Tonefiend Forum

If cost was no object, and you could walk into Gruhn's with cash tomorrow to by the ultimate guitar of your dreams, what would you buy? And what would you expect to get out of it that you couldn't achieve with more readily available and affordable gear? Do you buy collectables or players? Do you get one of everything and build your own showroom, or simply endeavour to cover all your potential tonal needs?

I'd want to cover all my bases, as far as sound goes- but I also love oddball guitars. I've always wanted a Fender Starcaster, partially because of how it sounds and partially because it looks so damn weird. If money is really no object I'd also pick up one of the original Gretsch Corvettes, and an original Danelectro Barritone. I don't really want one of everything, because I don't want so many guitars that I won't play them. I think with these three I cover all the sounds I want, while still looking awesome and being pretty out there as far as design goes.

I think that my biggest impediment to tone is my ability to play. If I had a million dollars, I would be on the bandwagon with Digital-Larry, and spend as much time playing & practicing as possible. But, I might need to get a few pieces of gear. (like a vintage AC30, and a custom guitar: Slab-top LPS shape, routed for dual HB pups, and 4 knob + switch controls).

ramble/ Yeah, it's a fair question, but kind of a futile question for me. I love finding or building inexpensive gear and I actively avoid the pitfalls of trying to achieve 'classic tones'. It seems that for a grand or less (often half that), I can find an axe/amp/etc that gives me whatever vibe I am looking for. I certainly don't have the skill to make a $20,000 vintage axe sound any better than a well equipped modern clone. Sure, I'd love some of the $3-4k boutique stuff, but I'd rather spend the money on tools to build it myself. I could easily spend $10k refitting the home studio, but beyond that, I'd rather spend time recording with my favorite 5-10 mics, 2 or 3 pre's, etc. I keep a file of all the instrument/recording gear that looks interesting to me, best in class, etc. If I bought everything on the list, it would probably only cost about 30-50k and I'd likely sell off half of that after a year. If you're the type of player that is eternally chasing classic tones, I could see you easily spending $100k on vintage gear - and I wouldn't fault you for that. But for my own purposes, a $200 simple tube amp with unconventional tubes and tone excites me far more than a real 1959 bassman or whatever. To conclude the ramble, I could probably spend about 20k on gear (I do play about a dozen different instruments), 10k in the strings/maintenance budget, 15k on tools and materials, upgrade my workshop/studio facilities, and live off the rest while honing my skills and waiting for people and companies to actually compensate the musicians who wrote and recorded the music they claim to enjoy. /ramble

I think I would probably go for a custom axe made to my specifications. I don't give credence to any special mojo in existing brands. Gibson and fender make quality guitars, but if you have no boundaries, get something that suits your every tonal whim, that fits your body, that pleases your eye. A great luthier will make you a great guitar.