I got a second hand Dean metallic purple Baby V and it changed my life for ever. I had zero money at the time but got it on eBay for £70 UK Pounds. I loved that guitar and still own it and play it to this day. Still one of the nicest neck profiles I have ever played. Full size neck on a 3/4 body and very comfortable to play. A few years later I managed to get a Dean Baby ML DIME from Hell guitar on eBay which needed a bit of fretwork and a new nut but I still play it regularly now as well. Surprisingly good guitars for very little money.
My first electric guitar was a S/H dean baby v I bought from a guy at school. I played that guitar to death. It's still going strong with new pickups and locking tuners.
I subscribed to your channel when you basically played only this guitar, I remember the pickup demos, microphone demos, home studio/recording tutorials and shit, and mind you I'm from Brazil, so at the time I didn't even was fluent in English, but I had a blast watching your videos and learning stuff about guitar, so thank you for all the years of great content, Fluff 🤘
I actually bought that guitar because of you. I love white guitars and Schecter especially, and to see you picking it back up and fixing it brings me a lotta joy
Mine was my first Schecter, which was also my first brand new guitar I bought myself. Got a Walnut Satin Omen-8 in 2011. Absolutely changed my life. I've written over 20 albums with that thing
I had the exact same result with my own Schecter purchase. I’m not sure what it is about some of their guitars, but it was inspirational to me at the very least. I’ve owned tons of guitars, although due to the needs of my wife or kids I would more often than not have to sell them, being in the US Army isn’t exactly profitable. Anyhow, after being wounded in combat and losing a finger, and then being retired I needed something to help bring the feels back up and motivate me to get off my ass, so I purchased a Schecter Apocalypse in the single cut shape. It also lives in dropped C# and it still to this day gets picked up and rotated in regularly. Awesome story and history my friend, thanks for sharing!
My partscaster I built in highschool. It started off as a no name Chinese strat copy my friends brother one at a carnival game. He also that year got his Les Paul sunburst and then that guitar sat for years. That guitar was the first guitar I played. Then he gave it to me as a gift. I went and replaced the hardware. For the past year or so I fell out of guitar and I picked that one up and it got my back. The guitar currently is in c# standard. Usually in drop B. I owe that guitar my guitar journey
Wow, what a lovely life story and beautiful guitar. Great that you got it fixed up. I have a PRS CU24 I bought as a gift to myself when I was 6 months sober…. And the funny thing is that I didn’t realise until a few years afterwards that the actual date the guitar was signed off at the PRS factory was my actual sobriety date (same day and year)… I have since replaced the pickups with Porter pickups, and every time I pick that guitar up, I am reminded of my journey… 16 years on…
Like an idiot, I sold "my" guitar, a 1989 Carvin DC125 I had gotten used for $250. It was my first "real" guitar, and it had a really cool vibe to it - all maple, abalone dot inlays, and back then, they had a Jackson-esque headstock. It was the only thing I played on my band's first release, the release show for it, and the first time we opened for Katatonia. But, it was beat to shit, the frets were garbage, the neck was off, and I didn't have the cash to fix it. I also had it in my head that I *had* to have a singlecut as a backup for my Les Paul, so there it went. Dumb, dumb, stupid Scott. I would happily give up my LP and Charvel DC-2 to have it back, especially if it was miraculously fixed beforehand, haha.
for me it was my Jackson Soloist with a flamed blue top, it was so easy to play, stock with Duncans and a Floyd Rose 1000. Still have it today and I owe so much to that guitar
I got a brand new Epiphone Les Paul Standard for my 16th birthday(All my friends and parents, etc.. chipped in behind my back). It was blue and perfect and everything. I went through the ringer with that guitar and even had a crisis where it fell out of the back of a van one day and someone returned it to the local newspaper who got it back to me somehow, I don't remember how but it was miraculous that it found it's way back to me. I ended up putting some gold juggernauts in it and it was always my ideal guitar. Until one day, I got back from some type of military schooling to find out someone had been in my room and stole it and I was never able to locate it again after that. That Les Paul will always be my miracle guitar that helped propel me to where I am now. I didn't pick up any guitars for a couple years after that buteventually I did and now I'm writing some music I'm truly proud of with another les paul with an aftermath and my workhorse stingray with a unity in the bridge. Hats off to my blue les paul forever.
The guitar that really kick started my playing was a 1999 Gibson SG Special, ebony fretboard, crescent moon inlays. I got it with EMG’s installed and i played my first gigs with it, it was my first “real” instrument. Went through several iterations, now has burstbuckers on it. Still plays great. Had to sell to a friend for personal reasons but I still get to play it every now and again
Same here except Idk what ever happened to my poor SG. It's out there in the world somewhere. Hopefully still being played and loved like yours. I had to quit playing for 10 years (life happened and had to sell my gear to raise a family). After that period of wishing I still played but not having a guitar a buddy from high schools wife started working with me. Long story short I hadn't seen the dude in 15 years but he remembered me playing constantly back in the day. One day she asked if I played still and I told her no and why. Very next day she came to work with the exact same SG only in black instead of cherry red. He had tried playing but decided bass was more his speed and rather than let the poor guitar just sit in it's case I should have it. Now I own around 15 guitars 4 years later and I still have that black SG he gave me that restarted it all.
I have a 2005 Schecter C-1 Exotic in antique black that I found at a pawn shop for $200. Mahogany body/neck, thick maple cap (not veneer), ebony board. This guitar is in my top 3 (along with my American Tele and a Gibson Les Paul). I initially put a set of put DiMarzio Liquifire/Crunchlab pickups in it, but recently swapped those for DiMarzio PAF pickups in it and upgraded the electronics (Switchcraft and CTS). This guitar is absolutely amazing - a great player for sure!! Glad to see some Schecter love on the channel - I am a believer!
I remember getting a Jackson King V when I was 20. I was a huge Mustaine fan and wanted his guitar. I saved up for like a year and got one and it inspired me so much. I still remember that excitement when it showed up at the house. Back then it took like 7 years for a guitar to get to you. I'm very old. Ive had dozens of guitars since and have never had that feeling again. Like a dumb ass I sold it eventually when my taste changed and was no longer into the shape. I miss it now of course. Would have been cool to have. I still play Jackson though. That stuck with me.
Hey that sounds a little like my guitar journey…I had a crappy peavey strat copy as my first guitar and got a black Jackson king v as my first major purchase as a late teen…I got it because of how much I like Dave and megadeth too
I have a candy apple red MIA strat. I got it in the mid-00s. It was the last one that Soundcontrol in the UK had in the country before they sadly went out of business. I ordered one, it went missing in transit but they tracked down another one, which I have to this day. I've written so many songs on it from sleazy blues rock to epic post-rock. Wonderful.
My Squier Vintage Modified Tele. It’s the guitar that got me away from Les Pauls and into Teles. I bought it the week I moved to the city I live in. It’s had a ton of different pickups and configurations. Been thrown across stage. Right now it has a Tele bridge and mini humbucker in the neck and I set up for Nashville tuning. It’s been about 17 years and I still love it.
Mentioning Rest, Repose. My 11 year old inherited my old iPod before getting a phone for his new school term. He found the Sleep CIty EP on it and now has most of it on high rotation on his Spotify. Cracking EP. Important guitar. I subscribed to you after taking the DAW plunge and watching your first home studio set up video. I met you when you played the HiFi club in Leeds a couple of years ago with Dragged Under and you were very charming. Thanks Fluff.
I have a Jackson King V that my mom purchased for me as a Christmas gift when i was 17. I'm 31 now and its been gigged and modded like crazy. And its still the Monarch of my collection. I have no idea what production line it came from.
So crazy to see that guitar come back. I remember seeing it so long ago and ended up getting the red burst SLS version because of yours back when I was a teenager, cant wait to see more of it!
I have a Schecter S-1 Elite guitar that I love. I bought it used and later got the Schecter case for it. I did three things to move it from stock. First I replaced the black plastic speed knobs with Q Parts blackend chrome Tele style domed knobs with acrylic tops to match the inlays (Tone got a red knob but that comes next). Second I tracked down a Shadow Killswitch tone pot that I used for the tone and I also put in two CTS push/pull pots to be able individually coil split each pickup and I also replaced the jack with a Switchcraft jack. Last I relocated the front strap button to where it would be on an SG and that is a Dunlop strap lock button so I have no worries. I also have a very nice Levy leather strap for this guitar. What I love about this guitar is how it feels, it feels the way you REALLY want a Gibson to feel. Looks wise, it's not really my thing but feel wise it's close to perfect. I wouldn't mind another Schecter but as far as feel goes, this is the best Schecter I have ever played.
I have 2. My first Strat I got as a Christmas gift in 2012/2013 which is currently not working but I plan on fixing it up soon and getting it back in working order because the neck is actually really good, it's been worn to a semi-gloss on the back of the neck from all the time I've spent playing it, the pickguard has aged to a yellow-ish color, it's got a crusty/punk vibe to it that I love. The second is my ESP LTD PC-2 in silver sparkle that I bought used for $420. My first guitar that I ever bought with my own money as a working adult, like you said in your video, I worked my ass off and saved, saved, saved; walked into GC one day after work and saw it and fell in love on the spot. It's so easy to play, the neck is perfect, it holds any tuning no matter what, only thing I really wanna do to it is swap out the pickups for something a little more versatile and higher output and some locking tuners. That guitar will never leave.
Probably won't ever be read but just saying, your Solo 6 and old old videos are what lead to me wanting as my dream guitar, and getting, a Solo 6 SLS Blackjack. I'm glad to see you still have it and its recognized for its role in your channel lol.
Yes, I have a guitar like that. It's a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cutaway in Tangerine burst. '60's fast neck, with 490 R and T pickups. God, I love that guitar!
Totally get where you're coming from, and with a Schecter, to boot. Bought a C-1 Elite brand-spanking new from a store in 2000, I had never played a neck-thru before and couldn't believe how comfortable it was. Felt like a whole new world opened up. Plus, it's gorgeous gloss black with the abalone trim, just on the borderline of gaudy but not gaudy. Still have it. Added locking tuners and swapped out the Duncan Designed for Mayhems, it's a beast. I remember it was on sale for $629 from $800 and that was the most I had ever spent on a guitar because, frankly, I'm not that good so it seems silly to spend a lot but the moment the GC guy unboxed it and handed it to me I was in love.
For me it’s my Schecter Studio-5. I remember trading in a MIM Fender P bass and saving up and bought it brand new. I’ve been through so much with that instrument. Countless shows, festivals, couple tours, recording sessions, practice sessions. Including recording my first official album with my band at the time. Still plays and sounds fantastic today. I love it so much I bought a 4 string version of it and that bass is just amazing. It’s everything I love about my 5 but in a 4 string (even got it in the same color.) that being said, even though I play the 4 primarily nowadays with how I prefer to play, I still break out the 5 when the 5 string is needed and every time I do, when I play it, it just reminds me of all the great times and memories with that bass. When I go 100 years from now I told my wife that bass is going with me.
What an incredible story! From a barn to your house, it’s incredible what inspiration and dedication can sometimes do for people. Thank you for sharing this story. And what a nice guitar!
The guitar that inspired me most and always is my “go-to” is my 2002 LTD viper 301… bought my first one (in black cherry) in 2003 (then it was around $850) was my first big guitar purchase… loved it, gigged it… then hard times hit and sold it for a fraction of the price…. Regretted it ever since.. then during COVID, found one on reverb in tobacco burst with active EMGs…. Fixed my soul… similar story with my Randall RH100 and matching 412 CXM cab…. After many years, found the head on reverb and the cab at guitar center…
I bought a Schecter in 2009 too. It was far cheaper than yours though. I purchased a 2008 Damien V, because I wanted a V. It was an after xmas sale, and I found my V for $199. It's a B-stock, one little paint flub in the satin black finish near one of the points. The guitar looks metal af. It has the black abalone falling bat inlays, and EMG's. String through and a bolt on neck. What impressed me beyond the price tag, was how fantasic it sounded, and how incredible the neck felt, just smooth and fast, like it was made for my hand. I played the hell out of it. One night, barely a year of ownership, after a gig, I fell on it and tore one of the neck screws clean out of the neck joint. I thought that was all she wrote. I was happy to be wrong. A little wood filler, in the stripped and splintered neck joint screw hole, and the neck bolted back on. The neck was straight and the intonation was only slightly off on the 'G' string. My Schecter V is 16 years old now and it still plays and sounds great, and its all original, except for the wood filler. The best $199 that I have ever spent.
Mine was a nasty Silvertone Revolver (strat). Restoring and then upgrading and changing it from an SSS to a single EMG H was so much fun. Neck pocket finally cracked but it really got me into working on and customizing guitars which got me back into playing as well.
I remember the days of this guitar well. Iconic era of guitar youtube. Honestly doesn't seem as long ago as it actually is. Time marches forward! I have two guitars that I really cut my teeth on. One was another absolute sleeper guitar: the Peavey EXP HP. That thing played, sounded, and looked so incredible and only cost me $300 at a pawn shop. The only guitar I regret selling. The other was my Epiphone LP Baritone. Being able to tune to A standard with an LP shape was and still is one of my favorite things to do with a guitar.
My Gibson Les Paul 2010 Studio Faded, same vibes. When I got that thing I could play riffs endlessly, it just drove me in a way that the Epiphone and Fender guitars I played in my youth never could. 14 years later its still one of my best
When I was like 17/18 years I learned about Schecter guitars bc of A7X. I only had a super cheap strat copy till that moment, but after learning about the brand and models I knew that I wanted a Solo-6. Extremely expensive if you think about the acquisition power in South America in the 2000s. When I moved to start Grad School after the bachelor a couple years ago I found one on the second hand market, exactly the same Sunburst Solo-6 that I wanted (and still wanted like 10-12 years later). I will be buried with that guitar. I cried of excitement and played the entire evening the day that I received it all the MCR/BFMV/A7X that I still remember and had learned. Those are amazing instruments and I absolutely dig the shape >>>> Classical LP.
This video really gets me in the feels man, my very first guitar was a p.o.s. but my second guitar was a really awesome Ibanez les Paul style model art300 in brown caiman . I came on hard times as a teenager and sold it to a pawn shop..I miss that guitar so much I would love to have it back one day. It started my love for Les Pauls
I started out on a 1976 Ibanez Les Paul Custom. It was my first electric guitar and the guitar I used in my first band for years (after putting a Duncan Custom Custom in the bridge to deal with feedback and microphonics, but I still have the original). I bought a '99 McCarty in 2000 which is still my main guitar but I also eventually had a local magician of a guitar tech refresh my old Ibanez and it's still an amazing guitar. I eventually picked up a matching '76 Gibson Les Paul Custom and while it's got a thing, it''ll never be the thing that got me started.
I bought a Gibson SG Platinum Edition in 2004 after getting my first big boy job. Played it to death, put many scars on it and just trashed it over the years. Put it in the case after the headstock snapped (good ol' Gibson...) and forgot about it. Fast forward a few years and I finally had it repaired. Should've done it years ago, there's something about that first "big boy" guitar purchase and that particular guitar. It's always special. Very cool man!
I just got one of these yesterday! Traded for it. I honestly was thinking I was just getting it for trade material! But I have fallen in love with this thing already. I think she is a keeper!! Appreciate this video.
I still have my '88 Fender HM Strat that I bought gently used and refinished. It was probably 6 months old when I got it. It had been painted a camo finish. This is 1988. This is like having a custom shop guitar. I paid $700 and still enjoy it, still has the original DiMarzio bridge pickup, TBX wiring and Kahler Spyder trem. Total tone machine
The guitar that kickstarted my playing is my 2004 Gibson SG Standard. I started playing guitar learning AC/DC and Black Sabbath riffs and the classic black Standard with block inlays was my dream guitar. I used the money I had saved up from my first job at a movie theater and got it as a present to myself leading into senior year of high school. It still inspires me every time I play it and is making it back into the rotation with my current band after 20 years of owning it.
It's always cool to hear these old stories... Always loved that SOLO-6 and often wondered if you still had it or why you didn't play it. Cool stuff dude! My guitar was a 1992 Fender Talon. That was a joint effort between Fender and Ibanez in the late 80's early 90's. Loaded with a Floyd Pro, Dimazrio humbuckers.... after the a while I ended with 12 of them. Bought mine new in 1992 on installments since I had just lost my job back then. And like an ass, I sold it off a few years back to help buy my new R9. But I still talk to the dude who bought in and he is a great guy, so I know she's in a good place.
I had always been a single cut only player until I pulled the trigger on a Schecter C6 Pro in the Aquaburst finish a few years back. That thing just feels so good in the hands. Since then I’ve branched out into Teles and Jazzmasters (Squier Tele Deluxe and the Squier Active Jazzmaster with Jim Root signature pickups) and my single cut LTD is in storage.
My first big boy guitar, the one that really put a fire in my soul was a black Ibanez PL2550. I got in it 1989 and I wore it slap out. The one that gets my juices flowing these days is an aqua Charvel Desolation single cut. Every time I pick it up cool sick riffs go flying out of my cabs.
My first real decent guitar was a 1987 Les Paul standard. Saw it on the wall at Ossining Music in January’88. The Wine Red color drew me to it so I sat down with it and instantly fell in love. Still have it and while it languished for years during my Fender Fetish I recently threw it on the bench and showed it some love. God it’s such a wonderful instrument. While I always wanted to swap out the pickups I’m so glad I didn’t. As it turns out it came originally with Tim Shaws.
This made me think back to the time I bought my first “expensive” guitar. Getting the wife’s permission and all that. Thanks for invoking that trip down memory lane.
After not playing bass or guitar really for several years I went and picked up a Squier John 5 Tele in 2015 it was immediate how much I loved that guitar. It's been through a few pickup changes (Dimebucker, Invader, Fortitude, and now a JB) and pickguards, but it forever remains my go to drop C riff maker. Damn I need to go play it now.
I've got an old Adam Black Orion. I bought it off a friend super cheap years ago to use as more or less a disposable guitar, for taking to collage and playing pub gigs without risking any of my more expensive instruments. Due to playing it so much it just became my go too guitar and i eventally i upgraded the pickups and hardware. I sold all my other guitars when my first daughter was born but i kept the Orion, still sounds awesome to this day.
I received an Epiphone Dot around 2010 for my 14th birthday. Bands like Soundgarden, Anvil, and QOTSA changed my perspective on what I thought wasn't a practical guitar. I'd learned so much on that thing. Metallica, some of heavier detuned stuff, Rory Gallagher, and so on. It was comfortable and well put together. I got rid of it, but I've had 335s come and go since. Looking for one again, and finally keeping it for good.
I do have 1 guitar that I’ll never get rid of because it just has an interesting je ne sais quoi to it. I bought a epiphone les Paul classic from an older guitar guy (150$) in my neighborhood and I didn’t realize that it had a quilted maple top in trans black and a rose wood fret board with cream binding and classic style green tipped tuners and the tuners were the ones with holes in the center where you trimmed the strings and stabbed into the peg and wrapped around the peg to tune. Fast forward to when I had a daughter. I was making way more money so I was buying gear left and right eventually I sent that les Paul in to get new tuners, active pick ups, a new nut, new bridge, new pots, fixed the input jack, neck repaired and got a set up and it sang with such sustain and clarity. All my riffs come from that guitar. Turns out when I did a little digging. It was a dealership exclusive and when/where it was made. I’ve only seen one other of this guitar but not with the quilted maple top in like tear drop burst paint job. I’ll never get rid of it. Every now and then I get offers when I take it in to get set ups but I’ll never part from it. I need to get the frets redone. It’s like 20 years old but it started me on the electric guitar journey and I still love and play my best on it. Those frets are WORE out. It just sings and I want to be buried with it. I have other guitars now but I still come back to it.
The second guitar I ever bought, a 2004 Ibanez AXS32 in wine red. Raphael. The change in the learning curve after buying something that truly fit me was astounding. It was on stage with me for the better part of a decade until I switched to baritones. It’s had a few pickups, as well as had everything but the volume knob removed. Years later I bought another one in black and it doesn’t compare. Acoustically the red one is magical and the black one is a dud. But it was still a good stage backup. Raphael lives on my rack and every time I pick it up it’s like coming home again.
I decided to get my first 'real' guitar back in 08 and got an SG Special Faded. I have so many nice, high-end guitars but still love that old SG. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing, but for me it plays better than soe guitars I've bought at 10 times the price. Great vid man.
Schecter tempest 30th anniversary. I hated it at first but it grew on me. Satin finish….. it’s worn beautifully since I bought it on eBay for $500 back in….08-09. Use it on everything. 2 broken headstocks. Still rocking
Absolute riff machine, the guitar that was like that for me is my 2009 Mockingbird Special in alpine white, one of the few times they made a mockingbird with les paul specs/layout.
1965 Kalamazoo KG-1 was the first electric guitar I ever played from a friend's step dad in elementary school. I recently just got one and i don't think I'd change a thing on it. Made in the original Gibson factory basically out of press board, has the thumb slicer nob metal things on it.
I got my first Schecter on Wed from Sweetwater . Hellraiser . It’s beautiful, looks like a 5k axe . I love it . Gonna get the Evil Twin next 👍🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻 The guitar that changed me forever was my 1984 Kramer Pacer American. Right after Eddie VH started playing them. It had 2 single coils and a humbucker . Of course original Floyd Rose . Since then I’ve only played Strat body guitars with Floyd’s on them . I still have that guitar , put an EMG 81 in it and still play it regularly. Always love your content 👍
It would have to be my first “good” guitar. It’s a 1989 American-made Jackson Vintage Style that I got used from a local shop for something $350 some time around 1992-93. It’s the guitar that has been with me forever and when I need something that can do just about anything, I reach for it. It just has that tone that is comforting and makes me smile every time.
Yeah man! Happy you got it fixed ❤🔥 my first guitar was a gift from my Mom's friend, a 77/78 Guild S300-D and little Crate amp; I was just getting into heavy music too, I was around 9-12 and just got hip to Linkin Park, then Gorillaz, and eventually KSE when I started high school ('09) 🤘🏽 all my pre-music theory riffing and exploring was with that setup; the Guild's neck is too warped to be playable (I also started experimenting with traditional Eastern music/tunings) but I'm gonna de string it and have it hanging on my wall!
i can think of 2 i have an Epiphone SG special that i still play and recently put grovers on it, and then i have an Ibanez 7 string that has really helped me to shape my sound as a guitarist/musician.
With the help of my parents, I got a Schecter Omen 6 in the spring of 2010. I played it in a couple bands, tons of recordings, and it's still a main guitar today. It's not the same guitar it was back then though. I refinished the body from gloss black to matte white. Chrome humbuckers, cream pickup rings, orange knobs, and black bridge and tuners. Once I switched from 10-46 strings down to 9-42 and had it professionally setup and everything, it's probably the best feeling guitar I've ever played. Aesthetically, I'd much prefer a maple fretboard over the rosewood board, but I'll live with it. I only kept it this long because by the time I would have sold it, I'd already screwed with it too much so it would be worthless, but I'm kind of happy that I ended up keeping it. It's a piece of my history and it's completely unique to me. No one else on the planet has this guitar. 😅
Funnily enough, the guitar that has meant the most to me on my journey was also a Schecter ATX, but the S-Type in Sunburst with a gorgeous quilted maple veneer. It's been my tried and true guitar for over a decade now and is still my number one even though I have newer and possibly better guitars now.
Yes! My Chapman ML-1 PRO Walnut (the original 2016-ish model) that I always compare every other guitar to, since it is almost the perfect guitar for me, the neck feels amazing, it's really heavy and also just really fun to play.
Looove. I have a deluxe Telecaster (the "blackout" one with 3 pickups) that I got the month I turned 15. 15 years later, it's still my favorite guitar. Everything is easy on it, even though it's beat to hell.
1:34 man I haven't heard The Generator in a looong while! Still a killer riff, sick chorus and the intro is legendary 8:58 damn, these are ALL the riffs I learned in highschool haha
same with my epi les paul custom gold top , it was modded for active pickups using two 9 volts in series. took me 17 years to get that guitar back but im so glad i have it and its just as good as ever , I will never re do it Though. i like the aged look it has
So funny you posted this. Last night I dug out my old schecter tempest 30th anniversary from the same era. Ebony fretboard, gold Seymour Duncan pickups and hardware, satin finish, locking tuners. It needs some love, but man it just instantly felt at home in my hands. I think I got mine in 2007 or 2006
What's crazy is I have a very similar style "not-production" Schecter from 2009 with the same fleur-de-lis emblem on the headstock, but it was a Black/creme-binding Solo-6 that came with chrome-covered EMG 80/61s originally. I played the crap out of it, and it has also sat in my closet for several years. I re-wired the whole thing at one point to learn how to work on guitar electronics, and tried various sets of passive pickups in it, eventually settling on the very standard but solid SD '59/JB combo, which I think suits the guitar well. It wasn't my first guitar but it was probably the first electric guitar I really loved playing, and for that reason, I'll probably own it forever, even though I've moved on to other guitars. I should probably pull it out and see if it's as good as I remember.
That one guitar for me is my custom six string bass. I chose the hardware, woods, pickups, even created the body and headstock shape. My thanks to luthier David Pushic for making it possible and affordable (was only $1250 w/ a case back in 2005). It's the one piece of gear I held onto after having to sell everything during hard times. Now I've got a lovely little rig and another bass, and just updated the custom last week with ultralite tuners and a new setup in G standard. My advice to anyone thinking of selling an instrument you truly love: Don't do it. And to anyone considering modifying and customizing your guitar: Go for it. Do whatever you can to stay inspired.
For me it was a 1978 Goya Jazz Bass copy. Yes, a lawsuit bass. If you haven't heard of Goya they are sort of famous for acoustic guitars. Anyway, I bought it in high school with a Kustom amp, both used. When I went to college my dad wanted my stuff out of the house (he actually put my Kustom out in the garbage). I salvaged the bass, but 2 years later traded it for a cheap guitar. Fast forward 40 years -- I found my Goya bass online at Guitar Center. I paid $400 and got it home and restored it. That motivated me to start playing bass again so now I am selling guitar stuff to feed my bass amp addiction.
I'm always down to see players pulling out their "old" #1 guitar, and going over it again. You'd be surprised, what some of the beaters people have laying around could sound like. With some pocket change and TLC. Guitars are so subjective when it comes to what inspires players to chose one. How can one person tell another what a certain model can provide on a certain day? Endless sets of pickups, and back to the first set you originally swapped in, just the newer versions. That's a life's lesson in a nice tidy package there, hey, there, hey.
Mine is hanging above my throne in my bathroom. That thing was so sick so many years. I still strum the strings as it hangs on the wall and it sounds better than most of my guitars 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
My guitar that kicked off my journey was a Charvel Pro Mod Tele I found in Portland while looking at colleges that I had been accepted into. The guitar was sitting in a rack where newly-dropped-off used guitars were but it caught my eye and I immediately started playing it and loved it. It's incredibly unique because the previous owner had put on a bunch of red flower vinyls and black block inlays into the roasted maple neck. They had also put in Hipshot locking tuners and a Javier Sanchez Signature Fishman pickup in the bridge. It had a matching black and red strap too, and since I was/still am massively into Gojira I felt like I needed it right then and there. The price on it was like 800 bucks, but my mom agreed to let me take out some of my savings for my first real guitar and we had it shipped all the way to Georgia so I could pick it up. Since then, the guitar has flown back with me to Seattle where I'm now attending college and it's still my workhorse six string. Not to mention, I got it signed by all the members of Lorna Shore when I went to a concert, so it's got even more sentimental value now. Best 800$ I've ever spent.
I was maybe 14 or 15(I'm 33 now) when I got my first guitar. My dad bought me a Schecter 006 deluxe in satin red for christmas that year. I still have it, I still love it. Is the neck chunky AF? Yes, old Schecters loved the Gibson style thick neck. Have I had better guitars? Yes. But I only have two guitars now, both of them Schecters, and that 006 is going NOWHERE. I will have that until I die. If anyone is curious the other Schecter is an Omen Extreme 7 in gloss see through black with a quilted maple top. Shockingly beautiful guitar. Very high value for the money.
I have a Fender American traditional from the late 90s early 2000s. It has seen 5 pickup changes and at least 10 guitars come and go (including a Music Man JP6 with full appointments). Still my main axe
That guitar for me is my used Ibanez RGA. I've been playing on and off for nearly 10 years but I've learned more with this guitar in 1 year than I probably did with my previous guitars during those other 8 or 9 years.
95 Ibanez RG series for me. Still have it. Been wanting to freshen it up. Every time I get it out of the case once in a great while. It just feels like Home as soon as I grab the neck.
Damn so good to see this guitar again! So many Amp and pickup demos I’ve watch with you using this! My stable guitar would have to be my 2012 PRS SE CU24, still good even compared to my PRS Core CE.
I had serious GAS and once i bought a fgn expecrt(gray) flame i was done. it is so above and beyond all my other guitars that i only play that one for a long time now.
My first real guitar was a Schecter Diamond Series 006 Elite back in ‘06. I still own it. It’s had countless different pickup sets, a stainless re-fret, and it still plays great after almost 19 years. It has dings and finish checking but I’ve literally fallen on top of it and nothing broke. It’s a tank and I swear they don’t make them like this anymore.
I was interested in playing guitar for a long time. I started in high school and convinced my mom to get a guitar and amp. It was an Ibanez Gio GAX 30. Still have it. Looks waaaay different than it did but still pick it up to play it often.
My charvel dk24 in shell pink was like this for me. Set up in drop C. An absolute riff machine! There was and still is so much great music inside that guitar. I have 3 other guitars that a literally never play. One of those 3 is another dk24 but it's set up in drop D.
I have still to thus day, A Schecter Hellraiser Extreme in Satin Black. I absolutely love that guitar. I got it on a trade and it's got to be the workhorse of my flock. I e had it for nearly 10 years and it's been through hell and back with me. Well 2 years ago I wanted to bring it back to stock because all the hardware was corroded, the black chrome had faded and the metal was starting to suffer from pitting. So I reached out to Schecter and the wonderfulnteam was able to help me get the necessary hardware to revive her, then I took it to a Luther to bring the finish from gloss green, back to the satin back. It got ALOT OF PLAY and you know any satin black will turn a greenish hue. I'm glad to say today this thing looks like it's fresh off the assembly line. I. Love. Schecter
My dad got me an LTD fx-260sm for my 17th birthday back in 2011 for like $300 and that guitar has seen multiple paint jobs and hardware changes, and it'll be the last one I ever sell. It's sitting pretty next to the higher end guitars that I've dreamed of having, like a couple Nergal(Behemoth) signature models lol Love the video!
Absolutely love that guitar. I started watching your channel when you did the shootout with the EMG JH and SD AHB-3 MT sets. You've come a long way since those days good sir. Glad to see Betty White back. 😊 I'd be interested in buying that AHB-3 set from you if you still have it laying around.
I got a second hand Dean metallic purple Baby V and it changed my life for ever. I had zero money at the time but got it on eBay for £70 UK Pounds. I loved that guitar and still own it and play it to this day. Still one of the nicest neck profiles I have ever played. Full size neck on a 3/4 body and very comfortable to play.
A few years later I managed to get a Dean Baby ML DIME from Hell guitar on eBay which needed a bit of fretwork and a new nut but I still play it regularly now as well. Surprisingly good guitars for very little money.
My first electric guitar was a S/H dean baby v I bought from a guy at school. I played that guitar to death. It's still going strong with new pickups and locking tuners.
I subscribed to your channel when you basically played only this guitar, I remember the pickup demos, microphone demos, home studio/recording tutorials and shit, and mind you I'm from Brazil, so at the time I didn't even was fluent in English, but I had a blast watching your videos and learning stuff about guitar, so thank you for all the years of great content, Fluff 🤘
i remember the bugera 6260 demo he did and solidified me purchasing that amp. was a great first amp
I actually bought that guitar because of you. I love white guitars and Schecter especially, and to see you picking it back up and fixing it brings me a lotta joy
Mine was my first Schecter, which was also my first brand new guitar I bought myself. Got a Walnut Satin Omen-8 in 2011. Absolutely changed my life. I've written over 20 albums with that thing
I had the exact same result with my own Schecter purchase. I’m not sure what it is about some of their guitars, but it was inspirational to me at the very least. I’ve owned tons of guitars, although due to the needs of my wife or kids I would more often than not have to sell them, being in the US Army isn’t exactly profitable. Anyhow, after being wounded in combat and losing a finger, and then being retired I needed something to help bring the feels back up and motivate me to get off my ass, so I purchased a Schecter Apocalypse in the single cut shape. It also lives in dropped C# and it still to this day gets picked up and rotated in regularly. Awesome story and history my friend, thanks for sharing!
My partscaster I built in highschool. It started off as a no name Chinese strat copy my friends brother one at a carnival game. He also that year got his Les Paul sunburst and then that guitar sat for years. That guitar was the first guitar I played. Then he gave it to me as a gift. I went and replaced the hardware. For the past year or so I fell out of guitar and I picked that one up and it got my back. The guitar currently is in c# standard. Usually in drop B. I owe that guitar my guitar journey
Wow, what a lovely life story and beautiful guitar. Great that you got it fixed up.
I have a PRS CU24 I bought as a gift to myself when I was 6 months sober…. And the funny thing is that I didn’t realise until a few years afterwards that the actual date the guitar was signed off at the PRS factory was my actual sobriety date (same day and year)… I have since replaced the pickups with Porter pickups, and every time I pick that guitar up, I am reminded of my journey… 16 years on…
This guy is OG. I gawed over it when I started following your channel over a decade ago
Like an idiot, I sold "my" guitar, a 1989 Carvin DC125 I had gotten used for $250. It was my first "real" guitar, and it had a really cool vibe to it - all maple, abalone dot inlays, and back then, they had a Jackson-esque headstock. It was the only thing I played on my band's first release, the release show for it, and the first time we opened for Katatonia.
But, it was beat to shit, the frets were garbage, the neck was off, and I didn't have the cash to fix it. I also had it in my head that I *had* to have a singlecut as a backup for my Les Paul, so there it went. Dumb, dumb, stupid Scott. I would happily give up my LP and Charvel DC-2 to have it back, especially if it was miraculously fixed beforehand, haha.
for me it was my Jackson Soloist with a flamed blue top, it was so easy to play, stock with Duncans and a Floyd Rose 1000. Still have it today and I owe so much to that guitar
What a blast from the past!!
What a beautiful guitar, definately getting some well deserved love.
I got a brand new Epiphone Les Paul Standard for my 16th birthday(All my friends and parents, etc.. chipped in behind my back). It was blue and perfect and everything. I went through the ringer with that guitar and even had a crisis where it fell out of the back of a van one day and someone returned it to the local newspaper who got it back to me somehow, I don't remember how but it was miraculous that it found it's way back to me. I ended up putting some gold juggernauts in it and it was always my ideal guitar. Until one day, I got back from some type of military schooling to find out someone had been in my room and stole it and I was never able to locate it again after that. That Les Paul will always be my miracle guitar that helped propel me to where I am now. I didn't pick up any guitars for a couple years after that buteventually I did and now I'm writing some music I'm truly proud of with another les paul with an aftermath and my workhorse stingray with a unity in the bridge. Hats off to my blue les paul forever.
As a mid 00's Schecter lover, it warms my heart to see this.
Man, I miss this version of the Solo body. It is such a more unique take on the LP and way better than what they look like now.
100% agree. So much cooler and more unique!
The guitar that really kick started my playing was a 1999 Gibson SG Special, ebony fretboard, crescent moon inlays. I got it with EMG’s installed and i played my first gigs with it, it was my first “real” instrument. Went through several iterations, now has burstbuckers on it. Still plays great. Had to sell to a friend for personal reasons but I still get to play it every now and again
Same here except Idk what ever happened to my poor SG. It's out there in the world somewhere. Hopefully still being played and loved like yours.
I had to quit playing for 10 years (life happened and had to sell my gear to raise a family). After that period of wishing I still played but not having a guitar a buddy from high schools wife started working with me.
Long story short I hadn't seen the dude in 15 years but he remembered me playing constantly back in the day. One day she asked if I played still and I told her no and why.
Very next day she came to work with the exact same SG only in black instead of cherry red. He had tried playing but decided bass was more his speed and rather than let the poor guitar just sit in it's case I should have it.
Now I own around 15 guitars 4 years later and I still have that black SG he gave me that restarted it all.
I have a 2005 Schecter C-1 Exotic in antique black that I found at a pawn shop for $200. Mahogany body/neck, thick maple cap (not veneer), ebony board. This guitar is in my top 3 (along with my American Tele and a Gibson Les Paul). I initially put a set of put DiMarzio Liquifire/Crunchlab pickups in it, but recently swapped those for DiMarzio PAF pickups in it and upgraded the electronics (Switchcraft and CTS). This guitar is absolutely amazing - a great player for sure!! Glad to see some Schecter love on the channel - I am a believer!
I remember getting a Jackson King V when I was 20. I was a huge Mustaine fan and wanted his guitar. I saved up for like a year and got one and it inspired me so much. I still remember that excitement when it showed up at the house. Back then it took like 7 years for a guitar to get to you. I'm very old. Ive had dozens of guitars since and have never had that feeling again. Like a dumb ass I sold it eventually when my taste changed and was no longer into the shape. I miss it now of course. Would have been cool to have. I still play Jackson though. That stuck with me.
Hey that sounds a little like my guitar journey…I had a crappy peavey strat copy as my first guitar and got a black Jackson king v as my first major purchase as a late teen…I got it because of how much I like Dave and megadeth too
I have a candy apple red MIA strat. I got it in the mid-00s. It was the last one that Soundcontrol in the UK had in the country before they sadly went out of business. I ordered one, it went missing in transit but they tracked down another one, which I have to this day. I've written so many songs on it from sleazy blues rock to epic post-rock. Wonderful.
My Squier Vintage Modified Tele. It’s the guitar that got me away from Les Pauls and into Teles. I bought it the week I moved to the city I live in. It’s had a ton of different pickups and configurations. Been thrown across stage. Right now it has a Tele bridge and mini humbucker in the neck and I set up for Nashville tuning. It’s been about 17 years and I still love it.
Wow. I’m 12 again.
Well, you still act it.
Mentioning Rest, Repose. My 11 year old inherited my old iPod before getting a phone for his new school term. He found the Sleep CIty EP on it and now has most of it on high rotation on his Spotify. Cracking EP. Important guitar. I subscribed to you after taking the DAW plunge and watching your first home studio set up video. I met you when you played the HiFi club in Leeds a couple of years ago with Dragged Under and you were very charming. Thanks Fluff.
I have a Jackson King V that my mom purchased for me as a Christmas gift when i was 17. I'm 31 now and its been gigged and modded like crazy. And its still the Monarch of my collection. I have no idea what production line it came from.
So crazy to see that guitar come back. I remember seeing it so long ago and ended up getting the red burst SLS version because of yours back when I was a teenager, cant wait to see more of it!
I have a Schecter S-1 Elite guitar that I love. I bought it used and later got the Schecter case for it. I did three things to move it from stock. First I replaced the black plastic speed knobs with Q Parts blackend chrome Tele style domed knobs with acrylic tops to match the inlays (Tone got a red knob but that comes next). Second I tracked down a Shadow Killswitch tone pot that I used for the tone and I also put in two CTS push/pull pots to be able individually coil split each pickup and I also replaced the jack with a Switchcraft jack. Last I relocated the front strap button to where it would be on an SG and that is a Dunlop strap lock button so I have no worries. I also have a very nice Levy leather strap for this guitar.
What I love about this guitar is how it feels, it feels the way you REALLY want a Gibson to feel. Looks wise, it's not really my thing but feel wise it's close to perfect. I wouldn't mind another Schecter but as far as feel goes, this is the best Schecter I have ever played.
I have 2.
My first Strat I got as a Christmas gift in 2012/2013 which is currently not working but I plan on fixing it up soon and getting it back in working order because the neck is actually really good, it's been worn to a semi-gloss on the back of the neck from all the time I've spent playing it, the pickguard has aged to a yellow-ish color, it's got a crusty/punk vibe to it that I love.
The second is my ESP LTD PC-2 in silver sparkle that I bought used for $420. My first guitar that I ever bought with my own money as a working adult, like you said in your video, I worked my ass off and saved, saved, saved; walked into GC one day after work and saw it and fell in love on the spot. It's so easy to play, the neck is perfect, it holds any tuning no matter what, only thing I really wanna do to it is swap out the pickups for something a little more versatile and higher output and some locking tuners. That guitar will never leave.
Probably won't ever be read but just saying, your Solo 6 and old old videos are what lead to me wanting as my dream guitar, and getting, a Solo 6 SLS Blackjack. I'm glad to see you still have it and its recognized for its role in your channel lol.
7:22 This is earned inspiration and its totally divine, you gotta find a way to make that in life!
Mine was a 1986 Charvel HH model 3A. Still love it and have it. My second was a 83 2 knob strat that was cheap in 92. Still in the rack as well
Yes, I have a guitar like that. It's a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cutaway in Tangerine burst. '60's fast neck, with 490 R and T pickups. God, I love that guitar!
Totally get where you're coming from, and with a Schecter, to boot. Bought a C-1 Elite brand-spanking new from a store in 2000, I had never played a neck-thru before and couldn't believe how comfortable it was. Felt like a whole new world opened up. Plus, it's gorgeous gloss black with the abalone trim, just on the borderline of gaudy but not gaudy. Still have it. Added locking tuners and swapped out the Duncan Designed for Mayhems, it's a beast. I remember it was on sale for $629 from $800 and that was the most I had ever spent on a guitar because, frankly, I'm not that good so it seems silly to spend a lot but the moment the GC guy unboxed it and handed it to me I was in love.
For me it’s my Schecter Studio-5. I remember trading in a MIM Fender P bass and saving up and bought it brand new. I’ve been through so much with that instrument. Countless shows, festivals, couple tours, recording sessions, practice sessions. Including recording my first official album with my band at the time.
Still plays and sounds fantastic today. I love it so much I bought a 4 string version of it and that bass is just amazing. It’s everything I love about my 5 but in a 4 string (even got it in the same color.) that being said, even though I play the 4 primarily nowadays with how I prefer to play, I still break out the 5 when the 5 string is needed and every time I do, when I play it, it just reminds me of all the great times and memories with that bass.
When I go 100 years from now I told my wife that bass is going with me.
What an incredible story! From a barn to your house, it’s incredible what inspiration and dedication can sometimes do for people. Thank you for sharing this story. And what a nice guitar!
The guitar that inspired me most and always is my “go-to” is my 2002 LTD viper 301… bought my first one (in black cherry) in 2003 (then it was around $850) was my first big guitar purchase… loved it, gigged it… then hard times hit and sold it for a fraction of the price…. Regretted it ever since.. then during COVID, found one on reverb in tobacco burst with active EMGs…. Fixed my soul… similar story with my Randall RH100 and matching 412 CXM cab…. After many years, found the head on reverb and the cab at guitar center…
I bought a Schecter in 2009 too. It was far cheaper than yours though. I purchased a 2008 Damien V, because I wanted a V. It was an after xmas sale, and I found my V for $199. It's a B-stock, one little paint flub in the satin black finish near one of the points. The guitar looks metal af. It has the black abalone falling bat inlays, and EMG's. String through and a bolt on neck. What impressed me beyond the price tag, was how fantasic it sounded, and how incredible the neck felt, just smooth and fast, like it was made for my hand. I played the hell out of it. One night, barely a year of ownership, after a gig, I fell on it and tore one of the neck screws clean out of the neck joint. I thought that was all she wrote. I was happy to be wrong. A little wood filler, in the stripped and splintered neck joint screw hole, and the neck bolted back on. The neck was straight and the intonation was only slightly off on the 'G' string. My Schecter V is 16 years old now and it still plays and sounds great, and its all original, except for the wood filler. The best $199 that I have ever spent.
Mine was a nasty Silvertone Revolver (strat). Restoring and then upgrading and changing it from an SSS to a single EMG H was so much fun. Neck pocket finally cracked but it really got me into working on and customizing guitars which got me back into playing as well.
I remember the days of this guitar well. Iconic era of guitar youtube. Honestly doesn't seem as long ago as it actually is. Time marches forward! I have two guitars that I really cut my teeth on. One was another absolute sleeper guitar: the Peavey EXP HP. That thing played, sounded, and looked so incredible and only cost me $300 at a pawn shop. The only guitar I regret selling. The other was my Epiphone LP Baritone. Being able to tune to A standard with an LP shape was and still is one of my favorite things to do with a guitar.
My Gibson Les Paul 2010 Studio Faded, same vibes. When I got that thing I could play riffs endlessly, it just drove me in a way that the Epiphone and Fender guitars I played in my youth never could. 14 years later its still one of my best
When I was like 17/18 years I learned about Schecter guitars bc of A7X. I only had a super cheap strat copy till that moment, but after learning about the brand and models I knew that I wanted a Solo-6. Extremely expensive if you think about the acquisition power in South America in the 2000s. When I moved to start Grad School after the bachelor a couple years ago I found one on the second hand market, exactly the same Sunburst Solo-6 that I wanted (and still wanted like 10-12 years later). I will be buried with that guitar. I cried of excitement and played the entire evening the day that I received it all the MCR/BFMV/A7X that I still remember and had learned. Those are amazing instruments and I absolutely dig the shape >>>> Classical LP.
This video really gets me in the feels man, my very first guitar was a p.o.s. but my second guitar was a really awesome Ibanez les Paul style model art300 in brown caiman . I came on hard times as a teenager and sold it to a pawn shop..I miss that guitar so much I would love to have it back one day. It started my love for Les Pauls
I started out on a 1976 Ibanez Les Paul Custom. It was my first electric guitar and the guitar I used in my first band for years (after putting a Duncan Custom Custom in the bridge to deal with feedback and microphonics, but I still have the original). I bought a '99 McCarty in 2000 which is still my main guitar but I also eventually had a local magician of a guitar tech refresh my old Ibanez and it's still an amazing guitar. I eventually picked up a matching '76 Gibson Les Paul Custom and while it's got a thing, it''ll never be the thing that got me started.
I bought a Gibson SG Platinum Edition in 2004 after getting my first big boy job. Played it to death, put many scars on it and just trashed it over the years. Put it in the case after the headstock snapped (good ol' Gibson...) and forgot about it. Fast forward a few years and I finally had it repaired. Should've done it years ago, there's something about that first "big boy" guitar purchase and that particular guitar. It's always special. Very cool man!
I also have one of the 50 white ones and love it. Its so wild seeing someone else with one and someone else who has enjoyed it as much as I have
I just got one of these yesterday! Traded for it. I honestly was thinking I was just getting it for trade material! But I have fallen in love with this thing already. I think she is a keeper!! Appreciate this video.
I still have my '88 Fender HM Strat that I bought gently used and refinished. It was probably 6 months old when I got it. It had been painted a camo finish. This is 1988. This is like having a custom shop guitar. I paid $700 and still enjoy it, still has the original DiMarzio bridge pickup, TBX wiring and Kahler Spyder trem. Total tone machine
The guitar that kickstarted my playing is my 2004 Gibson SG Standard. I started playing guitar learning AC/DC and Black Sabbath riffs and the classic black Standard with block inlays was my dream guitar. I used the money I had saved up from my first job at a movie theater and got it as a present to myself leading into senior year of high school. It still inspires me every time I play it and is making it back into the rotation with my current band after 20 years of owning it.
It's always cool to hear these old stories... Always loved that SOLO-6 and often wondered if you still had it or why you didn't play it. Cool stuff dude! My guitar was a 1992 Fender Talon. That was a joint effort between Fender and Ibanez in the late 80's early 90's. Loaded with a Floyd Pro, Dimazrio humbuckers.... after the a while I ended with 12 of them. Bought mine new in 1992 on installments since I had just lost my job back then. And like an ass, I sold it off a few years back to help buy my new R9. But I still talk to the dude who bought in and he is a great guy, so I know she's in a good place.
I had always been a single cut only player until I pulled the trigger on a Schecter C6 Pro in the Aquaburst finish a few years back. That thing just feels so good in the hands. Since then I’ve branched out into Teles and Jazzmasters (Squier Tele Deluxe and the Squier Active Jazzmaster with Jim Root signature pickups) and my single cut LTD is in storage.
My first big boy guitar, the one that really put a fire in my soul was a black Ibanez PL2550. I got in it 1989 and I wore it slap out. The one that gets my juices flowing these days is an aqua Charvel Desolation single cut. Every time I pick it up cool sick riffs go flying out of my cabs.
My first real decent guitar was a 1987 Les Paul standard. Saw it on the wall at Ossining Music in January’88. The Wine Red color drew me to it so I sat down with it and instantly fell in love. Still have it and while it languished for years during my Fender Fetish I recently threw it on the bench and showed it some love. God it’s such a wonderful instrument. While I always wanted to swap out the pickups I’m so glad I didn’t. As it turns out it came originally with Tim Shaws.
This made me think back to the time I bought my first “expensive” guitar. Getting the wife’s permission and all that. Thanks for invoking that trip down memory lane.
Here's hoping ya still have the same wife & the guitar!? Ha!
After not playing bass or guitar really for several years I went and picked up a Squier John 5 Tele in 2015 it was immediate how much I loved that guitar. It's been through a few pickup changes (Dimebucker, Invader, Fortitude, and now a JB) and pickguards, but it forever remains my go to drop C riff maker. Damn I need to go play it now.
I've got an old Adam Black Orion. I bought it off a friend super cheap years ago to use as more or less a disposable guitar, for taking to collage and playing pub gigs without risking any of my more expensive instruments. Due to playing it so much it just became my go too guitar and i eventally i upgraded the pickups and hardware. I sold all my other guitars when my first daughter was born but i kept the Orion, still sounds awesome to this day.
I received an Epiphone Dot around 2010 for my 14th birthday. Bands like Soundgarden, Anvil, and QOTSA changed my perspective on what I thought wasn't a practical guitar. I'd learned so much on that thing. Metallica, some of heavier detuned stuff, Rory Gallagher, and so on. It was comfortable and well put together. I got rid of it, but I've had 335s come and go since. Looking for one again, and finally keeping it for good.
My first expensive guitar was an ESP M 1 Deluxe, MIJ 1987. Changed the pickups some years ago, otherwise all original. Plays like a dream :)
I do have 1 guitar that I’ll never get rid of because it just has an interesting je ne sais quoi to it. I bought a epiphone les Paul classic from an older guitar guy (150$) in my neighborhood and I didn’t realize that it had a quilted maple top in trans black and a rose wood fret board with cream binding and classic style green tipped tuners and the tuners were the ones with holes in the center where you trimmed the strings and stabbed into the peg and wrapped around the peg to tune. Fast forward to when I had a daughter. I was making way more money so I was buying gear left and right eventually I sent that les Paul in to get new tuners, active pick ups, a new nut, new bridge, new pots, fixed the input jack, neck repaired and got a set up and it sang with such sustain and clarity. All my riffs come from that guitar. Turns out when I did a little digging. It was a dealership exclusive and when/where it was made. I’ve only seen one other of this guitar but not with the quilted maple top in like tear drop burst paint job. I’ll never get rid of it. Every now and then I get offers when I take it in to get set ups but I’ll never part from it. I need to get the frets redone. It’s like 20 years old but it started me on the electric guitar journey and I still love and play my best on it. Those frets are WORE out. It just sings and I want to be buried with it. I have other guitars now but I still come back to it.
The second guitar I ever bought, a 2004 Ibanez AXS32 in wine red. Raphael. The change in the learning curve after buying something that truly fit me was astounding. It was on stage with me for the better part of a decade until I switched to baritones. It’s had a few pickups, as well as had everything but the volume knob removed. Years later I bought another one in black and it doesn’t compare. Acoustically the red one is magical and the black one is a dud. But it was still a good stage backup. Raphael lives on my rack and every time I pick it up it’s like coming home again.
I decided to get my first 'real' guitar back in 08 and got an SG Special Faded. I have so many nice, high-end guitars but still love that old SG. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing, but for me it plays better than soe guitars I've bought at 10 times the price. Great vid man.
Schecter tempest 30th anniversary. I hated it at first but it grew on me. Satin finish….. it’s worn beautifully since I bought it on eBay for $500 back in….08-09. Use it on everything. 2 broken headstocks. Still rocking
Somehow amongst all the boutique and and expensive, Schecter seems to remain the unsung hero for the best guitars money could buy
Absolute riff machine, the guitar that was like that for me is my 2009 Mockingbird Special in alpine white, one of the few times they made a mockingbird with les paul specs/layout.
Mine is my D'Angelico Excel DC white Ebony Fretboard in White with Gold hardware! I absolutely love that guitar!
1965 Kalamazoo KG-1 was the first electric guitar I ever played from a friend's step dad in elementary school. I recently just got one and i don't think I'd change a thing on it. Made in the original Gibson factory basically out of press board, has the thumb slicer nob metal things on it.
I got the 7 string 26.5" variant.. probably my favourite guitar!
I got my first Schecter on Wed from Sweetwater . Hellraiser . It’s beautiful, looks like a 5k axe . I love it . Gonna get the Evil Twin next 👍🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
The guitar that changed me forever was my 1984 Kramer Pacer American. Right after Eddie VH started playing them. It had 2 single coils and a humbucker . Of course original Floyd Rose . Since then I’ve only played Strat body guitars with Floyd’s on them . I still have that guitar , put an EMG 81 in it and still play it regularly.
Always love your content 👍
It would have to be my first “good” guitar. It’s a 1989 American-made Jackson Vintage Style that I got used from a local shop for something $350 some time around 1992-93. It’s the guitar that has been with me forever and when I need something that can do just about anything, I reach for it. It just has that tone that is comforting and makes me smile every time.
Yeah, I have a Schecter C-1 Elite with Seymour Duncan Blackouts in it!!! Was my first guitar I bought from Guitar Center! 😁🙌🏻
I have that exact guitar myself and love the guitar! All original, plays fantastic and love the blackout pickups 🤘
That, and your RD’s are some of my favorite fiddles on your channel! 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Yeah man! Happy you got it fixed ❤🔥 my first guitar was a gift from my Mom's friend, a 77/78 Guild S300-D and little Crate amp; I was just getting into heavy music too, I was around 9-12 and just got hip to Linkin Park, then Gorillaz, and eventually KSE when I started high school ('09) 🤘🏽 all my pre-music theory riffing and exploring was with that setup; the Guild's neck is too warped to be playable (I also started experimenting with traditional Eastern music/tunings) but I'm gonna de string it and have it hanging on my wall!
i can think of 2
i have an Epiphone SG special that i still play and recently put grovers on it, and then i have an Ibanez 7 string that has really helped me to shape my sound as a guitarist/musician.
With the help of my parents, I got a Schecter Omen 6 in the spring of 2010. I played it in a couple bands, tons of recordings, and it's still a main guitar today. It's not the same guitar it was back then though. I refinished the body from gloss black to matte white. Chrome humbuckers, cream pickup rings, orange knobs, and black bridge and tuners. Once I switched from 10-46 strings down to 9-42 and had it professionally setup and everything, it's probably the best feeling guitar I've ever played. Aesthetically, I'd much prefer a maple fretboard over the rosewood board, but I'll live with it. I only kept it this long because by the time I would have sold it, I'd already screwed with it too much so it would be worthless, but I'm kind of happy that I ended up keeping it. It's a piece of my history and it's completely unique to me. No one else on the planet has this guitar. 😅
When I got my first Les Paul it changed my playing so much. I felt it was my missing piece for the longest just how smooth it was the tone.
Wow, my first 6-string guitar was a Schecter Solo-6 Custom, and I still own it. It's amazing with the SD '59 and CustomCustom pickups. Awesome!!!
My first "serious" guitar back in 2013 was a black jack atx solo 2. Still have it, such a killer guitar.
Funnily enough, the guitar that has meant the most to me on my journey was also a Schecter ATX, but the S-Type in Sunburst with a gorgeous quilted maple veneer. It's been my tried and true guitar for over a decade now and is still my number one even though I have newer and possibly better guitars now.
Yes! My Chapman ML-1 PRO Walnut (the original 2016-ish model) that I always compare every other guitar to, since it is almost the perfect guitar for me, the neck feels amazing, it's really heavy and also just really fun to play.
Looove. I have a deluxe Telecaster (the "blackout" one with 3 pickups) that I got the month I turned 15. 15 years later, it's still my favorite guitar. Everything is easy on it, even though it's beat to hell.
1:34 man I haven't heard The Generator in a looong while!
Still a killer riff, sick chorus and the intro is legendary
8:58 damn, these are ALL the riffs I learned in highschool haha
same with my epi les paul custom gold top , it was modded for active pickups using two 9 volts in series. took me 17 years to get that guitar back but im so glad i have it and its just as good as ever , I will never re do it Though. i like the aged look it has
So funny you posted this. Last night I dug out my old schecter tempest 30th anniversary from the same era. Ebony fretboard, gold Seymour Duncan pickups and hardware, satin finish, locking tuners. It needs some love, but man it just instantly felt at home in my hands. I think I got mine in 2007 or 2006
What's crazy is I have a very similar style "not-production" Schecter from 2009 with the same fleur-de-lis emblem on the headstock, but it was a Black/creme-binding Solo-6 that came with chrome-covered EMG 80/61s originally. I played the crap out of it, and it has also sat in my closet for several years. I re-wired the whole thing at one point to learn how to work on guitar electronics, and tried various sets of passive pickups in it, eventually settling on the very standard but solid SD '59/JB combo, which I think suits the guitar well. It wasn't my first guitar but it was probably the first electric guitar I really loved playing, and for that reason, I'll probably own it forever, even though I've moved on to other guitars. I should probably pull it out and see if it's as good as I remember.
That one guitar for me is my custom six string bass. I chose the hardware, woods, pickups, even created the body and headstock shape. My thanks to luthier David Pushic for making it possible and affordable (was only $1250 w/ a case back in 2005).
It's the one piece of gear I held onto after having to sell everything during hard times. Now I've got a lovely little rig and another bass, and just updated the custom last week with ultralite tuners and a new setup in G standard.
My advice to anyone thinking of selling an instrument you truly love: Don't do it. And to anyone considering modifying and customizing your guitar: Go for it. Do whatever you can to stay inspired.
For me it was a 1978 Goya Jazz Bass copy. Yes, a lawsuit bass. If you haven't heard of Goya they are sort of famous for acoustic guitars. Anyway, I bought it in high school with a Kustom amp, both used. When I went to college my dad wanted my stuff out of the house (he actually put my Kustom out in the garbage). I salvaged the bass, but 2 years later traded it for a cheap guitar. Fast forward 40 years -- I found my Goya bass online at Guitar Center. I paid $400 and got it home and restored it. That motivated me to start playing bass again so now I am selling guitar stuff to feed my bass amp addiction.
I'm always down to see players pulling out their "old" #1 guitar, and going over it again. You'd be surprised, what some of the beaters people have laying around could sound like. With some pocket change and TLC.
Guitars are so subjective when it comes to what inspires players to chose one. How can one person tell another what a certain model can provide on a certain day? Endless sets of pickups, and back to the first set you originally swapped in, just the newer versions. That's a life's lesson in a nice tidy package there, hey, there, hey.
Mine is hanging above my throne in my bathroom. That thing was so sick so many years. I still strum the strings as it hangs on the wall and it sounds better than most of my guitars 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
3:00 If you guys want to know how far we’ve fallen, grocery stores used to have those OT benefits too till like the late 80s
My guitar that kicked off my journey was a Charvel Pro Mod Tele I found in Portland while looking at colleges that I had been accepted into.
The guitar was sitting in a rack where newly-dropped-off used guitars were but it caught my eye and I immediately started playing it and loved it. It's incredibly unique because the previous owner had put on a bunch of red flower vinyls and black block inlays into the roasted maple neck. They had also put in Hipshot locking tuners and a Javier Sanchez Signature Fishman pickup in the bridge.
It had a matching black and red strap too, and since I was/still am massively into Gojira I felt like I needed it right then and there. The price on it was like 800 bucks, but my mom agreed to let me take out some of my savings for my first real guitar and we had it shipped all the way to Georgia so I could pick it up. Since then, the guitar has flown back with me to Seattle where I'm now attending college and it's still my workhorse six string.
Not to mention, I got it signed by all the members of Lorna Shore when I went to a concert, so it's got even more sentimental value now. Best 800$ I've ever spent.
I was maybe 14 or 15(I'm 33 now) when I got my first guitar. My dad bought me a Schecter 006 deluxe in satin red for christmas that year. I still have it, I still love it. Is the neck chunky AF? Yes, old Schecters loved the Gibson style thick neck. Have I had better guitars? Yes. But I only have two guitars now, both of them Schecters, and that 006 is going NOWHERE. I will have that until I die. If anyone is curious the other Schecter is an Omen Extreme 7 in gloss see through black with a quilted maple top. Shockingly beautiful guitar. Very high value for the money.
I have a Fender American traditional from the late 90s early 2000s. It has seen 5 pickup changes and at least 10 guitars come and go (including a Music Man JP6 with full appointments). Still my main axe
That guitar for me is my used Ibanez RGA. I've been playing on and off for nearly 10 years but I've learned more with this guitar in 1 year than I probably did with my previous guitars during those other 8 or 9 years.
95 Ibanez RG series for me. Still have it. Been wanting to freshen it up. Every time I get it out of the case once in a great while. It just feels like Home as soon as I grab the neck.
My first (full size) electric was a Solo 6 and it was really nostalgic to see that this guitar was important to someone else too!
Damn so good to see this guitar again! So many Amp and pickup demos I’ve watch with you using this! My stable guitar would have to be my 2012 PRS SE CU24, still good even compared to my PRS Core CE.
I had serious GAS and once i bought a fgn expecrt(gray) flame i was done. it is so above and beyond all my other guitars that i only play that one for a long time now.
My first real guitar was a Schecter Diamond Series 006 Elite back in ‘06. I still own it. It’s had countless different pickup sets, a stainless re-fret, and it still plays great after almost 19 years. It has dings and finish checking but I’ve literally fallen on top of it and nothing broke. It’s a tank and I swear they don’t make them like this anymore.
I was interested in playing guitar for a long time. I started in high school and convinced my mom to get a guitar and amp. It was an Ibanez Gio GAX 30. Still have it. Looks waaaay different than it did but still pick it up to play it often.
My charvel dk24 in shell pink was like this for me. Set up in drop C. An absolute riff machine! There was and still is so much great music inside that guitar. I have 3 other guitars that a literally never play. One of those 3 is another dk24 but it's set up in drop D.
I have still to thus day, A Schecter Hellraiser Extreme in Satin Black. I absolutely love that guitar. I got it on a trade and it's got to be the workhorse of my flock. I e had it for nearly 10 years and it's been through hell and back with me. Well 2 years ago I wanted to bring it back to stock because all the hardware was corroded, the black chrome had faded and the metal was starting to suffer from pitting. So I reached out to Schecter and the wonderfulnteam was able to help me get the necessary hardware to revive her, then I took it to a Luther to bring the finish from gloss green, back to the satin back. It got ALOT OF PLAY and you know any satin black will turn a greenish hue. I'm glad to say today this thing looks like it's fresh off the assembly line. I. Love. Schecter
My dad got me an LTD fx-260sm for my 17th birthday back in 2011 for like $300 and that guitar has seen multiple paint jobs and hardware changes, and it'll be the last one I ever sell. It's sitting pretty next to the higher end guitars that I've dreamed of having, like a couple Nergal(Behemoth) signature models lol
Love the video!
Absolutely love that guitar. I started watching your channel when you did the shootout with the EMG JH and SD AHB-3 MT sets. You've come a long way since those days good sir. Glad to see Betty White back. 😊
I'd be interested in buying that AHB-3 set from you if you still have it laying around.