Must be something wrong with me

Kerry Brown

Kerry Brown

Ambassador of the Great Northern Bar Jams
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For a long time I thought there must be something wrong with me. I would read long threads in guitar forums about which fret board material was best. Which wood was best for a guitar body. Which neck profile was best, 50s or 60s? The list goes on and on. None of these things made any difference to me. I pretty much liked every guitar I played that had a reasonable setup. I have had guitars with ebony, rosewood, maple, richlite, and baked maple fret boards. I didn’t really notice a difference when playing any of them. I have had guitars made of ash, alder, mahogany, bass wood, plywood, and more. Again other than some were heavier or had an awkward shape no difference for me. I thought something must be wrong with me. Others went on for ever about they liked this but that was poop. They’d never buy a guitar with that. Finally after a long thread on another forum about fret boards I realized that I like playing guitars, any guitar. I like that they are all different. How many of you are the same? You don’t really notice the different materials. It is the guitar as a whole.
 
A good guitar feels good. Functionally, and ergonomically. I do notice fretboard material feel...so I have preferences based on feel(and a little bit on looks :) ). I like baked maple, ebony, rosewood, and even Richlite...maple if the finish feels right....so yeah...I like most fretboards.
 
I feel the exact same! I don't care about the materials, the neck shape or radius. I've come to find many high end pickups are overrated.

If it plays well and sounds good to me...then I'm happy with it!

...too bad it cost me so much $$$ to figure that out!
 
Indeed -- $ and name truly doesnt matter---in the course of this very day -- Ive played -- NEW 169.00 "cheapo" SX Callisto guitar
a midrange Gibson (Les Paul Jr 2015)
MIM Fender Strat
Gibson FIREBIRD studio P90
a Peavey T-60
and a Classic Vintage Les Paul Recording ( the Belle of my Ball)
-- through --
a Fender Super Champ X2
a Mesa subway blues
and a SS ROLAND MICRO CUBE

tell you what--------- I will send ANYONE HERE (except Johnny Goo because he KNOWS THE ANSWER)
1.00 (seriously) ONE AMERICAN CREDIT OF THE REALM !!!
if (IF) you can correctly guess WHICH AMP and WHICH GUITAR from the list above I am
dicking around on" here...................and @JohnnyGoo will OFFICIATE since he KNOWS the answer and weather I am lying -- or screwing with you-- or what have you -- not that I would -- but --
o.k.
GO!
 
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Yep, it's the guitar as a whole. It may be made of various parts but taken all together it becomes something more.

Guitars have personalities.

I have some preferences but they're mostly based on design factors or overall feel rather than what type of wood.
(I do admit to a special affection for korina though.)

I honestly believe the differences between individual pieces of wood are far more important than what kind of wood. There will always be pieces that come along and defy expectations.

It doesn't help that these days there are at least four different woods that are all called mahogany, two or three that are called rosewood, two called ash, and even varieties of maple that are subtly different. Still, even in the same exact species they can vary a lot from one tree to another. And even two pieces cut from the same log on the same day probably are not going to be identical in tone or feel by the time they become elements of a guitar.

I'm pretty lucky in that most neck profiles suit me just fine. For some, the wrong neck profile can be literally painful after a while.

I'm perfectly happy with various fingerboard woods too. Though I did have an aluminum neck guitar back in the 80s with a resin fretboard that felt a little weird. Didn't stop me from liking the guitar - I eventually sold it, but only because it went out of tune when it warmed up.

My concern is feel, and to a certain extent tone. The thing is, feel is intrinsic to the guitar. It's in the wood, whereas you can alter tone somewhat by changing pickups or strings, and it can also be reshaped by the rig downstream. I like a lively guitar that sings in my hand when I pick it up. If it does that, it's fine by me. And those are usually the ones that sound good when plugged in too.

I have cheap guitars and expensive guitars in my stable. Do I feel a bit of collector's pride at having a few that are really nice or rare or old? Sure.
But when playing a guitar I'm not thinking of brand, or value, or materials. Ideally I'm not thinking at all - just feeling, and being fully in the moment.

There are a few I find particularly inspiring, but that's because they feel like part of me after hundreds (or thousands) of hours together.
It's not about what they're made of or what they look like.
 
eSGEe said:
Indeed -- $ and name truly doesnt matter---in the course of this very day -- Ive played -- NEW 169.00 "cheapo" SX Callisto guitar
a midrange Gibson (Les Paul Jr 2015)
MIM Fender Strat
Gibson FIREBIRD studio P90
a Peavey T-60
and a Classic Vintage Les Paul Recording ( the Belle of my Ball)
-- through --
a Fender Super Champ X2
a Mesa subway blues
and a SS ROLAND MICRO CUBE

tell you what--------- I will send ANYONE HERE (except Johnny Goo because he KNOWS THE ANSWER)
1.00 (seriously) ONE AMERICAN CREDIT OF THE REALM !!!
if (IF) you can correctly guess WHICH AMP and WHICH GUITAR from the list above I am
dicking around on" here...................and @JohnnyGoo will OFFICIATE since he KNOWS the answer and weather I am lying -- or screwing with you-- or what have you -- not that I would -- but --
o.k.
GO!
Click to expand...



Nice noodle. I will say the Cube! That thing is deceptively BIG. And the Peavey T60!
 
Mine tastes are somewhat varied.
The only similarity is, I don't like thick necks.
Always gravitated to the thinner ones.
Some maple boards, some rosewood, some ebony.
Flat tops, 12 string flat top, archtop, single double and triple pickup solid bodies.
However there is an absence of Tele like guitars.
It's one guitar that I could never learn to love. I've had nice ones too.
Just never bonded with any, so there must be something wrong with me, being that it's such an iconic guitar.
 
eSGEe said:
Indeed -- $ and name truly doesnt matter---in the course of this very day -- Ive played -- NEW 169.00 "cheapo" SX Callisto guitar
a midrange Gibson (Les Paul Jr 2015)
MIM Fender Strat
Gibson FIREBIRD studio P90
a Peavey T-60
and a Classic Vintage Les Paul Recording ( the Belle of my Ball)
-- through --
a Fender Super Champ X2
a Mesa subway blues
and a SS ROLAND MICRO CUBE

tell you what--------- I will send ANYONE HERE (except Johnny Goo because he KNOWS THE ANSWER)
1.00 (seriously) ONE AMERICAN CREDIT OF THE REALM !!!
if (IF) you can correctly guess WHICH AMP and WHICH GUITAR from the list above I am
dicking around on" here...................and @JohnnyGoo will OFFICIATE since he KNOWS the answer and weather I am lying -- or screwing with you-- or what have you -- not that I would -- but --
o.k.
GO!
Click to expand...

Gibson through the Cube
 
eSGEe said:
Indeed -- $ and name truly doesnt matter---in the course of this very day -- Ive played -- NEW 169.00 "cheapo" SX Callisto guitar
a midrange Gibson (Les Paul Jr 2015)
MIM Fender Strat
Gibson FIREBIRD studio P90
a Peavey T-60
and a Classic Vintage Les Paul Recording ( the Belle of my Ball)
-- through --
a Fender Super Champ X2
a Mesa subway blues
and a SS ROLAND MICRO CUBE

tell you what--------- I will send ANYONE HERE (except Johnny Goo because he KNOWS THE ANSWER)
1.00 (seriously) ONE AMERICAN CREDIT OF THE REALM !!!
if (IF) you can correctly guess WHICH AMP and WHICH GUITAR from the list above I am
dicking around on" here...................and @JohnnyGoo will OFFICIATE since he KNOWS the answer and weather I am lying -- or screwing with you-- or what have you -- not that I would -- but --
o.k.
GO!
View attachment 41818
Click to expand...

Firebird, and Fender Super Champ X2?
 
Neck feel and sound/tone for me come first. If I don't like the neck, nothing else matters. But, I do like a lot of varieties, so the selection for me is wide. And of course, I'm a sucker for an nice piece of wood too. I've been partial to ebony boards because of the tight grain seems to make bends easier and smoother. I then discovered that purple heart is also a very tight grain, dense wood and is right there with ebony.

I haven't googled, but has anyone started to 3D print guitars?
 
Don O said:
Neck feel and sound/tone for me come first. If I don't like the neck, nothing else matters. But, I do like a lot of varieties, so the selection for me is wide. And of course, I'm a sucker for an nice piece of wood too. I've been partial to ebony boards because of the tight grain seems to make bends easier and smoother. I then discovered that purple heart is also a very tight grain, dense wood and is right there with ebony.

I haven't googled, but has anyone started to 3D print guitars?
Click to expand...
Yes, some cat on the Gear Page did one.
I'll find a link.

Here:

I 3D Printed a Guitar!

Those who know me know that I'm a huge nerd, so it should come as no surprise that I 3D printed a Strat body that actually plays and actually works with an amp. Check out all the gory details in my blog post about it! https://www.gad.net/Blog/2020/04/05/3d-printed-guitar/ Let me see if I can...
www.thegearpage.net
 
I got a general idea of what guitar i like,want,build ect. Then i beat it into the shape i want it. no guitar i have is stock but none of them cost over 1000 either.Necks ? I dont care,some i like better than others but .My favotite neck i own is a damn Fender Squire maple Telecaster neck .Made in china or some where over there.like a slim taper 60s Gibby neck,that antique looking colored poly finish. is my favorite neck.
 
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