Am I too particular?

[SpaceMan]

I’ve played enough guitars over the years that I have a pretty good understanding of what I do and don’t like. I’ve also come to appreciate minimizing the number of guitars owned, for practicalities such as limited space, familiarity, and marital stability lol. But what this means is I’m now looking for one guitar to meet all of the specifications I want, and I have preferences (to varying degrees) for nearly every aspect of a guitar, and of course I haven’t found any off-the-shelf guitars that tick all of the boxes. Do you think I should…

1. Be less picky. Try to learn to accept less than ideal/perfect.
2. Buy/build a custom spec. guitar, e.g. Warmoth/Kiesel/Balaguer etc.
3. Something else I haven’t thought of?

I’ll admit option 2 is somewhat scary considering there always seems to be the possibility that some preference changes in the future, or something about the guitar doesn’t come out exactly as desired. I’m assuming I’m not the only person who’s gone through this, so I would like thoughts, opinions, and experiences from others.

 

[HomespunEffects]

One guitar?!?



I’d build one with quality parts and then have it professionally set up and maybe Pleked.

In the past, I’ve bought beater guitars and then changed the pickup types. Like my 3 lipstick tube Charvel Surfcaster got changed to a H/S guitar. Of course i changed it to a humbucker sized single coil later but still. It went from not ticking the boxes to ticking them all.

 

[Devin]

I went with option 2 and had a custom Balaguer made with the same specs (well, as close to same as possible) as my #1 guitar


Fuckin thing rules


That said, you will not find one single guitar that does absolutely everything you could possibly want at the highest level. There are always compromises one way or another

 

[OrganicZed]

Custom guitars are wonderful if you know what you want. If you are truly dead set on only having one guitar then custom is the way to go IMO.

 

[SpaceMan]

Only owning one guitar is probably an exaggeration, forgive me; but I think it’s a useful framework for the discussion. I only have one wall hanger next to my desk (due to space limitations), so the few other (less expensive) guitars I have are tucked away in a closet, and they’re setup for niches, eg Drop D, C# standard. So whatever this guitar would be, it would need all of the functionality I’m hoping for in a sincerely primary guitar that I’ll reach for every day.

Lesser degree preferences include things that are more aesthetic, but I think aesthetics are meaningful, they draw you to want to pick it up and play.

 

[gearJunkie]

One guitar?!?

 

[Achilles]

1. Be less picky. Try to learn to accept less than ideal/perfect.

Define less perfect: Are you talking about features like fret size, fingerboard radius, etc. or how the guitar plays and feels?

2. Buy/build a custom spec. guitar, e.g. Warmoth/Kiesel/Balaguer etc.

I've been down this road a couple of times. It guarantees you get all your features but in no way means the guitar will play/feel 'perfect'.

3. Something else I haven’t thought of?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I’ve played enough guitars over the years that I have a pretty good understanding of what I do and don’t like. I’ve also come to appreciate minimizing the number of guitars owned, for practicalities such as limited space, familiarity, and marital stability lol. But what this means is I’m now looking for one guitar to meet all of the specifications I want, and I have preferences (to varying degrees) for nearly every aspect of a guitar, and of course I haven’t found any off-the-shelf guitars that tick all of the boxes. Do you think I should…

1. Be less picky. Try to learn to accept less than ideal/perfect.
2. Buy/build a custom spec. guitar, e.g. Warmoth/Kiesel/Balaguer etc.
3. Something else I haven’t thought of?

I’ll admit option 2 is somewhat scary considering there always seems to be the possibility that some preference changes in the future, or something about the guitar doesn’t come out exactly as desired. I’m assuming I’m not the only person who’s gone through this, so I would like thoughts, opinions, and experiences from others.

You're gonna have to get more specific about what things you are picky about that are making you think a custom guitar is a good idea.

Honestly, I personally don't find the "custom" options of any of the brands you listed to be things that couldn't be found on an off-the-rack guitar. aesthetics are kind of important, but I'd way rather snag a guitar that I have the chance to play/return that is acceptable if not perfect aesthetically than rolling the dice on a custom guitar that MIGHT turn out aesthetically superior, but also might wind up not quite feeling/sounding/playing the way I expected the rare-bird-combo of specs suggested to me that it might.

 

[la szum]

Grammy told me once, "Never put all your eggs in one basket, Sonny."

As humans we are wired for novelty and crave it. This is how and why
boredom sets in, and we have the 7 year itch, and people love to shop.

I have no clue what any of that means.

Best of luck! The journey is half the fun.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Anyone interested in getting by with fewer guitars...should also not be reading/posting in gear forums.

 

[JasonE]

I don't think I could go down to one guitar. I could maybe get down to 5 and I wouldn't like that much. I like to have guitars with single coils like Teles and Strats as well as humbucker guitars like Les Pauls and PRSs. Then there are trem and stop tail bridges.

 

[Achilles]

I have no clue what any of that means.

I don't know either but I'm gonna use it with my wife the next time I want to buy something.

 

[la szum]

"Because eggs and baskets, Honey!"

 

[SpaceMan]

You're gonna have to get more specific about what things you are picky about that are making you think a custom guitar is a good idea.

Okay I might get roasted but I’m gonna try to do this, in about as concise way as I can think:

The Ibanez AZ47P1QM in Dragon Eye Burst is about as close to ticking all of the boxes as I can think, with the following being my “issues:”

-24 Frets
-HSH. I want HSS.
-Instead of Basswood, a Swamp Ash body, without grain filler, i,e, open pore. A la Kiesel “raw tone.” I absolutely love the feel of open pore Ash.
-A carved top instead of flat with bevel.
-Okay, this is probably nitpicking, but the Dragon Eye Burst finish on the S series models seems to look better than the one on the AZ. This finish on the S series is so striking to me.

Okay, I’m ready to be roasted if needed.

 

[SpaceMan]

And ideally the body shape of PRS

 

[DrewJD82]

Okay I might get roasted but I’m gonna try to do this, in about as concise way as I can think:

The Ibanez AZ47P1QM in Dragon Eye Burst is about as close to ticking all of the boxes as I can think, with the following being my “issues:”

-24 Frets
-HSH. I want HSS.
-Instead of Basswood, a Swamp Ash body, without grain filler, i,e, open pore. A la Kiesel “raw tone.” I absolutely love the feel of open pore Ash.
-A carved top instead of flat with bevel.
-Okay, this is probably nitpicking, but the Dragon Eye Burst finish on the S series models seems to look better than the one on the AZ. This finish on the S series is so striking to me.

Okay, I’m ready to be roasted if needed.

No need to roast ya, that’d be pretty slick.

Personally, I’d Warmouth/Musikraft something like that together because it’d be fun as hell, but I love working on guitars and I know not everyone has the mind for that. While I only used 1 nut to do it with, it took me a few attempts to get it perfect and I can absolutely see where someone not being excited about the learning process getting frustrated with that.

But when you do get it together and it plays exactly how you want, or better, it’s really a treat that doesn’t stop giving. Out of all my guitars my Gilmour Strat gets more action because it blows me away every time I pick it up and it’s been 2 years. It’s more of a guitar than I expected it to be, the way it plays and sounds.

The hardest part of your build would be the carve top and finish. It might take a bit of searching but I’d imagine you could find an open pore ash body or have one made easy enough.

 

[DrewJD82]

And ideally the body shape of PRS

Ok, now you’ve crossed the line-

FLAME ON!!!!!

 

[Achilles]

- 24 Frets
- HSH. I want HSS.
- without grain filler
- A carved top
- Dragon Eye Burst

Unless you find a brand already making this particular recipe you're definitely talking a custom build and big bucks.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Okay I might get roasted but I’m gonna try to do this, in about as concise way as I can think:

The Ibanez AZ47P1QM in Dragon Eye Burst is about as close to ticking all of the boxes as I can think, with the following being my “issues:”

-24 Frets
-HSH. I want HSS.
-Instead of Basswood, a Swamp Ash body, without grain filler, i,e, open pore. A la Kiesel “raw tone.” I absolutely love the feel of open pore Ash.
-A carved top instead of flat with bevel.
-Okay, this is probably nitpicking, but the Dragon Eye Burst finish on the S series models seems to look better than the one on the AZ. This finish on the S series is so striking to me.

Okay, I’m ready to be roasted if needed.

No roasting. You want what you want. All the different guitars you have pointed to are ALL over the place in terms of nut width and neck profile, etc. So if you are not super picky about neck, and just want a 22 fret HSS, then clearly the aesthetic stuff is VERY important to you. Find builder that can come
Closest and go for it!

 

[laxu]

Okay I might get roasted but I’m gonna try to do this, in about as concise way as I can think:

The Ibanez AZ47P1QM in Dragon Eye Burst is about as close to ticking all of the boxes as I can think, with the following being my “issues:”

-24 Frets
-HSH. I want HSS.
-Instead of Basswood, a Swamp Ash body, without grain filler, i,e, open pore. A la Kiesel “raw tone.” I absolutely love the feel of open pore Ash.
-A carved top instead of flat with bevel.
-Okay, this is probably nitpicking, but the Dragon Eye Burst finish on the S series models seems to look better than the one on the AZ. This finish on the S series is so striking to me.

Okay, I’m ready to be roasted if needed.

To me it sounds like a Kiesel would be a good option for you. Go play with their online builder and see if you get something you like. You will have to skip the carved top because afaik they don't offer H/S/S with their few carved top models for who knows why. Single coils tend to fly out of the window the moment you go for multiscales or specific body shapes.

I recommend the Aries bolt-on model. It's extremely comfortable to play and the bevel looks better in person. It does have a very flat fretboard radius though.

Here's my 7-string swimming pool: