The ones that got away

I don’t have pics of it, but when I was in high school I bought a JEM mutt off Dave Weiner, Vai’s guitar player. The body was kicking around Vai’s studio, it was floral JEM that was sprayed over in black with a Floral JEM neck on it. I think Dave had the neck already and Vai gave him the body, if I‘m remembering it right. That guitar sounded f*cking badass and is the reason I want to put PAF Pros in my JEM7V now. There’s some 8MM footage of me playing it onstage one night, I’ll have to get my buddy to digitize it. I traded it for my first RG7620.

No clue about the history of the body, if it was from a guitar Vai actually used or not, I’m going to assume if it was, he wasn‘t caring much about it by the time Dave got his hands on it and I’m sure Vai has a whole shed of random Ibanez/JEM parts kicking around.
 
Honestly, I don't REALLY have ones that got away, I mean, I had to sell a couple to get some other ones, and I wish I could have kept them all, but none of them were "the one" or anything like that.

The one that comes to mind is my old Rockit Pink Peavey Vandenberg, but only because their values shot up, not because I'd actually be playing it right now.
 
My truly "big ones that got away":

Mesa Boogie MkIIc+. Bought it for a song; foolishly solid it for roughly the same song a couple of years later.
Very early s/n Floral Jem. I don't tell that story in public. Suffice to say it's gone. :(

Coming back down to earth with the mere "shouldn't have sold at that price" gear... too many items to count, really. Probably should have kept my Boogie MkIV head & 4x12, my blacked-out Fender GC-1 Strat, my YJM Signature, etc. etc. etc.
 
mbenigni said:
My truly "big ones that got away":

Mesa Boogie MkIIc+. Bought it for a song; foolishly solid it for roughly the same song a couple of years later.
Very early s/n Floral Jem. I don't tell that story in public. Suffice to say it's gone. :(

Coming back down to earth with the mere "shouldn't have sold at that price" gear... too many items to count, really. Probably should have kept my Boogie MkIV head & 4x12, my blacked-out Fender GC-1 Strat, my YJM Signature, etc. etc. etc.
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No One Beats BenigniTM
 
JiveTurkey said:
No One Beats BenigniTM
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1. Steinberger GM Transtrem Frankenstein. I made a GM from parts I bought from Gibson and added a Fernandes Sustainer. It was quite the VH guitar and was specifically made around the “Me Wise Magic” era.

I sold it because the Transtrem popped high E strings almost daily and the calibrated double ball strings were expensive. Was a pretty fun little guitar, though.

2. Partial regrets on not trading my 1st year Peavey Wolfgang quilt top on a EBMM EVH when I had the chance at a Dallas Guitar Show.

I really like the sound of the Peavey better, but the recent price increases and desirability factor on the EBMM show it would’ve been a better long-term investment.

3. I DO NOT regret burning the body of my Ibanez RG 270. I worked at a store back in the day where Andy Timmons bought his #1, I believe, after a fire in the building. The rumor at the time was he said the smoke somehow affected the tone in a positive way. So I tried to “smoke” my RG270 in my backyard near a fire pit, but got it too close to the heat; it almost immediately broke at the seams into 5 clean pieces. I was shocked, thinking it was a 2-3 piece body.

Buried it in my parents’ backyard and sold the neck and trem on eBay.
 
Out of the many guitars I have had through my hands over the years, the only one I really wish I had back is a pretty rare sunburst 2008 PRS Mira Maple Top that I got around 2010(?) that at the time was THE guitar I wanted, and my wife specifically pushed me to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, about a year later I ended up selling it for cash at a Chicago guitar show to a British (I think) buyer when we were in some financial straits. While it wasn’t the best guitar I ever had, I would love to reacquire it now.
 
Oh if we’re doing amps and things we should’ve bought

Amps:
  • Mk IV head with custom plexiglass front
  • Mark Sampson era Matchless Clubman
  • 1st year Bad Cat Black Cat
  • JRT 9/15

Guitars I should’ve bought:
  • ‘87 Jem 777 in Loch Ness Green. Numbered and signed by Vai. Had the bridge guard. I think they were asking $1,200
  • ‘60s Fender Jazzmaster in factory CAR with matching headstock - $700
 
spawnofthesith said:
I will offer some kind of reward to anyone who can help me relocate this or one of its brothers. ESP Horizon NT-II, one of 6 in a run from Piney Hills Music in Louisiana (RIP). Quilted nat top blank ebony board. Stupid stupid mistake :(

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Pic not working for me…
 
My "got away" list includes a ca. 1960 Epiphone Wilshire w/ two P90s and a ca. 1966 Epiphone Sorrento w/two mini-humbuckers. No photos, unfortunately.
 
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