As a musician, the pursuit and desire for new shiny things (and old beaten up veteran equipment) never leaves you! I’ve been playing for circa. 15 years now. An infant compared to many! However, in that time I have tried, tested, gawped, drooled, loved and hated so many guitars, amps, pedals, leads, straps, the lot!
Following an interesting discussion here at Andertons HQ, each and every one of us has that one piece of gear they wish they had bought when they had the chance! Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?
As the old saying goes, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure and I love reading/hearing the old wives’ tales about equipment through the years. It’s what makes musicians, well, musicians so here goes nothing…
Gibson Les Paul Standard Gecko Burst 2004
It was 2004 and I was the ripe old age of 15 when I went in to my then local guitar store Nevada Music. This Gecko Burst Les Paul immediately caught my eye. I was a fan of anything slightly unusual and I didn’t think twice about asking one of the chaps to reach it down from above the counter for me (that’s how I knew it was special, and subsequently expensive) to rather unfittingly play some RATM on.
I’d been ‘saving’ for my first proper guitar for what felt like forever, but the price tag (from memory about £1,300) was way out of my reach. My old man offered to make up the rather large shortfall in return for helping him work on Saturdays to pay back my debts and for whatever reason I politely declined.
That very guitar is now as rare as rocking horse sh*t and I’ve never forgiven myself for not buying it.
Jack Cooper, Marketing Manager
Gibson ES-335 Black Satin
I was working in the guitar dept. at the shop when I first came across the satin Black ES-335. It’s not rare to see a satin ES-335 in other colours but for some reason, Gibson discontinued the black one and that’s the exact one I wanted! I remember not buying one because I thought they’d be around forever. They look way too cool to get chopped from the production line. I was so wrong.
My plan was to buy it and swap out the pickups for Lollartron Traditional pickups and retrofit a Duesenberg Trem and turn this into a guitar with serious attitude. The tone I had in my head was Gibson Satin Black ES-335 > EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Fuzz > EHX POG2 > Orange Rockerverb 100w head with an Eventide ambient verb in the effects loop. The plan I had was to play the guitar until the satin became shiny and beaten up. Then I’d form a band in the style of Queens Of The Stoneage and take over the world.
The guitar might not be special in the eyes of others but it was the perfect blend of gritty, classy and customizable.
Jed Van Wyngaardt, Digital Guitar Content Manager
Takamine Lefty EG523SC Jumbo acoustic
Before I worked for Andertons – maybe 6 or 7 years ago, actually – I popped into the shop for a casual browse as I often did. As a southpaw, browsing guitars was always a torturous experience wherever I went – but I came across a Takamine Jumbo acoustic, possibly an EG523SC, and couldn’t resist having a go. It played beautifully, sounded great, and was surprisingly comfortable for its size.
The internal conflict rose in me – to buy or not to buy – but I suppressed it, instead making a note of the model number and vowing to consider a purchase in the future. Sadly, the guitar was discontinued shortly after, never to be seen again. Since that fateful day, steel-string acoustics have never been the same for me…
Sam Beattie, Copywriter
Brook Guitars Bovey
There is a tiny guitar shop just behind Northcote Road in Clapham called Guitar Classics. I lived nearby for years and regularly went in and play some absolutely fantastic guitars. One day they had a second hand Bovey – A short scale 14 fret acoustic guitar handmade by British manufacturer Brook Guitars. It was the most amazing sounding acoustic guitar I have ever played and was absolutely beautiful. It was an absolute steal at £750 and I stupidly didn’t buy it. Have wanted a Brook guitar ever since.
Andy Goodridge, Senior Designer
Fender John Mayer Strat
I’m a self-confessed Mayer fan-boy! When I started working here almost 5 years ago we stocked the John Mayer Signature Strat. It played lovely, with its fat neck and signature scooped-mid ‘Big Dipper’ pickups, which are unavailable to buy on their own (boo!).
When the time came for me to buy a new strat and trying to steer away from cloning Mayer’s gear, I opted for a Fender USA Standard with a maple neck. It’s done me proud, but almost 5 years on I still regret the day I let the Mayer sig get away, and now they’re not made anymore. You can usually find them knocking around on sellers sites, so I’ve not given up hope just yet! Maybe when John comes to do a Captain Meets one day he’ll give me one…
Stephen Hyatt, Designer
In summary…
Have you ever tried something out only to wish that years later you invested? We’d love to hear your stories!
Perhaps next I’ll write a follow up about the equipment you wish you’d never sold – let’s be honest, we’ve all been there! Probably a good time to check out our second-hand guitars as some poor bugger has probably let go of something he/she will later regret!
Responses & Questions