There are “go-to” guitars and there are “go-to” guitars. But do you have one that’s just.. well… perfect? I do. It’s my Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue. To me, that tea burst is absolutely sexy, but more importantly, when I play that guitar, I feel that I can do just about anything. The neck is perfect on this guitar. It’s a fat neck, but not anything like a ’57’s baseball bat girth. And every time I play this guitar (her name is “Amber”), I just feel so confident. I can switch from rhythm to lead and back again, and with Amber, I feel as if I can express my creativity freely.
Mind you, this is purely subjective. Everyone will have their own perfect guitar, and their own idea of a perfect guitar. But for me, I’ve found my perfect guitar.
But what about my others? I still play all of them because there are tones that Amber just can’t create. Take, for instance, my Gretsch Electromatic. It has an almost acoustic tone to it; so much so that I use it for my solo acoustic gigs. And because it’s an electric, I can play that guitar for hours, and never get tired. And of course, getting that jangly, Strat single-coil sound just can’t be gotten with a Les Paul.
But luckily for me, most of tunes require a fat, sustaining tone, and there’s nothing like a Les Paul – at least for me – to deliver that.
Guitar Gear 
I’ve actually always said that there are only five electric guitars in the world – the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul and ES-335, and the Rickenbacker 3xx/12. Everything else is just an approximation to those classic sounds. As such, I’d shoot for five “go to” guitars. If I had to choose only one, though, it would be a toss-up between the Paul and the Tele.
I’m with you on the Les Paul and Tele. I’ve had two 335’s and I just couldn’t seem to bond with them. The ’81 I had was a fantastic guitar, but it just didn’t move me enough to keep it. Maybe down the line I’ll come across one I can bond with.
It’s no longer enough to say Tele or Strat or whatever… now there are so many combination of features, etc that the single brand name no longer describes what you have or want. It used to be – but, no longer.
As a result, the core essence of what each of these venerable model names used to stand for has gotten totally diluted – almost beyond recognition. While choice is good..in this case I’m not so sure anymore. It’s getting harder and harder to define EXACTLY what each of the “Go Tos” really are.
Is that a Tele or Strat with Hums or Singles or a combo of both? Or is it a “standard” Les Paul or one of the many, many varieties and feature option sets they now have. To be honest, over time the real differences between these classic models (aside from body and neck design) have become totally eroded. IN addition, because of negative court rulings all manufactures now have carte blanche to make Tele/Strat/LP look-alikes – some cheap – others incredibly expensive.
That is incredibly insightful, Ken. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Dawg,
At this point – unless a person is talking vintage – I thing of these brands (Tele/Strat/LP, etc.) more as describing a specific body shape than describing a specific, recognizable tone per se, as used to be the case many moons ago.
Call me old-fashioned, but a semi-hollow body Tele with 2 hums just ain’t a Tele. Same with a Strat with a HSH or HH configurations and a Floyd Rose instead of a classic Strat vibrato. That does not (and can’t possibly) produce a “true” Strat sound – at least to my aging ears.
Here’s to yesterday!
I had a recent cosmic experience with Les Pauls. I was left alone at a GC in the expensive Les Paul room. Played em all. Fell in love with an R58. Played through a Soldano. Incredible. EXPENSIVE tho. Couldnt pull the trigger. Figured Id buy an Agile 3000m first (extra 3/4 inch top) – cost the same as the sales tax on the Gibson. Guess what its awesome. Cured my R58 GAS. Those Agiles are awesome. As are the Squier CV Teles.
Goofydawg, that is an awesome shot of your 58! My mouth is watering for an ice tea.