What Do You Really Love ? :)

[Snow Dog]

Married life. Where awesome guitars are relegated to spare rooms.

I know.   I know.

 

Actually, the tan acoustic is hers, so...

[King Postwhore]

So you two like noodling together.   

[bl5150]

Married life. Where awesome guitars are relegated to spare rooms.

Ain't that the truth - mine aren't even on site 

probably not a bad thing in one way - my most collectible guitar is going to be (and was purchased to be) Ben's 21st present one day and he's a snoop 

[King Postwhore]

I have my dad's 1964 Fender Stratocaster so I totally get it.

[Snow Dog]

So you two like noodling together.   

 

Of course! And it almost always ends with Cmin.

[bl5150]

I have my dad's 1964 Fender Stratocaster so I totally get it.

I'll show you Ben's if you show me yours 

[Prog Snob]

Two things in one here: My wife, and hiking to cool places with my wife...

Is that the Gap of Rohan?

[Snow Dog]

Two things in one here: My wife, and hiking to cool places with my wife...

Is that the Gap of Rohan?

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm not quite catching what is meant with the LOTR reference...

[King Postwhore]

You are in the shire.  The big mountain with snow they had to cross is my guess.

[ReaperKK]

Right now I love this new fire pit I have. Sitting outside in the cold with a roaring fire.

[King Postwhore]

I just bought one myself!

[bl5150]

Where's my pic of the 1964 strat   

[King Postwhore]

That is tucked away.  I don't take it out much anymore.   I play ready for this, a Kramer Focus with the whammy bar set up like Brad Gillis in Night Ranger and an  Ibenez Atrista Jessica guitar with mother of pearl frets.

[bl5150]

Fair enough - my guitars are stashed away but I took some pics before I deported them 


My main axe was one of the early Vai JEM series - always used to go down a treat when I was playing in the school orchestra/ jazz band .............not!   Snobs   



Below is a pic of Ben's 21st present (being played and then on my couch) - only played once by the man himself at the Mohegan Sun.   One off stripe design with "Atomic Punk" along the underside of the body - signed after the gig.

[TAC]

How did you get that, Brent?

[Snow Dog]

bl5150, those are both awesome!  Very cool! How much did the EVH run you?

[King Postwhore]

Hot damn. Nice. I have real pictures of them from a camera but we lost all of them when my basement flooded in 08. I should go to my parents where my old right is stacked. 

[TAC]

Nice. I have real pictures of them from a camera 

Real pictures? From a camera? Really? 

I thought maybe the Camera Stork delivered them!

[King Postwhore]

You know damn well you old bastard that everybody uses their phone and these pictures were on a camera with fulm.  Not the digital.   

Don't play millennial on me!

[TAC]

 

Did you know that if you cover a Polaroid picture, it'll develop faster!

[King Postwhore]

Dad had the Polaroid.   

[bl5150]

If you take it on a phone it's called phulm Tim. 


I bought the VH guitar from a collector in the USA and I don't need to tell you even what the shipping was       I'll keep what I paid for it to myself but I will say that there are a few similar one offs on Ebay (search "EVH Art guitar") that give an indication of of today's value.    There are also some generic mass produced Charvel EVH Art guitars with the classic designs for around $2000 - they're not the ones 

You would only be aware of these guitars if you were a guitar nut and a VH fanatic I am guessing.   Across the 2000's EVH released a quantity of these one off hand striped designs - the originals were on the "shitshow" 2004 tour with Sammy where Ed was a walking disaster.   The guitar designs and signatures from that tour are pretty crappy and one of the guitars was bought in pieces after Ed smashed it

Some more were done on the 07-08 tours with the DLR reunion when Ed was healthy and they are of a much higher quality all round.   They're a standard EVH Charvel design with D-Tuna.

Back when I was (much) better off financially I saw this one become available from a reputable dealer and decided that I would buy it for Ben - he was 2 yo at the time , he's now 8yo.  Only 13 years to go .   The guitar came with a signed certificate from Ed/Charvel , DVD footage of Ed playing it , also a grab bag and confetti from the show at Mohegun Sun in 2008.

Just another part of Australia's best Van Halen memorabilia collection

[Lowdz]

Now ha is fandom Brent, and Ben is one lucky boy. Does e knowwhat hesgot coming? 

You've got o get back o playing man. Guitars are meant to be played, especially those beauts.

These are my girls, no signatures and not played by the greats, unfortunately  :biggrin

The strat is a scalloped Malmsteen strat

029 by lowdz, on Flickr

[bl5150]

Nice Strat and JEM there mate 


As far as Ben's guitar - no he has no idea and I keep it at my Dad's so he doesn't stumble onto it.    I have never played it - it was genuinely bought for him...........hopefully I'm around to give it to him

[Prog Snob]

Two things in one here: My wife, and hiking to cool places with my wife...

Is that the Gap of Rohan?

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm not quite catching what is meant with the LOTR reference...

Wide open field (Gap of Rohan) with the White Mountains behind you.

[Lowdz]

Nice Strat and JEM there mate 


As far as Ben's guitar - no he has no idea and I keep it at my Dad's so he doesn't stumble onto it.    I have never played it - it was genuinely bought for him...........hopefully I'm around to give it to him

I can understand you not wanting to play the EVH, but that Jem says play me 
I play the Jem the most, and after playing the scalloped strat for ten years it made me a better player as soon as I bought it. The strat is just for blues now, the Jem for 

My pride and joy there though is the BC Rich Eagle. Such a work of art. The only downside is all the active circuitry - there's just too many switches and dials 

[Kwyjibo]

Cool guitar Brent, but I'm curious, why wait till your son is 21? That's a guitar that needs to be played. And it needs to be played Right Now 

Is Ben playing guitar or is he at least showing interest in playing?

PS: I wish I could join in the guitar porn but I only got an ESP strat, decent guitar but nothing special and I've no actual photo.

[bl5150]

Cool guitar Brent, but I'm curious, why wait till your son is 21? That's a guitar that needs to be played. And it needs to be played Right Now 

Is Ben playing guitar or is he at least showing interest in playing?

PS: I wish I could join in the guitar porn but I only got an ESP strat, decent guitar but nothing special and I've no actual photo.

Everything Ben gets a hold of either gets lost or broken      He has shown some interest in playing (and has an acoustic which you may have heard in a podcast briefly   ) but realistically that EVH is worth a lot of money and is best not played if you want to preserve its value.   It was purchased as a collectible , not to be played.

Why wait til he's 21?    The guitar will be worth multiples of his first car and I would rather wait for an occasion that befits that sort of largesse  rather than just handing it over  , especially at an age where he won't appreciate its value.


As far as me playing again , I can't see it happening any time soon but if I find the time (on top of my normal listening + podcasting)  it'll be the first thing on my list to do.  I fear that my perfectionist streak and resultant frustration at not being able to do what I know I used to do will be a barrier to progress of epic proportions

[Kwyjibo]

Your reasons are totally understandable and probably that guitar is not suited for 8 year old boys.

This is not meant as a personal attack or insult, so please don't hate me, but I hate it when beautiful guitars are bought for collecting and money preserving or money increasing reasons. Guitars need to be played.

[bl5150]

Your reasons are totally understandable and probably that guitar is not suited for 8 year old boys.

This is not meant as a personal attack or insult, so please don't hate me, but I hate it when beautiful guitars are bought for collecting and money preserving or money increasing reasons. Guitars need to be played.

Fair enough.   I didn't buy it as an investment but the whole idea of the guitar is that it was hand striped by Ed , designed by Ed , played live by Ed and then signed and I think it's best kept in that condition.   I have been a collector of Van Halen memorabilia for much of my life and it was bought in that context .   Realistically it is probably one of the worst playing guitars I own too , so I don't feel that I am missing out - especially seeing as I no longer play. 

This is the only time I have ever bought a guitar as a collectible and will likely be the last.   I am not a guitar collector at all , but a Van Halen collector - yes.

[Kwyjibo]

As a VH collector item it makes sense, I can relate to that.

As I said this is not against you, it was more of a general remark. I know of a guy who's father (a dentist) has a shitload of money and buys a lot of guitars, preferably played by someone famous, only to put them up on a walland after some years he sells them when he can make enough profit of them. But he never plays them.

[Lowdz]

Brent, I know your perfectionist streak is a mountain to climb, but one thing I've learned in my job working with old folk, they miss the stuff they used to be able to do so much, and would do anything to do it again.
But if you wouldn't enjoy it, I can agree it's not worth it.
I've never been very good, and can't play like I could when I did little else, but I mostly enjoy picking the old girl up, except on those days when the fingers just won't do a damn thing.

And as we get old, that's what the blues is for 

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

You guys and your f*cking Jems.   

Want the Blue Floral Print one so bad.   

[TAC]

Now ha is fandom Brent, and Ben is one lucky boy. Does e knowwhat hesgot coming?

You've got o get back o playing man. 

Lowdz=British for Kingshmegland!

[Lowdz]

Now ha is fandom Brent, and Ben is one lucky boy. Does e knowwhat hesgot coming?

You've got o get back o playing man. 

Lowdz=British for Kingshmegland!

Well, not only is predictive keyboard shit but my eyes are going too, so self correcting is a problem