Crazy or not, I just bought another brand new SX Liquid with the exact configuration as one I already have. It's an alder body Candy Apple Red 3 P90 stop tail. I already have that guitar and I like it a lot. In fact, I have another exactly like it, except in Lake Placid Blue, and I like it almost as much (the red just pops a bit more). I paid $200 each for those, and they were steals at that price. But why get another?
I also have a 3rd Liquid, but it's dual humbucker, so a completely different beast. It doesn't count in this conversation. But the blue and red P90 Liquids have had this argument in my head for a while. Which one gets modded, and which stays original? If I closed my eyes, I could not tell them apart by feel or sound. They play exactly the same to my senses. I know that should boil down to "just pick one", but I couldn't. I like the red more only because it's red, I know, silly.
I was minding my own business scrolling Reverb and saw Kurt had dropped the price to $165. "That's just insane" I thought. "Maybe I just overestimate their worth". So I spent a couple hours playing the CAR Liquid I already have, and just loved it. And it brought back the "which one to mod" conundrum, which added a new one - should I consider yet another Liquid to resolve the mod question?
So I gave it some thought. Every time I see a used Liquid, the seller is asking far more than that guitar ever went for new. That doesn't mean they're getting $300 for one, but that might happen at times. I even see GC doing that, despite competing with new listings from Rondo. In the last month, I saw GC list several Liquids for $300, and they're now gone. So I realized if the model ever disappeared from the market, the appreciation for it would only rise. And maybe grabbing another brand new one for $165 is just taking advantage of a steal.
Then I went to the SX site (yes, they have one). They don't even list the Liquid there, so maybe Liquid is a Rondo exclusive. If Kurt stops selling them, they might all dry up. I know I can't find a lefty SJM anywhere, and when I have seen them, the price was very high and they were beaten up badly.
So I thought "If I did mod one right away, what would its mods be?". I think a mint green pick guard would look great on that candy apple red. I prefer two P90s instead of 3, or better yet, 2 tappable P100s, which I already have in a box waiting for a mod. I'd go with a Gibby style 3-way switch instead of the blade. I'd give each pickup its own volume. And finally, I'd put a Duesenberg Les Trem II on it.
Well, that picture in my head made me go press "Buy now".
