more guitars

[Deleted]

Well, did some more trading today. Yeah I know just what I need is some more guitars. LOL

 I had this EPI wildKat. It was like new! I took it in on trade sometime ago. It still had all the plastic on it when I got it. Not a scratch on it.

I had been trying to sell it but no takers for a cash buy out.

 I reposted it yesterday (Oct. 30) Last night as I was getting into bed someone IM me on Face Book and wanted to know if I would take 2 guitars for the Kat?

He sent me some pictures of an SG EPI in the wine red and a Gretch with a hard shell case.

 I told him I thought we could make a deal depending on inspection of the guitars. He came by today and I wound up making the trade. Both guitars are in great shape and they are setup pretty close to how I like them. So not much to do to them other than wipe them down.

 Yep I'll probably flip them. The guy really wanted the WildKat and he was in love with it after playing it.

I did a trading no no though. I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to do this trade. He said "Heck yeah!" He said he tried to make a deal with one of the music stores in town for a wildKat and that they would not give him hardly anything for the guitars. So, He was more than happy to get the guitar he has been wanting for a long time.

 So Now I have 2 guitars. That is one more than I had yesterday! LOL!

I'll post some pictures later on tonight. I really like the sound of them both. The SG has a super great sound to it. I only wish I could like the SG shape. I never really cared for the shape of an SG.

 So I'll more than likely pose the SG for sale next week. Then the Gretch the fallowing week. Going to try and cash out on them. But we will see how it goes.

EB

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[Deleted]

here is the guitar I traded for the two.

 

[dnic]

Those are some nice looking guitars Eddie. That Gretsch especially.

[antares]

Agreed. I love that Gretsch too.

" ...That Great Gretsch Sound ..." is proudly written somewhere on the swing tags of my Gretsch bass!

e&oe ...

[Deleted]

Thanks guys!

The Gretsch is the second one I have now owned of the same model. They take a little getting use to the knobs (pots). The master volume is cool! But the other 3 knobs you have to play with to dial in the sound you like. You can change the sound of the guitar a lot by turning the one knob in the lower top of the guitar.
I really like the sound of the guitar once I get it to where I like it. I may keep it around for a while. Easy guitar to play as well.

The SG sounds really good! I only wish it were of a different body stile. The other thing I don't like about them is that they are neck heavy. But I do like the way the neck feels on this guitar. It feels super good in my hand. But I am going to flip it. I might see what I can trade it for. Yeah I know, but its fun to do, and it keeps me doing something.

EB

[Deleted]

let the games begin...

 So, I went ahead and posted the SG on FB market place here in FL. I no sooner posted it and someone IM me and was wanting to know if I would trade him for a MIM Fender Start. He sent me a bunch of good pictures of what he has to trade and I told him looks like we could make a trade as long as everything checked out good.

 So he told me he would be over today Nov.1 to do the trade.

  I was just getting out of bed this morning when I heard my phone going off for a message. It was the guy and he told me he could not make it by today because his car had broken down. Hum...

  So I'll give him the benefit of doubt that his car did brake down. So I told him when he got ready to make the trade to let me know. He said he would.

SO, here is what happens a lot of times in selling or trading.

  I cannot count how many times I get these excuses that a car/truck the dog ate my keys... LOL and so on. So what happens, it makes it really hard to believe people if this really did happen.

 So, in a fishing term, let the line stay out and tug it once in a while and see if you can get one. So... the line is still out there waiting on the next hit. HA! I am really hoping for a cash deal. But If I can get something else in a trade to play with for while that would be OK.

EB 

[antares]

Your success in trading seems to be a blend of patience and a willingness to walk away. I wish I could be like that too Eddie.

I'm like you in having no affinity with SG style instruments, but from what I've read they're really good guitars. Derek Trucks can't be wrong! Sure they're neck heavy, but once strapped on and you're playing it shouldn't be too much of a problem. My biscuit resonator is a bit neck heavy and I just get on with it. Still can't find any love for SGs though. I suppose if it feels and plays well (and of course sounds good) that's 9/10ths of the battle.

e&oe ...

[dnic]

Just thought I'd chime in here about the SGs being neck heavy. I agree they are and I think that's the only thing I don't like about my Epi SG. Which I should add here that I think is every bit a good or well built then any Gibson I've had the pleasure of playing.

I've decided to do something scandalous and move the strap button to the tip of the horn on my SG. As not a big deal as this is I've spent a lot of time thinking through the ramifications of this move. Cons, it might devalue the guitar. Because I might have to flatten the horn out a bit. The guitar cost 250$ how much could it really devalue it? I have thought about the back of the horn toward the tip but another thing that bugs me about the SG style is the twisted strap. So while that could move the strap forward enough to stop neck dive it doesn't stop strap twist. Pros, I'm thinking it would make a guitar with a great neck, great play ability and sound actually fun to play.

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2019 19:41:56 GMT -6 dnic said:

Just thought I'd chime in here about the SGs being neck heavy. I agree they are and I think that's the only thing I don't like about my Epi SG. Which I should add here that I think is every bit a good or well built then any Gibson I've had the pleasure of playing.

I've decided to do something scandalous and move the strap button to the tip of the horn on my SG. As not a big deal as this is I've spent a lot of time thinking through the ramifications of this move. Cons, it might devalue the guitar. Because I might have to flatten the horn out a bit. The guitar cost 250$ how much could it really devalue it? I have thought about the back of the horn toward the tip but another thing that bugs me about the SG style is the twisted strap. So while that could move the strap forward enough to stop neck dive it doesn't stop strap twist. Pros, I'm thinking it would make a guitar with a great neck, great play ability and sound actually fun to play.

Yes the SG to me is an odd guitar. I do love the way this guitar sounds and I like the neck a lot. Just don't like the shape of the body.

 But dealing with a heavy neck on guitar has been a thing for me. I use to play a lot on stage and in churches, and the one thing that use to get to me was fighting the guitar to stay put.

 So my quest was how can I get a neck heavy guitar to sty put? Here is what I did. I had a custom made strap made that has a braided sides on it. I'll post a picture of it latter on.

 The strap is about 4" wide. I had it made from snake skin. (I have my reasons for that) At first I was worried that the strap wound not comfortable to have on my shoulder. But once I got it and the first time I used on stage I was shocked at how comfortable the strap is. Plus the it keeps the guitar where I put it. I found that I was not having to fight the guitar while standing on stage.

 So for me I learned that it's in the strap. But I know not everyone can afford to have a custom strap made. The other nice thing about the strap I can adjust it at both ends.

  Really works out well!

EB

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2019 10:25:41 GMT -6 antares said:

Your success in trading seems to be a blend of patience and a willingness to walk away. I wish I could be like that too Eddie.

e&oe ...

After doing this kind of thing for most of life, I have learned not to get in a hurry. If I don't get one deal there are others out there. I guess for me I have done so much of this trading and selling there is not too much out there that excites me.

 My wife gets on to me for taking my time in buy stuff like a TV. LOL! I just don't impulse buy or trade for anything om impulse. So to keep it interesting for me I like to see what I can trade for. Sometimes It works out really good for me. I get a guitar or amp that I always wanted to play. I get it play on it then if we don't fall in love I'll flip it and get something else and do the same thing all over again.

 The guy I traded with does the same thing I do. He too did not have a lot of money tied up in the two guitars he traded to me. What he didn't know I too did not have a lot tied up in the guitar I traded to him.

It's fun for me to get something that I can flip and make a little money on it sooner or later or trade for something I wanted and not have that much cash into it.

 Now once in while I will buy something for cash. But when I buy something for cash I know I can get back what I spent on it or trade it for something worth more.

The secret behind trading or buying is to put on a poker face and don't show how excited you are and don't talk up the item you are wanting. The more you talk about how good something is in front of the seller the more likely they won't come down in the price. If you take someone with you to a buy or trade, tell them to keep quite and let you do the buying or trading. I can't tell how many times a buy or trade was ruined by a friend talking too much.

 I have gotten to where I can look at someone and know if we have a deal or not. Many times I know I have a sale as they are waling into my house. I watch people too. I am watching to see how they look when they look at the item I am selling or trading. There is always a way people look when they really want something. LOL!

But again I have been doing this stuff for a really long time. It's second nature to me. Once in while I'll get someone that knows as much as I do, but that's OK it just means I have to step up my game.

 But you are right... Know when to walk away and not let it get me to walk away... Many times when I have walked away I get even a better deal on the next one.

EB

[dnic]

Eddie, I never thought about the strap as a fix. Good idea. I’m still going to move the button just to aggravate the purists.

On the shape, Gibson was trying to pick up the slumping sales of the LP. Hard to believe on this end of history that, that was ever a concern. Still I’m a little surprised they went with the SG design with the dismal reception of the V and Explorer in 57’. Although in the late 50s space aged designs were all the rage. Some but ugly house’s were built in that era.

[Deleted]

Nov 3, 2019 11:20:14 GMT -6 dnic said:

Eddie, I never thought about the strap as a fix. Good idea. I’m still going to move the button just to aggravate the purists.

On the shape, Gibson was trying to pick up the slumping sales of the LP. Hard to believe on this end of history that, that was ever a concern. Still I’m a little surprised they went with the SG design with the dismal reception of the V and Explorer in 57’. Although in the late 50s space aged designs were all the rage. Some but ugly house’s were built in that era.

yep! There were some strange things going on back in the 60s and 70s. LOL! Could have been a result of the Marry Jain second had smoke in the air! HA HA! LOL!  

EB

[antares]

It does seem odd in retrospect to think that Gibson went down that route because of dwindling sales caused principally by the Leo onslaught. Reviewing some of their recent marketing decisions it isn't so surprising. This is a problem with positioning yourself at a higher quality level and charging accordingly- the market always has its way eventually. Just like rice bowl manufacturing did for Fender at first.

Wasn't the SG named after Lester Polfuss at first until he threw a hissy fit? Although I'm not a collector per-se, I have one of each the most commonly encountered American guitar designs (more than one of a couple!) but I didn't have an example of the SG. I began to look for a Guild S100 because that pretty much ticked the profile box and as a bonus added to my Guild Tally (presently just an F512) but head ruled heart eventually. I still fancy a black (or hog) S100 though. I do like Guild guitars.

e&oe ...

[dnic]

Well with the longer upper horn and the strap button moved forward with it they probably solved the neck dive issue with the S100. I'm not sure if I was jonesen for an SG that would cut the mustard.

I've never understood how Gibson thought Les would go along with that whole style when it wasn't the guitar he as legend claims helped design. The only things they have in common are six strings and four knobs.

Steve you need to do a thread on your guitar collection. One a week would keep us yaking for years.

[Deleted]

In 1971 I bought me a then, brand new LP custom. I still have it to this day. At the same time a guy that was in the band I was playing in had bought an SG USA made. Even back then the SG was just odd looking to me. He let me play it and I let him play my LP. I liked how lite the SG was but I did note the neck kept diving on me. Now the band member that owned it would play the guitar like on end. In other words he would play it in with the neck straight up in the air.

 I asked him why he was playing like that. He told me he got tired of fighting the guitar and that was one way to help stop fighting it.

 Other than that it was kind of cool to see him play the guitar like that. The audience seemed to like the look. LOL

After a while I did started to see other SG players playing them a lot like our guy did. WOW!

I thought that I remember the SG was at one time called a Les Paul? Didn't his wife have one? Kind of funny how the history of guitars go around.

 For me I never liked them. But at the same time I do know a lot of people that love them.

EB