You saw it online, got all excited about it, maybe even dreamed about it, pulled the trigger and bought [or won] it, and somehow survived the next few days awaiting its arrival. Now it's here, and you go through this cursory inspection process. The moment of truth is finally here as you strap 'er on, plug in, tune up, and hit your usual "tester riff" to begin the drive. Having a great first experience after all that anticipation and waiting is a wonderful - often memorable - thing.
Tell us about one you've had.
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I had heard & read the term “Super Strat” in regards to G&L guitars and never given it a second thought. But on this night I would realize I owned one! I pulled out the blue Skyhawk tuned it up. I have to admit that I was a little leery of how the tuning keys felt but she pulled into tune with no issues and after a couple of yanks and bends held tune rock solid. Plugged in, favorite clean channel selected, another shot of “Crown” and all of the sudden I am transported to G&L Nirvana. In all of my years of playing I have never experienced a guitar that I become one with so quickly. I pulled the guitar up to my chest and it felt like it was made to fit my contours, the neck fit my hand perfectly and the tone was Hendrix,Beck,Trower and Clapton all at once. I can only explain that statement with how a wine taster describes all of the nuances of a great wine on the tongue. This Skyhawk did the same to my ears and all at once I realized exactly what a “Super Strat” was. I played that guitar all night and could not help thinking what sheer genius created this G&L and if they ever fathomed that they somehow some way gave these guitars a soul. It almost felt as if this guitar and I were channeling or taping into some George and Leo Zone.
ReplyDeleteWell, first off, I swore off buying guitars over the Internet in about 2006 because of a very bad customer service experience trying to get a guitar repaired that the online dealer would not help me with. Also, IMHO, buying guitars online is a great way to find another person's toneless clunker, much like the process of chance you spend when buying a used car, chancing you might buy "someone else's problems." And with the guitar, you have no way of returning or getting a warranty on it if bought on eBay, etc.
ReplyDeleteSo my process of G.A.S. these days is traveling to my favorties music store (which has more guitars than most Internet sites...) and searching for something unique or special that I don't already have. I always choose a clean amp, and I carry my own picks in my wallet. Some guitars just have a "soul" that you can only find by test driving them. Just because a guitar is "pretty" on the Internet, etc. doesn't mean its going to have that "soul".
Every guitar I have test drove in person and hand picked in this fashion... I have kept. And NONE of the "pretty" guitars I ever bought over the Internet are currently in my flock.
The guitar at the store will talk to me, respond to my playing in a certain way that it causes me to sing along with it. If I find myself singing in the store, usually I have found a guitar I want to buy or put on lay-a-way.
There are also plenty of dead sounding guitars produced at every price point, even the supr-expensive versions the guitar forum people clamor about in endless, mindless textual drivel. But nothing beats trying them out first at the store. I would not trade this experience for anything, and it assures I buy an excellent sounding axe everytime.