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[Chad K.]

On all these guitar threads I have noticed a tendency of people to buy the standard issue fare (i.e. strat, les paul, j-bass, maybe a jaguar if you're feeling frisky).  So who out there is into more obscure guitars (either brand or model)?

I currently only play weird-ass and lesser known guitars, typically of the late 70's early 80's Japenese variety.  They have that vintage vibe, they're well constructed, and they're normally cheap as hell.  I'm currently rocking-

1.  no-name 70's ash slab japanese jazz bass copy nicknamed the "Millenium Falcon" because it's pieced together with lots of different parts from other basses, as well as upgrades like a Badass II, and emgs. It has a cigarette burn on the headstock from a prior owner, several screw holes from different bridge covers, and vibe and tone for miles.  I love this bass.

2.  80's Yamaha BB200 that I am in the process of stripping and will be staining soon and giving a pickup upgrade to Teslas.  I will probably put on a tortoise shell pickguard and fender-style bridge cover.

3.  '82 Ibanez Roadstar bass, refinish to a chocolate brown stain and new custom cut pickguard. 

4.  '81 Aria Pro II Thor Sound stripped and refinished in walnut stain with Gibson humbuckers, coil taps installed and gibson pickup covers.  It's a monster.

I have owned the following crazy-cool guitars-

1. '54 Kay Hollowbody nicknamed "The Dirty Kay" that had been mysteriously stripped and relacquered with a paintbrush, which had yellowed.  Played like a baseball
bat and sounded like a Mississippi juke joint

2.  '60's Burns/Baldwin Vibraslim Hollowbody bass - The coolest bass I've ever owned.  I traded it for an '81 Ibanez Studio 100 thinking after years and years of playing bass I wanted to be a guitarist.  I bought it for $500 4 years ago, it is currently in the $1500- $2000 range as it is the crossover year when Baldwin pianos bought Burns guitars, so both names are all over the parts.  Dumb trade on my part.

3.  Electra Les Paul Copy-  Made by Saint Louis Music (Ampeg, Alvarez, etc.) and designed by a friend's dad in the 70's who headed up Electra's production.  It played like butter and looked gawdy as hell with its gold hardware.  Fun fact- contrary to popular belief, Frampton played these things, not Gibson Les Pauls.

4.  Said Ibanez Studio 100 - If you can buy one- do it.  Brass hardware, coil taps, screaming pickups, all natural mahogany body, this was a close second to my Aria.  I sold it to a good friend with the understanding that I have a right of first refusal.

5.  '81 Fender Squier Bullet bass- When Squier meant "Japanese" not "Cheap Piece of Shit".  This odd duck was Fender's solution to a problem caused by tele bass necks and no tele model in production.  It had a smaller, precision body, mustang mini single-coils, and a full scale tele neck.  You used to be able to get them for $150-$200.  Now they're recognized for the tone monsters they are, so getting one less than $450-$500 is hard.  I got rid of it because the damn single coils had 60 cycle hum like crazy.  It also created many "Spinal Tap" moments live, with radio signals suddenly coming in from out of nowhere.

Anybody else out there like the red-headed step children axes?

[imapiratearg]

I don't know, I want a Schecter S-1.  Does that count as off the beaten path?

[celticgeek]

This is the one I want, although I can't play well enough to make it worth while.

The Bozo 12 String:

[Chad K.]

I don't know, I want a Schecter S-1.  Does that count as off the beaten path?

Well, I wouldn't necessarily call an S-1 "obscure," as it's available in Musician's Friend, etc.  It is, however, definitely a deviation from the usual suspects.  I will therefore go with a tentative "yes," and a congratulations for out of the box thinking.


Ed. Note -  I recognize that there may be a variety of different interpretations of what constitutes an oddball guitar- Certainly some of the brands I mentioned are not exactly unheard of - Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, etc.  I'm more interested in things people wouldn't orinarily gravitate toward, or for which there is a ready access to advertising or information.  For instance, think of those lost gems like Burns, Wal, Shergold, Hayman, Framus, Hagstrom, etc.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

I have a green DiPinto Galaxie IV.  DiPinto's one of those smaller manufacturers that draws inspiration from weird 60's and 70's guitar designs (see also: Italia Guitars, Westwood Guitars), and I like them especially because they make well-made, affordable guitars for left-handed players.  Most of the big-name companies only offer either their low-end crap or super-expensive models in a lefty flip.

[Chad K.]

DiPintos are awesome!  I always wanted one of those Galaxies.  How does it play?

[ImRonBurgundy?]

Very smoothly, and it sounds as rockin' as you'd expect.  All in all, a very fun guitar to play.

[carrotosaurus]

Aw no way! I'm getting the Galaxie 4 soon. Should be in the mail sometime within the next few weeks. I've been drooling over it for a while now.

[Misereatur]

My 1993 Musicman Stingray has a limited adition 93' Flea bridge which is huge and has foam mutes for individual strings. It also has a hand made wood pickguard.

[valley_parade]

I still want to track down a Fender Lead like the dude from Misson of Burma plays.

[Chad K.]

On a side note, my two favorite sites for checking out said odd guitars are-

www.diamondstrings.com - Bruce Diamond's shop in Rochester specializing in weird little european and japanese guitars.  He's super easy to deal with and is way knoweldgeable on the little one-offs that no one's heard of (Wandre who?)

www.fatdawg.com - Crazy shop in Berekely, CA that's been around over 30 years.  Fatdawg bought a huge amount of dano, fender, gibson, alembic, and warmoth parts, throughout the 80's and now can offer NOS classic guitars, assembled with 60's and 70's true Fender parts for approx $300-$400.  Can't afford that American strat?  Now you can.  He also has a huge selection of old defunct 50's stuff, and oddball foreign and domestic delights.  Check it out.

[SeanBateman]

So basically this thread is about how you are cool because you have unique japanese guitars from the 80s.

[Thrillho]

That path is beaten for a reason, mu'fukka.

As for obscure guitars, I dunno. I have a Yamaha guitar that's got no name as far as I know. I just bought it because I didn't want my first electric to be a Strat. It's black, it's got a pointy-ish headstock and it's got a H-S-H config.

I also have an old electric Hofner that's been in my family longer than my dad has. It's awesome but awful. It won't tune properly to standard, but put it through distortion and an alternate tuning and you have a howling blues-rocking BEAST.

[Lummer]

My vibiest axe would have to be my Ibanez S7420.

As it is, it's not as ubiquitous, even in it's stock incarnation, as the RG-model seven strings, or even the Universe!
The thing is though, mine has history as well as heavy modifications done with a fist made of ham.

First of all, it was previously owned by Mircea Gabriel Eftemie of the Danish metal band Mnemic. He used this guitar in a few videos, as well as being probably the first Metal band to open the main stage on the Roskilde Festival, one of the biggest and oldest in Europe.
The band isn't really all that good, but it's pretty cool to own an axe that's been out and about like that.

The modifications are as follow:

The paint has been stripped with a heat gun, amateurishly. There are a few burn marks, but I tell people that's because I shred so fast.
The pickup is a bit of a story unto itself.

At the local store where I bought the pickup, I tried to have them wire it into the guitar. They failed. THREE times in a row. I find it fairly disturbing that a so-called "professional" tech is not able to wire in a pickup, even after three attempts.
So after having it collecting dust for a few months (the pickup was only in active in singlecoil mode, rendering it completely useless to me), I decided to just have a crack at it myself.

So that's how it ended up like the simpleton it is today. Due to my complete lack of electronics knowlegde, I went for the simplest setup possible. I just wired the pickup straight on the volume pot, and took out the switch. And what a glorious racket it conjures up! The pickup, a DiMarzio X2N-7 is absolutely brutal, and surprisingly versatile. It actually does sound good clean, oddly enough, but  it is most at home in metal territories.
That said, I love it to death. It does need a fret polish badly though, but that's all.

It looks like this:


No, I didn't remove the electronics while stripping it, and yes, it did bite me in the ass later.









I'll post clips tomorrow.





My other "weird" guitar is my Washburn PS500, a Paul Stanley signature. It's not really THAT weird, but I've never really seen anyone play one of these. A shame really, because it plays and sounds REALLY nice. The neck feels like a gibson, with a narrower string spacing. Nice!
I currently have it tuned to (lo to hi) Bb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb for SLUDGY MCSLUDGEFUZZ-riffs.

I have a clip of it here:

Link: http://download.yousendit.com/097B6D9B23B70AB0
I recorded it quickly yesterday, to have some new riffs on tape. It's a kind of outline of a song structure too, though I'm not sure what should come after the last chugga-chugga riff. Meh, I'll think of something later. All feedback appreciated btw.
It looks like this:

[jeph]

I really like the late-90's/early-2000's Japanese made Charvel guitars. You can only find 'em on eBay nowadays but they're a great alternative to shelling out a couple grand for a USA made Jackson, as even the really fancy models only sell for 7-800 bucks.

Someday I will own a Tom Anderson. SOMEDAY.

[Lummer]

I really like the late-90's/early-2000's Japanese made Charvel guitars. You can only find 'em on eBay nowadays but they're a great alternative to shelling out a couple grand for a USA made Jackson, as even the really fancy models only sell for 7-800 bucks.

They are REAL easy to find, so yeah, they're extremely tempting. Even here in Denmark, they pop up regularly at manageable prices. I'll probably give in someday, even though they're missing a string.

That said, I'm considering getting a custom guitar built for me instead.

[Chad K.]

So basically this thread is about how you are cool because you have unique japanese guitars from the 80s.

Wooo... settle down there, Shirley.  Actually, I'm more interested in hearing what's out there.  If you notice I also mentioned Burns (English), Kay (American), Fender (American), Wal (English), Framus (German), Shergold (English), Hayman (English/American), Hagstrom (Swedish), and Electra (American).  The point of the thread is actually that there are a lot of guitars that are great instruments that never caught on because they didn't fit what was in at the time.  That leaves a lot of quality, untapped resources out there.  For instance, Travis Beans from the 70's.  They were WAY ahead of their time, and the aluminum necks are still an oddity.  They used to be relatively inexpensive guitars that didn't catch on, until the Chicago noise rock bands started buying them up (see- Jesus Lizard, Rapeman, Big Black, et. al.).  Sound City heads are another great example.  HUGE tube tone, in the vein of an Orange or Hi-Watt, and yet were completely forgotten until just recently.  There are more things like this out there.

That path is beaten for a reason, mu'fukka.

I disagree, I think it's a matter of exposure.  There have certainly been individual bands who broke the mold - i.e. the Police with Ibanez Musician series guitars and basses, or Joy Division with Haymans, or even the White Stripes with old Airlines.  I think most people, however, go standard Fender or Gibson, because most people see standard Fender or Gibson. 

Someday I will own a Tom Anderson. SOMEDAY.

Tom Andersons are amazing.  There's a place in St. Louis called Eddie's Guitars (www.eddiesguitars.com) that specializes in them.  You should check out their online catalogue, Jeph.  It seems like your type of store (high-end PRS, Anderson, etc.).  I've bought many great things from that store (including that Burns Vibraslim) for unbelievable prices.  I haven't been in there since I moved from the 'Lou five years ago, but every price tag there used to just say "Let's Talk".  Nice dudes.

[Lummer]

Oh, and I'd KILL for this one:

[carrotosaurus]

I play a nice korean-made Hamer SATQ, I can't complain at all! For a fairly inexpensive guitar, it's got some real nice tone. I bought it used, but it still sounds and plays great.

[Christophe]

I still want to track down a Fender Lead like the dude from Misson of Burma plays.

I snagged mine for $350 (and yes, I got it because I really like MoB). It's a good guitar and plays well, yet is kinda heavy. (About a week ago I had played a friend's epiphone SG and it felt impossibly light.) When I have the disposable income I might get the pickups replaced, but considering that this guitar was made in 1980, it has stayed together considerably well over the two years that I've had it over the three years I had a poopy Squier strat that was falling to shit after barely a year.

Nevertheless, I'd love to get my hands on an Epi Crestwood or a Kustom K-200, a Travis Bean (if my back could ever take it) or hell, even a Rickenbacker 330.

For those looking for aluminum-necked guitars, the Electrical Guitar Company produces them in the fine tradition of TB. According to the people at the Electrical Audio forums (no direct relation, I think), they make a damn good guitar.

[Johnny C]

the Electrical Audio forums

!

[Chad K.]

the Electrical Audio forums

!

That Steve Albini... he is an enigmatic and dangerous muse. 

Conversation overheard circa 1992-

Albini: "Here's what I'm goig to do guys; I'm going to make the singer sound like he's screaming through a duct-tape covered mouth, your guitars sound like forks scraping against corrugated metal, your bass sound like an industrial electrical hum, and your drums sound ... well... good."

The Jesus Lizard: "Sounds good, Steve."

And the irony- that shit works... 

[ViolentDove]

My guitar is so off the beaten path I'm beginning to think I've been conned.

This is my new Stomvi Forte. It's shiny.



Seriously, doesn't anyone play anything besides guitar these days?

[4x4lo8o]

If we're talking about other instruments now, here's what I play




I have a guitar too, but I can't play it worth crap. I don't even know what make or model it is, just that it's 30 years old and my mom got it in college. So I'll stick to showing off my saxophone

[Christophe]

the Electrical Audio forums

!

Heh. yeah. I post on there as Kazoozak (though I haven't been doing it for long). Is tommydski the only other guy who crossposts on EA and here?

[Johnny C]

A few other forum members have accounts but don't post because it is a forum that basically requires months of lurking prior to joining.

I wish I had a weird guitar. I just have an Epiphone.

[Thrillho]

That path is beaten for a reason, mu'fukka.

I disagree, I think it's a matter of exposure.  There have certainly been individual bands who broke the mold - i.e. the Police with Ibanez Musician series guitars and basses, or Joy Division with Haymans, or even the White Stripes with old Airlines.  I think most people, however, go standard Fender or Gibson, because most people see standard Fender or Gibson. 

It's very true that a lot of people go for the brands because of exposure. However the majority of guitarists who are famous for playing guitar are not idiots, or at least are smart enough to know what guitars they like and don't like and a great deal of them still play Gibson and Fender. Honestly I think that the Les Paul and the Strat, under any of their various configurations, are just about the most classic and yet versatile guitars ever made. I'd include the Tele there, but because that's my guitar of choice - I have a Standard and a '72 Custom Reissue - I thought that might be colouring my opinion, although I think it's the first ever electric solid body or something like that?

[Chad K.]

That path is beaten for a reason, mu'fukka.

I disagree, I think it's a matter of exposure.  There have certainly been individual bands who broke the mold - i.e. the Police with Ibanez Musician series guitars and basses, or Joy Division with Haymans, or even the White Stripes with old Airlines.  I think most people, however, go standard Fender or Gibson, because most people see standard Fender or Gibson. 

It's very true that a lot of people go for the brands because of exposure. However the majority of guitarists who are famous for playing guitar are not idiots, or at least are smart enough to know what guitars they like and don't like and a great deal of them still play Gibson and Fender. Honestly I think that the Les Paul and the Strat, under any of their various configurations, are just about the most classic and yet versatile guitars ever made. I'd include the Tele there, but because that's my guitar of choice - I have a Standard and a '72 Custom Reissue - I thought that might be colouring my opinion, although I think it's the first ever electric solid body or something like that?

I agree, you're certainly not an idiot for using a different style of guitar- and I would never bregrudge a musician for a guitar preference.  Everybody likes what they like for making a racket; it's a matter of personal choice not right v. wrong.  That said, teles are awesome.  They are not, however, the first solidbody electric guitar.  Rumour has it that honor goes to Mr. Les Paul, who got so fed up with feedback issues caused by a hollowbody that he ripped the pickups off and attached them along with a neck and bridge to a plank of wood thereafter nicknamed "the log".  That was sometime in the 40's.  In the late 40's Gibson and Fender both started manufacturing solid body electrics- Gibson had the Les Paul, and Fender had the broadcatser, which later became the esquire, which became the tele.

[Thrillho]

I tell you what, if one day I can buy an Esquire, I would have sex with it every night.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

Wouldn't that ruin the electronics?

[Johnny C]

Not if you're gentle.

[Thrillho]

Not the way I do it.

Let's just say I'm not the dominant party in that team.

[Christophe]

Not the way I do it.

Let's just say I'm not the dominant party in that team.

If that's the route you go, you better check for string-rash post-coitus.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

You should also clean your tuning pegs pretty thoroughly.  They gum up pretty easy.

[jeph]

I really like the late-90's/early-2000's Japanese made Charvel guitars. You can only find 'em on eBay nowadays but they're a great alternative to shelling out a couple grand for a USA made Jackson, as even the really fancy models only sell for 7-800 bucks.

They are REAL easy to find, so yeah, they're extremely tempting. Even here in Denmark, they pop up regularly at manageable prices. I'll probably give in someday, even though they're missing a string.

That said, I'm considering getting a custom guitar built for me instead.

If you like Floyd Roses, I recommend them! They usually require a set-up, but once you've got 'em dialed in they play just as well as regular Jacksons.

Lummer have you ever checked out Blackmachine guitars? If I ever buy a 7-string this will be it. TOTALLY BITCHIN.

[Tehz]

Oh my God Jeph, I think I'm in love.

[Lummer]

Yeah, Blackmachines are hot shit, to say the very least.

The possibility of standard, affordable Blackmachine guitars sounds VERY good as well!

[Tehz]

Too bad they're a custom shop, though. I mean, it's good, it makes the guitars themselves tons better, but it makes them so much more expensive.

[Johnny C]

If we're talking about custom guitars now I feel I should mention the work of mild lunatic Fred Mangan. A few of his guitars do look like they'd sound really neat. I'd also be remiss to not mention the visionary Yuri Landman whose guitars are played by Glenn Branca, Lee Ronaldo and Aaron Hemphill among others.

[Valrus]

Those Blackmachine guitars look a little like Parkers, mostly because of the headstock. I mention this because I have a Parker Nitefly and I love the hell out of it.

[Chad K.]

Just got in the Roadstar bass I ordered and it is amazing!  It is an '84, not an '82 as represented, which is fine.  It is one strange bass.  The neck plays exactly like a soundgear I got when they first came out; it's very thin and tapers heavily.  Compared to my other basses, it feels like a toy, which makes for some super-fast runs.  Also, although it has a huge body, and an enormous DiMarzio humbucker, the sound is very trebly, and remionds me a little of a piccolo bass sound.  It's got huge articulation.  I haven't been to my band's practice site to run it through my rig and fiddle with an amp EQ, but all in all it was a great buy.  I highly recommend one to any bassists looking for something a little different.

[Ocarina654]

http://www.guitarnoize.com/blog/comments/pac-man-guitar/

[Patrick]

Idunno guys, I kindof like the way my SG sounded going through my Marshall.

I do, however, have a GORGEOUS '53 Kay acoustic (with the Airline-style set bridge). I found her on eBay around this time last year, and my old man ended up getting it for me for Christmas. He and I had to refinish her and reset the bridge (the previous owner was a jackass and didn't know what he was doing), and I recently had to add more shims under the neck bolt joint, but eventually she learned how to play right.

I've also got a Johnson Strat copy that I got signed by Bo Diddley, and I plan on modding her until she plays better than a Fender American Strat.

[Ballard]

ImRonBurgundy? hit the nail right over the head pretty fast.

'cept it's not Westwood, it's Eastwood Guitars, and they are one of my favorite companies. They specialize in reissuing quirky '60s shit. Teiscos, Airlines, Maps. But these aren't plastic, they're made of real wood and built with quality.

Dillion Guitars is nice for high-quality clones. Also they make some fun see-through guitars out of lucite.

[Tehz]

I'm really digging some of those Dillons.

[onewheelwizzard]

http://minarikguitars.com/

[Ballard]

Holy shit those Minariks are cool. I'm not even a metal guitarist and I want one so bad.

http://www.duesenbergusa.com/index2.html

These are some of the most gorgeous (and expensive) guitars I've ever seen.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

'cept it's not Westwood, it's Eastwood Guitars, and they are one of my favorite companies.

Damn, I did type Westwood.  I think I even had their website up as I did so, too.  Anyway, the next guitar I get might be an Eastwood P-90 Special, lefty of course.

[carrotosaurus]

If you're gonna buy it, order from Scott at http://www.axeandyoushallreceive.com/
His deals on Eastwoods are fantastic.

[valley_parade]

I would almost rather go through Eastwood directly. I've emailed them with questions before, and the guy that owns the whole operation is a really helpful dude. Usually gets back to you within a day, as well.