When I arrive at church in a few weeks, someone will notice that my guitar is different. I will be asked “How many guitars do you own now?”. I am not sure if the question is only curiosity, conversation or based on envy, or contempt. It is hard to decipher sometimes, but I will answer. I do have an answer, I’d like to share with you why I bought this guitar. At the time of this post it hasn’t arrived yet.
My guitar journey is different than yours. When I was a firearms instructor and recreational shooter, I bought and kept firearms for different disciplines. I had a hunting rifle, sporting clays shotgun, a revolver, a semi-auto, a police shotgun and a few other oddities, I used in training. Guns are only tools to me. I only have a couple that have sentimental value. When I stopped teaching, I sold almost all of them. Now it seems that guitars have taken their place. I have learned that my guitar heroes played certain ones on stage, and different ones sometimes in the studio. I have learned that the guitarist that “tap” and run all over the fretboard love, low actions on the fretboard. I have learned that some guitars along with the player, effects, and set up, produce a signature sound.
Then there is the appearance. Some guitars just look bad ass. Social media has allowed me to see more of what the “cool kids’ are doing. I’ve learned through observation that you can play almost any guitar your way. You might just have to adjust it to your style of play. There is a lot of nuance in the “almost the same” portion. I am discovering that guitars are like magic wands in a Harry Potter story, they almost pick the player.
In the search for my tone, and signature guitar, I am trying different ones. I’m in the process of recycling them now as I don’t want to accumulate a room of guitars even as sexy as that could be.
He who dies with the most toys, is still dead.
I just bought a used Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH after a few years of this process. I bought it as retail therapy, for the dopamine rush about finding and acquiring something new. This is part of my self-care regimen at the moment. I am dealing with a lot at home. I like color yellow. The yellow color is associated with warmth, energy, safety, and happiness. I need that in my life. I like the Fender brand. It’s supposed to be thin, and lighter than the Les Paul like-guitar I own. I hope it becomes my Number One, Lucille, Blackie, or Trigger. (names of the guitars of SRV, BB King, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson) I think I will call it Tweety.
This is the third guitar I bought from https://Reverb.com . It’s an online marketplace for buying and selling new, used and vintage musical gear. I bought a Santana model PRS guitar that I first saw there that was sold physically from https://AtomicMusic.com store near me. So I went there and purchased it. I kept it for about a month and subsequently sold it. That was a good example of my quest. The Santana SE model was a great guitar but not much different from what I already had. I got it at a good price and sold it for the same amount to a friend. Now trying to sell two guitars and using Facebook marketplace, https://Sweetwater.com and word of mouth to recoup some of my funds.
I have high hopes that the Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster might be it. It has a mahogany body topped with eye-popping flame maple in amber. I am hoping the color is bright as the pictures. It comes with a pair of Seymour Duncan humbuckers able to pull off single-coil tones as well, courtesy of a push-pull coil tap. I love those when they work. It comes with a set, Indian laurel-capped mahogany neck is built for sustain, speed, and playability. I like the abalone dots that I already see me upgrading the knobs to match. Because that is how I roll.
It’s slightly used and supposedly refurbished so I am saving about $350 on a brand new one. I am praying it was a good move.
For true Telecaster aficionados this model might be heresy, but this hybrid might be my kind of crazy.
If you are interested in buying a Epiphone SG Sheraton Pro II let me know.