The "one guitar person" thread got me thinking . . .

[Baba]

We've prolly done this, or a version of it, before, but, who cares?

What's the one guitar you've owned the longest, but never play, (that you could actually play all the time), and won't get rid of, and why?

Or, what is the strangest acquisition you have, for whatever reason? Like, did you go to someone's house for a Craiglist deal and found out you were at Joe Bonamassa's house, or get serial number 0001 of something, from a garage sale nearby, etc?

Nothing too weird on my end, but the guitar I've owned the longest, is the one I've played the least, over the years. It's an Ibanez RG520QTSB that I bought in 2001. I really only bought it, because, while I had a Kramer for the longest time, and a Peavey Vandenberg, I never had an Ibby, and a few of my friends did, and I always liked them too, and always wanted one.

I played mine in a GC, and took it home. I liked the color, and the lack of a middle pickup, (Ibby didn't make that many models with JUST two hums), and the price. I think it was somewhere around $500).

Oddly enough, I had already been in party/pop rock/dance bands, and continued to be, so, a shredder just wasn't the "right" guitar for those bands, and I definitely didn't want to deal with changing a broken string on an Edge trem, at a gig, so, I basically never played it. Mix that with the fact that, shortly after, I got my first PRS, a Core CE24, which led to other PRSi, and other quality guitars, and the Ibby just sat and sat and sat.

I only keep it now because, from being in the store so long, when I bought it, it already had some dings and battle scars, and some oxidation on the hardware, (I bought it on purpose this way), and these really depreciated over time. People just weren't/aren't looking for these, so, it's not worth selling, for the $300 I could probably get for it.

The LISTING prices have gone up, but I don't know what people are REALLY getting for these, nowadays, and "below $400-$500" is like my threshold for, "why hassle yourself for just that"?

 

[OrganicZed]

Mine would be a 2003 Epiphone LP standard plus. It was my first electric guitar and it just doesn't measure up to the other instruments that I now have. It also needs a re-fret and I need to replace the potentiometers (cleaning didn't fix the crackling). The cost to get it playing properly is prohibitive considering the value of the guitar, but I won't sell it because of sentimental reasons.

 

[itchyfingers]

I've always focused on "trading up", sorta like that guy who traded a paper clip and ended up with a house; started with a Squier and ended up with a custom shop! So any time I get a new-to-me guitar, I try to sell the low hanging fruit. The oldest guitar in my closet is a Jay Turser, semi-hollow 339 looking thing. It is not a great guitar, and it's not worth anything other than sentimental value, but its the last guitar my Dad bought me before he passed, so it'll never be sold.

At this point, the entire stable is really nice guitars and I have a hard time deciding what I could let go of without missing it. AKA the collection is growing, lol.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Guitar I've owned the longest is my LP standard, but that only goes back to 2020 (prior to that I kinda quit guitar for a minute there and sold everything off before then). I wouldn't say I never play it though. I definitely play my PRS guitars more but the LP is just a beast and plays and sounds amazing, and despite what many claim I don't find any PRS to be a substitute for a good LP. Just not the same

 

[Axe]

I have two of them,,
My N4s, I've owned them for 18-20 yrs. Well, the white Ash was away for a couple years when I ignorantly sold it but I regained it a couple yrs ago.. They are largely case queens now but either could easily be a #1

 

[FuzzyAce]

I've owned my '77 Ibanez Artist since '95. Out of my current guitars it gets played less which is a sin tbh. I just tracked with it the other day and it kills (always has). I tend to be more of a super strat guy so those get more play time.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I was given a lovely Martin 12 string acoustic by Noel Redding back in 1971 and a couple of years later I needed a deposit for a house ,So I stupidly sold it to a guy who I was told later had sold it to David Gilmour

 

[Baba]

I've owned my '77 Ibanez Artist since '95. Out of my current guitars it gets played less which is a sin tbh. I just tracked with it the other day and it kills (always has). I tend to be more of a super strat guy so those get more play time.

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The first, and last time, I played one of these, was around 1984-1987 sometime, and I can STILL remember what it was like, which is probably why a good example is worth some coin these days. Jaunts were for real, and I want one.

 

[FuzzyAce]

The first, and last time, I played one of these, was around 1984-1987 sometime, and I can STILL remember what it was like, which is probably why a good example is worth some coin these days. Jaunts were for real, and I want one.

I've said it before, I'd take this over any LP I've tried in 25 yrs. I'm fortunate to still have it all these years and have often thought of getting another.

 

[laxu]

I try to give all my guitars some play time. If that does not happen, they get sold.

My weirdest guitar is probably the Flaxwood Rautia. This is the only pic I could find, it's the PRS-ish red guitar between the Yamaha SA-1200S (ES-335 style) and Fenix LP copy.

What makes this guitar unique is its material. Flaxwood guitars are made of injection molded spruce fiber and resin. They are full hollowbodies due to the weight of the material, and the neck and body are made of the same material. It feels kind of like ebony. It's basically impervious to weather changes, I can't even remember when I adjusted its truss rod. They sound just as good as any regular guitar I've owned.

The guitar I've had the longest is probably the Yamaha SA-1200S in this picture. I bought it from Japan in 2004 so I've had it for 20 years now, the guitar is over 40 years old.

Before that the guitar I had the longest was the black 1989 Ibanez RG550 you can see peeking out at the edge of the picture. I sold it after getting a 2010 Carvin C66 in around 2013. The Ibby had a super thin original Wizard neck and I always hated the black finish but it was a good deal back in the day and was a great guitar overall.

The weirdest guitar I've ever bought but no longer own, is the Dean EVO DN76 7/6-string doubleneck. Here's a pic of the same model:

I originally bought this because my young brain said "Oh cool, a 7- and a 6-string all in one". What I didn't figure out is that I should have tried it on a strap, because it was heavy as hell, and very neck heavy too. It sounded and played really great though, sounded like a really beefy Gibson SG type thing. I wish I had kept it, sawed it in half and built two separate guitars out of it.

 

[Eagle]

I have a few like this that I won’t sell even though I basically never play them. I have the first Steinberger guitar sent to the UK . It sat in the office at Rotosound for 20 years before I got it.
The reason I don’t play it is I have a GL4T as well that I prefer.

It’s a very early hardtail with a milled steel bridge.

 

[DrewJD82]

My JEM, for sure.

Got it in '97 and played the shit out of it for over 20 years but with the truss rod issue the setup doesn't allow for it to sing the way it's supposed to. A few years ago I started making enough money to buy more guitars I wanted and over time it's just began collecting more dust.

It means way too much to me to ever get rid of, it's beat to hell and back and wouldn't fetch near what it's worth to me on the used market. I play the way I do now because I grew up as a player with that guitar. Eventually I'll find a tech who I trust enough to do whatever they have to do to get it in working shape again. At this point I'm certain it'll require removing the fingerboard and replacing the truss rod.

 

[joezlo]

My #2, which aside from recording, sits in its case most of the time.

A Peavey Tobacco Burst Wolfie Special.

Its the only guitar I've ever owned that remained all stock because it played so well (got it 2nd hand).

I've replace the bridge on it once from so much use, and then got my current #1.

I love that guitar to the moon and back.

 

[fetishfrog]

I have a few like this that I won’t sell even though I basically never play them. I have the first Steinberger guitar sent to the UK . It sat in the office at Rotosound for 20 years before I got it.
The reason I don’t play it is I have a GL4T as well that I prefer.
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It’s a very early hardtail with a milled steel bridge.

A hardtail in that condition would fetch quite the price. I wouldn't let it go either.

 

[Eagle]

A hardtail in that condition would fetch quite the price. I wouldn't let it go either.

They are both pretty much perfect condition.

 

[EOengineer]

This one is going to be a toss up.

This is a Fender Japan TL-62B in the rare transparent blue double bound. I imported it from Japan after being obsessed with these for years. It’s probably the most visually appealing guitar I own, but the neck is so ungodly thin that it just never gets played. It stays around because it’s so damn beautiful though I can’t promise a LPB American Original tele won’t replace it some day.

The other is this 2017 AV52 reissue tele. My wife and I went on a mission one day and hit like 3 different GCs trying to find a specific American Pro tele id been looking for. I picked this up to noodle while the sales guys were grabbing guitars from the back and the rest is history.

This one is a killer player, 7lbs, huge neck, and just checks all the boxes. I don’t gig it a ton because of the sentimental value but one of these days I’m going to allow myself to start beating it up.