Ok, so what next? To round out my collection. Suggestions?

correct answer, as always, is SANTANA!
I'd agree that's never a bad answer. Considering that the classic Santana is morless a tarted-up Les Paul Special, or some other variety of LP DC (usually with maple top)...why is it that it's so much sweeter a guitar than any of those? Addition of Strat-type trem (and subtraction of the wood on the bottom to accommodate it?

One of life's imponderable mysteries. The similarity between the Gibson and the PRS variant kept me from trying a Santana for too long, thinking I knew what it would be all about. I don't know if it's a difference in degree or something more fundamental, but the Santana is its own beguiling creature for sure.
Baritone.
Also a great answer. If OP wants something as different as possible from the rest of his menagerie, a bari would certainly do the job. But I have a strong weakness for baris, and never know if I'm recommending one because the other guy really needs one...or whether I'm projecting.

I do admit, though, that with the current count, unless someone comes up with a really new and compelling bari, I really don't need more.

So yeah, baritone!
 
Sounds like a FUN search

I would look at

Vela , Just a fun guitar great tones
Pauls Guitar the Pauls pickups just cut thru the mix really great with lots of instruments
Brett Mason Sig , and a 305 pickup in the middle of a Pauls guitar :)
408 - The original before the Pauls Guitar more powerful bridge pickup I Love mine !!! on most days my #1
( the Frost one is mine now ) and I made the pedal in the demo :)
513 - If you can only bring one guitar , 513s can do so much also one of my top guitars
IMG_6461 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/
 
If you can find a PRS Brent Mason, (used, because they don’t make them anymore) buy it! It’ll get Tele/Strat, and p90 tones, pretty much spot on. Plus, the 25 1/4 scale lets it play much better than any 25 1/2 scale guitar. The Korina body, maple neck/fretboard, combined with the 408/Paul’s pickups make for a very articulate, snappy and well balanced tone. I’ve seen a few on reverb…good luck!
Thank you! Yes, I'm having to choose currently between a Hollowbody or the Brent Mason, and I'm leaning towards the Hollowbody.
 
Sounds like a FUN search

I would look at

Vela , Just a fun guitar great tones
Pauls Guitar the Pauls pickups just cut thru the mix really great with lots of instruments
Brett Mason Sig , and a 305 pickup in the middle of a Pauls guitar :)
408 - The original before the Pauls Guitar more powerful bridge pickup I Love mine !!! on most days my #1
( the Frost one is mine now ) and I made the pedal in the demo :)
513 - If you can only bring one guitar , 513s can do so much also one of my top guitars
IMG_6461 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/
So many nice guitars!
 
Get a Hollowbody. The 335 is a semi-hollow. I’d say one of the SE’s. The standard is very close to your 335. The Hollowbody piezo has the greatest difference in sound. The SE Hollowbody gets the sound of a full Hollowbody, and it’s own sounds.
 
Get a Hollowbody. The 335 is a semi-hollow. I’d say one of the SE’s. The standard is very close to your 335. The Hollowbody piezo has the greatest difference in sound. The SE Hollowbody gets the sound of a full Hollowbody, and it’s own sounds.
Def leaning towards the hollow body but probably not an SE. I’m not sure whether piezo or not.
 
I would recommend playing the SE Hollowbody (I prefer the Standard for it's no-maple-top sonic difference to my other-brand hollowbodies) before counting it out in favor of a Hollowbody from another series. SEs in general are better guitars than their price suggest, but the Hollowbody is more than than "foremost among peers." It's almost in a different class than the rest of the SE line. It's just ridiculously good.

By all means, seek out and try a Core - but don't spend the money till you've also played an SE. You may be surprised.
 
I agree with you, Gemyneye! I too have a semi hollow Custom 22, and along with the Brent Mason I can do almost any gig. With a HBII, it would be heaven…that’s my next NGD! Remember, just because it has the piezo it doesn’t mean you have to use it. I’ve played several, and I’m not really keen on the piezo. The SE would not be my first choice, I would definitely get the core model. Another one to consider would be the Vela, it can cover some Gretsch tones. At the end of the day, play as many models as possible, and choose the one the feels, looks and sounds the best to you,…also the 513 is an absolute killer guitar. I’ve owned 37 models, and any one of them blows away any other brand so, you have multiple choices, and no bad ones…good luck!
 
All respect to the SE models and I have played many and own one. It's what kept me away from PRS in the beginning until I played my CE 22 and thought "whoa" that's different. Yes, I realize the CE is not quite "core", but I hope you get what I mean. I play my SE at work to practice so I can keep my really good guitars at home, and every time I play it, I am reminded just how much I enjoy the core or American made. Again, I'm not knocking the SE line. They are good! There is just "something" that 'feels' and 'sounds' on the core that to me is worth working extra hours and saving up and getting the core 'top of the line'. So I made an offer on a 10 top Hollowbody and they accepted. NGD coming soon!!! Thank you to everyone for your replies and insights!
 
I liked and respect everyone's suggestions.

However, I disagree with all of them.

I've been writing and recording original music for national TV ads for 32 years. I play guitar on my tracks, and occasionally hire players who do things I don't do to play on them. I also have done many non-ad sessions. I'm not limiting my comments to ad work.

When I first got into the biz, I was told I needed the Usual Suspects. So I went and bought them all.

That advice was nonsense. I was a sucker! Want to know how many times a client asked for a particular guitar in that 32 years? Once! A guy wanted me to play a Rickenbacker, and it was a big project, so I bought one.

There have been many years I've had one electric, one acoustic, and one amp, and have done just fine, doing a crap ton of music in a variety of styles, and being very well paid for it. I've traveled in the US and to Europe for multi-week recording sessions with ONE guitar.

"You didn't have a backup?"

"Didn't ever need one in all that time."

I currently have a few guitars and amps, but it's more of a recent inspiration kind of thing to get myself fired up to write something.

If you're doing pro session work, and need to please outside producers, then sure, you might need a handful of the usual suspects, if only so they don't get pissed if you haven't got what they want. However, there aren't all that many producers who insist on a guitar type, and there are any number of highly successful pro session players who play ONE model of guitar (think Larry Carlton, David Grissom, etc.). There are many players in bands who play one guitar type. ONE.

If you're the type who likes buying stuff, and if you have fun doing that, great! Buy stuff. But there is no real musical need to have even one single guitar more than you already have to do as much professional recording as you can ever realistically be doing, and you could probably get rid of a few.

In fact, I find that having too many choices in guitars causes 'paralysis by over-analysis'.

My advice: play well, learn the guitars you have like the back of your hand, get good tone, have good timing and...did I mention play well, with good timing and tone? And for goodness' sake, write good parts that you can play perfectly; they don't need to be complicated - just musically interesting.
 
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I was way less successful than @LSchefman but… I agree that the one of everything is a trap.

I had the 335 type, a couple LP’s, a Strat, a Tele, and my one PRS CE for years. Initially all the others were for back when you had “real sessions” with other people in the same room, and clients or producers had a preference.

Then, everything changed. I just started getting files sent to me and it (almost) didn’t matter what guitar I played, all that mattered was “sounds good”.

What really changed my mind was a dude I was in semi-competition with, dude rocked whatever he could afford or hold onto (life as a musician is rough). He got a bangin’ gig with Joss Stone playing an Ibanez RG(!) and worked for years with Chicago’s (unknown to us all at the time) most infamous pedo playing an Malmsteen Strat(!), great gig that made him a thousandaire many times over.

What gear you play is just about the least important thing. Yeah, it’s gotta sound alright but, how good you are, how consistent you are, how available you are, how easy to be around you are, how great your parts are, and how quickly you come up with them are all way more important.
 
I liked and respect everyone's suggestions.

However, I disagree with all of them.

I've been writing and recording original music for national TV ads for 32 years. I play guitar on my tracks, and occasionally hire players who do things I don't do to play on them. I also have done many non-ad sessions. I'm not limiting my comments to ad work.

When I first got into the biz, I was told I needed the Usual Suspects. So I went and bought them all.

That advice was nonsense. I was a sucker! Want to know how many times a client asked for a particular guitar in that 32 years? Once! A guy wanted me to play a Rickenbacker, and it was a big project, so I bought one.

There have been many years I've had one electric, one acoustic, and one amp, and have done just fine, doing a crap ton of music in a variety of styles, and being very well paid for it. I've traveled in the US and to Europe for multi-week recording sessions with ONE guitar.

"You didn't have a backup?"

"Didn't ever need one in all that time."

I currently have a few guitars and amps, but it's more of a recent inspiration kind of thing to get myself fired up to write something.

If you're doing pro session work, and need to please outside producers, then sure, you might need a handful of the usual suspects, if only so they don't get pissed if you haven't got what they want. However, there aren't all that many producers who insist on a guitar type, and there are any number of highly successful pro session players who play ONE model of guitar (think Larry Carlton, David Grissom, etc.). There are many players in bands who play one guitar type. ONE.

If you're the type who likes buying stuff, and if you have fun doing that, great! Buy stuff. But there is no real musical need to have even one single guitar more than you already have to do as much professional recording as you can ever realistically be doing, and you could probably get rid of a few.

In fact, I find that having too many choices in guitars causes 'paralysis by over-analysis'.

My advice: play well, learn the guitars you have like the back of your hand, get good tone, have good timing and...did I mention play well, with good timing and tone? And for goodness' sake, write good parts that you can play perfectly; they don't need to be complicated - just musically interesting.
Thanks. I’m coming to the same conclusion and the guitars are becoming more for me and the sound and feel I’m looking for. Granted it will be a perc if someone in the future wants a particular sound/guitar. That’s one of the main reasons I didn’t go for the tele. I played a few and disliked all of them. But that’s my opinion. :). Thanks again!
 
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