What Guitar Do You Want... Just Because?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:43 pm
I don't mean the guitar that you have a burning, unbridled case of GAS for. I mean the guitar that you find yourself wanting, but you have no real reason to buy it. It doesn't fill a gap in your "arsenal", or really bring anything new to the table that you don't already have, but you find yourself wanting it anyway. Maybe you just like the way it looks, or the color, or the body shape. Maybe you can't justify spending the money on it because it's just a whim, and you put it out of your mind for a while, but then, when you're reminded of it again, you feel those embers of desire starting to re-ignite.
I have a few... And they're all Squiers.
This one has been knocking around in my head for a while, since I bought my CV '50s Tele back in 2017. Why? Because it has binding, and I like the burst, and it's routed for a humbucker in the neck position (like the '50s Tele). I figure I'll drop an HB in there and it'll be kind of a poor man's homage to Andy Summers (one of my favorite guitarists). I expect it to be just as good as the '50s CV (I seriously LOVE that guitar), but I feel funny dropping a few hundred dollars on something just because I like the way it looks.
When Fender came out with the first "Offset Telecasters" (I think it's hilarious that Fender can't call these "Telemasters" because somebody had the idea before them, and trademarked the name!
), I immediately felt the tug of its gravity, but there were no Squier versions yet, and I didn't want one nearly bad enough to spend Fender money to get one. I've had a soft spot for offset guitars since I was a kid. The first electric guitar that I ever had regular access to was an old Harmony Jaguar copy. It was beat up and terrible, with high action, and I was more interested in playing bass, but I did hack around on it with the 3 chords I knew, and tried to play along with my Beatles records (which was really more like a lot of miming in front of a mirror ). Since they started making a Squire version, it has drifted in and out of my conscious awareness. I'll forget all about it for long periods of time, but then when I see one again, I'm like: "Oh! I want one of those!"
Initially, I wanted the Mahogany one, but they don't make these anymore:
My second choice would have been Surf Green, but they stopped offering this color in 2020:
But I could go for any of the 3 finishes for 2021. My first choice would be Butterscotch:
But I could talk myself into Shell Pink... I've always kinda wanted a guitar in Shell Pink. Though I thought it would be a Jazz Bass or a Strat.
Even the Oly White looks good to me. I usually tend to think of white guitars as 'boring', but I think some guitars look good in white, and the Jazzmaster has always been one of them (to me). I like the tort PG too, and I'm kinda fussy about tort.
My initial reason for restraint was that I already have 2 Teles in the traditional configuration, and this guitar would be kind of tonally superfluous, so I'd just be buying it out of vague, misplaced nostalgia, and because I thought it looked cool. That's usually how I talk myself out of buying a guitar. If it doesn't bring anything that I don't already have, then I don't need it. And if I bought every guitar I thought looked cool, then I wouldn't have any guitars, because I'd be homeless!
But now some new information has come to light! Thanks to Trogley and his incredibly thorough guitar reviews, I discovered that these guitars are routed for a P90 in the neck position, and a Strat pickup in the middle position, so I'm kinda feeling like it's "game on" again. But not any time soon... I still don't want to spend $480 for a new one, and they're kinda thin on the ground in the used market. Besides (or probably more to the point), I've already spent more money on gear/guitar parts this year than I was planning to, and I think it might be prudent to reign in my spending a for a while.
But I can still talk about it.
This bass really turned my head when I first saw it... I think it looks way cool, but I'll probably never buy one unless I come across a deal that's too good to pass up. I love the Jazz Bass the way I love the Telecaster, but honestly, the last thing I need is another Jazz Bass.
It would have to be Butterscotch too. Squier seems to be changing the colors of these Paranormal guitars every year, but the Butterscotch and - to a lesser degree - the Vintage Blonde are the only two finishes that really work for me.
My only complaint about these Paranormal guitars is; I wish they would have sprayed a tinted finish on the necks. The stark white maple kinda works against the whole illusion of a vintage guitar that never was. If I ever buy one, I'll probably give the neck a light coat of tinted lacquer.
So what do you all have on your long (or short) list of guitars that you can't really justify buying, but want one anyway?
I have a few... And they're all Squiers.
This one has been knocking around in my head for a while, since I bought my CV '50s Tele back in 2017. Why? Because it has binding, and I like the burst, and it's routed for a humbucker in the neck position (like the '50s Tele). I figure I'll drop an HB in there and it'll be kind of a poor man's homage to Andy Summers (one of my favorite guitarists). I expect it to be just as good as the '50s CV (I seriously LOVE that guitar), but I feel funny dropping a few hundred dollars on something just because I like the way it looks.
When Fender came out with the first "Offset Telecasters" (I think it's hilarious that Fender can't call these "Telemasters" because somebody had the idea before them, and trademarked the name!
), I immediately felt the tug of its gravity, but there were no Squier versions yet, and I didn't want one nearly bad enough to spend Fender money to get one. I've had a soft spot for offset guitars since I was a kid. The first electric guitar that I ever had regular access to was an old Harmony Jaguar copy. It was beat up and terrible, with high action, and I was more interested in playing bass, but I did hack around on it with the 3 chords I knew, and tried to play along with my Beatles records (which was really more like a lot of miming in front of a mirror ). Since they started making a Squire version, it has drifted in and out of my conscious awareness. I'll forget all about it for long periods of time, but then when I see one again, I'm like: "Oh! I want one of those!" Initially, I wanted the Mahogany one, but they don't make these anymore:
My second choice would have been Surf Green, but they stopped offering this color in 2020:
But I could go for any of the 3 finishes for 2021. My first choice would be Butterscotch:
But I could talk myself into Shell Pink... I've always kinda wanted a guitar in Shell Pink. Though I thought it would be a Jazz Bass or a Strat.
Even the Oly White looks good to me. I usually tend to think of white guitars as 'boring', but I think some guitars look good in white, and the Jazzmaster has always been one of them (to me). I like the tort PG too, and I'm kinda fussy about tort.
My initial reason for restraint was that I already have 2 Teles in the traditional configuration, and this guitar would be kind of tonally superfluous, so I'd just be buying it out of vague, misplaced nostalgia, and because I thought it looked cool. That's usually how I talk myself out of buying a guitar. If it doesn't bring anything that I don't already have, then I don't need it. And if I bought every guitar I thought looked cool, then I wouldn't have any guitars, because I'd be homeless!
But now some new information has come to light! Thanks to Trogley and his incredibly thorough guitar reviews, I discovered that these guitars are routed for a P90 in the neck position, and a Strat pickup in the middle position, so I'm kinda feeling like it's "game on" again. But not any time soon... I still don't want to spend $480 for a new one, and they're kinda thin on the ground in the used market. Besides (or probably more to the point), I've already spent more money on gear/guitar parts this year than I was planning to, and I think it might be prudent to reign in my spending a for a while.
But I can still talk about it.
This bass really turned my head when I first saw it... I think it looks way cool, but I'll probably never buy one unless I come across a deal that's too good to pass up. I love the Jazz Bass the way I love the Telecaster, but honestly, the last thing I need is another Jazz Bass.
It would have to be Butterscotch too. Squier seems to be changing the colors of these Paranormal guitars every year, but the Butterscotch and - to a lesser degree - the Vintage Blonde are the only two finishes that really work for me.
My only complaint about these Paranormal guitars is; I wish they would have sprayed a tinted finish on the necks. The stark white maple kinda works against the whole illusion of a vintage guitar that never was. If I ever buy one, I'll probably give the neck a light coat of tinted lacquer.
So what do you all have on your long (or short) list of guitars that you can't really justify buying, but want one anyway?
