As I sit in Toronto's Pearson international airport, I crossed my mind to start a little forum about buying /owning a guitar and what are the deciding factors for choosing a particular guitar. Sometimes people ask me what guitar they should buy for a particular stlye of music. the simple truth is that the type or style of an instrument one uses is a very personal question depending on many factors. First, what one can afford is probably the first important factor. Although it's nice to own a "real" Gibson Les Paul or ES335 or an American made Fender guitar. There are many options of guitars built in Japan, Korea, China and Mexico that compare in playability, craftsmanship and tone. Sometimes a simple pickup change can turn an inexpensive guitar into a great instrument. I personally have owned in my 45 or so year career nearly every desireable collectable guitar, often one at a time. With the exception of a few hand built guitars made specifically for me (by luthier James W Murphy) I rely on Epiphones, Eastwood Airline guitars and Mexican made Fenders for my work of giging and recording these daysand. Guitars of course, can be an addiction the is hard to break. I really admire the artist that buys a guitar and sticks with it his entire career. I have probably owned nearly a thousand guitars since I began playing. But truthfully I could have stuck with one or two of them for my whole career. Having a neck that fits your hand correctly is very important. Gotta board my plane now, to be continued!
Hi Duke .. of all the guitar's you've owned, which ones have you enjoyed the most .. and why?
I didn't know much about Eastwood guitars .. so found a post on YouTube .. sounds great and this guy can really play. I wouldn't mind learn a couple riffs from the first song he is playing.
Mike, I think SF Guitarworks, on Potrero in SF might carry Eastwood. I know they did a while back.
that's a big question Mike! I can honestly say I have enjoyed most all of them and to pick a few would be hard. I suppose I could say the 40s D'Angelico New Yorker is one I miss sometimes. Or one of the Gibson ES-5s I have owned. I have owned a few Epiphone Deluxe Zephyr Regents whick are one of my favorite archtop models. The 54 Stratocaster was nice and the 51Nocaster I bought in the 70s for $600 was pretty special' and it was mint! But any guitar that has the feel and sound and make me play at my best is the one for me now.
Duke, do you still have that black L-5? I saw you use it several times. I thought it was very cool. I've never seen another black one before.
Hi Duke .. I know this is a hard question .. but why were those guitar's special?
For me, some really nice guitar's I've played just seem to sing, project and resonate on my chest. The other for me is how they fit my body. I'm curious as to your answer as you've played so many, you've played some of the best and you're insight is way past mine.
Hi Jason, No I don't have the black L-5 anymore. It's a great guitar and the guy who now owns it brought it to a gig a few years back and let me play it. It's a great guitar! Wish I still owned it. Duke
Sound is always my first concern and secondly, if the instrument will allow me to play as good as I can. I have small hands so many guitars are a compromise to my playing ability. It's always a compromise of some sort for me.
It's a personal decison to me. A comprimise between sound, playability, overall feel/vibe and tone for me. Often for me one instrument may have a sound I love but I don't dig the feel. Some archtops have too thick a neck or are too thick bodywise. It's a personal thing. It's always somthing. if a guitar is too deep my stomach gets in the way! LOL! I'm a very fussy guitar player. It comes with old age. Duke
Hi Duke,
Wow! I can't believe you think you have small hands. I've always thought I had small hands and figured that was something holding me back. If you think you have small hands than I must have little flippers! :(
I have been playing my 60 classic LP a lot lately and my ES345 from 68 or so....I use my resonators for slide and a Larivee parlor or ooo15 martin for acoustic playing. I have a pretty big fleet..Silvertones Teles Strats and assorted other stringed things around here. I do as much of my own set up and repair as i can. I try ot match the right guiatr with teh material I am playing....the right tools for the job. the good craftman respects his tools but is not to dear about them.
What do you guys think of all the different price points these days?
People speak so highly of cheaper guitars - Korean, Mexican... Japanese isn't so cheap nowadays! Then you've got the USA made ones. Then you've got a whole other breed of $5000+ guitars! Masterbuilt Fenders, Custom Shop Gibsons, guitars from people like John Suhr. It's hard to imagine that the guitars made back in the 50's/60's would have had as much consistency as even the current Mexican Fenders for example.
What do you think - do you get what you pay for? Or is it just the case that a market exists for very high end guitars just because some people have the money and want to spend it?
My own experience is... I got really in to Japanese guitars for a long time, and they were good value for money. Now not so much as the old ones are going for such high prices! I've had 2 relatively high end Korean guitars (a Peerless and an Ibanez) but I wasn't crazy about them - they felt a bit "dead" to me. But then I don't know how much of this is in the mind! I have a friend who recently got a Suhr and it's stunning, plays and sounds amazing.
I'm thinning down - like DaddyRay says, the right guitar for the material. Also trying, finally, to become a better guitar player (thanks for the inspiration, Duke, and that Zephyr Regent!) and not hide behind the GAS as a way to rationalize my playing level.
However, in this golden age of boo-teek pickup winders and titanium bridge saddle makers, it's easy for me to get lost in the "trees" and forget you can play the blues with any old (or new) guitar.
Having a wife that gives me the Sicilian Look when I come into the house with a new acquisition helps keep the herd thin too. :-)
LOL, very true and well said, Duke.
My current way of playing is to give each of them a week, so they don't get lonely, and I don't forget how cool they all are.
I know this thread is a bit old now, but since I'm relatively new here, I'm adding my 2 cents.
I wanted to make a point about small hands. I'm 5'6", and consequently have pretty small hands. My piano teacher at Berklee in the 70s was a guy named Dean Earl, who was a great musician, teacher and person. Dean was trying to get me to play some 10ths in my left hand, and I was having enough trouble just playing octaves! I said, "Dean, I just can't reach it, man, my hands are too small!". He said, "Stand up". I stood up. Dean was about 5'3" or 5'4". He said hold out your hands, which I did. My fingers were longer than his! He sat down and played some incredible stride riffs using 10ths up and down the keyboard. Dean said, "First, learn to relax your hands while you play and practice stretching them", and while he said that, he was pushing his palm against the wood of the piano, showing me how far he could stretch his thumb to little finger. "Second", he continued, "Stop telling me what you can't do, and show me what you can do." I suppose if he was Yoda, he would've said "Do or do not, there is no try". ;-)
Just wanted to pass this on to other folks with smaller hands to say that the size of your hands may affect your style, but doesn't have to limit your musicianship. Look what Django did with only two fingers!
I'll get down off my soapbox now. Thanks again Duke for your lessons and musical insights! They've made a real difference in my life and that's no exaggeration. Did you ever get into playing any Otis Rush stuff? I was trying to cop some of his licks from "Double Trouble" yesterday. What a ferocious, soulful and haunting player he was!
There's a great live clip of him playing "I Can't Quit You Baby" on YouTube but it drives me crazy watching him playing left-handed. It makes my brain hurt trying to translate it! ;-)
Cheers, all.
Hi Bruce, I suppose you do nearly anything if you really are persistent and practice a ton. My hands have been slowing down gradually for years. I must say playing a lot hasn't really helped or physical therapy either. But that's OK. Musicality is much more important. We're you ever able to play those stride tenths?
I never got the 10ths as good as Dean, but passable, when I was practicing them. It is a technique that is "use it or lose it", and it's been a few years now since I was doing piano gigs. Learning guitar has become my hobby since retiring from the professional scene. I just wasn't having fun anymore and the LA scene is pretty soul-sucking. I'm 59, so I hope I have at least a few more years to improve on guitar before my hands stop cooperating.
As far as your playing goes, Duke -- I was recently watching this video of you from just a few years ago, and was completely knocked out by your work on it. I've admired your playing going all the way back to the Roomful days, and I do remember seeing you pull off some pretty flashy stuff, but I think you sound even better now; more lyrical, more musical, and that huge bag of tricks to draw on that you've accumulated from 50 years of playing and learning serves you very, very well.
I've been lucky in my life to have some great teachers. You're still an inspiration!
Les Paul played until he died at 94. Check out this video at around 8:40. He's in his sixties when he played this.
