The eternal quest for tone....and it's effects on the musician (AKA, confessions of a gear junkie).

You know the feeling. You buy your first guitar and amplifier, usually a beginners special, maybe some sort of special package deal. You go home, you enjoy it, you learn to play. If I could have lived my life this way, I would be WAY better off. The gear can be a blessing or a curse, and for someone like me, this has proven to be more of a curse. Let me recount my life as it relates to gear:

When I was three years old, my father bought my first guitar, a small half sized Yamaha "Guitalele" nylon string guitar. The feeling of finally having my own "ax" was just overwhelming, and I would play for hours and hours, eschewing the usual childish pastimes to do what I loved. Through my younger years, I had quite a few guitars, ranging from smaller Yamaha's, Squier's, and Epiphone's, eventually upgrading to full sized guitars around the age of six. From then on, I was hooked. I would want a different guitar for each situation. For the longest time, I was playing an Ibanez SA that I received when I was seven. This was a great instrument, but on my first trip to Cuba with the Los Primos project (I may do another blog on this eventually), I found someone who deserved the guitar way more than I did, so I left it with him.

Returning from Cuba when I was nine taught me that not everyone was as lucky as me, to have whatever guitars I wanted. Still, when I handed my baby off for the last time, the tears filled my eyes, and I was fairly despondent on the return trip. However, upon my return, my loving parents agreed to purchase a G&L Tribute S-500 in Cherryburst. This was an amazing guitar, with a wide tonal palate that served me very well, playing in Jazz, Blues, and Rock bands at that time. However, after a year or two, I had shifted direction yet again...

My next main guitar was pursued from eBay in early 2006 as a result of a three year long search. Let me backtrack again. In 2003, Musicstop (now Long and McQuade), held a trade show with different manufactures. At this very show, I played a guitar called a Peavey V-Type, which was a nod to the Adrian Vandenberg model Peavey of the 80's. Anyhow, I first played this, and I realized that this guitar was it for me. It was perfect for shredding and I could see playing stadiums with one...but I didn't have the money. Flash forward to 2006, I was preparing to go to my guitar lesson, and my father asks me to come downstairs. There, he shows me the guitar I have been coveting for the past three years! It was great, I finally had a guitar with a locking tremolo system and high output humbucking pickups, perfect for the high octane shred that I wanted to play at the time. Oddly, this was a short love affair, and it led to me getting the guitar that shaped me as a musician, I'd say.

This guitar, found at Gig Street Music, in the summer of 2006, was my #1 for a long time, and I still wonder sometimes why I ever let it go. It was a 1987 Yamaha RGX1212s. Nearly identical to my guitar teacher's 1980's Jackson Soloist in features, it was everything a shredder could want, and with a very affordable price tag of $300, I had to have it. Needless to say, I sold the Peavey, and the Yamaha came home with me. I later traded it for a Tele, and I sometimes feel like a bonehead for it, but I have had contact with the current owner, so I know it's safe.

At this point, I was moving away from the cheaper guitars, and starting to get into some much nicer ones. 2007 saw me get two guitars that today I still own. The first was a 1978 Ibanez PF-300, which is basically a Les Paul, with a few alterations in shape and feature set. It was found in a basement and given to me to restore, but when I first played it, I knew I would not give it up. After a year or so of negotiation, and me holding it hostage, the owner finally agreed to sell it, and I've had it ever since. The other was the last guitar my parents agreed to purchase for me, which was a Parker Fly Deluxe. I remember first playing one, and remarking how much nicer it was than the Ibanez's and other superstrats in the store. Needless to say, I bugged my parents for the better part of a year, and after a particularly good school year, I was rewarded with the guitar that I felt would complete me. I've been through a lot with it, and while it's not currently my favourite guitar, I don't ever intend to part with it.

The year 2009 was fairly eventful, as I had a ton of different guitars go through my hands. I decided to use Kijiji as a buy/sell service, and I must say, it worked out quite well. I sold or traded quite a few guitars, the odd amp or pedal, and made a fair amount of profit cash on top of this. Most of these guitars were on the lower end of the spectrum, but I did have a couple of nicer guitars (Warmoth Telecaster, Ibanez RT650, '84 MIJ Stratocaster), that all went on to better homes. It was fun while it lasted, but eventually, I decided that I needed a better guitar, and I took all the money I'd saved, sold off a few guitars that I didn't play (but ones that still hurt to sell), and bought my baby, the Music Man John Petrucci JP6, on Halloween Day, 2009.

It's been a long road that I've traveled with gear, owning over sixty guitars. I've owned some wicked ones that I never should have sold, and owned a few I never should have bought. It was all worth it in the end, because now I've ended up with the guitars I want, and had a load of fun selling and trading the old ones while I was at it. I still hunt a bit for the right bargain, but for now, I'm out. Just gonna' focus on playing for now.


Stay heavy and shred on!

KL,