I've been playing/collecting guitars, amps and pedals for 20+ years off and on. Ironically, when I was most active in bands several years ago, and these were the tools of my trade, it was one of my slower acquisition periods. For the last 2 or 3 yrs, I've really only been playing/recording at home, with the occasional show or two, and my collecting is bordering on hording; sort of out of control.
Whether or not I'm playing live shows, recording at home, or just in a binge mode, I've always been obsessed with consuming as much information as possible about every aspect of guitars, amps, pedals etc., their history, development, rarities, etc.
And for the most part, I try to keep my buying as self-supporting as possible, always hunting for solid bargains with strong resale, to fund my addiction and purchase what I really want.
Always a "Fender guy" for the most part, I dove into the Gibson world a couple years ago, and have some favorites across many brands; with the exception of PRS.
It's not that I didn't like them, or had an aversion to them, it's just they were just not on my radar at all. My impression of them was they were extremely expensive, and as a non-performing musician, I could not justify spending 5 figures on an instrument I didn't need, when I had 15 or more at home already.
I was not familiar with the SE or Mira lines much beyond the ads, and occasional mention in a "Rig Rundown" type gear demo.
All that changed last Friday.
I was disappointed while leaving Guitar Center because they'd sold a Les Paul Faded out from under me, when I'd clearly put it on hold, and I was after a quality 2 HB guitar to compliment all my single coils, or HSS configured guitars.
That's when I spied a gloriously creamy white LP style guitar hanging on the used rack near the exit door. On closer inspection I saw it was an SE, I'd not seen a single cut, at least not used, in the stores very often, so I was intrigued. When I flipped the price tag, I saw it was approx. 2/3 of the price I was prepared to pay for the LP, with a padded gigbag: deal done.
I didn't even try it. Just bought it,
After checking Reverb.com and eBay in the parking lot, I drove home, with the intention of polishing it up, taking some interesting photos, and moving it on to fund my pursuit of the LP...
Then I plugged it in
At first, it was like when you give a baby a wedge of lemon for the first time. They expect it to be sweet, and it's not. It's very bitter, but they're intrigued, they keep gnawing at it. Eventually it becomes a key part of their favorite childhood beverage.
I was expecting a totally different sound than what came out of my speaker. And I wasn't too sure what to make of it. I kept at it, in different configs, with different pedals, etc., and it began to grow on me, but still, it was on the block.
Then I was working out a tune that required a wooly, stoner rock sort of fuzzed out, vintage Sabbath type tones. I'd wacked down the tone control on 2 or 3 of my various guitars, not quite there.
Then I tried it with the SE: WOW. What I'd seen as a 'concern' became a huge asset.
In all that crushing wall of fuzz and drive, all others were buried, and kazoo like at best.
The SE not only held up, it shined. The clarity, string definition, resonance all were equally as present as if it were on a clean setting. I was seriously impressed.
Since then, I've realized that with my bright amps, and effect only heightening this in most cases, I need to roll that sucker wayyyy back on the tone control, and then ease it up towards treble until I hit the sweet spot.
It's truly turned into another animal; for me.
I'm really growing attached to it, so much so that I'm looking to address the really only annoying bit: tuning stability. I'm going for the nut first, as that's generally the culprit in 80-90% of these scenarios for me in the past.
Regardless, I'll have to list something else for sale in its place, it's not going anywhere, anytime soon......
Whether or not I'm playing live shows, recording at home, or just in a binge mode, I've always been obsessed with consuming as much information as possible about every aspect of guitars, amps, pedals etc., their history, development, rarities, etc.
And for the most part, I try to keep my buying as self-supporting as possible, always hunting for solid bargains with strong resale, to fund my addiction and purchase what I really want.
Always a "Fender guy" for the most part, I dove into the Gibson world a couple years ago, and have some favorites across many brands; with the exception of PRS.
It's not that I didn't like them, or had an aversion to them, it's just they were just not on my radar at all. My impression of them was they were extremely expensive, and as a non-performing musician, I could not justify spending 5 figures on an instrument I didn't need, when I had 15 or more at home already.
I was not familiar with the SE or Mira lines much beyond the ads, and occasional mention in a "Rig Rundown" type gear demo.
All that changed last Friday.
I was disappointed while leaving Guitar Center because they'd sold a Les Paul Faded out from under me, when I'd clearly put it on hold, and I was after a quality 2 HB guitar to compliment all my single coils, or HSS configured guitars.
That's when I spied a gloriously creamy white LP style guitar hanging on the used rack near the exit door. On closer inspection I saw it was an SE, I'd not seen a single cut, at least not used, in the stores very often, so I was intrigued. When I flipped the price tag, I saw it was approx. 2/3 of the price I was prepared to pay for the LP, with a padded gigbag: deal done.
I didn't even try it. Just bought it,
After checking Reverb.com and eBay in the parking lot, I drove home, with the intention of polishing it up, taking some interesting photos, and moving it on to fund my pursuit of the LP...
Then I plugged it in
At first, it was like when you give a baby a wedge of lemon for the first time. They expect it to be sweet, and it's not. It's very bitter, but they're intrigued, they keep gnawing at it. Eventually it becomes a key part of their favorite childhood beverage.
I was expecting a totally different sound than what came out of my speaker. And I wasn't too sure what to make of it. I kept at it, in different configs, with different pedals, etc., and it began to grow on me, but still, it was on the block.
Then I was working out a tune that required a wooly, stoner rock sort of fuzzed out, vintage Sabbath type tones. I'd wacked down the tone control on 2 or 3 of my various guitars, not quite there.
Then I tried it with the SE: WOW. What I'd seen as a 'concern' became a huge asset.
In all that crushing wall of fuzz and drive, all others were buried, and kazoo like at best.
The SE not only held up, it shined. The clarity, string definition, resonance all were equally as present as if it were on a clean setting. I was seriously impressed.
Since then, I've realized that with my bright amps, and effect only heightening this in most cases, I need to roll that sucker wayyyy back on the tone control, and then ease it up towards treble until I hit the sweet spot.
It's truly turned into another animal; for me.
I'm really growing attached to it, so much so that I'm looking to address the really only annoying bit: tuning stability. I'm going for the nut first, as that's generally the culprit in 80-90% of these scenarios for me in the past.
Regardless, I'll have to list something else for sale in its place, it's not going anywhere, anytime soon......
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