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Which guitars have stood up best?

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  • Which guitars have stood up best?

    Who has a guitar/guitars that have stood the test of time with minimal mods or repairs, and which guitars?

    I was thinking recently that my Hamer Mirage 2 has held up amazingly well after 25 years. The only things I've ever really modded were to make various magnet changes to the stock JB,59 set.

    Will need a new nut soon, but frets are still holding up despite it being my number one guitar for that whole time. Plays beautifully and never gave me problems. I have another Hamer whose stock pickups I swapped for a set of Seth Lovers. Otherwise as I bought it 2nd hand (and going on 20 years although I've only had it a few - strap locks seem to be the only mods before I got it).

    I have other guitars that have needed more mods and care. Some of them from manufacturers that I'd expect more from.

  • #2
    My 2002 SG Special seems to take a licking and keeps on ticking. When it was new I would have to do a seasonal truss tweak. Now that it has settled I change the strings and that is it. My Pauls are very sturdy and reliable but they are fairly new.

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    • #3
      Probably my MIA Peavey Predator with the Kahler Flyer bridge. The only thing I've changed in over thirty years is the pickups, and still have the originals. Love it.

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      • #4
        my usa hamers have all been stellar from day one. the ones i build for myself are just the way i want em, but since im building em, they better be. my old '59 guild hollowbody is 100% stock.

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        • #5
          The first PRS I ever bought (in 1987) is still all stock, even the pickups.
          It's one of my all-time top ten guitars. But it's in dire need of a fret dress now.

          One of my McCartys still has its stock humbuckers and the core Starla does, too.
          A couple of the MIJ Les Pauls have original pickups: a mid-80s Burny and one of my Orvilles.
          1980 Tokai Strat is all stock as well.

          Most of the rest have had at least one pickup replaced - or mag swapped - over the years.
          Many of those replacements were just right for the guitars and have remained, some for decades.
          .
          "You should know better by now than to introduce science into a discussion of voodoo."
          .

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          • #6
            The Frankenstrat I put together with a friend in 1993 has held up great over the years. Probably my best player. The SG Junior I built in 2011 is still going strong. My Les Paul is a 2009 and plays great still. I think I've had it in my possession longer than my buddy who owned it did. My '04 Martin D28 just gets better with age.

            Edit: Forgot to include my Tau Turquoise Warmoth Strat that I finished in 2019. It's been pretty darn reliable and solid.
            Last edited by ErikH; 06-01-2022, 08:03 AM.

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            • #7
              My 2 Warmoths have, as well as my 1982 Fender "The Strat". Great instruments.
              Administrator of the SDUGF

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              • #8
                All of my guitars have stood up well.
                The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

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                • #9
                  My Carvins. Owned this Pearl Pink 1991 X220C for almost 25 years and can't remember the last time I adjusted anything on her. Comes out of the case after sitting for months in tune every time. Never moves on stage on tuning plays and sounds fantastic and is still all stock. This is why I sold my Fenders sold my PRS guitars and now almost exclusively play Carvin Kiesel. All 8 I own are the same every night come out of the case and will play a set with no drama.
                  Guitars
                  Kiesel DC 135, Carvin AE 185, DC 400, DC 127 KOA, DC 127 Quilt Purple, X220C, PRS Custom 24, Washburn USA MG 122 proto , MG 102, MG 120.
                  Amps PRS Archon 50 head, MT 15, Mesa Subway Rocket, DC-5, Carvin X50B Hot Rod Mod head, Zinky 25watt Blue Velvet combo.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                    My 2 Warmoths have, as well as my 1982 Fender "The Strat". Great instruments.
                    The "The Strat" guitars were killers. Have a buddy with a solid rosewood The Strat that has been his number one since new.
                    Guitars
                    Kiesel DC 135, Carvin AE 185, DC 400, DC 127 KOA, DC 127 Quilt Purple, X220C, PRS Custom 24, Washburn USA MG 122 proto , MG 102, MG 120.
                    Amps PRS Archon 50 head, MT 15, Mesa Subway Rocket, DC-5, Carvin X50B Hot Rod Mod head, Zinky 25watt Blue Velvet combo.

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                    • #11
                      My 94 Iceman has had a fret level and pickup changes, has held up amazingly.
                      1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
                      Jackson Soloist 7 string
                      ESP LTD M-400
                      Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Bogner View Post
                        All of my guitars have stood up well.
                        Do tell...what guitars do you play that have held up well?

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                        • #13
                          BTW I thought Iīd point out that Iīm more curious about guitars where there has been no set-up needed to get them playing great from the start, or maybe only very minor adjustment.
                          i.e. no nut replacement, fret levelling, saddle/bridge replacement to get the guitar initially into a suitable state for you. Iīm not including nut replacement etc. due to use here.

                          Eg. I might include a second-hand guitar that has needed a new nut to replace the original that had been worn but well cut in the first place - assuming everything else was in good shape. I wouldnīt include a guitar with rough fret edges that needed to be fixed, nor a guitar that you picked up second-hand and had to do a lot of set-up work to get it in shape.

                          While itīs interesting to hear of the pickup changes too, I wouldnīt necessarily count that as a set-up issue, more taste. Although set-up is to taste too, some things are just basic, like nuts that are well cut from the factory.

                          ...and as Jeremy pointed out for his, the two Hamers I mentioned are also USA models.

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                          • #14
                            None of my guitars ever needed nut replacement, fret leveling or saddle replacement, new or used, when I first get them. My first guitar - bought in 1993 - only underwent fret leveling once.
                            What kinda question is that? Nut and saddles don't wear out. Only frets do and it takes years if you play casually and have more than 10 guitars. Are you high?

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                            • #15
                              I've worn the paint off of my Epi Goth Explorer in a few spots. It's got some fret wear, but it's never even needed a neck adjustment in the 16 or so years I've owned it.

                              It's been with me longer than all of my current guitars combined. It's always been my favorite and most often picked up guitar.

                              I've wired in at least a dozen different pickups in and out of that old thing.
                              I bought my other explorer to take some of the wear and tear off this one....give the poor thing a break!
                              https://open.spotify.com/artist/7e2g...TLy6SQH5nk44wA

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