Although it is just one page, it was written for like 10 years or more, little by little, sale by sale; some guitars were sold because I wanted to move on, others were sold in a moment of need, some I regretted selling, but later on I realised that I didn't regretted that much... and some I probably should've had kept at least for the price they cost these days! I was never very good in business anyway.
I wouldn' call it a diary, but it's a part of my story, and I'm still smilling remembering all this process and how things turned out. You can still see my actual "collection" today - although I don't consider myself a collector in anyway - from the page "#Private Collection#" onwards. Thanks for your visit!
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Stagg R500
After i got married, i bought 2 Stagg guitars in a store that existed in Aveiro, Portugal, which sold used objects and stuff, and also new Staggs, chosen by catalog. The money was not much, so i
bought this first Stagg with many joy and effort. I already had my
first Washburn N4 ESA but i couldn't afford another, and i still wanted a
fixed bridge. It was a 350€ guitar, and i soon discovered that the pickups weren't that good.
Stagg "ES 335"
After
that experience, i decided to buy another one; i had a rock/metal
guitar, and i wanted something more classic. So i went for a Gibson
ES335 copy from Stagg also, bought at the same store.
It
was a sweet guitar, great clean tones, it handed well the distortion
too, i was quite happy with it. I could now play along with Lenny
Kravitz LOL! I added some vinyl details in blue, and after months of
playing the tone control or the volume, i don't remember witch, start to
loosen, and i sold it for 150€ to a young fellow from Santa Maria da
Feira.
Epiphone "Fake" Les Paul Custom
Well,
the "made in China" sticker said it all. I already knew that when i
bought it on Ebay. It was not even a real Epiphone. There were hundreds
selling, and i didn't resist the tobacco sunburst, that was quite
lovely. The sound wasn't bad at all, and i really liked the looks! Ok,
the finishing wasn't 100%, but i liked it though.
After
a while, i started to get a little bored with it because i
couldn't access the higher frets (this has been a problem throughout all
my playing life). I
sold it to a youngster who was part off my church at Porto - Canelas
(without knowing it), and he was glad with it.
Epiphone G400 Custom
I
always wanted a SG model since i liked AC/DC, and i searched within
Epiphone, LTD Viper, Tokai, Edwards, but i couldn't afford to spend
much, so i found this G400 Custom cheap (don't remember where, but it
was 200€), and i bought it. Maybe OLX.
BC Rich Mockingbird Special X
Let
me tell you; the guys at Salão Mozart were great. All by phone, bank
wire, e-mails, and in a instant i had my BC Rich at home. Thanks guys,
you're the best!
To
me this was a "Super Les Paul", and let me tell you why. First of all, i
CAN reach the last fret without breaking my wrist, she was bold, she
had the looks, and she had the looks, and... did i already told you she
was beautiful?!
This
guitar makes you feel like you're the hot shot! It can deliver a guy in
jeans on a super guitarist just standing still! Yeah, it is well built,
the sound is very cool, and... SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL! I
always thought Les Paul were the most beautiful guitar model around,
and they're very cool to look at - the sunbursts, the carved top, etc. -
but this is the most beautiful LP style guitar i have ever seen.
My wife told me i had too many (ok, that might be true), and i sold it for 400€ a little above Porto to a very kind guy. It was as new. Life goes on...
What a machine! I was so amazed with the fast neck that i just felt sorry for not knowing how to play faster. Wow! So, why did i sold it? Same thing... neck joint... After the 15th or 17th fret, things got a little more difficult for me. Still, the LTD EC1000 VB was my favourite at the time.
Columbus Jazz Bass (Made in Japan)
Yes,
i had my bass experience also... not for a long time. Its like 7
strings and me, it just doesn't last that much. I found this Jazz Bass
cheap replica from Columbus on Ebay.UK, and as far as the finishing, it was
very cool. It really looked like a 70's Jazz Bass.
ESP LTD H-201 NT
So I had this Dimarzio D-Activator set and i needed a cheap guitar where
to apply them. I found in Porto a guy selling this LTD H-201 in green
flame maple finish, and it had the ESP Horizon MIJ old headstock, and I
liked it right away. 350,00€ that was.
After the D-Activators, it got the Evolution bridge and the SD SH1 '59 neck who were in my N4 ESA.
It came dirty but with no dings whatsoever, I cleaned it, changed the strings, polished it, and applied a little oil on the fretboard. It was as new!!! I used it many nights to practice a little scales, and i loved it. The neck joint wasn't bulky although it is a bolt-on.
Peavey EVH Wolfgang Standard
This
is a very well balanced guitar, maybe a better neck than my N4, a
beautiful shape, and some very hot pickups! What a piece of art!
My
favourite finish is the tobacco sunburst, but for 800€ this was the
best i could find and afford in the UK's Ebay. Nothing to do with the
flat top Specials, and the only thing i regret is that Eddie doesn't
like a 2-way tremolo system. Not that i'm a skilled tremolo guy, but...
I
sold it when i was in France on vacation to a very nice Bruno Bouchet
because my credit card was exploding - nobody forced me to abuse it...
At the time I needed to make some Euros to pay my debt, and this
was my most valuable guitar apart from the N4 to go. Regrets, regrets...
Jackson DK2M Custom (Phil Collen Tribute)
For a long long time this was my favourite guitar. When I discovered Phil Collen and his signature Jackson model, I went crazy! One day I found this Jackson on Ebay, and bought it right away. It was a shredding machine! Loaded with Seymour Duncans (TB4 in the bridge, Hot Rails in the middle and JBJR in the neck), it didn't go out of tune, it was beautiful, and also, the closest i could buy to a Jackson PC1 - have you ever seen the price of those??!!
This
guitar was an hybrid made out of 3 or 4 Jackson and Charvel models.
Before knowing Ibanez, this was the best neck I ever had, along with
the Peavey EVH and the Washburn N4. And, it had 24 frets! The only thing that
made me get a little tired of it was the neck joint. That was the real
reason that made me sell it. I love Ibanez AANJ and this Jackson neck
joint didn't pleased me 100%. Apart from that, not many Ibanez (and other guitars) are as beautiful as this guitar was, ...quilt top!
Washburn N4 ESA
Ibanez RG 620X ZS
Officially, this is the second real Ibanez RG i bought. After being completely blown away by my RG3180, i started to find my "fast" guitars not that fast. And, almost by luck, I found this guy in Paris selling this Made in Japan RG for 270 Euros!!! It seemed a good business, and the risk wasn't big. I searched for days this model over the internet, because it had more than a volume and a tone, and i didn't had a clue of what it was. Finally i discovered it was an RG with a piezo system, for acoustic sound, which was a great thing, and it led me into selling my acoustic LAG guitar - that it was the best acoustic I had ever had - because now i could have a 2 in 1 guitar! Maybe the guys who know Ibanez might find this funny, but for me, who was in the begining of knowing the brand, it was wonderful! And the best part, it had the Super Wizard neck, as my 3180. Wow! Well, today I know that you can find an RG570 or something close on that price range, but comparing it to other new guitars, it makes me think that the best deal you can do nowadays is to buy an old MIJ RG in good condition.
Later, I decided not to refinish it. I found a cheaper solution that pleased me very much! In my buying and selling guitars, i bought an RG 550 LTD, wonderful guitar (!!), and i changed the necks, because i like the sharktooth inlays and the white binding better. Sorry for dissapointing Ibanez purists! I covered the headstock with silver vinyl, and applied another of my "J Custom" stickers in white, and what do you know, it's pretty cool!! Finally swapped the V8 and V7 pickups by Seymour Duncan SH4 and SH1 with chrome covers.
I also found this guy on internet that had a pretty cool wiring diagram, with a normal 5-way switch that allows to have the following configuration, and I had it done on it:
1. neck HB
2. outer neck single coil
3. inner single coils
4. outer bridge single coil
5. bridge HB
Later, I decided not to refinish it. I found a cheaper solution that pleased me very much! In my buying and selling guitars, i bought an RG 550 LTD, wonderful guitar (!!), and i changed the necks, because i like the sharktooth inlays and the white binding better. Sorry for dissapointing Ibanez purists! I covered the headstock with silver vinyl, and applied another of my "J Custom" stickers in white, and what do you know, it's pretty cool!! Finally swapped the V8 and V7 pickups by Seymour Duncan SH4 and SH1 with chrome covers.
I also found this guy on internet that had a pretty cool wiring diagram, with a normal 5-way switch that allows to have the following configuration, and I had it done on it:
1. neck HB
2. outer neck single coil
3. inner single coils
4. outer bridge single coil
5. bridge HB
Ibanez RG 2020X TR
Another piezo guitar!
On the 7th of July (2013), I went with my wife to Paris, to meet Olivier, a very nice french guy who sold me an Ibanez RG2020X in Transparent Red, from 2001.
For some months I have searched a used RG Prestige to install a pair of zebra Dimarzios (Super 3 and Paf Joe), but also, I wanted a guitar to replace my sold Jackson DKM, which was tuned in Eb.
It was quite similar to my RG620X, except that the RG2020X doesn't mix the piezo with the magnetic pickups sound on the same channel. It didn't bothered me, and it was in a very good condition. Ive searched some pictures and catalogs, and usually we see this model in TLB (Transparent Light Blue), but this one was in Transparent Red as I said; the natural binding was a really nice touch. Maybe a little regret after selling it...
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio PAF Joe
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio Super 3
Switch: 5-way super switch selector
Neck: Ultra
Bridge: Double Lo-Pro Edge
Obs.: acoustic piezo
On the 7th of July (2013), I went with my wife to Paris, to meet Olivier, a very nice french guy who sold me an Ibanez RG2020X in Transparent Red, from 2001.
For some months I have searched a used RG Prestige to install a pair of zebra Dimarzios (Super 3 and Paf Joe), but also, I wanted a guitar to replace my sold Jackson DKM, which was tuned in Eb.
It was quite similar to my RG620X, except that the RG2020X doesn't mix the piezo with the magnetic pickups sound on the same channel. It didn't bothered me, and it was in a very good condition. Ive searched some pictures and catalogs, and usually we see this model in TLB (Transparent Light Blue), but this one was in Transparent Red as I said; the natural binding was a really nice touch. Maybe a little regret after selling it...
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio PAF Joe
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio Super 3
Switch: 5-way super switch selector
Neck: Ultra
Bridge: Double Lo-Pro Edge
Obs.: acoustic piezo
Ibanez FR 420 TSB CUSTOMised
It was bought in Portugal, used, and it went straight to my friend José Pereira from Fatermusic to customise the headstock, great work (as always)!
Then, several pickups were tried, Breed, 36th PAF Bridge, until the latest version (specs below). If you look in the "Sold Guitars" section for the year of 2017 onwards, I even bought an FR1620 just to have the black pickguard (not a perfect match guys!) and Prestige case, and sold it. Actually the action was better on my 420. Moving on, awesome bridge, Indonesian craft like Premiums, really great. In my opinion buying the 1620 or 2620 version isn't justified.
It was a guitar to keep, so why did I sold it? Over the years, as this blog testifies, I have had and sold several 550 RGs, and a few years ago we could find them easily for about 300-350 Euros. I realised it's a classic, and after having sold several... I haven't kept one. Prices are higher now, and it is harder to find! Oops, I felt I had to sacrifice it; at the moment I'm writting, I have found one of two used RG550s on the most known used items website here in France, and bought it after having sold the FR420.
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio DP103 36th PAF CR
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio DP159 Evolution CR
Switch: 5-way switch selector
Neck: Wizard III
Bridge: Tight-End
Obs.: kill-switch
Then, several pickups were tried, Breed, 36th PAF Bridge, until the latest version (specs below). If you look in the "Sold Guitars" section for the year of 2017 onwards, I even bought an FR1620 just to have the black pickguard (not a perfect match guys!) and Prestige case, and sold it. Actually the action was better on my 420. Moving on, awesome bridge, Indonesian craft like Premiums, really great. In my opinion buying the 1620 or 2620 version isn't justified.
It was a guitar to keep, so why did I sold it? Over the years, as this blog testifies, I have had and sold several 550 RGs, and a few years ago we could find them easily for about 300-350 Euros. I realised it's a classic, and after having sold several... I haven't kept one. Prices are higher now, and it is harder to find! Oops, I felt I had to sacrifice it; at the moment I'm writting, I have found one of two used RG550s on the most known used items website here in France, and bought it after having sold the FR420.
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio DP103 36th PAF CR
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio DP159 Evolution CR
Switch: 5-way switch selector
Neck: Wizard III
Bridge: Tight-End
Obs.: kill-switch
