Bit of a clear out...

Often the trouble with guitarists is we can't let go of our guitars, so we end up with an absurd collection.

Here's the ones I have at my house. The singer from The Bophins has a couple of mine, a few friends have borrowed some as well, but here's the home collection (missing two bass guitars as one lives in the studio, my brothers old headless bass included!).

After taking these pictures I decided to have a clear out of the guitars I never really use. My main weapons are the Gibson and Gretsch in the top picture, middle. In fact most the guitars in the top I use, with the exception of the Tokai which needs a little TLC.

The bottom picture the EVH Special, the Ibanez an the Fender Parlour are the most used. The beaten Jackson second from the right I bought when I was 19, it was a Charvette but only the actual body which was white is still original.

Anyway, what I was getting to eventually is that it's tough as a guitarist to get rid of guitars, you get attached to them, but I decided it was time for a clear out, so I've sold four of them now and another two will be going up for sale shortly. When I get the loaned out guitars back they'll all go up for sale as well.

The more eagle eyed of you may notice the trem on the Gibson - that's a Stetsbar - love them, great bits of kit. No new holes to drill, just drops in where the original trem was and works brilliantly. You can lock it so it only trems down and then if you break a string it all stays in tune. If you're an LP user and you want to try a trem, give these a go.

So, four guitars now sold, and last night I went on a bargain hunt and I managed to get this - so yes, I will be getting two new guitars. There's a reason for that. I need five good gigging guitars. When you gig as much as I do with various bands (150 gigs last year, 180 the year before) your guitars often need work done on them, and you can't be without trusty workhorses.

This might be one of the replacement ones:

This is a bit of a rare beast and just beautiful looking. Yep, vanity counts with electric guitars. Most of us started playing electric guitar in bands because it looked really cool, the lead guitarist seemed to get the girls, and it sounds beautiful. So yes, a guitar has to make you go "ooooh", you need to want to pick it up and play it. I mean, I have that problem with most guitars, it's virtually impossible for me to walk past a guitar without having a little play on it. 

It's a 1979 Matsumoku made one with his name on it which, by all accounts, are beautiful to play. I'm not going to be vulgar and say how much I'll pay, but they go from around £600 to £1k depending on condition, and suffice to say it will be a lot less that the lowest figure. I'm far more excited than I should be!!

As I've mentioned, I'm not a guitar snob, and there's a reason for that. This quasi religious affiliation people have with guitar brands is just brainwashing. Except Epiphone, I really don't like them. I have never found one that felt right, that talked to me properly, I can't feel when the note is going to die, when that bend is going to fall off, and that's what makes a guitar live in your hands, understanding the vibrations through your fingers and feeling the note. Follow my logic here. A number of guitar manufacturers make Gibson Les Paul copies, and for them they want to make a great copy, they have no superior brand to move you to. For the same price you can get an Epiphone, but Epiphone is owned by Gibson, so Gibson actually want you to eventually buy their more expensive Gibson brand so it makes no logical sense for them to make their cheaper brand anywhere near as good as their higher end brand. It's just business.

In fact, I'll leave you with this video which will show you why guitar brand loyalty is not a great philosophy for a guitarist. There are certain exceptions. Gretsch for example don't use humbuckers or single coil pickups, they use their own design and to me they always sound hotter than most my other guitars.

Still, check this out, and bear in mind that you probably laugh at Cort guitars - "cheap junk" I've heard them described as... well, guess who makes that guitar you probably love and rate as much better, that's right, Cort!! Here you go... Who makes your guitar?