Re: Pick ONE Guitar
Tough question for me too, since I have so many guitars and play so many styles.
I love my Les Pauls and my ES-335s--the 335s perhaps even more so these days--they just seem to be the perfect 2HB for a lot of the stuff my band does.
But I have always been a Fender guy. I've owned a Leo Fender-made guitar for virtually my entire guitar playing life; from the c. 1960 Duo-Sonic in Desert Sand, the 1968 Telecaster Thinline in ash with the Bigsby, the 1960 Strat, the two Music Man Sabre IIs and now the G&Ls. The G&L Legacys I own are my Number One and the best Strats I have ever played, and with the Mesa amps, so versatile. The G&L Comanche, though, has that same versatility, with its powerful hum-cancelling pickups, so I'd really have to think about that one too. I really can't handle the weight of a Les Paul for a four-hour gig, and the Legacy-bodied guitars have superior ergonomics and what is in my opinion, the best vibrato in the game. So for an electric, I'd have to go with a G&L Legacy/Comanche/S-500/Legacy Special. All good, just slightly different.
But in the post-Zombie Apocalypse, there might not be much use for an electric guitar. When push comes to shove, my choice for a single guitar would have to come down to a Martin dreadnought. I have several Martins, and I love them all. The guitar I've had the longest is a 1975 D-28 that I bought new, nearly forty years ago. It has a soft voice, not as loud as some, but the tone is incredibly rich. I have D-18s: a 2004 Standard, a new The D-18, and a new Golden Era. The new D-18 and the GE are cannons--its hard to beat a good D-18 for an all-around guitar. I also have a 2003 D-35 that is exquisite, and it simply doesn't get played enough, but I think it has the best tone of any of the Standard braced Martins I own. I have a couple of other D-28s: A 2002 Standard with a Fishman Ellipse Blend pickups system; and my other cannon--an HD-28V. The power, tone, responsiveness and sheer volume of the this guitar is nothing short of amazing. I have a strong voice, and the D-18 Golden Era and this HD-28V are the only guitars that have ever come close to drowning out my voice. They are just superb instruments. And these days, when I want to plug in, I'm using my DC-Aura. The DC Aura is totally bling'ed out, but it is a great playing guitar with a fast, slim neck. It's very responsive, and the AURA system produces the best amplified acoustic tone (totally blowing away my Taylor, which is up for sale). It works really well for the acoustic stuff I do with my band, as well as for doing my open mic solo gigs.
I feel like I could making a living on the street busking with my Martin, if I had too. And it might not matter which guitar, either. I'd love to have a fine instrument, but perhaps one of the Martins made from formica countertop material might be more practical for living on the street.
So if I have to pick only one guitar, make it a Martin Dreadnought.
Bill
Tom Anderson Drop Top guitar the bridge humbucker sounds great and it can be also be run as split coil for a Tele type of sound and the third position on the 3 position mini switch is called VA Booster for all three pick ups to make them sound like they are wired one level hotter with a different tone contour. The guitar is built and sounds and plays like a dream. The tone pot pulls up to switch on the bridge pick up with the neck or the middle and neck pick ups for more tone versatility. The quilted maple top is not just a veneer it is 3/16" with a natural edge that looks like binding and uses the finest woods. Stainless steel frets won't wear out for years and 12" to 16" compound radius fingerboard.
), it's going to have to be the Korina SE
It is the purple one. The early Cray Strats have chrome hardware, which I prefer to the gold hardware on the newer ones.
