My Tone Quest - Scott
My Quest for Ultimate Guitar Tone
I have been playing guitar since 1970. I started out with a $10 ten dollar acoustic no-name (it's probably a vintage collector's item by now) that I ended up trading to a buddy of mine for an electric guitar and amp. They're both probably collectors' items, if they're not junked and gone... I joined the military and quickly obtained an unknown guitar with 4 pickups. It was a strange configuration with a pretty decent sound, but I couldn't get it to stay in tune. That's not an attribute you want in any level of guitar. I sold that one, and don't even remember who bought it.
Later I was transferred to Fairchild AFB in Spokane, WA. I quickly located a brand new 1976 Univox Les Paul copy (Black Beauty, Gold Hardware, Awesome Screaming Axe!). That guitar served me for about 2 years when I was Honorably discharged from duty, and moved to Port Angeles, WA. While there, I traded the Univox and a few bucks for a beautiful 1978 Ibanez Concord Acoustic guitar. I wanted to simplify, and have a guitar I could take on the road with me. What a beautiful guitar, and a great player! I had that guitar until 2004 when I sold it for $400 to a cool guy in California, who will be using it to play and record gospel tunes - Oh yeah!
After a few months living at home with my parents (not a good idea for anyone past the age of 19), I gained employment in beautiful Dallas, TX. Upon moving there, I nabbed an Ampeg V4 (anyone who loves Ampeg knows I was a big dum-dum to get rid of that amp head), with a 4x12" Ampeg cabinet. What an amplifier - I miss that one now. With the cash I was making from my new job, and because nothing else really seemed to matter, I went to the mall, and browsed around the music store looking for a decent axe to replace my Univox. I wanted to crank it up again! I stumbled on an Ibanez PF300, set-neck, cherry red, 1979 Les Paul Copy. I think Ibanez got sued over the previous version, and this one was reeeeally close to a spot-on Gibson Les Paul. The pickups were real warm and fat, and after some time I wanted a bit more crunch, so I picked up some DiMarzio Humbuckers and slapped them in! I got my crunch! I wish I could remember what I did with the original pickups, because they would be worth a pretty penny right now. (Note: I moved in 2007 and found them in the attic. They are Ibanez Super 70 gold plated. Still in great condition in their protective plastic boxes!)
I played the Ibanez PF300 guitar for a full year, and in 1981 I picked up a Yamaha SBG-500, set-neck, cherry red, SG style. That Yamaha was one of the finest I've ever played. Very rich tonality, sustain forever, very low action, light weight, worked consistently, and very beautiful to look at! I have written a review on Harmony Central describing it.
Also, in 1981 I became interested in Bass, and bought a Rickenbacker 4001 Black Fretless Bass. Oh my God! That is the best sounding bass I've ever played! Because the Rickenbacker was so freekin' HUGE, I bought a 1980 Kramer Duke, and played it for gigs. It sounded great for the music we were playing, and because it was so small, we could fit on a small stage!
Well, That's a bit of my guitar history! I know you all have stories of your own, and I'd like to hear them! |
