this gift picture is dedicated to most of you

[StephenM]

I used to have principles. They say people get wiser when they get older, but i guess it can happen the other way around. When i "really" played i used only one guitar, a MIM Stratocaster and i was happy with that. Never broke a string on a gig. Although my optimism wasn't shared by our bass player who constantly wanted to bring his Les Paul to the gigs for me to play on occasion (never used that thing) Anyhow after a decade, or two i got bored with guitar playing and everything sounded bad. Cue violins (in this case synth ones as i dabbled my feet into those things. Holy Yamaha DX7!). Then i started slowly getting back into all things guitar and first came Epiphone Goldtop Les Paul 56 with P-90's. It felt like the perfect guitar for a while. It was almost too easy to play, and i felt it was the chunky neck that i had been missing. Then i started hankering towards Stratocaster again. After all, they were my first (and only?) love! The reason being that i'd out played the old MIM, and getting it up and running would cost more than a new(ish) secondhand one. Fast forward to new MIM Stratocaster. This time in white, with upgraded specs. I was in Heaven...

It lasted for a while. Then i saw an advert for real GIBSON SG. I never liked those things. They looked ugly and had the necktilt (i have Epiphone Iommi SG that i left out from the story above for storytelling purposes ). It was too cheap for the prices they go for usually. Must be a copy, must be a scam. I asked my wife half hoping she'd say "you've got plenty of guitars already". I'm not sure what had happened. Perhaps she'd ordered a thing, or two on her own.... as she said "Well, BUY IT!". Fast forward to meeting the seller on a shade railway station. Turns out it's a real deal, and there's nothing shady about the seller either. Now i was in the possession of a real Gibson. After reading from guitar mags ONLY GIBSON is GOOD ENOUGH i was hoping it was the truth.

Funny thing... I'm playing the SG and it feels better than the other ones. It's way lighter than any of the other guitars, it doesn't have the dreaded neckdive and it feels like it's "all neck". It still doesn't look too good in my eyes, but everytime i start switching guitars i end up back to the SG. I can't say this lasts forever, but now i have the Stratocaster and Les Paul waiting for their turn in the sun.

I'm drinking my morning coffee and now that i read what i've written i get a feeling that i might have a tendency to ramble. If anyone got this far... is there a pill for that?

Yesterday i saw Gibson Melody Maker going for a low price. I managed to avoid that bullet. After all i've never wanted one, and i don't want to cheat my SG.

they used to make a car years and years ago called a Nash "Rambler"... I like ramblers, at least in the written form...talking not as much...with writing ramblers you can turn them off for a time and come back if you want... I read your whole post...I totally get it...you might love different guitars for different reasons at different times... I never had an SG but I know guys who did and they never played anything else so you are onto something...my first guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Standard (1980ish)... I loved it and I was new at guitar but I played often (not very well)... had it for around 7 or 8 years and regrettably sold it.... the reason was that I was in a band that had 3 guitar players and no bass player and I was not as good as the others so I figured I would learn bass and keep a job...which I did...and I am glad I did because there was an awful lot about the low end that I needed to learn (that I am still learning btw)...and I played bass a long time...got completely out of music for at least 10 years....then got back into bass playing in an acoustic trio...I played alot...alot...and I got better and better because what happened was the acoustic players gave me alot of room to use lead bass runs...but about 7 years ago I wanted another guitar so I bought an Epiphone Sunburst Les Paul...and I would say it like it at least as much as my Gibson...and all the bass playing made me alot better guitar player too...now I got a PRS copy Harley Benton which I really like single coil option... and I have an acoustic...I play all of them but usually I am into one for a while and then move to the other for a while...
I also have a killer Schecter Omen bass and an Epiphone bass...use them both also...now I am the rambler!

[Zoltan]

Let's all be Ramblers then! (a song title? ). So we're kinda in the same boat. Your memories of your first guitar got me reminiscing. My first guitar(s) were my brothers guitars that i got to borrow for a while. The better one was Ibanez Les Paul copy, and the other was Gallan SG. The latter was near impossible play because of super bad action. The strings were really high, and there was nothing that could be done to it. The sound was horrid. I guess the pickups inside those humbucker covers were single coils.  Then again why would i worry because i never had an amp to use it with.The guitar had been badly treated before, so there might be better Gallans in the wild also.
I'm left-handed and at first i learned to play left-handed with a guitar stringed upside down. I got as far as barre chords and some rhythm playing. Then suddenly the whole upside down stringing became an issue, and the guitar was never restrung that way again. I was quite young, and i guess my brother / parents thought that i woudn't be interested enough.
So i had no choice. I learned to play guitar again, but this time right-handed.
The Stratocaster i mentioned was my own first guitar. It still took a long time before i got an amp. I started with a tape recorder (with tubes) for an amp.
Playing bass in a band must have been a great education for you. Getting deep into the groove and listening to what is happening around you. Must have made you a lot tighter as a guitar player also.