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(theoretical question) Is that great guitar replaceable?


Tim Plains

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Any of my guitars are replaceable except for my '77 Tele, and that's not because of "what it is", it's because it was a graduation present.

 

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My Hopf Saturn 63 might not be irreplaceable if I didn't mind a Chinese Eastman copy but an original Hopf would be considerably more than the $50 I paid for this one:

 

9zsyo2.jpg

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Yes...

 

Well, maybe not, I haven't found "the one" yet, so my opinion might change when/if I do

 

But, as far as I'm concered, a guitar is a guitar, not a dog, or a person.

There are bad ones, good ones and great ones and as long as you find one of that fits into the third category, you're good.

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So' date=' you found "the one," played it for years and loved it. Doesn't get any better!

Something happens, a fire, a flood, theft...and now it's gone!

Is it replaceable? You'll probably search and find a great guitar, but will it fill the void?[/quote']

 

Actually my one is my Sonex, only because I've played it since I was 13. My brother has one too (we both got one as a gift), but no matter how much I play his, it just doesn't feel like mine. I would never be able to replace it just like I could never replace my wife (love you honey...she sometimes reads my posts).

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I don't get that attached to the guitars I've bought, but the ones I have built, or brought back from the dead are a different story.

 

I built a Tele that is exactly what I wanted, and I doubt I could ever replace the neck. It's a leftover from the Stuart Spector Design factory.

 

I have saved a few guitars from the parts bins. A couple for myself, and a few more for friends, and they all hold a special place.

 

A guitar bought off the rack can generally be replaced.

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I'm sure I would be mortified if anything ever happened to my beloved Darlene.

But I would soldier on and not look back.

 

I HAVE lost some sweet guitars in my time,stolen,broken or sold for whatever reason.

 

There are others out there , you just have to find them.

 

Like women, there is always another waiting to be had...

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i disagree srv

les paul said a les paul is like a dog' date=' when you find a guitar that IS PERFECT (to you) it grows on you, it becomes your soulmate, unfortunatley it never puts out like a real soul mate would

lol

 

 

but it is a relationship

 

i know, im crazy[/quote']

 

Have you ever been with a woman?

 

 

 

 

 

...kidding.

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It would have to be replaced.

 

No other option, really. Ocarina?

 

:D

 

Edit : I've thought about this a bit more since I first posted the above response.

 

It seems to me (and I can only talk about it from my personal perspective, obviously) that the important detail, which qualifies the question, is in the wording; The "great guitar" in the question title does not necessarily equate to "The One".

 

Whilst it took me quite a while and literally dozens of Standards to find the one I ended up buying I'm old and wise enough to realise that the concept of it being the Only One in the Whole Wide World for me is laughable. There are (I presume!) hundreds of '95 1960 RI's in the world; I tried to find mine for a few months in one city in one country on one continent (and we all know that the USA keeps the best ones for herself eusa_whistle.gif ).

 

I merely found a guitar which played and sounded better than anything else I've ever played, but there simply must be others (It's as clear cut as "There must be life on other planets".....).

 

And that's just 1995; the 1997 run has been described as '...the best year since '59...'. An example from the '97 batch was not available for me to play during the period of my search - therefore - I Don't Know...

 

Also, whilst they may all play in a slightly different manner from my current choice, there must be some which both feel and sound similar enough for me not to spot such subtle nuances.

 

Some people have been kind enough to comment favourably on the looks of my guitar. However; it is not at all what I was looking for; it is Not my perfect top so, again, finding something else wouldn't be impossible by any means.

 

From this it seems that I haven't found My Perfect Guitar.

 

Bugger. :D

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.

.

 

ksdaddy - that Saturn is just a piece of magic, how does it play, what does it sound like.....

.

 

Oh - guys, a guitar is just pieces of wood and metal - in the same way that we are just 70% water, 18% carbon, 1.5% calcium, 1.2% phosphorous, and traces of potassium, sulfur, chlorine, sodium and a few metals in minute quantities.

 

Trust us - when you find a great guitar that talks to you - you will understand.....

.....the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. It will have 'something'.

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Thermionik, it's got a fairly short scale (24.5") so there is almost no string tension. It's been 22 years since it got any "doctorin'" so it's fuzzy but all I remember doing is a fret levelling. It comes out of the case every few years and gets played a little. It's got a broad range of tone once you get used to the 4 position tone switch.

 

http://www.angelfire.com/me4/ksdaddy/hopf.html

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My Gibson F-25 could be physically replaced but all of what has happened between me and that guitar is in the realm of a family member. This guitar called to me before I saw it. It spoke to me from its spot on the wall in the pawnshop. It needed me and I needed it. We are now together for life. The hole would be huge if I lost it. I could go on but it would be hard.

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Trust us - when you find a great guitar that talks to you - you will understand.....

.....the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. It will have 'something'.

 

Yes, but the question was could it be replaced?

 

Would you rather Not replace it and never again play a guitar that you could call your own???:-s:^o

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My Les Paul, no. I cherry picked it from a ton of others over the course of several months while working at a music store and it's truly exceptional.

 

I love my Strat but I don't think it's anything special and I'm sure I could find another I like just as much or more. I happened to buy it at a clearance sale and it is what it is and it works great for me. It might be difficult to replace the pups though as I had them custom built.

 

My Tele is a real winner but it was the only one I tried before I bought it when shopping - sometimes you get lucky and the first one just feels right. So, I don't really know; I've played other Teles in the past and all of them felt good but I've never directly compared mine to others.

 

The rest I don't play as often as the three above so I'm sure I'd live without them.

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So' date=' you found "the one," played it for years and loved it. Doesn't get any better!

Something happens, a fire, a flood, theft...and now it's gone!

Is it replaceable? You'll probably search and find a great guitar, but will it fill the void?[/quote']

 

If I may take the liberty of applying your question to musical instruments in a more general sense, I still have my first set of drums, which were a gift from my Dad in 1962, and have been played at countless gigs from the time I was 14 'till about 30 years of age. They've been retired for 30 years now but if anything happened to them, the loss would be devastating. No matter how much I spent on replacing the drums, I could never again say "my Father bought these for me." That means more to me than all the instruments I own.

 

I have a few guitars that I've owned for 40 years now. I drug them with me from the Army, through the raising of two Sons, through a couple divorces and even a short spell of homelessness while I lived in my van. Tonally, they sorta suck, especially compared to the newer instruments that became affordable to me. But if I lost them, I couldn't possibly replace the connection I feel with them by buying a replacement guitar. 40 years of shared memories is a lot more than just a cheap (or not-so-cheap) guitar.

 

Even my more recent acquisitions, those I've bought or had built since the passing of my Dad, have stories that make them unique (to me) in ways beyond their playability or tone. Physically they could be replaced. But the connection I have with them isn't limited to the physical aspect.

 

When the CS356 leapt off the monitor recently and reawakened all the symptoms of full-blown GAS, I realized my search for "the one" was not yet over. I was a bit surprised but I think I can handle it. It'll be a special order due to some custom work I'd like done. I suspect I'll become as attached to it as the others, for its own reasons.

 

Are any of them replaceable? All of them are. Would replacing them fill the void? Impossible. I'd still have the memories and the experiences but I'd sure miss the instruments.

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