stds, 2 squiers (bass and black strat from 1989) and a 2021 sb59 for humbucking duties. Resale value, collectively about same as the LPC.
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
I definitely prefer certain specs (medium-chunky neck profile, medium jumbo frets, light weight etc.) I don't have a single guitar that ticks all the boxes.
Thing is, I'm not much of a player and I feel it would be wrong to get too attached to precise specifications when the best "modification" I could make would be to my playing ability. In the meantime, I just try to enjoy them all: fat, thin, light, heavy and so on.
A good example of that is my extremely cheap Epiphone Les Paul SL, which Epiphone subsequently renamed the Les Paul Melody Maker E1. I have some Gibson Melody Makers and Les Pauls, which are obviously way better, but it didn't stop me from buying one of those SLs because I thought it looked quite striking in black and white and interesting in its construction, particularly the way the neck is fitted. It's undeniably a cheap guitar, being that it cost me 100 quid new and even today they are still only 120 quid, and it still feels like a cheap guitar even after having been set up properly and tweaked, but it plays quite well and has a charm of its own with quite a unique sound.
I think I'd rather play the guitar, and enjoy it. Than worrying about what was missing.
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
My band, Red For Dissent