Which guitars have stood up best?

[playas]

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.

 

[Securb]

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.

 

[Artie]

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.

 

[jeremy]

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.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

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.

 

[ErikH]

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.

 

[Mincer]

My 2 Warmoths have, as well as my 1982 Fender "The Strat". Great instruments.

 

[Bogner]

All of my guitars have stood up well.

 

[Ascension]

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.

 

[Ascension]

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.

 

[Hsb]

My 94 Iceman has had a fret level and pickup changes, has held up amazingly.

 

[playas]

All of my guitars have stood up well.

Do tell...what guitars do you play that have held up well?

 

[playas]

BTW I thought I´d point out that I´m 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. I´m 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 wouldn´t 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 it´s interesting to hear of the pickup changes too, I wouldn´t 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.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

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?

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

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!

 

[Chris Pile]

I've had a rotating inventory of instruments since 1977, so I can't comment on long time ownership. However, I can say that I have clients whose guitars I have serviced since that time. Forty plus years with an instrument has to be a cool story.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Pic of said goth Explorer...along with it's newer, younger stunt double.

 

[Bogner]

Do tell...what guitars do you play that have held up well?

PRS, Knaggs, Nik Huber, Grosh, Suhr, Anderson, Kauer, ESP, Charvel, Jackson, Fender, GMP, Lee Garver, Baker, Ernie Ball, Collings, Springer, Seth Bacchus, etc.

I have a few PRS Private Stock guitars that have yet to need a tweak of any kind. They were absolutely perfect for me out of the box. 98% of my guitars were playable out of the box or when I received them (used). I most likely did some simple changes for action, etc. The only guitars that were never right out of the box and needed the most work were my Gibsons. I have had to make the most neck adjustments and set up work on them. Once they settled in and were right they have been fine for the most part. They are still the most temperamental of the guitars I own. I am incredibly meticulous and like my stuff done right and dialed in. The most consistent guitars out of the box and needing the least upkeep once dialed in have been the Suhr, Anderson, PRS, Nik Huber's. I personally attribute a lot of the to head stock angle and straight string pull.

 

[playas]

PRS, Knaggs, Nik Huber, Grosh, Suhr, Anderson, Kauer, ESP, Charvel, Jackson, Fender, GMP, Lee Garver, Baker, Ernie Ball, Collings, Springer, Seth Bacchus, etc.

I have a few PRS Private Stock guitars that have yet to need a tweak of any kind. They were absolutely perfect for me out of the box. 98% of my guitars were playable out of the box or when I received them (used). I most likely did some simple changes for action, etc. The only guitars that were never right out of the box and needed the most work were my Gibsons. I have had to make the most neck adjustments and set up work on them. Once they settled in and were right they have been fine for the most part. They are still the most temperamental of the guitars I own. I am incredibly meticulous and like my stuff done right and dialed in. The most consistent guitars out of the box and needing the least upkeep once dialed in have been the Suhr, Anderson, PRS, Nik Huber's. I personally attribute a lot of the to head stock angle and straight string pull.

Wow, that´s an impressive list.

 

[beaubrummels]

For one, my 1994 Gibson Les Paul Standard is bone stock. Over the years I've moved the pickups up and down for different styles of music, and just adjusted the truss and saddles for different string weights. That is all.