Do you still own the best guitar you ever had? Or was it the one that got away?

[polara]

As I start slowly releasing my meager collection in preparation for the kid going to college so we aren't married to a school zone, I'm glad I stuck it out with my 2010 Talladega. I was attracted by its decent price, darned nice top, and tort binding but it was so crusty when I got it, needing a deep cleaning, a setup, and finally different pickups. The Custom Custom in both spots really did not work for me. After going with a Phat Cat in the neck and a Seth Lover in the bridge, it's... well the best. The clean sounds are just sweet, with the neck never getting boomy, the bridge never too nasal and the middle being really full-range, great for strumming. The V neck is what I loved about the Tally I once played ages ago, and it's absolutely straight and stable, easy to play. It was a shaky start, but I actually own the best (for me) guitar I've ever played.

How 'bout y'all? Stories?

(pictured below after most of the cleanup, but before the pickups swap)

[Travis]

Love that top and the finish is fantastic. My Talladega is also the best guitar I’ve ever owned and I still have it. I’ve had a good deal of really good guitars that have come and gone over the years. My Mirages are killer and still with me. They play and sound every bit as good as my Tally, albeit different of course. But the Talladega is just “nicer” and more upscale than the Mirages. The Mirages are total workhorse guitars, few frills which is why they get edged out..

Hmm…. Board isn’t letting me add pics right now. But, I think most of you have seen my Talladega. I’ve not been shy about posting it in the past…

[pesocaster]

Still have it! The PesoPro!

[tommy p]

I don't know if it's my "best", but my 1981 LP Standard was my first "real" guitar and still my favorite.  I have about 20 and if I had to do a selloff for any reason, that would be the last to go.

[Jimbilly]

  My favorite is the SS2 custom, that would be hard to let go of.  My first good electric guitar (Boogie Bodies strat), which is a favorite, at least partially because I bought it in '85, has migrated to my daughter's room, and I'm fine with that.  I have a handful of basses that I'm quite attached to, including 3 Hamers (chap5, chap4, CruiseV).  I also still have my first good amp, a '72 Ampeg VT40. I've thought of letting it go, but it's not worth much, - might as well keep it!  

[Steve Haynie]

I really feel comfortable with my 1982 Sunburst.  It is likely the best I have had, and still own. 

[django49]

Depends upon the definition of best. My original '56 Goldtop was a great guitar and would be my most "valuable" today if I still owned it. BUT, I am convinced that my Monaco Goldtop with P90s (non-stock) is a better guitar. Not that I ever played them side by side so I may be justifying.

I am convinced that my Rietbergen Prototype is the "best" guitar I have ever owned. But my custom order Superpro (Goldtop over korina) is so damn close and cost (used) 1/4 as much. And I currently think it is the best HAMER I have ever had. For my tastes.

I thought the Talladega Pro might have been the best model (to my taste, that is) Hamer ever made. But when I played a Dolphin II, a very similar guitar, it was game over. For some reason, there has never been another guitar that "worked better" for me, almost from the first time I picked it up several years ago. My custom build from Mike Shishkov is, arguably, better. IF I was playing out these days, it would likely squeeze out the Dolphin. It is certainly a bit more versatile. I should mention how perfectly Mike captured the "feel" of the Dolphin based upon my description and measurements from thousands of miles away.

I DO have an idea (make that two) for some things that Mike could build me that might shift my thinking again. But those ideas seem to be a couple years off, assuming they ever DO come together. So, for now, call it the old beater Dolphin by a nose.

[RobB]

41 minutes ago, django49 said:

Depends upon the definition of best.

[JGale]

[Jakeboy]

0006 remains the best playing and sounding guitar I have ever played.

[kizanski]

I've owned several "best guitar I've ever owned" so it's hard to say.  I do know this, though. @The Sharkowns at least a few of them now.  

[Jeff R]

Still have mine. She left briefly some 15+ish years ago but a conspiracy among a small group of HFC'ers sent her back to my stable. For good.

 

[diablo175]

As I posited in some thread a while ago: styles, needs and preferences change so, what was the best then isn't necessarily gonna be the best now. What I have in my herd is there because it's the best for this moment in time. I'm lucky AF to have multiple bests.

 

[tomteriffic]

Martin E-28 and matching EB-28 bass.  Neck-through solidbodies from the early 1980's.  I'm 40 years older now, but I could play stuff on that guitar that I couldn't on any other. It was my workhorse for a number of years, still in pretty good shape.  The bass has been my studio go-to and it has only seen two live gigs. Both were in Indiana where "if it ain't a Martin it ain't shit". 😁  So, it was kinda self-defense.  Per Chris Martin and the late Mike Longworth, I'm the only original owner of a matched pair.   Despite their rarity, they're likely worth more to me than anyone else.  They'll probably go after I do, just so their leaving doesn't break my heart.

[Camstone]

2016 R8

I plan to take it to the grave. I got lucky, rings like a piano.

 

[scottcald]

Tough, I've got some Hamers, a Wayne Charvel, a PRS McCarty and some S2s,  and others I think they're all great for different reasons.  Don't think I could Highlander them. 

ETA:  If any of these were my only guitar, I wouldn't be unhappy. 

[Dutchman]

Sadly this Newport was sold with many others when I got deathly ill. It was the best guitar I have ever owned! Flawless, sounded way better than it's pay grade. I'd like to get it back!!

[Dave Scepter]

19 minutes ago, scottcald said:

a Wayne Charvel,

Agreed, after thinking about it, my Waynes would be extremely tough to let go... nothing fancy but some of the best sounding/playing guitars that I own... and the neck?.. don't even get me started 💜

[woodpile]

My first real guitar was a '69 LP Deluxe that will always be my favorite. Had it for 10 years and traded it for something pointy that I can't even remember now.

Here it is in use with my first band circa 1975 doing a Sadie Hawkins dance in a Jr. High School cafeteria.

[veatch]

I'm a friend of all guitars.

Dunno if I can determine a "best".  I have certainly sold a few I regret letting go of. A Huber comes to mind...

[Biz Prof]

"....doing a Sadie Hawkins dance in a Jr. High School cafeteria."

That's like a fingerprint for any musician of a certain age. Love it.

[BubbaVO]

My Tally is gone.  Shouldn’t have sold it.  I’m in a hunt for another one. 

[Jakeboy]

3 hours ago, Biz Prof said:

"....doing a Sadie Hawkins dance in a Jr. High School cafeteria."

That's like a fingerprint for any musician of a certain age. Love it.

+1!

[DaveH]

"Do you still own the best guitar you ever had? Or was it the one that got away?"

For me, that is an oxymoron since I don't sell ANYTHING. 😂 It's a curse, but at least I still have the 10 or so "best" guitars I've ever had (depending on the timing and my mood.) 

That said, I need to seriously start thinning the herd, soon.

[RobB]

6 hours ago, Camstone said:

I plan to take it to the grave. I got lucky, rings like a piano.

You've instructed your family to put this in your casket for your burial? Is this to make sure no one else will be able to play this wonderful guitar, or maybe to have something for you to play in the afterlife? Or, did you mean you'll play it until you die?

Maybe you could have the undertaker stage your fingers on the neck in your favorite chord shape?  Better still, why not go full-bore and have a Viking funeral on Puget Sound? That would RULE!