# My evolution of guitar buying..... (Share your experience)



## JP Universe (Nov 2, 2013)

16 years old... (parents can buy me one guitar and one guitar only)......

PRSCE24!!! (no guitars for a long time, I got a PRS for gods sake 

Join ss.org at about 25

Gas for KxK, Oni, Blackmachine, BRJ, Vik (Any other guitar builders on ss.org)

Buy 2 KxK's (best guitars I've played thus far) Buy a 2nd hand Oni (sexiest guitar ever) and buy a spot for a BRJ (bye bye $600, nothing compared to other guys here  (.... YOU BRJ) buy a Siggery spot (1.5 yrs with nothing) so I sell my spot. Buy 2 necks and a swirled body from ET (2 years and nothing).... buy and sell a spot for a Jackson 7 as well. Buy and sell Carvin 727, JP6 as well as Jackson dinky stars, ibanez 770,550 and 470 and sell all

Skervesen & Blackwater come into play... (purchases Skervesen lizard Viper Shark 7  get it in 4 months. Happy times (even with a couple of flaws)

So I'm now here, almost 30 and all I want now is gas for a Tom Anderson drop top, Suhr std, PRS artist (modern eagle/PS and anything slightly collectible) is on the table. I ordered a Thorn last xmas and Ron has been fantastic, don't bother posting about which luthier for a 6 string, just get 1 from Ron  I put my deposit on a Strandberg (which has set my expectation that it wont be done for at least a year) put a deposit on an Ormsby run (has previous run for accountability and is a straight up guy)

I just want the younger guys to be careful with Custom guitars, it is soooo risky and if it's timely it will have flaws. I've got almost 5 years in the game with one custom to show for it (Skervesen have blown up now so good luck)

For all the 'guys I want a custom guitar' read this post.... it's VERY hard to get a reliable luthier that is willing to get everything you ever wanted in a guitar


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## Edika (Nov 2, 2013)

Reading all the crap people have been going through here and having a bad experience with a lot cheaper run, than most people do here, I have decided to exhaust all my options for production guitars before going custom. Your experience has been very enlightening for more newer members here, even though the knowledge should have passed without all the horror stories and the situations members like you had to go through.


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## Discoqueen (Nov 2, 2013)

I love hearing when people live the SS.o dream and get all the names! It inspires me to want to be successful. One question, why no mayo? Did I just miss it or something?


_Posted from Sevenstring.org App for Android_


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## skeels (Nov 2, 2013)

So, 18 and I get my first electrical guitar. A Lotus and a Peavey Bandit.

Promptly I realize it's not even good for Deep Purple and Diamond Head, so I sell it. 

I then pick up a Washburn A20-V BBV and put a Bill Lawrence in the bridge. Rock and/or Roll!

A few years pass and the mythical Universe appears. Halle Barry!

It's my main squeeze and then I begin collecting fixer uppers and oddballs- basses, Stellas, cheap V's, the works. 

Years pass and my collection thins. I keep only my UVPWH and my Yamaha classical. Then I begin getting more 7s as they become available. Schecters, ESPs, Epiphones, Squiers... More, more- I'm still not satisfied! 

Dozens of guitars come and go like water...some happy, some sad....

Then I get the real GAS bug for a long scale custom unique guitar. ..then I have two experiences with custom builders that encompass both ends of the spectrum.one of which costs me my beloved Ibanez, and the other is an experience with a forum builder here- djohns74 is a great dude!- I who makes me a truly awesome, one of a kinde guitar that sets me up on the path of building my own.

Now I'm focked. All I can do is keep building.


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## patata (Nov 2, 2013)

14(?)
wanna get my first guitar because Alexi laiho and Zack wylde
Get a washburn kiss tribute because non Strat shape(still a ''superstrat'' shape)(regret it to this day)

15
creaming over extreme shapes.Got some money from summer work.wat do?
Dilemma between RR24 and Ironbird spalted maple.Be *STUPID* enough to get the Ironbird.Nice neck and feel,still want the RR24 though.

16
Broswing youtube
''Meshuggah style soloing'' on the related section
the .... is Meshuggah?DAMN THAT'S 8 STRINGS!
GAS fetus slowly growing on me

17
Find out about high end luthiers.3k?
Challenge accepted

18
GAS'o'meter is off the charts.Need a sick 7 string with 1 pickup.
No money whatsover to get my custom 7stirng.Fvck that,why not make my own kickass guitar?No experience besides a treehouse and a birdhouse.
Dad tells me he knows a guy that makes guitars.Talk to him.Shit's about to go down.He agrees to provide wood(no homo) and help.7 string hardware is too expensive.Realize I have an Ironbird I never play because of the 25,5'' and the shape.Imma gett'n the EMG from the ol' geetar.Make guitar.

I'm still planning on gettin a daemoness someday though.


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## Señor Voorhees (Nov 2, 2013)

For the vast majority of my childhood, and even teenage years, I hated the idea of buying guitars. I loved guitar oriented music, and my family is huge into being musicians. My pa, being a bit of a pack rat, bought shit we couldn't afford. Ruined his and his wife's credit in the process. Never sold a ....ing thing, just kept getting more and more regardless if it could be afforded. I was actually pretty bitter when I saw my first guitar just hanging out underneath the Christmas tree one year. I didn't ask for it, didn't want it. It was an old Ebony Epiphone SG Special. I didn't play it for years. 

I slowly got into music production once I got into high school, and from the get go I was always trying to emulate a guitar sound. I ended up recording individual notes/chords from the SG in hopes of sort of making my own sample library, and I recorded a few songs that way. I bought several (admittedly still) decent sample libraries and for a few years I had used those to record my songs. I found a video on youtube of a guy who had been using all of the same sample libraries I was, only he was getting good results out of them. He was doing a play through of Jetpacks be Periphery using the sample library "electri6ity." The samples sounded like shit (definitely a product worth avoiding), but the melodies were great so I looked up Bulb, and in turn Periphery. Bought a couple Douglas guitars (a 6 string ghost and a 7 string scope), as rondo was hyped on a forum I was active on back then, and chugged around on power chords for a good long while. Kept doing songs with samples because I was massively unmotivated to actually learn. People on the forum kept bringing up Agile's, so I caved and looked into them on youtube. Found Keith Merrow's videos (starting with "wrong axis"). His videos/songs were the final bit of inspiration I needed to actively learn guitar. I ended up getting one of the bottom of the barrel Agiles (around $350) which was the actual spark in my future GAS ventures.

Seriously. I started actually applying myself at guitar only 2-3 years ago, and over that time I've aquired a MASSIVE amount of stuff. Over the past year alone is when I aquired a good amount of them. If I recall correctly, in the past twelve months is when I aquired (in no particular order) an Agile 827, MKH Epi Sig, Ibby IC507, LTD EX-307, SX 4 String bass (strictly for P bass + refinish... It's amazingly gay right now.), LTD B-155DX, Semi Custom Agile 728, BC Rich JRV7, Fender Strat, BC Rich Warlock (again for refinishing fun), LTD EX-Outlaw, Epiphone Goth Explorer and most recently, my sub $80 RG2EX1. That's roughly 1 guitar a month, which sounds about right, but also not including other gear, including two (semi) cheap amps and a POD HD.

TL;DR

I bought most of my shit not so much over time, but all at once (relatively.) It's a hobby I'm totally into and see myself being into for a good long while. Especially considering I have 2 really close friends who share the hobby with me.

Worth noting, is that I haven't gone the way of my father which was an initial concern for me. I've actually got immaculate credit and am allowed to borrow way more than I should probably be allowed. (haven't paid a single cent in interest since I got my first credit card six or so years ago.)

A bit of a long winded story, but it's my guitar buying history in a nutshell. Just realized that I also got a 7 string Agile AL for Christmas last year courtesy of my fiance. I never mojo'd with it and ended up (after talking to my fiance, who is a fantastic woman) gifting it to my dad for Father's day. I still play it from time to time, and it's a great guitar... It's just visually not my thing (weird considering I picked it out and was actually the one to order it.) 

Alright... I swear I'm done this time.


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## User Name (Nov 2, 2013)

12 years old bought my first guitar, a BC rich bich at a pawn shop. 

6 months later traded that for a dean cadillac. 

13 years old i traded the dean for a scheter omen six and purchased an ltd f-50

purchased a line 6 150 watt 2x12 combo. 

14 years old. sold off the scheter and ltd and purchased a limited edition ibanez rg320pg fr. 

traded the ibanez for a schecter damien elite 7. 

bought a brand new ltd sc-208

15 traded the 207 for an rga7qm 

6 months later sold the damien elite and ended up with a epiphone gothic through a trade with some pedals. 

traded the gothic for an ibanez rg7420

few years later traded the rga7qm with upgraded blackouts for a schecter hellraiser that was upgraded as well. 

after some time i traded the ibanez 7420 for a schecter tempest cusotm. 

traded the tempest custom 6 months later for a totally custom single hum metal telecaster built by JoVic in colorado. 

traded the hellraiser for a pendulum pro on here 

traded the pendulum pro for my ibanez s7420fm

traded the metal tele for my jsx head. and in the meantime got a total steal on an EVH cab on craigslist. 

purchased an ltd h-330 so now i own the ltd and the ibanez s7420fm. 

that is my long buying, selling, and trading history


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## Rosal76 (Nov 2, 2013)

1992. Received my first electric guitar at 16, which is a B.C. Rich, N.J. series Warlock. 

1999-2000. Ordered and received my first U.S. custom shop, B.C. Rich Warlock.

2005-2006. Purchased my first Jackson and 3 more U.S. custom shop, B.C. Rich guitars, including one of my dream guitars, a U.S. custom shop, Kerry King Wartribe Warlock.

Late 2006. Purchased my first Ibanez Prestige guitar and fell in love with the company.

2013. Purchased my first 7-string guitar, which is a ESP LTD M-17.

2013-? With 11 guitars, the quest for more continues.


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## Rosal76 (Nov 2, 2013)

patata said:


> GAS fetus slowly growing on me



Awesome wording. 

"The GAS fetus". This is gonna stick with me all day.


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## purpledc (Nov 2, 2013)

my experience has been well different than most.

1. At age 10 I get my first guitar. Its a Piece of shit Kay SG copy (sorta) But seeing the past three xmas brought plastic guitars I was very happy.

2. Next christmas at 11 my parents see guitar is a serious interest and buy me a Ibanez EX370FMA. Looked awesome and it was my first experience at Guitar Center before they became the Walmart of the guitar world. It was magic I tell you.

3. 2 years later I start taking lessons from a total asshole with a shop who felt that for me to be good at guitar I had to play the music he liked and the guitars he sold. He convinces me to trade my ibanez for a jackson Stealth. These guitars were very comparable. So I was actually out $250 plus my ibanez for a guitar that was basically identical. Thanks!

4. Now at about 15 I buy my first "good" guitar. Its a G&L Legacy USA strat copy. It was black and silver swirl with a pearl pick guard and a maple board. It was the guitar my teacher insisted I get. Yeah, because nothing does metallica like a god damn three single coil strat copy. The defiant one in me ordered it with every option he told me not to get. Then the asshole orders 4 more after it comes in even though he knew I wanted mine to be unique. 

5. I abandon that shop and those guitars and i get into Hamer and BC rich. I spend the next 7 or 8 years collecting high end rare USA Hamers and BC rich Guitars. The nicest of both being a 1 of 3 USA hamer quilted top Blitz explorer and a USA Mockingbird archtop supreme. Loved both brands. 

6. The demise of hamer and some shit with BC rich (like finding out my USA made mockingbird and numerous other BC rich guitars were actually made in mexico) have me looking for new guitar companies. I get a custom Warrior fully armed soldier. It turns out they make good sounding and playing guitars that will eject their frets like a switchblade and they also cant route the pickup routes even on numerous guitars. I again move on. 

7. Fed up I decide Im going to go big. I want a PRS. Cant afford one. So I decide to try Carvin guitars. I get a DC400 anniversary. I get it and it looks cool but something sounds off. Its very dull and muddy with no life. It nevertheless is my only guitar for 5 years. 

8. I end up playing anothe Warrior (again improperly machined pickup routes) a Jackson Kelly ( separated binding, not really a neck through due to their build techniques and many spotty issues) A king V (amazing should have kept it) I get another carvin. A CT6. Best sounding carvin I have ever had. 

9. Convinced my first carvin was a fluke I get many more carvins. Over 10. Nearly all of them have the same dull lifeless feel and sound as my original. The better sounding guitars had 1 piece necks and light bodies. I get my last custom build which was a one of a kind black limba CT624. I dont like it and decide carvin just isnt for me. 

10. I get an ESP 7 string. Love the sound, playability and feel. But i find 7's just arent for me. I get a HRF horizon. Best sounding playing guitar so far. ESP releases the LTD elite line. Now offering my favorite ESP shape (Horizon 3) in a more affordable line still made in japan. I order one. Its magical. Plays and sounds amazing and It is identical in quality to my HRF. I sell the HRF and now I have 2 LTD elite guitars and havent been happier. I have had $4000 guitars and while they may have been prettier, they dont hold candle to my LTD's. Today I play guitars that feel and sound good. And Its just a very nice bonus that I found happiness with guitars that allow me to own many of them instead of just one.


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## Taylor (Nov 2, 2013)

2004-2005ish: My dad bought me a cheap left handed bass that I had kind of picked out off of ebay.

2006: I take a guitar class freshman year of high school, they only have right handed guitars, so I learn to play right handed. Later that year I get a guitar for Christmas a First Act probably picked up at Walmart.

2007: After a few months of sharp fret ends, terrible action, baseball bat neck, etc... I want a _real_ guitar. But of course at my age the best guitar available was the one that looked the most BROOTALL. I wanted a BC Rich Beast, but when my father and I went to the local music store, the employee convinced him to buy me the used BC Rich Virgin (lol _used_ Virgin). 

2008: The BC Rich is a halfway decent guitar compared to the First Act (not really saying much). But the trem block on it literally crumbled apart . By now I have a job, and buy another semi-brootall guitar, a cheap (around $300) Jackson RR.

2009: The neck on the Jackson develops a nice warp that leaves a dead spot on the fretboard 9 frets long.  I don't have enough money for another guitar, so I have to replace the trem block on the BC. As I would soon find out however, the Licensed Floyd Rose is the super rare, cheap, nobody has ever heard of it model, and I have to buy a whole new trem. This goes somewhat badly, as I have to rout new anchor holes, and fill in the existing holes. When all is said and done, the bridge is off center by a few millimeters.

2011: After slugging it out with the Bad Bridge BC Rich, and Jacked Neck Jackson, I decide I need a new guitar. I am, by now, interested in seven strings, and set out to Ye Local Music Store to play a few. I played several; A Dean, a Schecter, a BC Rich. None of them felt right, then one of the guys that worked there who I kind of knew, said they had a used seven that had just come in. He brought it up and opened the case. An Ibanez Xiphos (drool)! I had to wait like three weeks for them to finish processing it, but I finally bought it. 

2013: I decide to build my own guitar, an eight string, however after my laptop dies and other unfortunate things, that plan is on hold at the moment.


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## crg123 (Nov 2, 2013)

*2002 (Age 12 ):* Get my first *Takemine Acoustic* guitar..... HATED IT. Didn't play guitar that much until.....

*2003:* (You can't make this up) I saw Crossroad with Ralph Macchio and discovered Steve Vai - Get a shitty *First Act *for Christmas of that year and become a hermit for about a year. 

*2004: *I finally get sick of playing this piece of junk so my dad (who's a musician and support my habits) bought me a *PRS copy* and it was wonderful. I still play it today except with BKP aftermath pickups installed in it as well as Grover locking tuners.

*2005:* I get my first bass - an *Ibanez SR300FM*. I strip down the First act for shits and giggles and carve the horns to be more SG/RG like, throw on a T.O.M bridge with emgs. Have my brother who's an auto mechanic paint it ferrai red. I called it the Strat-O-G since at the time I envisioned it as a mix between a Gibson SG and a Strat no clue why.

*2006-2008:* I find a guitar hanging outside of a dumpster outside a house of some people who had recently moved away. I cleaned it up. Removed all the stickers with GOO-OFF and bring it back to life along with all new hardware and pickups (Tone Zone and X2N). Turns out its a rare only sold in Germany Hohner guitar produced between* 1986-1988 (SR Devil).* 

All sizes | 1988 Hohner SR Devil Customized | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Also in this year I wanted a flying V. So I bought an old *DEAN VXT* and went to town. I stripped it down to the wood. Stained it "English Oak" and threw in a SD JB in the bridge with a Burstbucker 2 in the neck.

At that point in time *(2008)* this is what my collection looked like:






*2011:* My GAS is revisited by Joining this website and I buy a white *8 String Agile Septor Elite 827*. Eventually install a Lace X-bar/Death bar with dual push-pulls on the volume knobs.

*2013 (Age 23):* Graduated with my Masters in Architecture and immediately landed a job so I purchased one my friend Josh's (AnarchyDivine88 on here, but best friend since 11 haha)
many amazing custom guitars. A *Skervesen Viper 7 "Octopus"* that he bought from Musza.






THEN I get an amazing deal on an *Ibanez BTB 1406E* and sold my Ibanez SR300FM, marking the first instrument I actually sold haha .....and thats where I'm at now....


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## Universe74 (Nov 2, 2013)

9 first jr acoustic
10 yamaki telecaster copy (still have it)
12 Ovation Acoustic
14 BC rich with floating whammy 
19 Ibanez something (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=8116185866&set=t.739140866&type=3&theater)
22 Washburn N2 Padauk 
25 99 Ibanez Universe (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=7323770866&set=a.4701310866.4678.739140866&type=3&theater)
36 Agile Intrepid and Ibanez 7321 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=456774935866&set=a.4701310866.4678.739140866&type=3&theater)
39 Ibanez SIX27FD (currently in transit)


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## Jonathan20022 (Nov 2, 2013)

Went through a ton of gear in the last 5 years. I've been playing for 7 years now, and I have to thank my tech for the advice he gave me. I used to own 8 guitars at any one time, and with my schedule getting progressively busier there was no point in having so many when all I really did was tune to Standard on a 6 and a 7, then have another instrument for Drop C/B.

So in theory I only need 3-4 electric guitars for what I do, and although it took some time I've finally found the guitars I'm completely satisfied with playing. And through saving up and trading smartly I've arrived at the Musicman Guitars I currently own.

The most noteworthy guitars that I've owned prior were definitely my LTD H-1001, a Seafoam Green Warmoth Strat, my first RGA121h, and an Ibanez RG3250 I traded off so long ago. If I could honestly get all 4 of those back and just have them as wall hangers if anything I would. But they're either with satisfied new owners, and in the case of the Warmoth parted out with a different neck. The Original being lost without a trace so getting that specific strat back isn't very feasible anymore.


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## thraxil (Nov 2, 2013)

16th birthday: parents buy me a $150 Epiphone strat copy and loan me $100 for a tiny Kustom practice amp, which I spend the rest of the summer mowing lawns to pay off.

Next summer I save up enough to buy a Peavey Bandit 112 for about $200 which is finally loud enough to actually be heard over my drummer friend's kit.

Then I go to college and have no money till about my senior year when I get a decent enough work-study job that I can finally splurge on a guitar with humbuckers (after years of playing Carcass and Morbid Angel songs on a crappy strat copy). Spend about $450 for a low end but decent Ibanez Iceman.

Played the crap out of that Iceman for years without a strong urge to upgrade (since it was so much better than the previous guitar). I was also just playing at home by myself that whole time, not jamming, not recording, just entertaining myself here and there.

Around 30, an old friend of mine moves to the city and we get an apartment together. He's another metalhead and had recently decided to learn guitar. I end up teaching him some basics and we spend a lot of time jamming and writing the occasional tune. I'm in solid financial shape by now and playing a lot makes me say ".... it" and act on an old fantasy and I buy a Parker.

The best price I find on the model that I want (a NiteFly-M) happens to be a "buy it now" on eBay. I'd generally been sketched out by the idea of buying guitars on eBay, but this is being sold new from a guitar store with no bidding uncertainty so it tempts me enough that I actually create an account and end up having a very good experience with the purchase.

Once I have an eBay account, it's on. I start out slow picking up a few used pedals for cheap. I basically figure out the system, how to make use of saved searches, and how to analyze the risk. I pick up a used Schecter 7-string for super cheap (my first 7). Then I realize that used Parker Flys in perfect condition sell for less than what I paid for my NiteFly new. Over the next three or four years I buy a few. Or a lot. Maybe I have a bit of a problem. At the moment I have eight Parker guitars and a Parker bass, plus another Parker bass that I gifted to a friend who was learning to play. Plus a Steinberger and a UV7BK. All eBay. Plus assorted amps and pedals and such. All justified in my mind by how good a deal I managed to get on each plus I'm actually playing regularly so they're not just collecting dust. Still a bit excessive. My friends make fun of me and my "problem".

Last year I get in on the Oakland Axe Factory/Xen guitars run here and put down a deposit on an 8-string fan-fret headless, which I finally got a few weeks ago. Not full custom, but I think it counts as entry into the custom market. I guess I lucked out because while it took a little longer than originally planned, it turned out quite well and I'm very pleased with it. Something about having the custom in the works also helped slow down my GAS in the meantime. During the year's wait, I think I only got one Parker and the UV7BK; a very restrained year for me. I also kind of reached the limits of how many guitars I can fit in my apartment and not end up on an episode of Hoarders, so there's that.

I'll probably get more customs in my life and there are still a couple Parkers I'm on the lookout for, but I think the frenzy is generally over. I'm actually even thinking about selling off a few of the guitars that I don't use that much now to make room.


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Nov 2, 2013)

6 years old had my mind blown by Hendrix 

10 years old got my first guitar an Estaban guitar and amp. The trem on the Estaban broke and started a long hatred of trems for me and then the cable the that came along with the package broke but I thought that the amp had broke and this started a whole 3 years of me just playing acoustically. 

13 years old I finally get a new guitar, I got into Guns N Roses and Slash played a Les Paul so I got a Epiphone Les Paul Special ii and I got Fender Mustang amp I ended trading the mustang for a Marshall MGFX15 because Slash played a Marshall.

14 years old Got a Epiphone Les Paul Standard and a Wah So I could play Civil War

15 years old Got my first acoustic a Ovation Applause AE 148 but sold it because it sounded really dull and got a Fender acoustic.

16 years old Present Got my first tube amp and 4x12 cab, a Blackstar Artisan 100 and Blackstar series One and my first sevenstring is on the way so NGD coming soon. My buying habits have changed in that I search a lot for used for gear that's how I got my amp and cab, if I bought that new I wouldn't be able to afford it but there AMAZING deals out there if you look and I'm looking to more gear hoarding and whoaring in the future!


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## todia (Nov 2, 2013)

An Ibanez RG7620/1527 -> An Yamaha semi-hollow -> A Strandberg Boden 7 o that's all


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## Valnob (Nov 2, 2013)

10 - got a Squier for christmas and for the next 4 years, I pretend to play guitar while listening to music 
14 - starting to get into guitar seriously.
15 - I buy a vox vt30
16 - I buy a fender acoustic guitar.
18 - Birthday present, a Schecter Blackjack SLS C-7, then with my own money, I buy a RG1527 the next month and change the pickups.
19 - (Last week !) I trade my RG1527 for a Schecter Solo 6 atx (Ngd soon !)


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## teamSKDM (Nov 2, 2013)

Get starcaster when I'm like 13. Then buy Ltd ex50. Sell it, buy a epiphone mII. Sell it, buy an ibanez rgt42dx. Put a Duncan in, sell it to buy a used agile 7, trade it for an ibanez rg7620. Oil finish, Cl/lf. Trade it for rga121. Refinish it in Pearl white, bkp aftermath bridge liquifire neck, custom covers. Trade that for jp6. Sell that, buy jp7 (O I miss that guitar), sell jp7. Buy carvin and Marshall 1960av 4x12 (gotta do what you gotta do) 

I think I've had a good experience, from my ex50 to my carvin, I've only put out about 550 dollars. The rest of the money was used by the previous guitar I had before upgrading. So essentially, in the end, I bought my carvin dc727 and Marshall 1960av with v30's for 650 dollars of my direct money. I got a keyboard for free which I traded for a peavey xxl which I traded for a Randall rh200, so I basically got it free. And I bought my line 6 podxt live with money from selling an old amp I bought from a pawn shop and a pod bean. All in all, I think I've been very successful and lucky to have gotten what I have now.


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## Floppystrings (Nov 2, 2013)

14: Punk rawk, Sex Pistols, Pennywise, Guttermouth, NOFX, has a mowhawk

18: Death metal, Death, two feet long hair, shirts with grim reapers

23: Grindcore, dress like a office worker, blastbeats, mindless noise is magical

26: Tech death, long hair again, sweep picking, songs about aliens over gore

30: Progressive music, open to anything, play classic rock, switch guitars and play 8 string doom, closest friends not even sure why I like Portal, go out to dinner with mom and give her newest Deftones CD, she likes it.


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## Scruffy1012 (Nov 2, 2013)

Early 2006 got a Magnum acoustic

Started off in the electric world late 2008 with a Ashton rocker pack (Ashton rocker guitar and a 15watt amp) that my parents bought me, was a pretty good guitar. 

-1 year/1 year and a half, my parents went halfs with me on an ibanez rg421exfm for a school talent show, as my ashton rocker had pretty much fell apart lol.

1 year later Got a lot better at guitar, started playing in bands regurlarly, and got a decent job, had just enough for a Ibanez 7320z.

5-6 months later, bought a Ltd Ec-1000 and a Fender American special tele, Later on traded the ltd Ec-1000 for a Caparison Dellinger when i was on tour.

4-5 months later bought a ltd sc-608b and a engl savage.

Now (in the two years) : Did a lot more touring, got a better job and a big pay rise. Sold everything except the tele and bought an Ibanez 3250, Ibanez 2228a, Ebmm Jp12, Ibanez 1451, Caparison Hours M3 MF, Ibanez acoustic, axe fx 2, peavey 6505 and peavey 3120.


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## Jzbass25 (Nov 2, 2013)

13- get my dad's yamaha pacifica tele
15- played my pacifica and a MM EVH guitar that my dad's friend left with us (idk why lol), bought a Yamaha BEX-BS bass to play gigs with.
16- Partially pay off an American Deluxe Strat (big srv/hendrix fan), dad helps me pay the rest. I gave the tele to my friend for his bday.
17- Buy an Ibanez rg2570 from ibanezrules (became a huge vai fan). 
18 (I think)- Sell a Wii for much more than I bought it for, with that money and some money from gigging I bought a rg1527. 
20?- Trade american strat for a modified Jem DBK. (I couldn't get along with my strat after this tech seemingly ruined the setup.)

I'm 23 now and I have plans for buying a new strat, maybe do a warmoth or maybe just get a cheaper used jimmie vaughan strat. I also have plans to buy a Jem7vwh, Strandberg CL7, some form of 8 string, and Ola's signature washburn with evertune.


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## Electric Wizard (Nov 2, 2013)

14: Acquire an awful bolt-on Epiphone SG. Friends were all in punk bands and I wanted to follow suit.

15: quit guitar

20: Playing again for a few months. Into metal now so I get a Schecter Omen.

21: First experience with GAS results in an Epiphone Explorer.

22: Buy a Schecter Omen 7. Extended range feels right and I begin to play a lot more.

24: Received my XEN, picked up a Rasmus Modern along the way. I've gotten a taste of the good stuff now, guitar-wise, and want to maintain that trajectory. The experience with the OAF run was a good one in that waiting a year for my build has really relaxed my want for instant gratification when it comes to GAS.


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## wilch (Nov 2, 2013)

8yr old - My friend's parents bought him an electric guitar and practice amp. For some reason, up until that point, I thought that you needed to be famous to be able to buy an actual electric guitar. Or you HAD to have an acoustic first. That year, I ended up asking Santa for an electric guitar and practice amp. This is where it all began. 

Profile Stratocaster copy with 5w Profile amp... which luckily had a gain knob! Also got a bunch of really really bad "begginers guitar" books.
(no pics  )

After 3 weeks of teaching myself A, C and D...and Peter Gunn. I put the guitar in the spare room where it sat on the spare bed for over a year.

10yr old - found out about TAB. Got heavily into Poison and Led Zeppelin. Learnt a bunch of Led Zep and poison songs and started getting into Metallica.

13yr old - wanted/needed had to have a pointy guitar with 2 humbuckers, no ugly scratch plate, and a floyd rose. Went into the store with the money I'd saved up from summer holiday jobs...came out having ordered something silly.




Samick Warlock by wilch, on Flickr

Started learning all the rhythm tracks to every song from Metallica's Kill 'Em All, to struggling with things on Justice.

16yr old - GAS for Ibanez began. What I wanted = Jem 7BFP, I had heard Passion And Warfare and my world changed. What I could afford = RG570FM




Ibanez RG570FM by wilch, on Flickr

19yr old - I joined a band the previous year. The RG570 became my main player and saw lots of parties and harbour cruises. It's in surprisingly good nick considering all the sweat that's been through it. 

The band was all about alternative rock type music, and the floyd rose was doing nothing but getting in the way. Plus, the RG570 just looked too pretty. So I looked for a Japanese fixed bridge. The only one I could find in Aus was the original RG421 (made in Japan). Which I modified with new pickups, and a scratchplate from ET Guitars Australia.




Ibanez RG421 - modified by wilch, on Flickr

21yr old - Had GAS for an acoustic... bought my first. Went in wanting to spend around 1.5k... ended up spending double. Seagull Artist Series Cameo




Seagull Artist Series Cameo front by wilch, on Flickr

25yr old - After saving up, and having grown sick of waiting for Ibanez to "re-release" the Jem 7BFP (which they never ended up doing ), I decided to put my order in for an Ibanez Jem 7VWH.

But, with the deposit already down, I found an Australian store online listing a Jem 2k DNA new for sale. So I called my guy at the store and asked him about it, to which he said he'd call up his friend at the distributors. I got a call back after a bit and ended up changing my order. I ended up getting the last "new" Jem 2kDNA in Australia.




Ibanez Jem 2k DNA number 285 by wilch, on Flickr

33yr old - Happened across Keith Merrow and Ola Englund on Youtube. Heard stuff I really liked, and riffage that was in a new style to what I'd been listening to for so long. I really wanted to learn to play riffs like them. But I didn't have a seven. I also didn't want to spend money on a seven. So I started looking...I ended up finding that ET Guitars Australia (that made my scratch plate) had an affordable 7 string! (this was before I knew about the 7321 - don't know if it was even available in Aus at that point....I know I searched google and there was nothing...so I'm guessing it wasn't?)

So I shot Ernie an email asking about it and if I could change a bunch of things and how much. The price was right, and I ordered my first custom.




ET Guitars Australia - Custom 7 string guitar by wilch, on Flickr

my first 7, first guitar with stainless steel frets (6105's same as on the DNA), first BareKnuckle pickups, first oil finished guitar, first custom.

34yr old (now) - Now I have a better feeling of what I want out of a custom, and I'm wanting to spend a bit more money to get exactly what I want. I just need to find someone to do it for me.

Why aren't I going with ET Guitars again? A few reasons, one being that there are so many other luthiers out there that have work that I like the look of. Why not go straight to the source of the work/look I like... That's my theory anyway.

My next guitar will be an RG shape again, but this time with an alder body, quilted maple or burl top, quilted maple fingerboard again (but no inlay), multi piece rosewood or wenge C shaped neck, stainless steel frets with the STUPID TANGS CUT OFF, led side dots, Seymour Duncan pickups, 5 way switch, single volume no tone, Evertune bridge, and locking tuners.

I just need to find the right luthier. Very tempted to go with Charles Cilia Guitars because I'm in Sydney, though an hour away. Was tempted to go with Blackcat because they seem to have everything I want in their spec pricelist. But I'm not sure on how reliable they are...and if they disappear I don't want to be out of money with no way to retrieve it.

*sigh*... Custom guitars... I echo the OP's sentiments. If there was just one luthier out there with an impeccable eye for detail, an ability to keep me in the loop as to what the hell is going on after I send my money, and a reasonable-almost-set-in-stone timeline (even if it's a long time) my next custom would already have it's deposit paid...

It just seems that no one wants my money tbh. Oh well. All the better for my wallet I guess! lol.

I also ended up buying my first bass




Ibanez BTB 675 by wilch, on Flickr


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## Church2224 (Nov 2, 2013)

Christmas 2006- Got my first guitar at 15, a Washburn Strat Copy 

April 2007-Ibanez RG350DX. Loved it, best $400 guitar I ever played. I later sold it because my parents thought I had too many guitars and I wanted a Carvin. 

Christmas 2007- Ibanez RG550rxx. It was my first real guitar and I still have it. 

Summer 2008-Ibanez RG1527 Prestige. Great guitar too that I sold because I wanted another Carvin. 

February 2009- Yamaha acoustic for guitar class at school 

August 2009- Carvin DC400 cw. Got it because I wanted to try a Carvin, thought it was ok but later traded it during my great gear whore wars of 2012. 

April 2010-Carvin DC400 Transparent Blue Flame. Had poor fretwork and some finish flaws. Kept it anyway. 

April 2011- Jackson USA Select Sl2h Natural. Still got it and absolutely love it. 

November 2011- Jackson USA Select Sl2ht Silver. Good guitar but had a couple finish issues that I later traded away

March 2012- Got my first ESP, an M-II Camo that I drove over an hour to get. Still got it and love it 

Throughout 2012 I went through a phase of trading away about 5-7 guitars ranging including a Jackson, a Caparison, some ESPs and Carvins as well as playing and trying everything out there. 

Current Gear at the age of 22-

Jackson USA B7 Deluxe (being built currently) 
Jackson USA SL1 Cherry Burst
Jackson USA Sl2h Natural
Jackson USA DK1 Black 
ESP M-II Woodland Camo
ESP Eclipse-II Cherry Burst
ESP Horizon FR Mystic Black
ESP Horizon FR Volcano Red
Ibanez RG550rxx
Yamaha acoustic 
Washburn Strat Copy 

Current Desired guitars for the future- Jackson USA 6s and 7s, MIJ ESPs/ LTDs, USA Fenders, G&Ls, Suhrs, Tom Andersons, USA Schecters, PRSi, MIJ Ibbies, and Music Man guitars.

I hope I can work had enough to get them all.


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## Necris (Nov 2, 2013)

*Guitar:*
Summer 2006: Start on Squier Acoustic 
Fall 2006: Buy used Stagg Flying V (First Electric)

2007: Jackson JS30WR for christmas (Main guitar for the next few years)

2010-2011: 
Buy Ibanez S2170SE
Order Roter 9 String, never receive; no more customs.
Trade Ibanez for LTD FM-418 
Sell FM418 buy used Alvarez Villain with Graphite Neck
Buy another Alvarez. Buy used Zion Radicaster.

2011 - 2012
Keep buying guitars that are either cheap,from somewhat obscure brands, or a combination of the two and upgrade them.
Remove Frets from Warrior. *F*uck yeah fretless guitar!
Replace fingerboard and refret an Alvarez; 27 notes per octave.

2013: Have frets added to another Alvarez. Waiting on its arrival.
Very minor GAS for agile 10 string.
GAS for Westone Pantera
GAS for guitar with vintage style trem (would upgrade to a Gotoh-Wilkinson).


*Bass*:
2009: Buy Ibanez SRX595
2010-2011: Buy Galveston 8 String Bass
Buy Brice 6 String Fretless
Buy Modulus Quantum 5 (Sell other 3 basses)

2012: Buy Alvarez Dana 4 String bass super cheap, becomes main player. lol
2013: Preparing to send off Dana to have more frets added.


*Amplifiers:*
Summer 2006: Refurbished Crate 15 watt amp with reverb

Autumn 2007: Line 6 Spider 2 15 watt amp (actually a legitimate upgrade from my first amp)
Give Crate to brother for use with his bass.

Summer 2008: Buy Carvin V3 for use with band; use friends 4x12

Summer 2009: Buy Egnater Tourmaster cab for use with Carvin, proceed to rarely use amp for next 2 years.

Winter 2011: Trade Carvin and Cab for a Guitar. Mainly using freeware vsts (Lecto etc.) for guitar now.
No interest in tube amps. GAS for Sunn Beta lead 2x12, just miss one on ebay.

Summer 2012: Buy Sunn Alpha 115, Bass amp or Guitar amp? Not really sure. 
Buy proco Rat pedal (first pedal purchase ever). Dat tone.

2013: Buy Lab Series L11 200w Head and used Carvin G212 extension cab.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Nov 2, 2013)

Be me, 11 or so noodling a tiny bit on my brother's Epi SG, decide guitar is cool and I want one, but not an SG 'cause I hated the feel lol: )

Buy first guitar (Ibanez RG5EX1) just after 12th birthday, all with my own money(!)

Get a little Fender amp with effects built in that Christmas 

Brother and I get into drums, I need an amp to keep up with him. GAS hard for an 80 watt Peavey Bandit at the Pawn shop down the street. 

Get Bandit for 14th birthday

GAS for another guitar, and was super into LoG, so I bought my DKMG because Mark Morton. Also Jacksons are the shit. 

Later that summer decide I want to go tube and eventually buy Valveking head with a 2x12 Carvin 

First show with my band coming up near the end of my Sophomore year of HS, so I bought my Marshall JCM900 cab so I could be that cool kid with a tube stack 

Know I could have a better rig, GAS hits, sell off my VK and Carvin cab to fund a Triple Rectifier  

Be getting really into Periphery and progressive metal in general, GAS for a 7

Get the 7620 in my avatar. Best decision ever. 

Sell off Marshall, buy Orange 4x12 because I liked the idea of V30 cabs for teh dj0ntz

Buy another 7620 for way cheap. Another great decision. 

Triple Rectifier is too much for how little I play live, and I found a sweet trade and ended up getting a Mark V and roadcase this past summer

Get my Carvin around July (ordered late this past May) for my High School graduation/18th birthday. I actually went with Carvin because of all the great reviews on here and didn't want to deal with full-custom shop BS 

Sold my Orange cab after realizing I like the Mesa sound better and ended up with a Recto 2x12 and cash left over.

A couple months back I impulsively bought a Washburn at a pawn shop and recently traded it for a Paul Allender sig. I've sorta been thinking of selling/trading it since I don't _need_ so many guitars, but yeah  My rate of buying/selling/trading gear has increased _significantly_ since I first started reading and eventually joined this forum haha

Idk, my journey is by no means adventurous, but I've at least got a sweet rig and some killer guitars out of it


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## Nag (Nov 2, 2013)

my experience ? I haven't bought crazy awesome expensive guitars other than a Jackson Stars, and I received an ESP for my 18th b-day.

I joined this site two years ago and I have discovered MANY guitar builders, some good ones, some bad ones... I've also seen several members building their own guitars (special mention to pondman's crazy-ass builds and everyone from the "guitars built by members" thread)

Here's what I have learnt :
- never order a custom guitar and pay it in full when you order it. you're gonna get scammed 90% of the time
- even the best can make mistakes. Jackson custom shop, running for 3 decades, 23 frets anyone ?
- never believe the waiting times, nobody builds a custom guitar in 4 months, count 1-2 years before you receive it
- if a renowned artist orders a guitar, it will arrive fast and be top notch. if you're nobody, your build will have to wait and it won't be double-triple-checked before being sent to you
- building your own guitars might take a lot of effort but it seems really worth it

As soon as I have a workplace, money for tools, and time, I'm gonna practice building crapwood guitars and build my own. Sure I'd love a custom guitar by this and that brand, but it's a damn scary investment. many builders got famous on this site and it seems to me as if they thought they could get away with mediocre quality because we have to pity them as that poor guy who has to pay bills and works a really hard job or whatever. I don't know. I don't want to criticize anyone in particular. but many custom builds I've seen look like an amateur job. which is unacceptable IMO.

Another thing you should NEVER do : buy a custom guitar when you're 20, student and/or low-paid worker. I've seen plenty of people throw ALL their savings at a custom guitar and receive wormholes.


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## Edika (Nov 2, 2013)

A bit of a long story.

At 8 I started doing piano. My sister had begun a few years back so it was convenient for me since we didn't need to buy another instrument. I went for one year, had a terrible teacher (she was a freaking b_i_tch).

At 10 I decided I wanted to give it another go and started with violin (god knows why). Since I didn't listen to any violin based music and it's freaking hard and tiring to practice I stopped after 5 years. The teacher I had the first three years had a lot of part on me losing interest on violin. Second teacher was excellent but I had already lost interest. Plus I was mainly listening to metal and wouldn't bother with any classical stuff.

When I discuss changing to doing electric guitar I am asked whether I would stop after a couple of years, thus purchasing another instrument to collect dust. Plus I am told that in order to do electric guitar I have to first do two years of classical guitar. I don't pursue this as I don't want to do two years of classical guitar (I was never very patient).

At age 20 and while in the Uni I hang out with lots of guys playing in bands, get inspired and decide to give it a go. My mother gives me the money to buy a guitar and amp, so I buy from my best friend a MIJ Squier Floyd rose series guitar. One of the most comfortable guitars and which I still own. I then buy a solid state 50 watt Marshall which was quite decent.

At age 29 and after drooling for a soloist for many years (and started drooling for a PRS) I finally get some money and try to hunt down on my first real guitar. I am prepared to lay down some serious coin. However the prices for Jackson soloists are ridiculous at my home country, as well as PRS's. I go out and check all the music stores I know to find a good axe. I stumble upon a Carvin DC400T. I try it out and am amazed from the sonic options I have as well as the guitar itself. I find a PRS standard 24 that is 700 Euros more expensive. I go for the Carvin and don't regret it.

At age 30 I start my PhD and have a more stable income. I start contemplating buying more guitars. I start using the internet more and find out about the bargains I can have buying from the US. I also find out Carvin sells direct and that I have paid my Carvin quite dearly . I decide to start hunting for cheap but good guitars and buy a Ravenwest 340CV. Not a bad guitar for the money but after the Carvin it feels like a cheap toy. I sell it to justify buying more guitars .

At age 31 I have a fever for V guitars. Didn't have the opportunity to get them of my system (and still haven't  ) so I try to find one with good specs and cheap price. I decide a BC Rich jrV NJ deluxe would be my next purchase. After a lot of searching I buy one and is quite disappointing when arriving. I had already bought a Mesa Triple Rec and the Ravenwest sounded better than the BC Rich :O. After two awful setups in two different stores I decide to take matters into my own hands and finally have a guitar that is setup properly and sounds really good.

At age 32 I decide to try my luck with a 7 string. They seem cool, you have a low B and you can do all short of neat things with it. I track down and buy a Carvin DC747 since there are no shops that carry 7 strings near where I live (there was one but no much variety) and the only brand I trust to buy blind is Carvin (I had major Carvin GAS back then). I was also in my neckthrough snob phase, where I consider bolt-ons a waste of money and couldn't understand why anyone would pay more than 800 Euros for one (little did I know). The DC747 is very comfortable to play but the pickups seem kind of underwhelming. I find settings I like but since I am not into modding much I don't change pups.

At age 33 I get major GAS for a 7 string V. Not easy to find a production model, at least one that I liked. I unfortunately find the Emperion videos of the black V with the cream back, which seemed very cool and sound awesome. They make a run, I join and you know the rest of the story. I finally receive the guitar with wrong pickups and a whole lot of issues, I play it for an hour, pack it up and return it. I was one of the lucky ones that got his money back.

At 35 PhD has finished, I haven't found work, unemployment benefits will run out at some point and I sell the Carvin 7, the BC Rich and the Mesa Boogie to have some cash on the side just in case. I however see the Ibanez RG20063 puzzletop with a decent discount. I had been seeing this guitar for 5 years at that shop and I could never justify the price (bolt-on, licensed trem, technically non brand pickups). But after all this time on SSO I have learned a lot of things and many misconceptions have been corrected. At least I have learned to have an open mind. I go to try it, am stunned and buy it soon after. After a while I find a Marshall 8080 valvestate and buy it dirt cheap, since I was ampless.

At age 36 (this year) and just two days ago, having a job and wanting to celebrate, I buy a Jackson DK2M-1H with red ghost flames. I find that this thing rocks and I confirm that I can have an awesome sound without paying a lot.


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## shanejohnson02 (Nov 2, 2013)

Before I started buying guitars, my parents bought me a Yamaha Pacifica for my 15th birthday, and then an Epiphone Del Ray (basically a 24-fret double-cut LP) for a graduation present.

1) Yamaha Pacifica - Bought this to replace the first one after it was damaged in a fire. Still an awesome axe.

2) Ibanez RG320FM - Bought this one to "learn how to shred". Awesome axe. I threw some Evolutions in it and it screamed. Sold it because I needed the cash.

3) Ibanez RT650FM - Early 90's super-strat with a square heel and 2-point wilkinson-ish tremolo. LOVE this guitar, although it's in pieces on my rack right now. I turned it from an HSH into an SSS with a Fast Track 2 and 2 cruisers. Still one of my favorites.

4) Ibanez RG2EX1 - Cheap $299 Musicians' Friend special that I bought as a beater to take overseas with me. Swapped all the hardware to gold and threw in some D-Activators first, a D-Sonic / Air Norton second, and finally (what it's wearing now) a pair of PAF 36th Anniversary models. 

5) Ibanez SA1260 Prestige - My first Prestige, and honestly I'm underwhelmed. I bought it to copy the Andy Timmons model, and it just doesn't sound good or hold a low action. I really want to sell this thing but nobody is buying.

6) Ibanez RGA7 - My first 7, after I came back from Iraq. I dropped some Blackouts in it and while the guitar is nice, I'm still not a fan of the pickups. VERY dark and undefined. I want to try some Deathbars in it before I try to unload it.

7) My current #1, Carvin DC727 - Can't say enough good about it. It's just awesome. Replaced the stock pickups with a CL/LF combo.


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## Ulvhedin (Nov 2, 2013)

age 15, 
bought my first guitar; washburn dime333 + zoom fire 30amp

age 17, 
bought epiphone sg goth

age 18, 
bought a randall rh stack + ibanez rg350, traded zoom amp for a washburn a20
also bought a boss gt10 at some point

age 19, 
bought esp eclipse 1 and ibanez rg7621
gave sg goth to my cousin

age 20, 
traded randall stack for a jem555
few months later i traded the jem555 for a uv777 no cash inbetween(!!) 

age 21, 
bought axefx ultra, and traded the gt10 for a 5-string bass.
bought a schecter loomis at some point in this period as well.

age 22, 
bought vht 2502, and bought my randall cab back
bought an ovation celebrity
sold the randall 412 cab back to the same guy, 
bought a randall 212 diavlo, and silver blade hellhound20

age 23 and present, 
cousin broke the sg goth, donated my washburn a20
bought dean rc7 a week ago, 
kiiinda want a diavlo20, but havent happened yet.

Im pretty sure something is missing, but cant put my finger on it


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## haffner1 (Nov 2, 2013)

Boy I am dating myself here, but I have been playing for 25 years, so there is no way I am going to write a complete history. I'd be here all night. So...

15 yrs. Basic black Charvette. Played it exclusively for 5 years. Learned tons of thrash songs.

20 yrs. PRS Custom 24. My only "high end" guitar still to this day. Got it in 94. Didn't get another guitar until 99 when I got a Samick L5 knockoff jazzbox.

27 yrs. Got my first 7 in 01. LTD M207. Didn't get into 7s seriously until 2007ish though.

since then, it has been Agile, BC Rich, Ibanez, a number of different guitars, plus some random 6ers thrown in for kicks. I pretty much always buy mid range priced and then upgrade, because I know I am too fickle right now to lay down 3+k on something. I would just switch to something else next year anyway. I still have my PRS, but I barely play it anymore.

I picked up my first 8 string this year, a cheaper model agile 827 with FR. Haven't quite bonded with it, but I am in a somewhat non-creative phase since I have to work away from home.


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## Andromalia (Nov 2, 2013)

199ish: my first guitar, an Ibanez RG can't remember, likely TG 140 but can't remember for the life of me. HSS with a non floating trem.
1994: Fender Strat Japan with Floyd rose, HSS too. fitted EMGs 81/SA/SA in it because Metallica. Bought an ADA MP2 because, Metallica, and a Fender Blues Deluxe as an amp because Metallica a friend of mine sold it for cheap and it sounded good with the MP2 plugged in it like a pedal.
...
.....
.......
.........
2008. Moved to Ireland and started to spend more time on forums as all my friends and family were away. Registered to SSO. Biggest mistake of my life. 

Since then I have bought and resold for some:

Dean VMNT
Ibanez Destroyer DTT700
Ibanez RG2610
Ibanez Prestige S can't remember serial, the burl one MIK.
Ibanez Prestige S ditto, MIJ
Gibson LP Studio reissue
Gibson Kelliher explorer
Amfisound Routa
ESP SV custom
a Framus I can't remember how it was called.

Not counting...
An axe FX. An axeFXII. A Mesa studio pre. a Laney Ironheart. A Gmajor2. A H&K Tubemeister 18. A Marshall 8100 head. A MF250 cab. a Mesa 20:20 power amp. A mesa 50.50 power amp. An ADA MP2.

Likely have forgotten some stuff but that's the story.


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## haffner1 (Nov 2, 2013)

Andromalia said:


> because Metallica....


 I remember all those reasons too!


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## AyrtonS (Nov 3, 2013)

I don't really think I deserve to share because mine has hardly started unfolding. Anyways. 
Age 11: Got my first acoustic for Christmas. Crappy Wal Mart guitar. Took lessons the same year, loved the teacher I had. I then got an electric guitar, at basically the same quality level as the acoustic.
Age 12: Parents bought me my first bass, an Ltd f-104, funny story, I got it because I was in a school band and sucked miserably at brass instruments, and they'd let me play bass, so I did. Also joined my first band.
Age 13: After saving up what seemed like a huge amount to me at the time I got my first real guitar, which ended up to be a Schecter omen-6. Not a bad guitar for the price, mine has a gorgeous looking neck.
Age 14: Got a Jackson Kelly. At this point I regret it because I could have used what I wanted from that to buy myself a nice amp. Atleast I'm not the only one that went through the pointy guitar stage...
Age 15: Got a job and therefore steady income, got a good practice amp (Roland Cube 80xl,) then because for some reason I wanted more strings, I got an Ibanez Rga7, which is still the guitar I use most frequently. Basically fell in love with Ibanez, and 7 strings. I sold the bass, and got an ibanez Rg350dx. 
Age 16 (present): Due to a lack of social life, I started playing guitar in public, because I'm in a small town I got lots of attention and joined 3 or so bands. For some reason the people here think I'm pretty good at it, but really I'm okay at best. My step brother who is huge into bass gave me his Brice 6 string bass. Which I hate with a passion... Still on the hunt for a guitar that I play and have an instant connection with. It's only happened a few times, but I'm sure hoping I can find it again.


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## PostApoc (Nov 3, 2013)

Age 13(?): Start having musical classes in school and i find out that playing guitar is really fun. Get a noname nylon acoustic.

Age 14: My older brothers electric guitar, wich he hardly plays gets passed down to me. A cort, silver finished, weird strat shape. 

Age 16: I decide to trade my Cort for a epiphone explorer ( I am a huge fan of Behemoth and Nergal played a explorer while i was around 16.) I also get my hands on a Peavey Bandit 112. 

Age 18: Get my eyes up for sevenstrings, buy a Schecter Helleraiser C-7 and also a Peavey 6505+ head and a Harley Benton 4x12 cab. 

Age 19: Joins sevenstring.org.

Age 20: Sell almost everything except my Line6 PodX3. And i trade in the explorer for a ltd-sc207. 

Age 20: Sell the ltd-sc207 for the funding of a Ibanez Apex-2, i've also gotten my hands on a Squire Affinity Telecaster.

Age 21: Loses interest, Sells everything.

Age 22: Buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard '12 for my tax refunds. Get some unexpected economic blowbacks and have to sell it. One of the best guitars i've played :/

Age 22: Now i own a Charvel DS-2 and Line6 UX2. Just need a cheap bass guitar now so i can get into recording shiznit again


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## Kullerbytta (Nov 3, 2013)

Age 14: Mandatory school trip to a music school, had no initial interest. Class got put together to a 'band' and we each got an instrument to play. I got e. guitar and song was Zombie by The Cranberries (which I loved when I was a kid but had forgotten so I nostalgia'd like f_u_ck). I instantly loved playing together with people and playing the Em C G F#/D progression. 
Got home, told family about new found interest, inherited uncle's *Sigma* acoustic guitar he bought on Greenland (I know right...?) and started to self-learn.
Age 14: Inherit uncle's *Emerador* Les Paul copy. Malfunctioning bridge pup so stuck with neck pickup when trying to play black metal on a Squire Champ 15 without boost or dist pedal.
Age 15: Buy uncle's *Epiphone Riviera Nick Valensi*. (functional bridge pup - happy as shit)
Age 18: Make some money from working all summer - *Schecter Hellraiser C-7*. Also discovered I din't care much for EMG.
Age 20: Realize there's Schecter guitars that _doesn't _come with EMGs; get *Schecter Blackjack ATX C-7* with Blackouts.
Age 23: Realize I don't like Schecters, _at all,_ get *Ibanez RGA7* and upgrade pups to calibrated set of BKP AM. Love it.
Journey ends here for now.

Love my uncle. He helped expand my musical interest and skills and is one of my guitar idols.


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## Mr Richard (Nov 3, 2013)

I started guitar late in the game, but hey I got some down time and who doesn't love to read boring stuff. Warning my journey into the world of guitars is kinda lame, but hey it is what it is.

First guitar ever was an old RGX 112 my dad bought at a pawn shop for cheap as me and my sister. 





I used it in music glass instead of an acoustic guitar supplied by the school. That was back in 2001 when I was 14 and this guitar followed me until I was probably 19, but we'll get back to that later.

Then, in November 2005, came the biggest influence, and is what ultimately made me fall in love with guitar, rythem and looking at music in a deeper sense and over all taking me from a person who just listens to music to a person who loves music...






Yeah I know, it's pretty lame looking back on it, but before Guitar Hero game a long I had almost no sense of rythem so even playing guitar before was no fun, just school stuff. The more I played the more I got the hang of the idea of rythem and how to use my left and right hand together. Eventually I decided: "Hey, I think it's time to actually pick up a real instrument!" and decided to start out with a Bass guitar since I was pretty into Les Claypool and Rage Against the Machine at the time and just wanted something simple to start with so then I bought:






A cheap Peavey Millenium BXP. Played the damn thing through a cheap ass guitar amp so as I'm sure you can imagine, nothing special was going on, just playing some horrible base covers and dicking around since I did not know my way around the fretboard.

Then we jump to 2007 and I'm deep into 80's shred and modern metal and decide it's time to stop dicking around with an old shitty guitar and a bass I never played and buy a guitar that is way more then what a beginner guitar player should start with:

A LTD Alexi 200:






Not only is it a RR style V shape but it has a FR Trem so playing while sitting and tuning/string changes were not fun plus it's pretty much a machine made for metal so any other styles just never sounded right. I think I had this guitar for MAYBE 4-5 months before trading it for a MIM Fender Strat (I think we all know what a black strat looks like) which I eventually traded in towards something a little nicer. Enter...

Firbird V






Saw a used one on the wall of Long and Mcquade one day back in 2008 and decided to give it a shot. The thing that really caught my attention was the neck and how great it felt, also it was a very solid instrument and I liked it, but eventually the deal breaker was the mini buckers for me among other small things. This was the guitar I really started to learn with, it was a very solid guitar and felt awesome to play which made me want to play more

Now comes 2009 and I sware the guitar gods lined up the stars for this, but one day I walked into my nearest guitar shop, looking at straps, getting strings, ect and I see this shimmery blue guitar with a maple neck shining in the window with the light hitting it just right was my:

RGR465M:






After seeing and playing this bad boy I put a down payment down and went forward with selling my Firebird, which paid for this and then some. The only beef I have with this guitar is the floating trem, would have preferred a hardtail bridge, but whatever I got used to them when I had my Alexi-200.

This guitar has fit the bill for tone for years now (still have it) and will probably stick around since I would maybe get a few hundred out of it and will pass it on hopefully to a child someday. Till then it's my beater guitar.

Now let's fast forward to 2012, which was when I joined SS.org and was all about 7 strings. Scale the Summit, Animals as Leaders, After the Burial, all were regular on my playlists and the time felt right to buy a low end 7 and re finish it, enter the RG 7321:






which was turned into:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-purple-ibanez-modded-rg7321.html#post3075251

It's been a learning experience in guitar maintance, refinishing, pup swaps, ect si ti was worth it, but sadly I am no a huge fan of the pick ups. I like BKP Cold Sweats in the neck, but the aftermath in the bridge just isn't for me, will probably buy a D-Activator7 and throw that in when I get around to it, but regardless it's a good guitar to play with different tunings since it is easier to change then my RGR is.

My last guitar re lated purchase was my Mesa Boogie Mark V combo which I'm pretty happy with and gives me more then enough options for right now though is WAY more amp then I need since I no longer have anyone to jam with so the power is not needed, but is still nice to have.

What does the future hold for me? Who knows, but recently I've been more and more interested in single cut style guitars and have been on the prowl for a Gibson LP with just the right neck I can refinish (found one the other day, but to expensive to refinish) or a PRS SC (SE for a refinish or maybe even something a little more if the looks and tone are what I want) since I find I am spending mroe and more time with a 6'er then I am anything else.


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## Valennic (Nov 3, 2013)

Oh lord, remembering.

Age 13: Got a first act for christmas. Family didn't think I'd latch on to it, but god dammit I did . Played that for about 6 months, then my dad got me a second hand Squier bullet. Not one of the shit Chinese ones, but one of the old Japanese ones. Being young and stupid, I really had no idea what I had, all I knew is that it did not play metal the right way. My dad had the bridge pickup switched out for a bill lawrence. Hated it .

Age 14. Christmas rolls around, and I walk into my grandparents house to see an RR3 sitting on a stand. I was over the moon. I played this guitar for a solid 2-3 months before the bridge pickup shat out on me. Instead of being reasonable, my father didnt' bother fixing it, just went and traded it for a Schecter Hellraiser. As upset as I was, it was my first, and last, guitar with active pickups. I was happy.

Age 15: My father and I had a falling out, some damage happened to the Schecter, and I traded it in for a different model, same line. That lasted about 6 months before looking at it became uncomfortable and I traded it for my, to this day, baby, my Washburn X40. It's been the only staple of my stable since then.

Age 16: Late on in the year I had started to listen to much heavier stuff, and I had discovered Meshuggah midway through the year. This led to me wanting a seven string, the beginning of the end for me  My mom ended up getting me a Washburn WG587, in my opinion one of the best beater sevens out there, and I still have it. Love it.

Age 17: I get my first acoustic, an Arietta. Not really my first, but the first I counted. Got that one for my birthday. So up to this point I had not bought myself a guitar .

Age 18: I graduated high school and got a job. Naturally I wanted to start buying guitars, to continue my collection. I honestly do forget what I got over the next two years from here, I'm 20 now, but I'll just list them.

Washburn X50: Traded for a Japanese Squier and Acoustic, sold both
Washburn WM24: Sold
Washburn WR150: Still have it
Bowes SLFx7: MY first custom, love it to pieces.
Schecter 007: Sold it
Ibanez RG1421: My first regret. Still my largest regret .
Ibanez 7420 with Iceman body: Traded it for my RG550
Ibanez RG550: Still have it, love it.
Ibanez S7420FM: Sold it
Laguna LE2000: Fantastic little beater, still have it.
G&L ASAT Special: My first American production guitar, love it to death.
Jackson DKA8: My first ordered, new guitar. Love it as well.
Schecter Jazz 7: Still have it. Love it.
Schecter Omen 5 String Bass: Traded it.
Fender 12 String: Sold it

And I think that's all up to this point. I'm honestly probably missing a few here and there, but I've gone through quite a few in the last year.

I've got a lot of wishlist items, like a KxK, a GKG Turbulence, another RG 1421 to replace my retarded mistake, and a J-Custom 7. That's just off the top of my head .


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## Charvel7string (Nov 3, 2013)

10 birthday - First guitar Japanese Epiphone les paul standard 
11- Christmas- gibson sg standard
13- birthday Charvel star 
13- Christmas- Got addicted to meshuggah - ibanez rga 8 (put sd blackouts in it)
13- Diagnosed with cancer  sold my 8 to a good friend and got an ltd AW7 (putting bkp aftermaths in it right now)
13- Make a wish gets me a Mint condition black Gibson Les paul custom with an ebony fret board!!!.... also i got to play with phil anselmo live! best day of my life!
14- Birthday- currently saving up for olas washburn sig 7 string 
14- about 2 weeks ago- I get the news im in remission!!!!!


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## Robby the Robot (Nov 3, 2013)

My guitar evolution has been kind of, strange I guess. 

Christmas 2007 (Age 14): First electric guitar. The Behringer iAxe 393. Yeah....we won't go there. 

Between somewhere a Digitech RP70 was bought.

February 2009 (Age 15): I.O.U Christmas: Red Ibanez RX Gio


Christmas 2009 (Age 16): Epiphone Les Paul Standard (Cherry Burst)

March 2010 (Age 16): First guitar I partially paid for myself. Axl Bloodsport Jacknife V. Funny thing about this one. About a week before Christmas I went into a local guitar shop and saw this guitar. Played it, and like it. That's before I knew I was getting the Les Paul. This guitar was alright, couldn't appreciate the sound of P-90's at the time. 

Also in March of 2010 I received a Vypyr 30. This ended up having speaker issues and was left in a trunk of a car that was towed away. (Long story, don't really miss it  )

March 2011 (Age 17): Ibanez ARX140. Funny story about this one here. I wanted an ART100 in a white finish. Mom went to local store, bought what she thought was an ART100 in a white finish. Turned out the guys at the store, who I buy most of my stuff from, didn't know what model they had.  It turned out to be a ARX140. At first, I was disappoint because it wasn't an ART100, but after playing it for some time it grew on me. Favorite guitar I've played Drop C# in to date. I miss that guitar.

September 2011 (Age 18): Ibanez RG2EX1. I've always wanted this guitar, but in the white (2EX2) and Jewel Blue finish. Was at a pawn shop one day because my friend needed to pay off his PS3, saw this on the wall. With very rusted out of tune strings. Noodled for a few minutes, and thought I should have it. And for $150, I wanted it. So I put a deposit on it, and after selling so many bags of cotton candy, bought it a little while later. Record my first CD with this guitar. This guitar is the reason why I want real EMGs in a guitar. The Desinged by EMGs aren't great, but convinced me enough to want a real 81/60 combo one day.

February 2012: So I need a source of sound. Bad. Amp was bugging out on me, and I wanted to be able to just plug in directly into PA systems when I played at churches and other music venues. I was using a Digitech RP70 and a First Act Distortion, and thought a RP500 would be an upgrade. Bought a dent and scratch RP500 off of AMS and played my first concert with it five days later. This was also used to record my first CD. Never did much with the unit. Sold it last week.

August 2012: So. I've wanted 7 strings for a WHILE now. Around this time I've wanted a 7 for three years. Never had the chance to play one until May of 2012. There was an Ibanez RG7321 at the same music shop the ARX was from. Played it. Played it some more. %10 deposit later, and three months of flipping burgers later, I had my first 7. This guitar is the reason why I want to play 7s as my main instrument for a long time to come. Good times were had with this guitar.

February 2013: So after my car being towed months later, my amp was in the trunk. (Didn't miss it) So I was in the market for another amp. Same music shop the Ibanez was bought from, I was spending the day with a friend who wanted to record a song with me in December 2012. Turns out, producer was busy that day. So we travel down to Sims, I grab a RGD7421 and plug it into a Vox Valvetronix 120+. The guy gave me a great sound out of it. So I went back to the store three days later to put a deposit on the guitar, and it was gone. So I put a deposit on the amp instead. Income taxes roll around, and it became mine. Decent sounds, looking to sell it now to fund a POD HD Pro. 

September 2013: Random Monday in August IIRC. Decided to go to a different music store than my usual to see what was happening. So I enter the store, walk to the guitars, walk past a ESP/LTD EC-407. Walk further. Take a step back. It's a Schecter 007 Elite. Play a little, and put it on layway. Notice a theme here?  A fortunate event happened to where I bought it a month earlier then planned, and I love this thing to bits. Easy transition from being an Ibanez player to a Schecter player. This guitar has convinced me that I want H-S pickup configured guitars as my main players.


November 3, 2013. I sit here with my Schecter and trying to sell the Ibanez RG2EX1 and RG7321. The Valvetronix is going as well. The other five guitars I no longer have due to various reasons and looking to get the stable back up. Right now I'm working on getting a bass, a new laptop, and some recording stuff. Hopefully my amp sells well so a POD HD Pro is in my future. 

Thanks for reading dudes. Sorry for the text wall.


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## Necris (Nov 3, 2013)

^ H-S and H-S-S pickup configured guitars are the best guitars.


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## Furtive Glance (Nov 3, 2013)

14: Borrowed a shitty Samick 6-string

15: Got an OLP JP and put in Dimarzios

16: JP6

17: JP7

19: JP7

21: JP7

22: JP7 

24: RG7621M-BOL

I didn't really evolve... haha.


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## technomancer (Nov 3, 2013)

So long story compressed

Squier Strat -> Charvel -> Stopped playing for a long time

Started playing again an have had a lot guitars from Ibanez, EBMM, Epiphone, Charvel, Gibson, Fender, Jackson, Agile, Carvin, KxK, PRS, Parker, Suhr, and Washburn (in no particular order, and I'm sure I'm leaving out several).

My current guitars are mainly KxK, PRS, and a Fender Strat


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## Bloody_Inferno (Nov 3, 2013)

Trying to keep this as short as possible:

Terrible Ibanez Radius copy > Real Ibanez RG (main and only guitar for 7 years). 

2 cheaper backups (Epiphone LP Studio Gothic/Squier Showmaster Strat), then bought a ton of Ibbys (another RG, 2 RG7s, Xiphos, Talman Acoustic) a Charvel So Cal and a Cordoba Classical (main acoustic). 

Got Ibanez endorsement, bought more Ibbys (2 of the new Xs, ARZ, another RG), sold the Charvel, then bought another non Ibby (G&L US Legacy). 

So really, just a bunch of Ibbys and a non Ibby here and there.


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## eventuate (Nov 3, 2013)

Christmas 2004(?) - Wanted to learn guitar, so I got a Yamaha acoustic starter pack.

May 2008 - Really wanted to start playing an electric, so my parents got me a Squier Strat starter pack.

Jan 2010 - I'm into Metallica, but didn't particularly like the look of ESPs, so I get the next closest thing: Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR haha

Dec 2010 - I donate the Yamaha acoustic to charity.

Feb 2011 - I grab a Peavey Valveking Half-stack, and my dad buys me a used Epi LP the next day because the deal was pretty good.

Oct 2011 - Buy an Ovation koa top acoustic

Nov/Dec 2011 - I get an Ibanez RGD 2127z as a birth-mas present, but in the coming months discover that I like the idea of seven strings, but I don't get along the with the RGD neck

March 2012 - Buy a POD HD500

July 2012 - I buy my friend's Gibson Explorer for a reasonable price.

Nov/Dec 2012 - It's birth-mas again, and I get a JP6.

Spring 2013 - Sell my Hellraiser to a friend, buy a Line 6 DT50.

Summer 2013 - Sell some single effect pedals, the RGD, and mod and refinish my Squier strat

Current moment - Thinking about selling the unused stuff...mainly the Valveking and the Epi LP, wanting another sevenstring, as well as a Jazzmaster. Oh, and waiting for EBMM to FINALLY reveal the Majesty.


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## Chuck (Nov 3, 2013)

13 yo: got an Alvarez acoustic for Xmas(still have this guitar) I started to learn to play but ultimately gave up after a month or two

16 yo: after almost a year of playing acoustic I got my parents to get me a Ibanez RG2EX2 for Christmas. 

18 yo: parents gave me a LTD MH-417 for my birthday(the plan originally was to split the cost 50/50, but they surprised me). Then about a week after my 18th I joined SSO. I eventually traded the MH-417 for a RG550 in Lazer blue. I eventually sold the RG550 a few months later. 

Bought a 2000 RG7421 and modded it a bit, then traded it for a RG1570 which I had only very briefly and traded for a S470. I still have the S470(not for long hopefully). 

Then the RGA gas  parents again surprised me and agreed to help me buy a RGA121 in celebration of me graduating high school(My parents spoil(ed) me, no doubt). Still have the RGA121 NTF. Then I bought a RGA121 TKF(now for sale). And finally I bought another 121h in CDR. Still have that one as well

I think that's everything! My progression in buying/selling clearly exploded after I joined this site.


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## JP Universe (Nov 4, 2013)

I posted this one when I'd had a few drinks..... missed a few guitars in there but brought on some good discussion. (Note to self, post more drunken posts) 



JP Universe said:


> 16 years old... (parents can buy me one guitar and one guitar only)......
> 
> PRSCE24!!! (no guitars for a long time, I got a PRS for gods sake
> 
> ...


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## jarnozz (Nov 4, 2013)

September 2008: mum came in and asked me if I would like to play guitar and how I would feel getting lessons from my uncle. (still thank her for that one) I accepted the challenge and got one of his classic guitars.

this model:






august 2009: got my first electric guitar. a J&D les paul xD





december 2010: got my Ibanez RG350 DX, Love that one till this day, had a fretjob and new pickups 





somewere 2012: I started building a 7 string but bought this one first:





december 2012: I finished this puppy: made the body myself, neck is from an Ibanez RGD with a 26.5 inch scale.





June 2013: Got myself an OLP mm1 for almost nothing. Just to mod and play with in my indie band, Its nice to sit with playing some govan stuff.





september 2013: FInished my 8 string guitar:






now, building 3 more guitars atm xD


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## Ed_Ibanez_Shred (Nov 4, 2013)

Early 2011- Get bored of playing a shitty acoustic; purchase an RG420fbz.
Late 2012- Get an RGA42 so I can change tunings without wanting to kill myself.

I hope I can look back on this post one day and laugh, surrounded by sexy guitars.  I feel like I have the fewest guitars on this website.


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## WiseSplinter (Nov 4, 2013)

12 years old - get acoustic which i never play

16 - start listening to Master of Puppets and beg dad for epiphone + marshall 30w (cheapest electric + amp combo for sale in my town)

18 - can now play fairly well , get ibanez JS90HAM from guitar geek uncle, epic WIN. Happily play this for many years (still love it)

study for 7 years , get job , pay off loans , then suddenly... 
EXPENDABLE INCOME! wooohooo!

28 - Carvin DC727 - love it! , decide 7 strings is the correct number, order a Siggery FF7

29 - (7 no longer enough) - Skervesen custom FF8 + axefx2 (still no Siggery) 

30 - (present day) incoming Ormsby, KxK, ViK (currently #22) ... still no Siggery  but i still have hope


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## karjim (Nov 4, 2013)

I'm the anti GAS...if you need a cure 

1997 A friend brought me a Cort Srat style, I play come as you are and enter sandman intro for 1 year 
1998 I bought my firts guitar: a crappy acoustic one and learned all Metallica songs on the hardest guitar ever made for shred and metal

1999 I found in a resale store an old Ibanez RG for 250$...I bought it because Steve Vai Korn and so many....It was a new world, I could go fast ! It's a rarity : 1987 RG560 Red Wine finished. Never seen before, maybe factory gifts for their employees, Ibanez Japan did that in 80's.

2005 I found on E bay an Ibanez RG7620 for 350$ ...I bought it because Steve Vai Korn and a crazy Swedish band that I've seen on MTV2....They play very very low 

And That's it..... I'm happy since 8 years, I don't care, I prefer playin' the hardest than I can.
I've never played custom dream guitars but I've tried every big names and Ibanez is the one. So a good MIJ, good pups, and here we go...LACS will wait.

I love to see you guys with so beautiful axes. It make my day all the time but I don't have this disease  Hope that I will not be banned


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## nikolix (Nov 4, 2013)

15 Metallica Maiden etc
17 Tried the fender of a friend
18 Jackson JS30RR (flying V's are not the bext beginning)
22 Used Epiphone Goth sg modified the hell out of it
24 Went for studying abroad and left everything behind so i bought the cheapest I could find --> Epiphone Les Paul Special II --> Played some gigs with it!
26 My first real guitar ESP E-II Horizon NT-7B sevenstring baritone! Now I understand how a real guitar sounds like


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## protest (Nov 4, 2013)

16: Got a no name bass from ebay and a Rogue amp for Christmas... You don't know what sharp frets are until they cut you. 

17: Saved some money and bought an Ibanez Gio as my first guitar

17.5: Got an LTD EX 250 as a gift from my grandmom. Pointy, dark green metallic awesomeness

17.75: Got a BC Rich Ironbird "space face" graphic on it.

18: (As you can see GAS came naturally to me) I bought a BC Rich NJ Warlock and a Crate GLX212, underrated amp.

19-20: Developed pretty bad tendinitis in my left arm and had to quit playing for 6 months, and then just never really picked it up again. Job, college, gf, and different friends that didn't play kind of steered me away from it.

24: Bought an LTD EC-1000 vb just cause. Barely ever played it.

26: Got back into playing a few hours a week. Gas returned...violently...Picked up a Mesa Mini Rec and 2x12 completing my 17 year old self's dream of having a Boogie, and an Ibanez RGD 7421.

Sold a bunch of stuff that I had purchased before. Picked up a used ESP M-II, and a MIJ Jackson DK2. 

Then a Mesa Mark IV and a EBMM JP6 BFR, and soon a Fryette GP/DI. Now I plan on selling the EC-1000 and Mini Rec to offset some of my expenses.

Later in life: A Schecter Merrow Sig, and then a PRS after that, and eventually a Tom Anderson.


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## hairychris (Nov 4, 2013)

16 - Squire Bullet Strat

A bunch of stuff

41 - Fender Mexican Telecaster


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## icos211 (Nov 4, 2013)

On my 13th birthday, after begging my mother for an electric guitar (completely overlooking her acoustic), she takes me to Guitar Center for the first time for a cheapo Squire bullet starter pack. In time I hated the shit out of that guitar, but I played it day and night.

While still 13, I received my first GC catalogue. Within I see an almost half page ad for a Schecter Hellraiser C-1. I fell in love without even touching it. I researched and read and decided that that was the guitar for me.

Around 6 months later, after my father promised to buy me a new guitar if I got good grades(which I kinda did). I began craigslisting for Schecters. While I did not find a Hellraiser C-1, I found one of the original 2008 limited edition Hellraiser DLX's(Rosewood fretboard, no cross inlays, no abalone binding, bolt on maple neck, EMGs). Snapped that thing up for $300. That was my first good guitar, and I wished that I had it with me so that I could still play it every once in a while, though my tastes have moved on.

Once I had my quality, "metal" 6 string, I stopped really gassing for electrics. I wanted a guitar to fill every different niche. I took over my mother's 16 year old fender starter acoustic (What a workhorse. Love the hell out of that beater), and was happy for a while. However, Over The Hills and Far Away began to get more and more play on my iPod, and, after playing one in a GC, my 12 string gas began to burn. Just after new year of 2010(I believe), I found a Mitchell 12 on sale at a small local music store for $140. That one is sitting next to me right now.

Then comes my gas for a Resonator. I have no idea why I wanted one in the first place, but I got one and love it. Found it on Craigslist as part of an estate sale. It was a one off from a company named "Liberty" which would import cheap Korean acoustics and fit them with metal tops, reso cones, etc, and sell them on ebay. It had some major, playability killing flaws (which were masked by the fact that we did the deal next to a busy interstate. Foolish 15/16 year old me.), but with some MacGuyvering, it turned into my baby. Unfortunately, one of the tuning machines has gone haywire and needs replacing, so it is unplayable again.

That Resonator was the first NGD I posted here, after lurking for some time for tips on metal playing and recording. And, after joining this forum, I caught the 7 bug, though I ignored it for some time. Honestly I was gassing far more for another 12 string than an electric 7. Time went on and I began working. One day in mid-2012 a Guitar Center catalogue showed up in my mailbox with a little picture of a matte black 7 string Schecter with a skull inlay and otherwise blank board. I was overly intrigued. I scoured the internet for information(all that it was titled was "New 7 string from Schecter in matte black", no other info), and eventually found that it was the new SLS model. I was basically sold, but I still asked around on here about it vs the Hellraiser 7 and ATX 7. A month after I saw it, it was mine.

Now, today, I am trying to build my own 27 inch 7 string, for use with far lower tunings, and a Neck-through construction. While I'm currently gassing for a fanned fret Skervesen, a Headless, and an 8 from Ran, I have no money for something such as that, so I will probably build them when I get the tools for such a project.

Still never got that Hellraiser C-1. Not sure if I really want it anymore.


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## 12enoB (Nov 4, 2013)

When I was 9 my parents pretended to buy a squire mini combo pack for my cousin, which I cried about for days, but then on christmas it ended up being for me. 

At 10 I bought my guitar teachers charvel model 3 from the 80s, and I didn't know what it was until recently because he swapped the neck and it had no logo. That guitar was stolen at a show I played when I was 14, and I cried for a week. (I cry a lot about guitars)

When my guitar was stolen my mom gave me her musicyo.com kramer. I still play and love that guitar. 

Recently (at 22) I got back into guitar and bought a schecter hellraiser c-7. It sounded kind of dull to me so when I got the option to pick up a used carvin dc 727 I went for it. That guitar is amazing.

I'm 23 now and I just bought a charvel model 5, and its gorgeous and amazing.


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## Alice AKW (Nov 4, 2013)

Birth to about age 10: Always listened to and loved rock, used to air guitar and headbang to GnR and Korn thanks to some members of my family I spent waaaay too much time around.

10: Pick up my first guitar hero game (Laugh all you want, it planted the seed )

11: start to get bored with the game, start researching actual guitars.

12: Birthday, I get my first guitar in the form of a cheap Squier Strat/Amp combo kit thing (Kind of an awful guitar but I adored it)

13: That guitar got smashed in a fight with my father, a friend of mine sends me out a cheap Abeline to fool around with (Still have what's left of that guitar... not really funxtional anymore)

For christmas that year, I got my Line 6 Spider IV

Later on, I pick up my current six string from a local pawn shop (Still love this guitar, a cheap Samick Explorer copy) 





14: Start seriously practicing my technique after starting to put crappy cover videos on youtube. I rediscovered Korn and started listening to stuff like Periphery and Tesseract, etc. I pick up my first 7 string in April of 2012, an Ibanez RG7321.





15: For my birthday, I get into AAL and Meshuggah and start wanting an 8 string. For my birthday I head up to Denver and visit Drum City Guitarland and pick up an Omen 8





For christmas THAT year, I got my beloved POD HD500





Towards the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013, I hear about the Ibanez RG8 and immediately set out to get one. It's on backorder, so I finally get it in May. Poof! It's defective.





So, I send that thing back to Guitar Center to get a new one. On backorder AGAIN, so I wait. July comes and I finally have the new guitar and.... Poof! Defective again. (Some of you guys may remember my NGD's dealing with these things.)





So, I send that one back fed up and get a refund, and after even more an ordeal with Guitar center to get my damn money back I start boycotting them personally  And I used the money from this guitar to get a new laptop.

16: After the hassle with the RG8's and my birthday in May, I took a break from trying to get new gear and settled on my current stuff for a while. My father has a safety award thing t his job and picked me up my first acoustic as his reward this year, which I got in August.





Fast forward to this October and I decide to use some saved money + I sold my RG7321 and Omen 8 to fund a trio of new guitars from Rondomusic, which I recently got into my possession and even got the first ding on one of them  The guitars are a Hadean Bass, An Agile Septor 727, and a Hadean superstrat.





Currently, I'm heavily debating on what to save up and buy next. Was thinking a Carvin build or maybe even an Axe FX. I'm undecided.


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## AliceLG (Nov 5, 2013)

This is going to start off a little different:

Age 13: my family got me a piano. Beautiful stand-up piano from 1889. I played it for 4 years until I went to college. It's been a very eye-catching piece of furniture in the house ever since.

Age 15: inherited my mother's long lost classical guitar in a trip to Panama, and proceeded to buy my first bass. Gibson Firebird, old as shit, got it for 200$ 

Age 19: sold the Gibson to a friend who needed a kick-ass rock bass for some session work. I gave it away for 300$ cash (stupid me I know). He recorded whatever he wanted to record, then restored it and sold it for about 1500$. I was stuck with the almost-40-year-old classical guitar for the next 4 years.

Age 23: got into a power metal band after auditioning with a loaner bass and decided to buy one before the first rehearsal. Got me an Ibanez SR505. Still have it.

Age 25: moved across the ocean to Germany, brought my bass with me. After 10 years I was classical guitarless.

Age 26: got tired of auditioning for grunge/punk/party rock bands and decided to become the guitar player I wanted to be in a band with. Bought my first electric. Ibanez ART120, with a Line6 Spider IV 15W (the horror!). Then I bought an Ovation CC-48 to play some singer-songwriter stuff and acoustic covers of grunge/punk/party-rock songs. The irony is not lost on me. Sold the Line6 and upgraded to a Blackstar HT-5. I ended up selling it and the Ovation when I moved to northern Germany 

Age 27: LTD EC401-FM, wanted to try a guitar with EMGs. 2 weeks later I had put EMGs in the Ibanez as well. Later on I got tired of the Ibanez, sold it and bought a second 401 to keep in dropped C, Vintage Black this time, which is now my main squeeze. Also got another HT-5, which is in my bedroom and hasn't been used in about 9 months. Got a classical again, a Takamine EC124G.

Age 28: got into the 57/66 hype and got them for the 401-FM. After too much lurking in here, got me a 7-string to justify my membership  LTD MH-417. It slays. Got serious about the band, rehearsal space was rented, time for a grown-up amp. Bought a shiny brand new Marshall JVM410H w/1960AV cab. Ripped the EMGs off the 401VB and threw a Custom/Jazz combo in. Best.Decision.Ever. Also got an Ovation 2078 to keep the covers going.

Age 29 (right the f_u_ck now): after the bitter taste of losing a bid to a beautiful PRS SC250, I ordered a clone of it from a local luthier. Should be ready in a couple of weeks.

Age 30 (planning stages): swapping out the 81-7/707 in the 417 for Pegasus/Sentient. Getting an 8-string, either the Iron Label S or a custom. I've been toying with either a fan-fretted 8 or an 8-string version of a PRS P24. Either way I'm planning on building it myself. Maybe I'll get a Floyd-Rose'd 6 string, like the Ibanez Xiphos with a pickup swap.

That's it so far. I should mention I lost the now 45-year-old classical guitar in a trip to the beach back home. I hated myself. Then I hated me some more when my mom asked about her guitar. She'd never played it and it was looking worse than Willie Nelson's Trigger, but it was her guitar after all.


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## stevexc (Nov 5, 2013)

13 years old, going into 9th grade, we got a new music teacher for the next year. One of the things he's super excited about is putting together a "stage band" and doing jazzier songs, and giving people the opportunity to try some new instruments. I figure "what the hell, I wanna play guitar or bass!" I decided on bass.

First christmas after that, I'm 14, and my parents got me my first instrument: a Peavey Millenium AC BXP 5 bass. .... yeah, started off on a 5-string. They also got me a Kustom practice amp, and I loved that shit for so long.

At the end of grade 9, so Junior High grad, my parents got me a guitar as a grad gift - the salesman suggested getting a classical as the string spacing would be further apart, since I'm a bass player. So yeah, my first guitar was a Samick classical. My brother still actually has both of those.

The next Christmas or thereabouts I finally had enough cash saved up to buy myself my first electric guitar. Rocked right down to the guitar shop and got the single most bad ass guitar a 15 year old could ever want - mother....ing BC Rich Metal Master Warlock. I mean, how cool is that shit? It's called the METAL MASTER! That's totally what I wanted to be! It had flames and spikes and humbuckers and an amp! Oh man, I was so pumped. For a year or two...

That year I joined my first band and bought my first new amp, a Fender Rumble 100. Sitll have that, it's actually my only amp right now, and it kicks ass.

The next year I joined my second band and got my second bass at around 16, the ultimately cool Ibanez Iceman. Which I sold months later because you couldn't make that ....er growl if you stuck a chainsaw in it.

So I suffered through for the next few months until I felt I needed to upgrade. Bought a new amp (Ampeg SVT-450) and a new guitar (Gibson Faded Cherry Flying V) and I was the happiest ............ for about 30 days when I realized I can't afford to finance $3000 worth of gear. Returned the Gibby, as difficult as it was to do so. I didn't deserve that axe, but god do I wish I still had to seeing as how Gibson has shit all for Vs available these days. Luckily, a friend at school was selling an older LTD M10, which was a huge upgrade (sad but true) to my BC Rich.

A few months after I turned 17, I got a job as a bass teacher at a local shop. What's more is I got a staff discount at a local shop... First thing I picked up was a new bass. I had been renting out a Fender for a few months, but needed something to call my own that was a bit better than the Peavey. Sold that POS to my brother, then over the next year picked up a Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass and an Ibanez SR505. Soon after I scored a sick deal on an LTD H-1001. And I didn't pay a cent over $600 for any of those. Somewhere in that time period I bought and sold a Fender DC-60 (I think) acoustic.

And that was _it_ for the next six years, aside from selling my Ampeg half stack for a new head at 19. That head sat around, unused, until last year when I very painfully liquidated it and turned it into a gorgeous RG827Z at 23.

And here I am, 24, GASing hardcore over the most random shit. The other night I played my FIL(-to-be)'s dirt cheap Univox LP copy he picked up for $95 on sale, and goddamn did it play good for a super budget guitar... so now I wanna pick up one of those, put the pups (Custom 5 and Jazz) from my LTD into it and tune it to C or C# and play sludgy doomy shit, then put some EMGs into the LTD. And DActivators into the Ibby. Even though I should really just use my old M10 as a sludge machine.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 5, 2013)

I was given about 3 or 4 guitars before I or my parents ever purchased one. The ones I can remember are an old acoustic (no clue what brand) and a Harmony electric. If your guitars brand is a slightly ambiguous musical term it may have come from a JC Penny catalog. 

From there I do believe my dad bought me 2 axes in middle school: a red Squier Start and a Takamine acoustic I STILL own. 

High school dad hooked it up again for Xmas (I had good grades or something silly I won't be rewarding my children for) and I got an RG7420. FIRST 7!!!

College I begin buying them. 
-RG470 (I've had 3 so far and currently still own one)
-RGT42DX
-2 or 3 RG7620s
-RG7421
-RG7321
-Agile Intrepid Spalt
-Agile Pendulum
-Entry level Jackson Kelly
-"Kelly" custom
-Cheap Rondo Hadean Start
-ARZ307
-ESP B206SM
-Ibanez BTB405QM
-Ibanez SR305
-Giannini classical 7
-Ovation Applause (it was purple)
-Another Takamine acoustic (dreadnought)
-Jasmine acoustic (cutaway)
-RGA8
-RG8
-Agile Interceptor 827 with the Floyd. 

So as you can see. Trending toward more fretboard real estate.


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## SkullCrusher (Nov 7, 2013)

age:

8: started taking lessons with an old spanish acoustic that was bigger than me.

10: gets first electric guitar, yamaha pacifica

13: gets bc rich warlock NJ speedloader (awesome). Then gets Mick thomson sig.

14: Gets Maverick JR4, still own it. seriously underated guitars.

17: Buys Ibanez RGA321 (sent back, hardware worn and didnt get along with it), replaces with fender american strat (shit). Finally buys japanese charvel socal and loved it.

Gets decent full time job

18: Buys limited edition gibson les paul studio in white with black hardware, fell in love instantly. Took to a tech to be set-up, he diagnosed with warped neck (sent back). Buys Gibson SG standard, wasnt that nice but had a crack in the neck so went back.

19: Buys mayones setius. Falls in love. story over.

20: (2 weeks ago). Buys mayones regius 7. best guitar ever touched. perfect.

(will stick with mayones from now on).


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## Scrubface05 (Nov 7, 2013)

It all started with a Washburn Shadow series bass and an amp..

Then I decided to go with guitar and got a Cort strat style guitar and fell in love with one of the most expensive hobbies one can pick up!
After half a year I picked up a Jackson RR5 pro, amaaaazing guitar!
A year later got a Jackson DK2S. Decent but didn't love the trem.

After a few years I traded it for an LTD EC-1000 and liked it for a little bit, but couldn't stand the short scale length. 
The next summer I bought an LTD MH-417 at a great price, first 7 string, had it for a few years.
Sold the EC-1000, did not like it.
Got a free MIM tele from the music store I worked at through Fender points. WIN!
Picked up a Jackson DK27D baritone and FELL IN LOVE. I got it really cheap, put a set of dimarzios in it and instantly had a new favorite. 
Traded the MH-417 and the tele for a JP7 in teal pearl, and bam new favorite guitar.

JP7
RR5
DK27D 
those are my current.


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## Jake (Nov 7, 2013)

Since I joined this site....
1. Dean Vendetta xm- in pieces
2. Ibanez RG2610e- traded
3. Ibanez RGA121- still have
4. Ibanez RGA321f- traded
5. Ibanez S1520fb- still have
6. ESP Eclipse acsb- traded
7. ESP Horizon dsb- traded
8. LTD EC-1000 stp- sold
9. LTD Alexi 600- traded
10. Samick Acoustic- still have
11. Douglas Grendel 725- still have
12. Schecter Hellraiser C7- traded
13. Sterling stealth jp50- sold
14. Gibson Les Paul Studio- traded
15. Fender Standard Tele- traded
16. Jackson USA SL1- sold
17. Ibanez RG1570-still have
18. PRS SC-245 Satin 10 top-still have
19. Ibanez AX7221-sold
20. Ibanez AX7521-still have


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## BrailleDecibel (Nov 8, 2013)

My guitar history, to the best of my recollection:

1. Squier Strat with black finish and maple neck, kinda like Clapton's Blackie. It was an older one, so it was actually really solid and built well. Let her go as part of a trade deal to get my next guitar, and because I needed something with a bit more firepower.

2. Fernandes Native X in blue sparkle finish...this one is my proverbial "one that got away". It only had a couple things wrong with it (improperly filed replacement nut and shorted-out output jack) and I sold it, due to me being young and not knowing my ass from ice cream when it came to fixing guitars. This thing played like buttah and sounded like a stampede of elephants when I laid into those chunky riffs, and are now about as rare as hen's teeth, especially the blue sparkle finish one I had. I kick myself to this day.

3. B.C. Rich Bronze Series Warlock...hands-down, decisively the worst guitar I've ever owned. It's nothing against B.C. Rich, as I've played some great ones from them, but that particular one played horribly, and sounded even worse...I know I could've remedied the sound with a pickup swap, but with the way it played and felt, it just wasn't worth it.

4. Squier Stagemaster 7-FR...my first 7 that I still own to this day, that has been heavily modified...it's been through tons of shows, traveling, getting knocked around, whatever you can think of, and takes the abuse and keeps coming back for more. Never will I part ways with this guitar, and I'm thinking of giving it a refinish.






5. Ibanez RG 6-string...I can't remember the exact model number, but it was one of the lower-end ones with a Floyd Rose-style bridge, except instead of cutting the ball ends off of the strings when you restrung, you inserted the strings into the back of the bridge. This is all fine and dandy, except the bridge wouldn't accommodate anything over say, about a .60 or so, which was all kinds of no bueno with me and my heavy-stringed ways. This one didn't last long before being sold to a friend, and unlike the Fernandes, I have zero regrets in getting rid of it.

6. Schecter Avenger 7-string in white...except it had a bit of a sparkle to it, almost like a Cadillac white. This one was great, except it kept breaking strings and the upper horn kept digging into my chest whenever I played it sitting down. Even so, I kinda regret getting rid of that one, it sounded brutal as hell and felt as solid as a tank.

7. Schecter Omen 7-string in black, one of the early models with the old 5+2 headstock. I loved this one, and wrote the bulk of the songs for my 2nd band on it, but wound up selling it to fund a trip to Colorado...another one I regret losing, but alas, life goes on.

8. Ibanez RG7321, which was my first Ibanez 7-string, so it has sentimental value there due to heavy KoRn/Fear Factory/Limp Bizkit worship as a kid. I refinished it and sorta botched it, and the electronics need some repair, but I'll get this one up and running again soon.

9. Ibanez ART100 in white with black binding...my main drop-B guitar, I love it and its massive neck!

10. Ibanez ARZ307...this guitar and I didn't get along at first due to the TOM bridge and some bad girl-related memories associated with it later on, but I've recently fallen in love with it again, so it's staying in the arsenal for now.

11. Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster in Ghost Silver...I can't even describe how much I love this one. It was my first extended-scale guitar, and you can really tell the difference in feel in sound. Not to mention it has a huge neck and feels so solid that if we ever have a nuclear apocalypse, only cockroaches, Keith Richards, and Lemmy will be left, and they'll probably be passing my Tele around. 

12. Ibanez RG8, which is my most recent guitar, and first foray into the 8-string world, and I love it! I have some awesome mods planned for this one, but don't wanna give it away, as I want it to be a surprise when I post the eventual pics on here for all to see.


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## RV350ALSCYTHE (Nov 8, 2013)

1) El Degas single H strat clone - age 14
2) Gibson SG special - age 17
3) Gibson LPC black beauty limited run from 89 - age 20
4) Usa Jackson KE2 - age 21
5) Usa Jackson Fusion - age 21
6) ESP custom shop rv350alscythe - age 22

...bunch of mid-tier jacksons (v's an rv's), bc richs (bichs and beasts), etc followed.
Tried a lot of different designs and styles of 6 strings during this period.

15) LTD Hex-7, first 7 I liked - age 27

I was annoyed with having ~5 floyd guitars all at diff tunings, where a single hardtail 7 would be able to cover them all with a quick retuning.

16) Agile AL-2000 honeyburst - age 27

I wanted a cheapy LP for classic rock. I no longer had the LPC, which I hated anyways.

Even though I've known about this site for years I decided to join in mid 2012 since I started to like 7 strings. Then I discovered 8s as well as what GAS was...

17) LTD SC-208 - age 29
18) Carvin DC800 mahog/maple gloss black - age 30
19) Carvin DC800 Alder/flamed spalt top, maple neck, BKP aftermaths - age 30
20) Ibanez RG8 white - age 30
21) Ran Crusher FF8 - age 30
22) Siggery FF8 - age 30

I'm ignoring the basses and forgot a bunch of guitars. I'm pretty sure I should have ended around number 30 

Seems I started with the bottom of the barrel guitar, jumped to oldman traditional high-end, then traded UP to high-performance metal guitars, back to mid-tier metal guitars to try out designs without breaking the bank. Discovered 8 strings and fanned frets and I believe I've found my niche.


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## shawnperolis (Nov 8, 2013)

At 8 years old I got a strat knockoff. Played it into the ground.
At 13 my dad got me an awesome Ibanez RG series, still one of my favorite guitars.
During middleschool I bought some pointy guitars that sucked (Jackson Flying V, BC Rich Bich)
Around age 16 I bought an ESP LTD HM400, it totally rocked.
At 18 I got into 7 string guitars, sold my ESP and bought a couple of 7s from Rondo
At 21 I bought a 9 string Agile Intrepid guitar from Rondo
Here I am 23 and I just ordered a semi custom 10 string 27-30 scale Agile Intrepid from Rondo.


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## gunch (Nov 8, 2013)

I've always had junky sub-$300 guitars and either destroyed them trying to learn how they work or sold them in a pinch.


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## donray1527 (Nov 9, 2013)

Here we go, I'm 13 and get a no name strat copy for Christmas. Not the coolest guitar in my book and being a huge pantera/trivium fan, I go dean. I got one dean vendetta in natural finish, then I got one in dark blue when I had to return the first due to factory defects. Go down the line a year or so, I buy a bc rich warlock with the word "hate" inflated on the 12th fret. Then my grandparents splurged when the saw the progress I had Ben making in the small amount of time I had been playing. They bought me an epiphone prophecy series sg and a line 6 spider. BIG UPGRADE from the amp I was using. Then I got an rg4exfx one and was pretty much instantly sold on ibanez forever. Then I got my first sevenstring, which was my baby for 3 years (still mint by the time I traded it) : an ibanez RG1527m which were still easy to get at this time as they were still in production. Then I got an ovation acoustic, a gibson les paul studio, an RG8 a Jackson soloist sls3. By this time I had been through MANY amps including blackstar series one 100 watt, EVH 5150III and Hugh's and KEttner triamps. But then I got ahold of an axe fx and have been sold since. 

Recently I traded my rg1527m for a EBMM JPXI7 (right?) and just the other day picked up my ibanez rg3xxv. 
It's been a long 6 years


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## Sepultorture (Nov 10, 2013)

from age 16 to now (dirty 30)

Squire Strat blue
Epiphone Les Paul Gothic
Washburn Wg587 Cobalt Blue
Ibanez RGT42dxfx
ESP/LTD MHB-400
Ibanez Apex 2
Ibanez RGD 2127z
Bowes Custom SLX

and then notta cus i sold it all to pay debts

currently working a new job paying off the engagement ring i'm going to be giving my woman beginning of january, THEN i will save up and get the RGD2127FX i've been drooling after for over a god damn year

and unless something like the rgd2127fx with a single pickup comes out i doubt i will be getting anything new in the future


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## UV7BK4LIFE (Nov 10, 2013)

17: Finds classical guitar with broken tuner in the attic.
18: Plays "Master of Puppets" unplugged with 5 nylon strings
19: Goes out and buys a new Ibanez UV7BK, 50 euro left for a Boss MG10 practice amp..
20: Joins a band and gets an Epi G400 for backup
22: Ditches the G400 for an Ibby 7420

35: Switches to 6 strings (temporarily), adds a Jackson Stealth, Godin Redline, and LTD WA-600 to the collection.

38: Joins SSO and GAS replaces all common sense hahaha. I now have about 9 guitars.


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## Stijnson (Nov 10, 2013)

17 years old - First started to play guitar on a friends cheap strat copy. I started kinda late, which is probably why I suck these days. Then I got a squier strat, mostly to play Metallica on, and they rule for that as wel all know lol.

18/19 - Saved and got a Jackson kvx10, I was heavily into C.O.B and they really got my Jackson GAS started. Also bought some cheap acoustic. 

22 - Went to New York on a holiday and saw a guitar that at that time was close to being my dream guitar, a Jackson SLAT3MG, it was a Sam Ash special run. I had to buy it while I was there, also because the Euro to Dollar conversion was pretty sweet. This guitar is still my main guitar, and plays great.

27 (now) - Joined this forum a while before, and from then on it all went downhill with the GAS. My Jackson cravings went away, also because I have a nice one now. Now im gassing for a 7 string, mostly a natural looking Custom made guitar, preferably from Poland! Skervesen, Ran etc But I think i'll start trying 7's first by getting a rg7321 or something.


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## XeoFLCL (Nov 10, 2013)

Really good thread, there's some pretty interesting stories here, so I might as well toss my music story here and also explain why I went missing for nearly two years.

That being said..
*THIS STORY IS REALLY ....ING LONG, and it's a mix of my musical career in a small story, so just a heads up.*

Anyways, be ready for LOTS OF IMAGES.


15 years old(2006-2007): 
-Start playing bass, inspired to start by Ryan Martinie, Flea, and Fieldy. Bought a Peavey Millennium 4 string for my birthday (No pics.)
-Sucking ensues
-Save 300usd and get a Jackson DKMG on clearance after learning that not everyone enjoys overly eccentric bassists who want to be in the front of the mix (and be ....ing terrible at it ) and here starts guitar. 




--I actually got a shitty ibanez GAX here before the DKMG that I kept for a few weeks but didn't even take any pictures of it so yeah.


16 years old(2007-2008): 
-Realize most of the bands I listen to tune retardedly low by my standards at the time, and actually begin considering a 7 string. Rediscover Korn, and after that, my first burst of GAS for sevens drives me to trade my bass for a Washburn WG587. (I have no pictures of it in original black finish, but there'll be plenty of it modded to be a single humbucker included later in white and red)
-Obtain other guitars aswell here, nothing really worth mentioning though.
-Also using a laughable 10w combo at the time with only a slightly overdrivable clean channel
-Register on ss.org
-Begin realizing my amp is pretty horrific and start my conquest to look for a better amp. Initial logic is: Bigger is better! I get some Crate 2x12, and that holds me over for a while, until I start gaining a better ear for tone and realize it sounds like a muddy mess.


17 years old(2008-2009):
-Amps start cycling here, one after another. Nothing worth noting until later.
-GAS also begins, things start shuffling.
-I got my 2nd and 3rd seven strings I think around this time? 
An Ibanez RG7620




and an ESP M107(?)




Neither stay long as I hate the RG7620's neck profile and find it just cramps my hand, and the M107 had some really strange neckdive going on.
-[GAS intensifies], start building a collection.
-I go through COUNTLESS GUITARS AT THIS POINT. Somewhere around 20 to 30, constantly trading on craigslist and online to try and seek a guitar with what I now think was the goal to "play better".
^-Multiple sevenstrings were introduced here, and one came and went within a month, a Schecter C7 in white which I just couldn't deal with.


18 years old (2009-2010):
-I finally find an affordable and fitting amp after researching about different amp types and what's good and bad, and I buy a Peavey Valveking 100 with a Peavey 4x12 of unknown origin. Used this for the next year.
-I also joined my first band here, which went under the name Enxcet.


***WARNING***: Depressing downfall begins right about here
-August of 2009, I figure out I have a tumor in my thyroid. Not really a big deal as it's benign and surgery went fine, however I'm forced to go on leave for my job to recover for almost a month (no open wounds or whatever while working) and end up getting laid off during the time off due to being within 90 days of employment and basically getting bullshitted out of the job. Almost go into legal issues, but give up on it
-Year ends, poor and pissed.
-January 10th, I meet the most important person in my life who has been by my side since!
-Everything with band continues, however we lack a stable place for rehearsal. Writing guitar parts


19 years old (2010-2011):
-Guitar collection kind of begins to stablize here, as I keep the same 3 guitars while cycling out EVERYTHING else. 
Going to start introducing images hereon when necessary to make this less of a giant wall of text.




The Schecter, and the two Douglases are what stay stable in the collection.
These are just a few of the things that don't  (Linking these due to image limits)
http://puu.sh/5evzf.JPG
http://puu.sh/5evAu.JPG
http://puu.sh/5evDb.JPG
http://puu.sh/5evQo.jpg
(The natural douglas "hadron" (wrl590 at the time) was actually from '08 according to the tagging.. but might as well put it here! Yes, I ended up getting it AGAIN in red after I traded it because it was that much of an impulse trade )
http://puu.sh/5evEW.JPG
http://puu.sh/5ewps.jpg
http://puu.sh/5ewOl.jpg
-April of 2010, weeks after my birthday, I began to have odd things happen to me in terms of health, concerning bleeding from place that you probably don't want to be. Continue living life and try to ignore it.
-Band finally begins to rehearse stable, and we play our first show in July. I barely make it through the show...
http://puu.sh/5evTc.jpg
.. and realize I'm having serious issues with health here. Go to visit a doctor days after the show, to find out I have ulcerative colitis, but a severe phobia of needles hinders me from getting infusion treatment or anesthesia so I can get it looked at more extensively. Continue with medication treatment and take lots of iron for anemia which slightly improves health for a few months, continue playing shows and going through gear. Here's a few fun things I obtained around 2010-2011, but the pace slowed SUBSTANTIALLY.

a GRX720 I cleaned up (I can't remember if this was even mine or my buddy's, but it spent all of it's life at my place so yeah)...




... which came with what was my favorite strap ever. I really want to know where this one went.. 




Here's how it looked at the end





-Recorded our first EP around here, I think around september 2010?

In late 2010/early 2011 is where I traded for a Xiphos..




.. Which went as fast as it came in favor of something I'll post in the following line.

-Since our band was constantly having a problem with our bassist, I decided to switch to bass when he left the band. I would quickly trade my Xiphos in favor of..
this!




And I also ended up trading my Valveking halfstack for a bass head that I came to adore, the Peavey Pro 500.




And I assembled a ghettostack for it 




Sadly though.. Gear trading came to a halt here as things became pretty serious.
-Health began declining again, medications stopped affecting me and my health grew worse again and I became very anemic
-Played my last show with the band in I think early 2011, in which I almost passed out, which I would immediately once I got to safety. This was the point where I quit the band and kind of just quit playing period, sold ALL of my gear, and fell into a major decline of health, and just tried to shut myself in with various MMORPGs and drugs with the fear of my quickly declining health in the back of my head, yet reluctance to do anything about it due to my various phobias of hospitals, growing social anxiety, needles, and surgery.

20~21 years old (2011~2013)
-I did do one thing worthwhile here, actually:
Somewhere in august I randomly decided I should at least get a guitar, and I got a Douglas Hadron 727, and I did a (very mediocre) video rundown of it here (no playing as I lacked a proper amp obviously)

2011 to january 2013 continued with my health getting more and more severe, became unable to leave the house around april~may 2012 and was hospitalized near the end of 2012, with severe anemia and a major infection where I could barely move and keep consciousness, and had what was a near death experience. Had I not gone in then, I probably would have died a few days later according to my gastro.
-almost immediately after this, one of the most important people in my life grew extremely ill.. my grandma. She passed in january, and this hit me pretty hard because due to my health and my disregarding treatment, I spent near no time with her during her last days, and just knowing she passed not knowing what would happen with me hurt more than anything..
-And this is where I decided to suck it up and actually do shit, after realizing firstly how ....ing terrifying that experience was, my grandma who meant everything to me passing and how I feel I let her down, and realizing that all I was doing was hurting everyone else in the end. 2013 began with me getting an official diagnosis of what I had, and it turned out I had VERY SEVERE pancolitis, which is basically ulcerative colitis, but with full involvement of the large intestine. Began infusions here, and there was no improvement, and that basically goes into the beginning of the year, in which I would discuss other options...

22 years old (2013-now)
-In May, after attempting every kind of treatment available, I had to resort to a procedure to have my large intestine removed, in order to remove the diseased parts.. In turn getting an ileostomy prodecure done. The procedure went well, however a week later I had a severe blockage, where the small intestine literally _tied itself in a ....ing knot_ (I don't know know HOW the hell that can even happen??) and had to go in for an emergency surgery. The whole experience was some of the worst pain I've ever felt in my life, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. The emergency surgery went fine, however instead of microincisions I had from the first procedure.. I ended up with an awsome scar straight down my chest where they basically ripped me open, which is always fun to show to people, along with the actual ostomy itself (which is gnarly enough looking alone )
-Around a few months after that I began getting back into music, however couldn't do alot until I began getting used to the whole new way of life. 

I ended up getting a few pieces of gear to start rebuilding my setup, and here I am now!

*~FIN~*



here's a few pics of my setup now.. 




Left to right: Some 50 dollar epiphone SG that sounds like a million bucks!... With EMGs , Ibanez SIR27FD, Douglas Hadron 727 with a Seymour Duncan Full Shred 7 in the bridge




Left to right (obviously): Line 6 POD HD300 and my Carvin V3MC.
.. and I've gotta say this is actually the happiest I've ever been with a gear setup, even if it's nowhere near perfect. Going through this experience taught me alot about life, what it means to live, to be happy with what you have, and don't take anything for granted. I also stopped obsessing about owning this and that gearwise, and in general I think material items kind of lost alot of their value to me in favor of being happy to just have the prviledge to have what I have now, and how thankful I am for the one person who also stuck with me through all of my stupid shit I did.


Sorry, that went pretty deep


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## sniperfreak223 (Nov 11, 2013)

well, lets see...

Age 10 (1998)- cheapie Yamaha dreadnaught acoustic, followed by an Epiphone SG and a Line 6 Spider.
Age 11-traded the Yamaha in towards a slightly better Ibanez acoustic, scored a Washburn Culprit from a local pawn shop for a late birthday present.
age 12-Washburn 333 "Dime bolt"
age 13-LTD KH-600
Age 14-traded the LTD plus $75 for a used Washburn Stealth
Age 15- got my first "real" job, got rid of the Line 6 and bought a Peavey.
Age 16- BC Rich. Bought a Warlock, fell in love with the brand. by years end, added a 10-string Bich, a JR V and a Beast.
Age 17- added another Ibanez acoustic to the line-up, plus three more BC Riches, first 7-string (BC Rich Platinum Pro series Warlock)
Age 18-25: bought a ton of BC Riches, fel in love with the Peavey 5150/6505, finally settled on a string brand,replaced all my Ibanez acoustics with Ovations, added an 8-string to the arsenal, fell in love with EMG's, and became a total snob about neck-thru guitars and Kahler tremolos.


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## Alex_IBZ (Nov 11, 2013)

Wow, I'm quite impressed with all the detailed lists everyone has been writing. 

This forces me to take a good look at myself since I'm not really able to determine which guitars I had over which period  

Bottom line: gotta stop this wreckless behavior and focus on a smaller setup  (kind regards to the creator of this topic!)


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## Acme (Nov 11, 2013)

- My first guitar was a Cremona acoustic, inherited from my father in my early teens. Amazingly bad intonation, hard to play, spent a few months figuring out how it works, then forgot about guitar for half a decade.
- In 2001 one of my friends asked me if I'm interested in visiting a town nearby, because he has found a used bass guitar there pretty cheap. I went and was totally blown away by the band whose bassist had it. Deciding I need a decent guitar in order to be a future guitar god. Buying an old Ibanez RX 150.
- 2006, a new guitar comes, a Samick UM-3. Switched the stock Duncan Designed pickups to Duncan SH-11 and SH-5.
- 2011, both the Ibanez and the Samick sold, because of the sevenstring-fever. New guitar is an LTD SC-607
- 2012, hating the lifeless EMGs in the LTD and the tones of the mahagony body, so with an unexpected twist, selling the LTD and purchasing a Fender Baja Tele.
- 2013, loving the tone of the tele, but hating the thick neck and the fact that there are NOT ENOUGH STRINGS ON IT! Selling the tele and buying an alder Carvin DC747 with floyd. Buying a custom 7 string Keller guitar, since it reminds me of the 7 string version of my tele. Also, purchasing a 5 string Soundsation bass in order to record bass tracks myself. Probably the cheapest 5 string bass in the whole world.


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## MetalHeadMat (Nov 11, 2013)

15 years old: 
Friends all around me playing guitar, eventually buy an LTD M-50 off one of my friends as my first guitar.

16 years old: 
Few things on the LTD broke. Decided to get my next guitar. Was looking at Jackson DK2M in Bengal Blue, until my uncle convinces me to buy his 1988 Charvel Model 4. Don't regret it AT ALL!

17-18 years old:
Eventually buy a Jackson RR3. At this point I started buying and selling and trading guitars like mad. Guitars I owned during this period include 2 Jackson RR3's, 2 B.C. Rich ST-III's, a Charvel Model 5a, a Schecter C-1 Classic. Eventually buy an Ibanez RG1570 Prestige and slowed right the hell down on buying guitars.

19 years old:
Buy an Ibanez RG770. Started playing mainly Ibanez. Charvel Model 4 is retired. Own one of the B.C. Rich ST-III's and Jackson RR3's I previously owned. RR3 is retired after many parts needing to be changed and me not feeling like doing it.

20 years old:
Buy an Ibanez RG7620. Use the 770 as my main guitar for a while until I abruptly fall in love with my 1570 again. Eventually sell the 7620. ST-III is used as a backup guitar until the headstock snaps off. Played my first USA Jackson and quickly found out nothing in the world is quite the same.

21 years old, (on the 13th!):
GASing HARDCORE for a Jackson Soloist. Either USA or 90's Custom. Selling the 770 to a friend to make a Jackson come into my life again. Also GASing for a U Series B.C. Rich Ironbird.


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## Wyvern Claw (Nov 12, 2013)

(Updated with pics)

Ah, where to begin...
Started playing at 13 when my oldest brother (who was in his 30's by that time) wanted to sell me a guitar and amp. My mother wasn't a huge fan of the idea, she didn't want to spend the money and more so didn't like the idea of all the noise. Thus my brother said "Well .... it then, I'll just give it to ya". And thus I received my first guitar/amp package. The guitar was an old Raven strat knockoff, it even said "Raven Stratocaster" on the headstock. I'd think that would cause a lawsuit at some point, but never found anything on it. As for the amp, it was a little Samick SM10. I sold the guitar many years ago, kind of regret it, but remembering the piece of junk that it was, all my new toys help me let go, it just had the sentimental value of being my first guitar. Still have the amp though.

About a year later, I found something really, really cool in a local pawnshop, which was rare considering the tiny town I live in. An LTD M-207. I'd just heard about 7 string guitars a few weeks prior to seeing this and coincidentally, now there was one right in front of me. And because Metallica, like many people when they first start, I was stoked at the chance of owning anything produced from ESP, especially since back then I had very little concept of high or low end gear and all I cared about was the guitar looked a lot like Kirk's, just with different inlays and 7 strings, and the truss rod cover said ESP. Thanks to the help of two of my friends and my mother who were generous enough to help me pool together $250, a lot for me back then, I managed to get it. That guitar stuck with me as my one and only axe for over 5 years. 




Now just in the past 2 years, things have gotten a bit out of control...

I found a BC Rich first production run "Mother of Pearl" Draco in another local pawnshop for a pretty good price. So I picked that up. Then, taking a huge liking to 6 strings again, I sold my long-time main and only guitar, the M-207. Using money from that, I wound up buying a limited edition BC Rich BSM Warlock II, and I loved that thing. Later, after taking a course the helps people find employment, which is hard in my area, that actually paid you $50 a day just to show up, I found an ESP George Lynch Skulls & Snakes for an incredibly good deal. So $900 later, I bought that, my first purchase from Guitar Center... And wouldn't you know it, after I asked them 3 separate times over our phone correspondence to make sure the whammy bar is in the case before shipping... It arrives at my house with nothing but the guitar in the case. So I called them, they sent one out, guess what? Somehow it didn't fit. Oh well, still got a great deal and now I'm getting side-tracked.










After several months of playing with the new ESP and being unable to get rid of the fret buzz and winding up putting several scratches in it due to the stupid old style Floyd Rose trem studs that used a flat-heat screwdriver instead of a hex key to adjust (the screwdriver frequently slipped out and wound up nailing the body of the guitar), I gave up and sold it.

During this time, I was saving up for the 2009 re-issue of the KH-2 Ouija, but never came across one other than one that was going for 3K which turned out to be an original that was in bad condition. Some people prefer the originals, but neck-through guitars with ebony boards appealed to me much more than rosewood on bolt-on necks for that particular model. So I gave up on that and put what I had saved toward an impulse buy from Meestursparkle. A one-off ESP Custom that I think is absolutely awesome, though some others find its unique shape and design weird/stupid, which is understandable. It rides a fine line, but in the end it was clearly in the category of awesome in my eyes and of all the friends and family I asked the opinions of.




After making $1500 off the Skulls & Snakes guitar, a very decent profit from $900, I found myself my dream guitar ever since my first case of GAS other than when I first saw that old M-207 in the pawnshop at 14. An Ibanez Jem7vwh. And oddly enough, I first discovered that guitar after seeing Jari Maenpaa of Wintersun play one and had no clue about it being a associated with Steve Vai until looking into it to find out what kind of guitar that thing was. It seems strange to me now not knowing anything about such an iconic guitar, but I was content with the guitar I had since I was a kid up until just a few months prior to this, so I had next to no gear knowledge until this point where I began to learn.




I got an older Jem, with a Lo-Pro and ebony board and at a great price again, so I had some cash left over from the sale of the ESP and from working part time to fund something else. After finding a Craigslist post with a Jackson RR1 for sale, I inquired more. It had a "Nebula" finish, airbrushed by Dan Lawrence and that sold me immediately since I wanted a Jackson with one of those Nebula graphics since first seeing one. Wasn't a "dream guitar" for me, but VERY high up there. I still to this day haven't come across another RR1 with a Nebula paint job, I mostly see them on DK1's.




A few months later, I wound up selling my BSM Warlock II to my ex girlfriend, whom I remain great friends with. I used the money to put toward an ESP Jeff Hanneman sig and it's probably my most boring looking guitars but also my best sounding for metal and among one of the best playing guitars I've owned. People seem to have a few issues with Kahlers, but I never experienced those same issues and I love the feel of them far more than Floyd style trems, though I'm totally fine with either.




My next purchase was an Ibanez RG7620 I found last year in yet another pawnshop, since I was really missing 7 strings at this point. It needed some work that I never got around to doing on it and soon traded it to my brother, the one who gave me my first guitar, for a TV. I then sold the TV later and broke even on that, but wound up buying the guitar back off of my brother for $150 less than I originally paid for it, which left me with the spare cash to finally give it the attention it needed and I brought it back to being complete and totally functional. I just recently sold it to the guitarist of my side project band that he asked me to join not too long ago.




Almost exactly a year ago today, I received my first Carvin and my first 8 string. I'd never even picked up an 8 before or heard much about Carvin before reading about them here, but I figured I'd give them a shot since they looked amazing and seemed like great quality. So I dropped the cash on my order and couldn't have been more happy with that DC800. I will never sell that one. The looks, sound, and feel are all totally perfect. It served me well after finally joining my first real band, they asked me to join since I was one of just a few people around here with an 8 string. I wasn't with them all that long, but enough to play 5 shows including the local metal festival that I wanted to play at since it started 5 years ago. It was only a few months ago since the last show and less than a year ago since I first joined them, but I still have sort of a nostalgia for those times even though they were so recent.




After that band didn't work out, I started focusing more on my own project and acquired an Ibanez Prestige SR3006e bass during late spring of this year. That's served me fairly well so far in composing and doing a bit of recording of my own songs. One of the nicest basses I've ever played, though that isn't saying a whole lot being the first one I've actually owned.




And then here we are today. I used the money from the 7620 I sold to my friend and my tax return to buy this. It literally just showed up about an hour ago.





And that is my long-winded, possibly overly detailed story thus far, haha.


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## Just A Box (Nov 13, 2013)

Not sure, maybe 13 or 14, but my sister, who to this day considers me her "baby boy", sees I'm into rock and roll after getting Pyromania on cassette under the Christmas tree, buys me a Synsonics guitar. This guitar has a speaker on the side so, luckily, no amp needed. 

At that point, I didn't even know you had to push the strings down onto the fretboard to get a sound (my dad, who didn't play guitar, had to show me that). That guitar would go out of tune if you looked at it sideways (which was often). Learned the intro to "Sunshine Of Your Love" from watching The Breakfast Club. Go figure...

A couple years later I buy a Harmony Strat and a Peavey amp from my friends brother. Magic happened. That was until I pulled a Steve Vai and tried to sling the guitar over my shoulder, only to have it go flying off the strap and crash to the concrete floor. Then, from the same friend, he "traded" me his brothers guitar, a Red BC Rich NJ series. Big step up.

Went through alot of lower end guitars, Hamer Slammer HSS with a floyd and a Jem style output jack, a Jackson JTX (miss that), 




a Charvel electric/acoustic, 




an Ibanez S series, 




Fender Mexi Strat, an Epi LP100 (bad, but that's redundant). Probably missing a couple, but this brought me into my mid twenties.

Then, after jamming with my drummer friend for a while, I saw the first amazing looking guitar of my life at Crossroads in Hanover, Ma (great place, great guys, thankful it's still there): A Tobias electric guitar. I knew he made basses, but didn't know about the sale to Gibson or all that. I just knew that this guitar had me smitten:









Loved it. Played beautiful, sounded beautiful. One problem: I was into heavy stuff, and this guitar wasn't built for metal. I DEEPLY regret selling this guitar.

My married life brought me various guitars:





















But nothing compared to what I walked in to see on my birthday:







Clearly, I have an AMAZING wife who, after seeing me ogling this guitar online, decided to treat me to this amazing guitar, just because she loves me. This one will never leave.

As will my next years Christmas/birthday present (pictured on the right):






That Parker has, hands down, the best playing neck on any guitar. EVER. As far as I'm concerned, the USA fly's playability will never be surpassed. Also, never leaving the family.


Having the Jem got me worried about nicking it up in casual use outside the house, so I got this:





Did some mega mods to it (turning me on to projectguitar.com and ss.org) so I could have alot of what my Jem offered without the fear of dinging up a $2400 guitar. Came out decent.





Got my first seven about 5 years ago (everybody's fave first seven, middle):





Like it, but thanks to the modding bug, couldn't keep just the "binding", and thus, the "Carbon 7" was born:









picked this up for $200 used in the interim, as I was gassing for an S:





Threw in some Breeds and was happy as a clam.

Also picked up a cool Squier for $30. Mexican made. Yellowed to death. 







Not sure why I sold my first 7 about a year into owning it, but I lasted about a year before I heard Scale The Summit. HAD to get another seven, hence:






And since I was, like many, sick of Ibanez guitars in the tried and true embodiment of the Model T ford (any color you like, as long as it's black), I HAD to use my previous 7 mods as a launchpad for the new Big Boy S:






Current to today is my new JP70:





This isn't my actual guitar, it's in pieces. I'm probably dying the fingerboard, definitely giving it a complete setup/leveling, Graphtech nut, shielding paint, Pegasus/Sentient combo with a push/pull and straplocks. I'm also documenting all shapes and measurements so I can use my rosewood neck blank and ebony fingerboard and maybe make a much nicer neck, as well as a body with a fixed bridge. I'll have a "proper" NGD down the road, as I'm happy for any NGD, but a stock JP70 is a stock JP70, just like the RG7321 NGDs that are usually accompanied by blurry cell phone pics of a bone stock, BLACK, guitar. But I digress. 

Thanks for reading.... I know I enjoyed reading many posts in this thread.


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## Just A Box (Nov 13, 2013)

Didn't think to sum up my experience (from age 14 to my current age of 41). The conclusion I've come to, for me, is that I've learned about "value" in guitars. That is, that I can work with a mid-level guitar and get the tone and playability of a pro-level guitar for alot less money. I could, theoretically, live with three amazing, high end guitars, but I prefer to have more variety while, for me, not sacrificing ton and playability. Basically, I learned that (with a little effort) I don't NEED a top tier guitar to get a top tier experience. For the younger guys: nothing wrong with saving up for a Mayones, but LEARNING to work with/on a guitar in order to achieve your sonic dreams will help to get you to that point of gear maturity (knowing what you want and what you don't, what works for you and what doesn't) earlier than the guy who simply buys and moves on if the magic isn't immediate.

At least that's what I've learned in about 30 years...


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## dreadnautthrash (Feb 13, 2015)

13:Samick Les Paul copy
15: Ibanez rg350 traded for a peavey peavey predator w/ Floyd rose. My buddy quit and ended up giving me the rg.
20: Ibanez rg2ex2
23: Ibanez rga42te w/EMGs
25: Ibanez rgt42dxfx. Waiting for in the mail and will be customizing here: 
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...izations/289559-ibanez-rgt42dxfx-project.html


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## Splenetic (Feb 13, 2015)

9/11/2001 - I was gonna skip school to go downtown and buy an mp3 cd player (lol). However, as we all know that was the day the WTC got hit, and as such downtown Toronto was shut down due to fear that it may be a widespread attack. As such, I decided to go into a bunch of pawn shops in my area to see if I could find what I was looking for. I didn't know JACK SHIT about guitars, except that I love guitar sounds of any kind. Anyhow, step into a pawn shop....First thing I see is this old looking but beeeeeautiful LP clone. It was a bolt-on too, but I didn't give a .... as I'm clueless to such things hahah. IN FACT, i was sooo clueless, i thought it was a lefty guitar (it made sense to me at the time, fretting hand being the stronger hand)... Buy it on the spot for 300. It was a 70's "Westminster" Les Paul. MIJ

Thinking back on it.... this guitar was SO DAMN GOOD. It felt solid as hell, and had far more of a "real instrument" feel than many guitars I've played since. Alas, I was clueless and as such, I stupidly sold it a year later for 200 bucks or so. (DUUUUMB) 

This was when I gave up on playing. That lasted about 8-10 months, until I realized how much I missed it, even though I sucked so bad lol. 

Long & McQuade had their yearly clearout sale, so I decided to check it out. That's where I found my second guitar: The Dillion mystery 7 string. Couldn't find ANY info on it aside from some dude saying there was only 20 of them made. Cool. Still have that axe, it's a total beater, but I can't help but pick it up all the time....I got used to the rather thick neck, and surprisingly enough, for whatever damn reason, I still come up with some of my best riffage on that thing. 

Anyhow.....Stuck with the Dillion for about 5-6 years. I wasn't very serious about playing, just ....ed around on my own. Then in, I believe 2007 or so ....I came upon some money. Serious money....20g's. Walked into a guitar store planning on looking at Ibbies or a nice Les Paul. That plan got smashed as soon as I walked in and saw my second baby.... An obnoxiously green superstrat with even more obnoxious gold hardware. It was a guitar I should've technically hated...but it just sucked me in without effort. That guitar is my beloved Japanese made Fernandes Revolver. <3 <3

Anyhow.... after that, in 2010 I finally got a half-decent amp. The Peavey Vypyr Tube 120 212 combo. 
Remained relatively clueless and happy with that setup for a few years. 2012, I got my first "serious money" job ....Decided "I need to get a Gibson Les Paul" partially cause I always wanted one, and partially because I wanted to spend some serious coin, so that I HAD TO justify spending that money by getting more serious about learning and playing.

Looked at the prices of Gibson LP standards and was frankly blown away....the price increase from the last time I looked at one (2007) seriously turned me off the idea and had me looking elsewhere. That's when I discovered CARVIN.... Ordered my DC700. The wait however was so long and my patience is so short, that I decided to get something in between. Found a Schecter Blackjack ATX7 for a somewhat decent price, snagged it up. 

This is really when the floodgates opened. I got seriously addicted to both playing and acquiring more and more guitars. 

I'm now at 14 axes.....gonna sell a few this coming summer in order to hopefully get a new Carvin. I'm also happy to report that my plan worked wonderfully.... The forced spending of huge wads of cash into better gear made me actively pay more attention and take things more seriously. It's still a work in progress, but pretty much everyone that's heard me play prior to 2012 say that I've improved tenfold since then. \m/


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## lewis (Feb 13, 2015)

Guitar 1:
Yamaha starter guitar - 




(sold)

Guitar 2: BC Rich Warlock bronze - 



(sold)

Guitar 3: Ibanez Gio - 



(sold)

Guitar 4: BC Rich KKV - 



(sold)

Guitar 5: Peavey Vortex Ltd edition - 



(sold)

Guitar 6: Michael Kelly Patriot Black Ltd edition - 



(still got)

Guitar 7: Dean Inferno V - 



(sold)

Guitar 8: Fender FMT HH Cherryburst - 



(traded for RG8)

Guitar 9: Epiphone Flying V alder - 



(Sold)

Guitar 10: Epiphone Goth flying V - 



(Traded in for ARZ307)

Guitar 11: Ibanez ARZ307 single cut - 



(still got)

Guitar 12: Epiphone Goth Explorer - 



(sold)

Guitar 13: Ibanez RG8



(still got)

Guitar 14: Kraken Octa Snakeskin Ltd Edition - 



(still got)

I started playing at 17, Im now 25 and to summarize I only have the Michael Kelly 6 string, the Ibanez ARz307, the Ibanez RG8 and the Kraken Octa 8 string out of all of these. The MK and the 307 are going up for sale soon.

Good thread and enjoyed remembering my guitar history lol


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## VBCheeseGrater (Feb 13, 2015)

Age 16 to Age 30 , had a squire II Strat and then a gibson SG I

Age 30+....GAS like mad for all sorts of guitars, now own 4 ibanez (regular, premium, Prestige, Iron Label) and same squire II strat (HEAVILY modded, only neck is original). Been through 20+ guitars in last 3 years.


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## Mike (Feb 13, 2015)

A bit necro but who cares, I wanna play.

Turned 16, convinced my parents to get me my first guitar for my b-day.






Played nonstop, learned a lot really fast. Became obsessed with better tone, started 1st band. Right before my 18th birthday bought myself my first nice (imo) guitar. The old ESP LTD EC-500. I swear to this day the quality
on it far surpasses that of the newer 400's and it was even better than my ec-1000:





(not mine btw, just random internet pic)

Played many more years. Used time machine, got old. Now I have a bunch of 7's and 8's, some decent gear, and an unquenchable thirst for gear.


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## Neilzord (Feb 13, 2015)

I'm trying to think in Order.... 

Classical guitar - My Mums old one 
Epiphone Special II - Les Paul style budget guitar - Loved it as it was my First... Pretty solid guitar for a cheapy! 
Washburn Maverick - It had sparkles.. I thought it was cool... Pretty solid but nothing special. 
YAMAHA RGX421PRO - Bargain, Bought essentially as it had a floyd rose.. Still one of my main guitars. Awesome piece of kit. 
Jackson King V 
Jackson KE3
Jackson Performer 24.75 Scale 
Jackson Dinky (flamed sunburst.. no idea what model)
BC Rich Mockingbird 80's as hell 
BC Rich NJ Series Virgin - My first Brand New Guitar 
Ibanez Roadstar II -Awesome guitar but i ruined it trying to put a humbucker in at 15 with no idea what I was doing. Or how much I wish i had kept that guitar perfect condition.
Vantage something or other.. Superstrat - Pretty good to be fair to it 
Maverick Mockingbird style explorer thing 
Jackson 7 String . Mega cheap metallic red one 
- All from jackson onwards were picked up cheap, played for a good while, then sold again. I didn't really care for great guitars and just enjoyed doing up shit condition guitars and moving on quickly.

Then things got a bit more serious, Ish. 

LTD M17 that was modded - My first 7 I actually played. 
LTD MV250 - Awesome guitar but 24.75 so didn't stay around for long 
Schecter Damien elite 6 - The rebirth of GAS. 
LTD MH450 - Awesome guitar, Got it brand new and loved it.. Then bought a car and sold it. 

Now I was into the grown up side of things and thought about my purchases more. 
Vintage Acoustic - Great for leaving in the lounge, taking to fields haha
LTD MH1000NT In Trans Blue (Still Got it) 
Jackson Slat3-6 Soloist - Love it, My first proper soloist and it shreds.(Still got it)
LTD MH1000NT in Tobacco Burst - Older model as I always wanted one. 
ESP MII - great guitar, But its original owner found me, and wanted it back for sentimental reasons... so I had to re-unite him with his engagement present. 
ESP Eclipse II - Tried my hand at an LP style... NOPE. Superstrats FOR LIFE. 
Steve Mercer B7 Cone - Epic... My first truley loving 7 string (Still got it) 
Ibanez RG7321 - A modding project - Modded it and sold it, was a good guitar though! 
Jackson SL2PRO In Silver Sparkle - EPic Guitar, But sold it to fund my latest...... 
Steve Mercer full Custom to my spec - IN LOVE. (Still got it) 

Probably missed a few out as that's only off the top of my head hahaha.


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## Haun (Feb 13, 2015)

1. Be 15 and elite swimming was slowly getting boring. Got to boarding school for swimming and decide to learn to play the guitar by myself. Got a real crappy Les Paul Studio copy named Shelter. (this one is hiding somewhere in my parents attic and shall do so for the rest of eternity)

2. Got an unknown steel string acoustic named Skylark a month later for my 16th birthday. (sold to a friend of mine)

3. Got a Taylor 114. Now things took off! (Still have this one)

4. Got a handmade strat, made by Danish luthier named Henning Hansen. This is my pride and joy and never shall we part. Now nicknamed The Smurf (Lake placid blue with white pickguard) (Still have it obviously!)

5. Decided i wanted another guitar. Didn't need it but just wanted it for fun. Bought an Epiphone Scroll. Amazingly well built and a great guitar. Les paul-ish with a curly upper horn and a 25,5" scale. Heavy as a ton of bricks! (Sold to a classmate of mine who still has it).

6. Decided i wanted to try bass, so i sold the Epiphone and bought a Läkland Skyline 44-01. Great bass! Kinda want one again. (Traded away)

7. Got bored with bass and traded it for a Bacchus SG in an oil finish. This was my only electric for a long while where The Smurf was getting fixed and had its pots replaced. Great guitar really. Solid rock machine. (Traded away)

8. Got into Guthrie (oh boy...) and decided that i could not live without an H-S-H guitar. So i traded the Bacchus for a guitar made of warmoth part. A real freakshow of a guitar! L-6s type body with a heavily quilted top and a nice sunburst. Tesla pickups and a tele style HB-bridge. Gold hardware and a birdseye neck. 15 pickup configurations! (Traded away)

9. The warmoth was INSANELY heavy and i got tired of lugging it around, plus the pickup options were hell to figure out, so i traded it. Traded it for a Photoflame fender tele made in japan and some pedal that i don't remember (although i remember it was kinda rare and from electro harmonix). Great guitar and a neck like a baseball bat. Fantastic for legato style playing as far as i remember. (Traded away)

10. Didn't like the pedal not my POD 2.0 so i traded them for an old Kramer Pacer Custom I (great deal for me really). I greatly enjoyed the neck on this one, but the floyd was hell for me so it eventually got sold to a lucky guy who was into that kinda stuff.

11. My love for my tele faded away and my desire for a les paul started growing. I somehow ended up trading my Tele for an old Tokai LS-85 made in Japan (Great trade!). This guitar was INCREDIBLE. It had an original Gibson PAF in the neck and a SD JB in the bridge. It was a screaming, rocking, playing monster!... This is the one i regret selling the most... (...sold)

12. I needed money and i needed another guitar, so i sold the Tokai. Got a handsome price and i then bought a Godin Freeway SA. Fantastic guitar too. Amazing for the price and a looker too. Godin has always surprised me positively when i've tried one. But then i spotted that other one i wanted... oh boy... (sold)

13. I had just found out about Rick Graham and had fallen in love with his Ibanez RG721RW. One was for sale used but mint near me, so i sold the Godin and got this one. Amazing guitar. Never had an Ibanez in my hands so the neck was amazing to me, and the shredability (yes it's a word) was astounding... but i never bonded with that guitar. Never really got that connection you know. So i traded it. (Traded away)

14. I traded the Ibanez for a 2002 highway one strat in green. That was also an amazing guitar. Easy to play, had the right sound for a strat and i loved the look. This one stayed with me for a while. (Sold)

15. Wanted a new cheap guitar. Just for fun. So i found a Samick Valley Arts Classic Tele model and bought it. Real cheap, and i loved the blackguard look. Although cheap, this was an amazingly built guitar also. Needed a little work an some new pickups, but nothing i couldn't handle myself. Fantastic sounding and playing guitar by the end. Then the 7-string bug bit me... (Traded away)

16. Wanted a bass again and bought a nice Yamaha 4 string for hella cheap... This was sold again shortly after. (Sold)

17. I traded the Samick away and got an RG7321. Complete new world to me, and a lot of fun. Great player after a setup, but rather heavy (pun intended) i think. Played a lot of jazz on this one. Seriously. (Traded away)

18. The time came for me to move out of the house to got to the other end of the country to study to become a teacher. This endeavor required money, of which i had none, so i had to sell my HWO strat. Sadface. But not long after i had moved i started having a little money for myself again, and i used this to buy another RG721RW (this time we bonded!). (Still have this one)

19. Now i got the bug for a tele again, so i bought a bunch of Squier Classic Vibe parts (strat neck, tele body) and i mashed together a pretty nice tele if i have to say so myself. (Sold)

20. Then i needed money again (sigh, have to pay the bills i guess), so i sold the newly built tele to a friend of mine. Then i decided that it was time to move away from the 7-string. Didn't feel i needed it for the music i was writing anymore, so i put it up for trade and wound up with an Ibanez S470 made in japan from '98. This was a rushed trade... the guitar was crappy to be honest and still despised a double locking bridge. I immediately regretted the decision and put it up for trade again. (Traded away)

21. Someone was interested in the Ibanez and said he had both a Samick Artist series SG and a Sterling SUB Silo 3 he was willing to trade. I agreed to having a look at them, rushed to where he lived, tried both guitars, and although both were nice i wound up with the Sterling. I know it's cheap, but it has a retrofitted Crunch lab in the bridge and it plays amazingly! Rivals both my Ibanez and my Hansen. (Still in my possession)

Now i'm 21 so this was all over 5 years of trading, buying and selling (I probably forgot a few)  I've been a busy boy.


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## PunkBillCarson (Feb 13, 2015)

Well, where to start...

Age 14: Dad buys me a Regal Strat from a pawnshop and a 15 watt amp barely capable of overdrive. I practice learning White Stripes, Scorpions, Deep Purple.

Age 15: I get a Digitech Death Metal Distortion pedal for Christmas. I'm able to play the styles I want, albeit with a VERY shitty sound.

In July, my dad buys me a Vox Pathfinder. I get a little bit louder with my music. Parents are infuriated. (Makes me wonder why the hell they'd buy me the very tools that cause their constant frustration.)

Age 17: I start earning money for a different guitar, as my stat's neck is unstable and the frets have risen at the end of the neck causing dead frets. Go for diagnosis. As expected, time for another guitar.

Age 18: Spend money on Devlin Interceptor. Shitty guitar, but it enabled me to learn without dead frets. Same year, swap out my Death Metal and my Vox for a Crate Combo and Metal Zone. Sounds improves slightly. Trade Crate for Fender Frontman 2x12.

Age 19: Trade Interceptor for Dean VMNT. First flying V and trade my Fender and Metal Zone for a different Crate combo

Age 20: Buy first 7 String, Ibanez 7321. 

Age 21: Trade Ibby for PRS SE. Trade Crate for Roland Cube and Marshall MG. (Don't judge me, don't ....in' do it.) Sell PRS SE so my wife and I can eat due to getting laid off. Trade Roland Cube and MG for Peavey Vypyr.

Age 22: Wife buys me Ibanez Art 100 (the blue one) It gets tuned to Drop Db so I can practice In Waves album from Trivium. Trade Vypyr and Ibanez for B-52 half stack.

Age 23: TAX SEASON! First tube amp... Bugera 333XL Infinium. Blew a fuse and a tube in the first day. One week later... PEAVEY 6505+.

Age 24: Cab goes out. Amp sits unused for a long time. No money to buy cab due to laid off again. Trade head for Randall Diavlo and some money. Buy Jet City combo. Buy Epiphone Goldtop. 

Age 25: Install Black Winters in Goldtop. My sound gets more twisted and more evil... Use of treble and reverb increases.

A few weeks ago, watch Alice AKW play Ibanez 7421PB on Youtube in an attempt to get a grasp of how decent the guitar is.

A few minutes later, am impressed by the guitar and the skills of the player. Contacts the player.

A few days after, buys said guitar in Charcoal Brown.

Enjoys the guitar for several weeks.

Last night... Enjoyed my Ibanez 7421PB as much as I did when I first played it.

10:30 A.M. woke up this morning due to heartburn.

Hour and a half later, am here, typing this.


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## Ulvhedin (Feb 13, 2015)

Age 14, 
Bought my first guitar; Washburn dime333. Quickly learns that guitars with floyd are not for beginners.

Age 17, 
Kinda started playing after learning how to set up the floyd.
Bought Epiphone sg goth
Bought some garbage noname V, which I later donated to my nephew

Age 18, 
Bought Ibanez rg350 
Traded my first amp, Zoom Fire30 for a 80s Washburn A20


Age 19, 
Bought ESP Eclipse I CTM and Ibanez RG7621
Gave sg goth to my cousin

Age 20, 
Traded a rg100g3 randall stack for a jem555
few months later i traded the jem555 for a uv777 no cash in between(!!) 

Age 21, 
Bought a Schecter Loomis

Age 22, 
bought an Ovation Celebrity
Bought an LTD SC207
Bought an Ibanez Apex2
Sold Apex2
Bought Caparison Horus

age 23 and present, 
Cousin broke the sg goth, donated my Washburn A20
Sold the LTD SC207
Bought a Dean RC7 Xenocide
Sold the Ovation 
Bought another RC7 Xenocide

Age 24,
Sold the Caparison Horus
Sold the Schecter Loomis
Bought a Dean RC7 Mahogany w/ dot-inlays etc
Bought a Dean Cadikill just for giggles. Considering selling it.

Age 25 and present,
Bought Dean RC7 Nuclear Green
Debating getting a RC6 when they get in stock, just because.


Rewrote my old post. 
Oh, and keep hating on Dean, it gives me a lot of insane bargains!


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## cardinal (Feb 15, 2015)

With custom guitars, a big part is common sense. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. If the builder is giving any sketchy vibes, why bother when there are some many non-sketchy options out there? And if they require a non-refundable deposit, you need to be financially able to completely loose that deposit because shit happens. 

Over time, my tastes in guitars has shifted. I still appreciate all the workmanship that goes into something really fancy, but if I'm going to strap it on and rock out with it, I don't really want it to look like a piece furniture or modern art or something my dentist would buy. So simple, tried-and-true guitars with unfigured or subtle figured tops, etc. 

I've also grown very picky about how I want a guitar to respond and feel. I can adjust to pretty much any specs. But I want the guitar to "sing" in my hands a certain way, and I can't guarantee any custom order will do that, so Ive lost most interests in any more custom guitars. I just go for stuff off the shelf so that I can play it before committing to it. Some of my favorite guitars are cheap POS planks that just happen to fit me as well as some of the somewhat expensive guitars I own.


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## Yeah_man (Feb 15, 2015)

15 - Shitty strat copy

16 - BC rich warlock NJ series (added EMG 81)

17 - Jackson DX10D (added EMG 81)

18 - BC Rich Ironbird NJ, Shitty knock off Rhoads V

22 - Dean Razorback 7

25 - Bc rich deluxe NJ V

26 - Bc rich bich 10 string, Bc rich mockingbird, Fender Yngwie strat (japanese)

27 - Jackson kv2 black, Jackson Kv2 blue ghost flames, Ibanez Glaive 7

28 - Jackson RR1, Ibanez RG1 XXV, LTD v401FM

29 - 1988 Jackson soloist snakeskin, 2004 Jackson soloist silver swirl

30 - Jackson WR1 Custom select, 1988 Jackson strat red snakeskin, KxK 7s

31 - Carvin Dc800, Skervesen Raptor 7


thats a lot of money over the years!!!!


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## pushpull7 (Feb 15, 2015)

Just wow to the thread


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## wilch (Feb 15, 2015)

wilch said:


> ...(snip)...
> Why aren't I going with ET Guitars again? A few reasons...
> I just need to find the right luthier. Very tempted to go with Charles Cilia Guitars because I'm in Sydney, though an hour away...
> (snip)
> ...



So I found that luthier for me. Impeccable eye for detail. The closer you look, the better it is, and the more you play the more you smile.

I went with Cilia, and will continue to with my next build.




My Cilia Guitars Custom CGA7 by wilch, on Flickr


NGD thread


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## EarlWellington (Feb 15, 2015)

Age 13: Played acoustic at school and then badgered my parents to buy me an electric but given my track record for not following through on things they bought me a Monterey Strat copy in electric blue and a small Rage 10w amp

Age 14: Picked up an epiphone acoustic from a pawn store followed by a GT Gibson double cutaway copy which was actually a nice guitar...had to trade the monterey though which was no big loss

Age 15: Did work experience at a music shop and picked up my first Ibanez, an RG320.

Age 19: Picked up an Ibanez SZ320 and a roland cube 30...this selection of guitars tided me over for quite a while so I mainly just bought and sold pedals for a couple of years

Age 25: Picked up a Fender Jim Root Tele from the US which was my first introduction to online buying and opened the flood gates a bit

Age 26: Picked up a Peavey 5150 and started to really get in to Metal

Age 27: Picked up my first 7, an Ibanez RG7321 with Blackouts... discovered sevenstring.org which made me realise how crap my gear really was

Age 28: Picked up a Jackson KE3 Kelly, an Ibanez RGD7320z, Ibanez Universe UV777, Axe Fx II with GFX101, Mackie HD1221 and studio monitors

Age 29: Traded the RG7321 for a MIJ custom swirled RG7621

Currently on the hunt for a EBMM JP7 of some variety and considering putting a Skervesen order in... I'd love a Daemoness but not ready to deal with such a long wait. Also hunting for a J Custom 7 if I can find one. Had to stop myself buying a TAM100 that came up locally recently which was very temptingly priced but not ready to play 8's yet so it would be wasted on me


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## anunnaki (Feb 15, 2015)

12 - Mum gets me and my sister to split the cost of a 3/4 sized acoustic guitar and we're both supposed to get lessons, sister gives up after one or two lessons and I continue

13 - Dad buys me a squier strat starter kit with an amp and everything and give up lessons and teach myself a bit

14 - Get a roland cube amp and download guitar pro and start learning heavy metal stuff on my strat

16 - Dad buys me a PRS SE paul allender for christmas, it's so cool, it has bats for inlays!

16 - Buy an Ibanez RGD with my savings for a deathcore band me and my friends were starting so I can play downtuned music (because I thought my prs wouldn't be able to do that..) the band falls apart before we ever play a gig because the lead guitarist decided he was too cool for us

18- Sell my PRS to some guy from the internet and buy a Fender blacktop tele on a whim because I think I'm starting a band with my friends, end up not starting a band

18 - Sell my squier strat to my friend

19 - Get a prestige Ibanez RGA121h and it's awesome!

19 - Buy a squier stagemaster 7 string after going on here for a while, end up not playing it much

20 - Sell my RGD

Now I have my Tele, my RGA, and my stagemaster, but thinking about selling the tele and stagemaster and making my own tele partscaster


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## burl (Feb 16, 2015)

2011&#65292;my dad bought my first electric guitar fender 010-8602blue flame&#65292; it s a great guitar but i dont even like it for the reasonthat i was so much into metal music
2013&#65292; when i was in beijing &#65292; i bought squier new bullet series for practicing. great guitar with cool tone and cheap price, i still keep it untill now. sold my fender to one of my friends
2014, huge year, i came to america and cant stop purchasing guitars. bought a skervesen raptor 7, same spec as misha's , schecter usa cs, same spec as blackmachine , suhr classic, actually got a little story about this beauty.
2015, 19 years old, dreaming for 4 years, last week, got my first blackmachine b6


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## bostjan (Feb 16, 2015)

I started on a POS Hondo acoustic. It had a reverse radius fretboard (no joke, the fretboard was concave). I thought guitar was difficult and painful to play.

Before long, I purchased a 1992 Washburn Mercury MG-24 in black with a maple fretbaord. Suddenly guitar was easy to play and fun.

Then I wanted a Les Paul, so I bought a cheap Epiphone bolt-on LP. It didn't stay in tune, so I mod'ed it with Grover Tuners. It sounded like crap, so I mod'ed it with Dimarzio pickups. Soon my Washburn got EMG's. It looked like crap, so I started replacing cosmetic stuff. This is about the time I started evolving into a guitar player.

Then I wanted a Tele, so I got an American Standard Tele. Then I started playing out with my Washburn, my Tele and my Laney amplifier.

Then I wanted a Universe. I couldn't afford one, and I couldn't really save up enough to afford one. As soon as I there was one available, though, I bought the RG7620.

Then I needed to get a Dual Recto. Saved up forever for that, even with a steadier job and a summer working lots of hours. Once I had the Ibby+Mesa rig, I was ready to start playing metal.

I happened across a used Parker Fly for cheap. Picked it up, started using it right away, and was super frustrated at the limitation of a six string. Loved everything else about it.

A few years later, I decided to get a full custom. Settled on a BC Rich Mockingbird 7. I was told it was Bernie Sr.'s last build. Although I was incredibly excited about the build, the guitar was too heavy, and the preamp was almost completely useless, so I slowly began wanting something more.

At some point I obtained a Brian Moore with a synth. At first it was a novelty, but I began to rely on it after my bass player quit the band.

I joined this forum, found out about Oni, and eventually commissioned two of them.
From then 'til now, my main guitar has been my Oni 8. It is lighter than my Fly, more synth capable than my Brian Moore, and has more range than my sevens. So it basically has a one-up over every feature of every guitar I like.


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## FretsOnFyre (Feb 16, 2015)

bostjan said:


> I started on a POS Hondo acoustic. It had a reverse radius fretboard (no joke, the fretboard was concave).





Anyhoo, here's my own:
*2009-10*: Old Yamaha nylon string my dad had bought maybe twelve years before at Costco when he tried to start playing. I still have it and I think it sounds great.
*2010*: El cheapo Strat copy and ten-watt practice amp. Still have the guitar for nostalgia, I sold the amp.
*2011?*: Ibanez GRG170DX. I spent hours every day on that thing. Eventually sold it and bought...
*2012*: Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS. Loved it at the time, and it's still a great guitar. But I'm contemplating flipping it - just can't bond with it any more for a number of reasons, one of which is...
*2014*: Sterling JP70. First ERG and I'm in love. Stock pickups honestly sound great to me, and after a setup it plays like an instrument twice its price. I'd really only sell it if I got a Music Man.

Plans for 2015? I might try to sell the Strat for a different 6 - maybe a PRS SE or Schecter. Other than that, I'm happy where I am. Well, unless a JP7 pops up for a good price


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## MaxSwagger (Feb 16, 2015)

Cool thread!

2004: Epiphone LPJ - Where the dream began. haha originally wanted to play drums, but then my brother bought a kit so I said screw it and bought a guitar. Still have this guitar and have plans to refinish/make a project guitar.

2004: Epiphone Special II - No lie, I got this because I thought I broke my LPJ when restringing. To this day I've never had lessons or someone there to guide me through guitar related stuff so everything I learned was through trial and error. Turns out the LPJ was fine but it was cool to have pretty much the same guitar with 2 pickups since I really liked the LPJ. Still have this one too. These to LP's mean a lot to me, not only are they the guitars I learned to play on, but the guitars I learned how to by myself on.

2005: Jackson DXMGT - This is the guitar that kept reminding me wondering why I continued to but guitars that aren't 24 frets. Having 2 more frets became a big deal for me after this one.

2007: Dean Strat - not sure what model but this is still the biggest sounding guitar I've ever heard. It has an EMG 85 in the bridge and sounds nothing like any other guitar withe EMG's I've heard. Only guitar I have with EMG's.

2009: Ibanez RG350YM - The game changer, I'm not an ibanez guy. Dropped some Dimarzio's in it and the rest is history. I'm now an Ibanez guy and that hasn't changed.

2011: Ibanez RG2570EX - I reached level Prestige - recorded my bands first ep with this one.

2013: Ibanez RG550/750 - 550 body, 750 neck - This guitar ties for #1 for me. Recorded me bands first full length with it and will probably be my road warrior going forward.

2014: Ibanez RG550XX Road Flare Red - My dream guitar. I knew I would own one the first time I saw it. It was some video of Arsis and with er Ryan or James was playing one. This is my main player.

2014: Ibanez PGM100 - built the same year I was born which is cool. Sounds and plays incredible. Basically just looking to build on to my Ibanez family at this point. 

Those are the guitars I still have today plus a cheap Ibanez bass. Below are the guitars I had and decided to sell, trade, or whatever. A lot of them I got in trades with the intention to resale anyways. From the get go I never really got too attached to guitars, only ones I developed some connection with have stayed. There is only one I wish I never got rid of. 

Ibanez RG7620VK, RG7621BK, RG7321, RG270, RG350, RG470, RG iron label, S iron label, xiphos, v blade x2.

Jackson: SLSMG, SLS?, Dinky Rev, Dinky Rev Stone

Dean: ML Knight, ML DOA 2004 #31/50 (I regret this one bad, loved this guitar)

Misc: LTD EC200, LTD Viper 400, Peavey Vandenberg, Brian Moore strat.

Sweet shit, I couldn't even imagine having all of those now. I think I typed this more so to remind myself. haha


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## bostjan (Feb 16, 2015)

MaxSwagger said:


> 2004: Epiphone Special II - No lie, I got this because I thought I broke my LPJ when restringing. To this day I've never had lessons or someone there to guide me through guitar related stuff so everything I learned was through trial and error. Turns out the LPJ was fine but it was cool to have pretty much the same guitar with 2 pickups since I really liked the LPJ. Still have this one too. These to LP's mean a lot to me, not only are they the guitars I learned to play on, but the guitars I learned how to by myself on.



How'd it break?


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## Geysd (Feb 16, 2015)

More than 10 years ago my grandma bought me a trans-blue strat-style stagg bundle (you know with amp and strap and stuff). Later I was bored and my Dad and I painted the Guitar Sparkle Grey and put a checker plate foil on the pickguard.

2006 when I was 15 I spent all my Money on a LTD MH-400 STB Trem. I was a big Metallica Fan, so it had to be an ESP Guitar with Floyd Rose and like today, I always had a crush on blue guitars.

I think it was in 2008 I played Bass in two Bands and I always had to use the bass of others, so I bought myself an Ibanez SR705-TK.

Two Years later I bought an Ibanez RG1527 in, of course, Royal Blue.

Oh and in between any of these Years, I found a no-name black strat-style Guitar for about 25$ in a little local shop and my girlfriend from that time bought it for me for birthday. The guy in the store said it was broken but it there was only one cable which wasn't connected to the rest.



And now, I'm trying to sell all my stuff because I don't wanna have a Tremolo anymore. And if everything works fine, I'll get an Ibanez RG721 FM NTF and one of these Ibanez 7-String with the poplar tops in blue or if there will be new guitars, any other blue 7-String  

And one day, I will have the Mayones 6 MM 4ever TT, the Jackson 7 Juggernaut in Laguna Blue and a Dingwall NG-2 in Blue. I always hated Signature Models, but these Instruments are just so beautiful!


And not to forget, many years ago my Dad bought me a Johnson acoustic guitar, also in blue!


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## keJ (Feb 16, 2015)

18 yrs old: 1964 Fender Mustang (gets stolen from my barracks room in the Army)

20 yrs old: Ibanez Artist 7 string (can't remember model number but it was the purple made in japan one)

20 years old: 7 string and fender get jacked and I buy an Ibanez Artist AR250 because that was all the insurance from the Army would cover.

21 years old: Epiphone Limited Ed. Deluxe Baby Blue Sparkly Les Paul and a Crate 120w Blue Voodo and Vintage 30 Cele Cab.

33 years old: ibanez SR 305dx (I think)

34 years old: Ibanez RGA7, Epiphone Sheraton II

Still have every piece of gear other than the two that were stolen.

I GAS but not for all these customs. 

Top on my gas are amps atm. I want an SVT stack for my bass.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Feb 16, 2015)

Since my last post in this thread, I have:

-Traded the PRS Allender sig + cash for an AW-7
-Sold the AW-7
-Got an RG3EX1 for free from helping a friend move into a new apartment. I took it up to Milwaukee where it now lives at my grandparent's house so I can play a bit when I visit them  

Rig-wise I have:
-Sold the Mark V
-Bought an EVH 5153 mini
-Bought a Mesa Traditional 4x12 in hot white bronco with a live-in case for a steal
-Got a TC G Major 1
-Sold my 2x12 Recto cab
-Bought a 6505 2x12 combo
-Bought/sold/traded lots and lots of pedals and smaller gear.


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## BornToLooze (Feb 17, 2015)

When I was like 13-14 my dad got me an Epiphone strat, then a Washburn Idol, then I bought a Synyster Gates guitar and a Jackson RR3. With the strat I decided I had to have a scalloped neck, because Yngwie did (horrible, horrible ....ing idea) and tried putting EMGs in my Idol, so they were both out of commission. Then I sold the Synyster Gates and RR3 to go in half with my dad to get me a Gibson Les Paul standard. Then I moved out and went crazy buying and trading guitars. So far I've had:

LTD F-50 (in pieces)
LTD Gus G sig (gave away)
Dean Zero (traded)
LTD MV-100 prototype (lost it)
LTD sevenstring Forest (traded)
Ibanez Destroyer (in pieces)
Agile Hornet 725 (sold)
Ibanez S7420FMTT (sold)
Washburn WG587 (in pieces)
Epiphone '84 Explorer (traded)
Epiphone Goth V (traded)
Edwards Cygnus (sold)
Agile Septor (shipping it out Wednesday)
Gibson Explorer (kicking myself in the ass for trading)
Fender American Tele (traded)
Ibanez RG3120F (traded)
Washburn Parallaxe prototype (traded)

Out of all the guitars I've had, still play the Les Paul, and it's been better than everyone of them.

Bass wise, I wanted to learn For Whom the Bell Tolls, bought the cheapest bass they had at GC, still have it.


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## Jake (Feb 17, 2015)

Lets see what I did in the last year 


Jake said:


> Since I joined this site....
> 1. Dean Vendetta xm- in pieces
> 2. Ibanez RG2610e- traded
> 3. Ibanez RGA121- still have
> ...



Changes to that list in bold and since then

21. Ibanez RG2610e prestige #2- sold
22. ESP Eclipse SW- Still Have
23. Ibanez RG8- Still have
24. Carvin CT4- Sold
25. Jackson Dominon Riverbed- Still have
26. Ibanez RGA121 VLF- Still have

picked up an axe fx ultra since then as well and will be getting something else after spring break


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## AlienProbe974 (Feb 17, 2015)

Started out with a Dean Baby Z explorer and a Line 6 spider 15 that was about 7 years ago

after a month the neck went bad and traded here in for a second Hand Jackson Kelly Ke3

a year later i bought an BC Rich Kerry King V the hardtail one

Sold the 15 watt Spider and bought the 120 watt Version

Took the BC rich apart to get it sprayed but stil have to do that

Bought an Blackstar HT5 with an Framus 1x12 Celestion G12T100 speaker

about 1 and a half year later i bought an Schecter Hellraiser C1FR

2 years later i traded the Schecter for an Dean Micheal Amott Bloodstorm Tyrant X

Sold the blackstar HT5 and bought an Fame 100 Watt Tube top

after 2 years i traded the Dean for an RGA7 + cash *needed the cash at that time*

Traded in my Seymour Duncan Twintube Mayhem pedal for an Jackson JS32-7 NA

Sold the Fame Top + cab and bought an POD HD Bean,

and now im trying to sell the RGA7 and save up some money to buy another Jackson 7 string


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## IChuckFinleyI (Feb 17, 2015)

1st. Washburn Tele, 15-16
2nd. Fender Strat, 16-16.5
3rd. 98 Ibanez 7620, 16.5-present 33
4th. Ibanez Prestige 7, I can't remember what model it was or when I got it in my 20's. I'll just say mid 20's
5th. LTD M307, late 20's
6th. Prestige RGD 7 with chameleon paint. 32
7th. Iron Label Ibby 7, 32 and it was such a PoS it destroyed my view on Ibanez
8th. LTD 308. 33. It was my first 8 and even though it's not the greatest, I still love it because it made me realize how awesome 8s are!
9th. Schecter Riot 8. 33. I love this guitar. I've been meaning to do a NGD thread for it because I stripped all the paint of it and replaced the pups with a Q-Tuner 2.0 and Lundgren.
10th. Reichardt Custom 8. 33. That one is my pride and joy. I absolutely love it to death. I have to force myself to stop playing it at times! I've been meaning to do a NGD thread on it too. 

There were other random 7s that I've had throughout the years, but they weren't kept very long so I'm not listing them. Kinda crazy, I never realized I've owned more than 10 guiatrs!


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## The Spanish Inquisition (Feb 17, 2015)

How do you guys remember all the guitars you've had? I really can't remember every guitar I've ever had in my life. But then again, I've had about 30-40 guitars in my 10 years of playing...


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## Jake (Feb 17, 2015)

The Spanish Inquisition said:


> How do you guys remember all the guitars you've had? I really can't remember every guitar I've ever had in my life. But then again, I've had about 30-40 guitars in my 10 years of playing...


I made a list and update it every time I do something 

I'm actually up to 36 total in about 8 years which is...scary


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## Roland777 (Feb 17, 2015)

Bought an Ibanez RG7321 in 2005 at 16 years of age. Bought an Ibanez BTB555 the year after, and played them frequently up until 2008, when I enrolled in an art academy for three years, during which playing became sporadic. It stayed sporadic for another two years up until I moved to another town and needed something to cool off from my academic endeavours. Passion has since reignited, I'm playing guitar and bass frequently as soon as I'm not too bogged down with studies and work, I've since paid off an Oni e-scale 7-string in full, which I'm currently waiting for, and will probably put money down for a Custom Shop Warwick Streamer LX5 in the summer as a reward for hard work and diligent savings.


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## BornToLooze (Feb 17, 2015)

The Spanish Inquisition said:


> How do you guys remember all the guitars you've had? I really can't remember every guitar I've ever had in my life. But then again, I've had about 30-40 guitars in my 10 years of playing...



I just went through all my FS/FT and NGD threads on here.


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## ngrungebb91 (Feb 18, 2015)

12 years old - First Act Strat from Walmart
14 years old - Ibanez RG2EX1 
15 years old - Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR (loved the guitar itself, but will never buy another Floyd Rose guitar again, not my style)
16 years old - Alvarez MD60C
18 years old - Ibanez RG321MH
19 years old - PRS Mike Mushok Baritone
20 years old - PRS SE Custom 24 7 string
20 years old - 1979 Peavey T-60
21 years old - (next month) Another PRS


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## Radau (Feb 18, 2015)

2006 - Pbass knockoff
2008 - Epipone Thunderbird
2009 - Traben Havoc 5
2011 - Musicman Bongo 6
2015 - Bongo 6 #2 Electric boogaloo


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## Edika (Feb 18, 2015)

I got my first guitar at 1999 at the age of 22 when I started playing guitar. I was in Uni then so it was a gift from my mother. It was an MIJ strat of the Floyd II Pro series that I still have.

For a long time I thought having more than one guitar was excessive. Then in 2006 I manage to have some money and decide to buy a good guitar. I wanted a Jackson SL1 but they were (and still are) stupidly expensive in Greece. I buy a Carvin DC400 which was 60% the price of the Jackson. I'm blown away by the quality and sound of the guitar and still have it and think it sounds awesome.

I get an itch for guitars that offer good value for the price. I try my luck on 2008 with a Ravenwest CV340 single cut carved top. Not bad but I just wasn't that much into it. Sold it after a year or so.

In 2009 I get an itch for a V. I compare a few models at that period and decide on the BC Rich NJ JrV deluxe over a Jackson RR24 or the Phil Demmel. The guitar was quite good but I was dissapointed initially with the EMG's and the setups guitar techs were doing. I then learn about the EMG's position close to the strings do my own setup which resolves issues. The neck was on the thick side though. It came with the huge BC Rich case and it was impractical to move around. I sold it at 2012 because I was going to move and needed the money.

In 2009 I get an itch for a 7 string. I go used and snag a Carvin DC747. I really liked my DC400 and the Carvin 7's were going quite cheap on the used US market. The guitar is gorgeous and plays really but it came with a few issues the seller didn't mention. It came from the US and they weren't drastic so I kept the guitar. Stock pups were nice but I wanted to try something different after a year. I put a D Sonic and Air Norton combo that was a big improvement but was not satisfied with the D Sonic I sold this guitar in 2013 because I had to move and needed the money. 

After I got a taste for 7 strings I wanter a V 7 string. I do the mistake in 2010 to go for the Emperion run, again in my quest for lots of value in small prices. You all know how that went down. I kept the guitar for 2 days after returning it and getting my money back eventually.

In the summer of 2013 I make the mistake of trying out an Ibanez Prestige, one of the puzzle top models, and am blown away. I decide to buy it, still have it and I'm planning to keep it.

In 2014 I get GAS for a Jackson DK2M. A workhorse guitar with good specs that can be found cheaply. Still have it and I am planning to keep it.

The GAS for a V strikes again and I haphazardly bid on a Jackson KVX10 MIJ. Hoping to get it cheap, I finally get it at a higher price. I really like the neck and while not bad I'm not really feeling it so it might get the axe.

At this point in time I can't afford pricy instruments so the midrange ones I'm after.


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## Volsung (Feb 18, 2015)

When it comes to exact time frames Im at a loss, but I remember the order I acquired my guitars (mostly). Like others I too am long winded, so kick back. It begins with: 

*Washburn WR152WA*: My first guitar. Bought it when I was 16 after saving every last penny. I even went as far as keeping an eye out for loose change on the ground. Its funny when I think of the friends I did have and how theyd poke fun at me for my constant penny pinching. Anywayafter some time saving and constantly researching beginner guitars I came across this Washburn for $150. Dimebag was still playing them at the time and I put trust into his brand of choice being a fan of his. Plus, I was (and still am) a massive fan of Dino Cazares and the WR152WA shape reminded me of his RGs, minus one string of course. The WRs at the time were essentially Ibanez RG knockoffs with wood choices other than basswood. Even the headstock resembles the RG one. It appealed to me more than any inexpensive Ibanez so it was a no-brainer. I still have it to this day and itll remain mine for as long as I live. 

*Jackson JS30RR*: About a year after I bought my Washburn I received this as a gift from my mother. A local guitar shop was advertising that they were giving away free copies of Metallicas Some Kind of Monster but by the time we got there they ran out of copies. While there I noticed a JS30RR hanging on the rack and thought I should give it a shot. Shortly after that it became mine. I played the ever-loving crap outta that guitar and its shown over the years. The neck has warped beyond playability (the neck being pretty thin was a factor Im sure) and the whole guitar is in pieces in my closet. One of these days Ill put it back together and mount in on a wall or something as a relic. One thing Ive never really talked about is the fact that I actually didnt like the shape when I first laid eyes on it months prior. It was when GW magazine showed photos of Zakk Wylde playing his Rhodas replica in the sitting position that I finally saw how cool the shape could be. 

*Silvertone Classical*: This was unknowingly given to me as a gift by an uncle-in-law. His collection was massive and I honestly thought he was just showing it to me. He wasnt a people person so his lack of communication skills didnt line up with mine and I ended up having to make the three hour trip to get it at a later date. I currently have it in retirement but I finally have a grasp on how classical guitars should be played so I may bring it out some time in the future. I think I got this after my Rhodas but I cant remember for sure. 

*Schecter Gryphon 7*: My first 7 string. This too was a gift from my mother. It was a mutual purchase, but I consider it a gift looking back at it. This was also my first acquisition from Guitar Center. At the time 7s were at the cusp of becoming cool again so choices were pretty slim. I almost went with an Ibanez RG7321 until one of the managers told me he had a Schecter 7 that wasnt displayed. I had heard of the Gryphon series & later found out they were GC/Musicians Friend exclusives. Quality wise I thought it blew the Ibanez away. Plus the Duncan Designed pickups were better than the stock Ibanezs (if you _have_ to choose). A few months back I finally decided to put some big boy pickups in it. I went with the SD Pegasus & Sentient combo and for being a bit more reserved than I thought theyd be theyre pretty cool. 

*Douglas SR-370*: I found out about these on this site and I think Im the first one on here to buy one. I know therere a lot of guitars out there that are pretty good for being in the $200 range but at the time these seemed too good to be true at the criminally low $160 price. This was my first guitar with a Floyd type bridge and the first thing I did was perma-block it. My opinion that this is a great guitar for being so cheap still holds up today. Ive played it constantly since the day I bought it. About a year ago I put Tremol-Nos in all of my Floyd guitars but I played with the whammy bar on this one for a bit. The fact that I like to give cheaper guitars a shot will be a recurring theme. 

*Hamlin Delta V*: I was missing my Rhodas and craving some kind of V shape. I decided a new axe was in order and planned to buy one as a birthday present to myself. After online searches I came across this model on Amazon of all places. Being a no name brand made this was a risky $350 purchase and knowing what I know now I probably wouldve bought something else. That said this became a great learning platform for fixing up my own guitars and after all of the work I put into it (theres a thread were I go into greater detail) I made it into a great playing guitar. I put it in C# and have been happy with it ever since. 

*Schecter C7 Frankenstein*: I was pretty disappointed with myself after the initial sh*tty job I did on my Hamlin (I put it out of my sight for a couple years) that I was looking for something to replace it. This time around my searches took me to Music Go Round. The initial description on the site said Schecter Omen 7 FR. I thought this was the black Schecter Omen 7 FR that was on DCGL for the longest time. Plus it looked black in the photo. The camera they used mustve been a super potato because the guitar I got was an old Ash C7FR with an old Omen 7 neck (thus the name Frankenstein). Karma mustve had it in for me because I received another work load instead of a replacement guitar. I know others in my predicament wouldve returned it but I again took advantage of a learning platform to become my own tech. After the work I put in with a steep learning curve I got it to play pretty well. I dont play it as much these days but I dont plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. It is pretty unique after all (for better or worse). Its funny; I cant really remember how much this one cost. 

*Ibanez PF-40 TBL*: I bought this at a local antique guitar shop for $160 while casually looking around. My mother comes into the picture again as shes the one that spotted it. I had to have it after she showed it to me. This is my first Ibanez and for what Im sure was an inexpensive model its very nice. One thing I find interesting is that nothing really comes up when I type the model name into any search engine. Im not sure why that is. 

*Harmony Hollywood*: I received this guitar as an inheritance from distant family. When it came to me it was in need of TLC (is everyone seeing a pattern?). It still needs a little work and some new parts but it definitely plays better than it did before it came into my hands. The pickup on it is very quiet but it sounds great on a clean channel with some chorus & delay in the mix. Since this one still needs a little more work I have it on a wall hanger next to my bed as a display piece. 

*Ibanez RG8*: My first 8 string, my second Ibanez and my second guitar from GC. It was around $480 with a case & holiday coupon. In the two years and one month Ive had this its become one of my favorites. Im still thrilled at how nice the neck feels. I know Meshuggah are the main influences for the 8 string boom and Im a fan as wellbut only casually. The main influences I had for an 8 however were Ihsahn, Dino (of course), Justin Broadrick* andof all bandsPortal. Since I love the tones Meshuggah have achieved I do plan on replacing at least the bridge pup with a Lundgren M8. The stock pups are fine for what they are so Im in no rush to do it yet. 

*Ibanez IC507*: My latest acquisition and third purchase through GC. I found this on GCs used page for around $550. Shortly before I locked in my order I found another IC507 that was cheaper, but it only had a three star rank (mine was four) and it had some kind of floral pattern on it (yup). Ever since Tom Warriors return with Celtic Frost Ive slowly fallen for the Iceman shape. Plus watching T.G.W. and V. Santura in Triptykon videos along with seeing those great photos of Meshuggahs custom IC8s didnt help to alleviate my craving for one. As Ive said before in my NGD thread, I really wish Ibanez would reconsider doing another IC7. The sound this shape makes is massive and its even better with an added string. I can hope but something tells me that isnt going to happen. At least Perle makes IC7 bodies and has 7 string necks with the Iceman headstock.

Well, that about does it. Damn...I went long on that one. I have pictures of most of these and they can be found throughout the threads I've made...if you're interested. 
_
*By this time Justin mentioned that he had an 8 string in an interview. I think the only thing he made then with an 8 was the Jesu Christmas EP._


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## s2k9k (Feb 18, 2015)

Age 10: Memphis electric with 19 frets LOL
Age 13: Washburn N2 (dope)
Age 18/19: Ibanez RG7621 in white...Hell Yes!
Age 19: Ibanez RG7621 in black
Age 19: Ibanez RG350DX
Age 19: 91 Ibanez Green Dot Universe (Awesome)
Age 20: Ibanez RG2027xx Prestige (AMAZING)
Age 21: Ibanez RG7620VK
Age 23: Ibanez RGT42 red metallic
Age 24: Ibanez JEM77FP reissue (bad ass)
Age 25: Ibanez RG7421 indo
Age 26: Ibanez RG350 indo
Age 27: Ibanez MTM2
Age 29: Ibanez RG1550M Prestige
Age 33: Ibanez RGT42 grey metallic
Age 34: Jackson SLATT 7 with TOM bridge (only had for a couple weeks)
Age 34: Ibanez RGD2127FX Prestige
Age 34: Ibanez RG2228 Prestige
Age 35: Ibanez RG2228A Prestige
Age 36: Now looking for a new 7 string 
I think I got em all


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## jonsick (Feb 19, 2015)

Started playing piano at age 8. My folks bought me a keyboard to practice at home with and I used the pianos in school for practice. Around that time, I discovered Skid Row, Guns n Roses and Bathory. Eventually got into Sepultura, Morbid Angel and a then little known band called Emperor. My Emperor tape was given to me by a mate of a mate and there was a band called Black on the back (who it later turns out became Dissection). So naturally I wanted a guitar.

10, I got a Squier strat and rocked that forever. 

13, BC Rich Warlock, Japanese and still have it. 

16, first real amp. A Laney VH100r with a Boss Digital Metalizer pedal and a tatty Marshall cabinet.

18, I had been working for years, some decent bands which I promoted when I wasn't studying for school work. I bought a used Jackson KV2 and put a deposit down on an ESP Hannemann. 

21 ish. I'm flat sharing in university and we have a flat fire. Aside from my Warlock which was in a shop getting set up, I lost all of it. Insurance money barely covered anything.

23-26, a bunch of cheapies. Jacksons, LTDs, BC Rich, Fenders... I eventually sold them all and funded:

27-30, Two ESP SV Standards, an ESP MII Urban Camo, Jackson SL2h, Jackson WR1, Jackson RR1, Fender American Deluxe Strat and the piece de la resistance a Custom Shop Jackson the same colour and spec as the one I lost in the flat fire. 

31+ onwards.... more than likely another CS Jackson.


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## crg123 (Feb 19, 2015)

To add onto my last time in thread two years ago...

*23 Years old* - 6 String Bass - Ibanez BTB1406e Premium model + a cheap SR bass that I got for free and defretted.

*24 Years old* - traded a bunch of pedals I wasn't using for a 1999 RG7241 which I loaded with Bareknuckle Painkillers and hipshot saddles


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## jarnozz (Feb 19, 2015)

Lets see.

15 years old: mom asked me if I was interested in playing guitar. It was a cheap classical guitar. Didnt touch it for half a year and started to get lessons from my uncle. 

16 years old: got into metal thanks to a friend that hated it xD bought a line 6 spider 15 with a j&d les paul and started playing seriously.

Still 16 old: bought a ibanez rg350dx. Still have it and its by far my favorite guitar! Upgraded it with dimarzios, tortoise pickguard, golden hardware and golden gotoh  played for 2/3 hours a day learning scales, riffs and arpeggios. Shredded every day of the week.

Gas started from here.

17 years old: only some pedals and a interface

18 years old: bought an agile interceptor 725 (sold), bought a blackstar ht5r with an orange ppc212 for 200 euros xD steal of my life... Got some more pedals.

19 years old: got interested in luthiery. Thanks sub forum!! Sold the agile to build a body for an ibanez neck. Sounds good and plays killer  boughta cort galaxy 5 string bass. Got 2 synthesizers. Roland sh201 and a korg. Ms-20

20 years old: sold the blackstar and got an orange! Bought a LAG acoustic guitar. Build my own 3 channel high gain preamp and a 40watt poweramp. Build a 8 string. Build a blackmachine copy. Bought an OLP mm1. Got a ukelele! Got a new interface. Bought a ibanez rga 8 and modded it heavilly. Sanded down and added a nice veneer with purple finish. 

21 years: started an ergo classical fanned fret to fuel my fanned fret, new classical GAS. And i am gassing for a new high gain amp. Looking at the randall diavlo 20. But not sure if the lead tone is good enough. Also planning a new build for a buckethead tribute les paul build! 

Must have forgotten some stuff but this is all I can think of now.



I feel like a newby comparred to all the veterans here


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## EmaDaCuz (Feb 20, 2015)

As much as I love (electric) guitars, my collection is/was quite limited. And I have been playing for 25 years now.

Age 9: classic guitar, 3/4 size. Hard to keep in tune but it served me well for 3-4 years.

Age 13: an acoustic Ibanez -don't know the model- which I still own. Sounded and still sounds very thin, but it is the guitar I love the most.

Age 14: Yamaha Pacifica 112. I hated it with all my heart, didn't like the look of it, didn't like the neck, didn't like its sound when overdriven. It had the best cleans I ever heard in my life, though. It was OK for my rock/grunge band, but then I started playing death/black metal and that was it.

Age 18: BC Rich Ironbird, in green. What a guitar! A bad guitar, I mean. ZuperUberMetal look, but that was it. The tone was too fat, the neck so slow... I recorded my first demo with it, and I feel embarrassed by the guitar sound of it. 

Age 19: Ibanez 7420. Probably the best guitar I have ever owned, bar the effin' bridge. It was mid 2000, first guy in town to have a 7-string and therefore first band in town to play seriously down tuned death metal. I loved every single piece of it (bar the bridge).

Age 27: I was not in band anymore, and I started playing some more rocky stuff, the 7-string was just standing there in a corner as it really did not fit in what I was playing at the time. I decided to get myself a second hand Epiphone Black Beauty 3. Well, that was a beauty of a guitar but it came with so many electrical problems I had to sell after a while. Great sound a great playability, I still miss it from time to time.

Age 30: I sold my unused 7420 and replaced it with another Ibanez, this time a RGR321EX. It was a serious downgrade, both in terms of sound and craftsmanship, but I needed a versatile and affordable 6 string guitar... and that was it, a decent, affordable guitar, which can do everything well but excels in nothing.

Age 33: I joined a local death metal band (RIP now, unfortunately) and the song -very fast and very aggressive- were barely playable on the RGR321. I mean, the neck allowed me to move quite fast, but for some reason the picking hand was struggling to find a comfortable position. So it was about time to get a new guitar... I decided to go for a serious upgrade this time and I got myself a Gibson Explorer Government Series II. Oh, if I love this guitar. Nasty pickups that can nevertheless spit out some adorable cleans... perfect neck, great balance, heavy but well balanced. 

Along the way, I also managed to get a violin (which I tuned like a guitar), a couple of basses (I still have a Yamaha, which I have overplayed and has basically holes in the body), and an ukulele. The ukulele, the best instrument to play when you are drunk at night.


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## MaxSwagger (Feb 20, 2015)

bostjan said:


> How'd it break?




Twas 10 years ago, it was the 2nd or 3rd time I went to restring the LPJ and the wrap-around bridge fell off. I freaked, had no idea that they were naturally like that at all at the time and it had never just slid out before. haha Happened to have around $250 that I had been saving so I decided to run to Guitar Center and play some guitars/end up getting the Special II. If memory serves right my first show ever was like a week away too. Thanks to the internet I figured out there was nothing wrong with the LPJ and I now had 2 guitars for different tunings.


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## illimmigrant (Feb 20, 2015)

wow, some of you guys have gone through your fair share of fiddles! 

15 years old - $200, black Ibanez RG-120. I still have it in a closet out of pure emotional attachment. Still has a flaming skull decal I put on it back in high school.
At 17 I got my first 7-string. Ibanez RG-7420, MIJ, which I sold to Suho on this forum a while back.
Then college happened, I graduated, started working as an engineer in oil and gas and I got my first bass, an Ibanez soundgear (forgot which model, as I sold it last year).
I also got an RGA 121 (are you starting to get I like(d) my ibbies?) I sold that one to Chuck on here.
I got married and all gear purchases had to be carefully evaluated.
I'm now 30 and own a Carvin DC 727 and a Dingwall Combustion.
Things I've sold and traded in were for my axe fx II and my Adam a7x monitors.
I'm gasing hard for either an Orange PPC 2x12 or a Zilla fatboy, since I have never owned a cab. I've always played through small combo amps until I got my axe fx, which I only hear through monitors now. I need to treat my studio first with some GIK panels though. Then we'll see about the power amp and cab... or maybe a 6-string. I miss 6-strings.


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## vkw619 (Feb 20, 2015)

Oh god this is going to be difficult as I have horrific memory and have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with guitars over the years xD

Ages 10-14..maybe? : I got my first guitar after basically drowning my life away in Guitar Hero. I know, I know... flame as you will, but it literally got me into seeing how awesome guitar was. After basically beating every song on expert, 100% over half the setlist, and my incessant nagging, I got my first guitar. I don't know what it was. Some sort of Epiphone Les Paul bundle with a tiny amp from best buy. The amp kept cutting out so that went back. Then I got a Squire Strat bundle and for reasons I can't remember I HATED it so I ended up with a tiny 8inch Marshall 10 watt practice amp and a Epiphone SG Special 2 in Cherry Red. I LOVED that guitar (mainly because I was super into Black Sabbath and thought the SG was the best looking guitar ever). I remember my first few weeks and breaking the high e every time I tried to tune it. It was pretty freaking ridiculous. I remember the first song I learned all the way through was Sugar by System of a Down and I was so freaking happy. then I realized Daron played SGs and I knew that I was set

14-17 : My guitar playing kinda died after about the age of 13 or so because I was just distracted with other things. However, during the time I won a Dave Mustaine V (The lower end United Abominations one) in a contest at Mayhem fest from a local hardcore band. Then I won a MAB3 from Dean in another contest at a bar after spending probably more than the guitar was worth in raffle tickets lol

17-19: But then everything changed, I saved up every penny I had and knew a guy in a local band that worked at a guitar center and got an AMAZING deal on an RG7321 with Seymore Duncan Blackouts. I sold the SG and the amp to a friend of mine, basically stole my cousins (who basically just gets anything he wants and forgets he owns it) Spider 3 15 watt amp and just played the shit out of it and just recently sold it. 

19-20 : I fell back out of guitar playing around the time of senior year of high school due to frustration with the instrument and with life itself I suppose. So I decided to take some extra money and make a big purchase on something awesome to play to help motivate me back into playing. So I bought a 120 Watt Spider IV amp and an RG Iron Label 8 string. It really got me back into playing for a few months but with exams and constant work again my ability to play and time to play shrank and I realized the 8 string wasn't for me and my tiny frame and hands. At the same time I had also gotten a sweet deal on an Iron Label 6 string and at this time sold off the Mustaine (I really want to get rid of the MAB3, I would sell it for literally like 100 bucks at this point but because it is covered in signatures of a bunch of old school death metal bands like Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, old members of Death and Deicide so needless to say not a huge market for those out there lol) and made that my 6 string and 8 string of choice.

So I sold the 8 off to a friend of mine and took the money and bought an RGD2127FX. I love this guitar. Its stupid. Everything about it is perfect to me. All I want to do is upgrade the pickups and it'll be perfect.

Random information no one cares about! One of the main reasons during the ages of 16 onward I stopped playing guitar was because I got SUPER into drums and consider them my instrument of choice, however having no money entering college I had to sell my kit. I had a Roland TD-4SX with Iron Cobra Double bass pedals and a Tama throne. I loved that kit and would give anything to have my kit back. Sadly no room in a tiny dorm for a drum kit (even a small Roland) and the money issues were not going away any time soon 


Most recently, I sold the RG7321 after a few more upgrades (to the same friend who bought the Iron Label 8 actually) got myself a HD500x and have just been playing in my spare time.

Rocksmith 2014 on PC and my obsession with rhythm games has helped improve my basic skills allot and this FANTASTIC community has helped motivate me to play more and more. So yeah thanks for reading! Probably missed some stuff here and there and I know my time periods are really wide. Life is crazy I guess and years just blend in while you are in college xD


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