NGD: Tom Anderson Guardian Angel Player

[László]

A few years later I started frequenting guitar forums and saw people posting photos of their new guitars with similar feature lists to what I had imagined. The guitars were hideous. It was then I came to realize that it is best to choose one or maybe two standout visual features for a build and to leave the rest as pedestrian as possible. If you don't restrain yourself when choosing the options the end result will be like the car that Homer Simpson designed:

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When I ordered my first Private Stock PRS (an acoustic guitar), I told them I wanted a subtly stained maple body and neck, Adirondack top, ebony fretboard/bridge, and only the bling that was standard on their then-Artist Core models.

It turned out great, and sounds the business. So, yeah, it's good to have one or two standout things, and the rest subtle. Pics of the guitar below, you'll see I completely agree with you!

 

[AlbertA]

I remember getting the Carvin catalogs in the mail as a kid and thinking about all the options I wanted to put on a custom guitar build. My ideal feature set would have been big block abalone fretboard inlays, a flamed maple top with a blue and green burst transparent finish, a birds eye maple fretboard, abalone inlayed volume and tone knobs, gold hardware, a multi-laminate neck... the works!

A few years later I started frequenting guitar forums and saw people posting photos of their new guitars with similar feature lists to what I had imagined. The guitars were hideous. It was then I came to realize that it is best to choose one or maybe two standout visual features for a build and to leave the rest as pedestrian as possible. If you don't restrain yourself when choosing the options the end result will be like the car that Homer Simpson designed:

View attachment 50642

Oh there's definitely a lot of gaudy and tacky Carvin builds - I'm sure it happens with Kiesel as well - though I haven't followed as close any more.