Just bought a used Alvarez 12 string acoustic. It's on it's way from it's former owner and should have it this week. Never owned a 12-string in 30 years of playing guitar. Cant wait!
The previous owner is currently the touring guitarist for Bob Seger.
I only now realized I never posted pictures from the NGD:
It's my first maple-backed guitar. I don't have the ear to pick out any tonal differences since there're too many other variables to consider from my other guitars, but I know it's a very sustainable domestic wood, which I can appreciate, and something seen in more higher-end guitars than in years past instead of rosewood, tropical mahoganys, etc
I know people shit on rosewood, because lots of cheap guitars use cheap "rosewood", but I can appreciate a nice piece of the better stuff, with richer color and some streaks.
Later that year, I also picked up my first bass. I've "had" basses before, some for a number of years...but they were always loaners. It was $179, and the cheapest bass that didn't feel like it was less than $300. An Ibanez Talman, I think a TB100. I have a sheet of matte black vinyl wrap that I want to use to cover the red pearloid on the pickguard, to sort of murder it out, because I like the contrast of glossy black body with matte black pickguard and this looks a bit too "70s".
Then later that year, we took out first "real" vacation, and went to Hawaii (Maui). While there, my one goal was to buy a ukulele, made in Hawaii, from Hawaiian koa, that didn't feel like a toy, and my budget was $200. I found this one for $260, and I splurged, even though *some* of the manufacture was done in asia, but final assembly and finishing was done in Hawaii, from what I understand. But, that's what I had to do to have one that was actually "musical instrument quality" and not just "gift shop decor", and less than $500 for anything that was
more made in Hawaii.
Pictured here on the chair in the Air B&B, appropriately...
By the end of 2019, I was able to do something that I've yearned for since I started playing guitar over 30 years ago: guitars hanging on the wall.
I know I've posted about it in the "I made dis" thread, or maybe the "home improvement" thread...but either way, it also should be here. Ha!
Amusingly the first guitar I hung up, I actually sold last year...
NOTE: If anyone from the future stumbles across these photos and wants to do the same thing, take note: I installed the bottom rail too high. The headstocks between the guitars take up soo much room along with the hook hardware itself that this creates ZERO additional capacity over a single rail. To fit "double the guitars", the bottom rail would need to be closer to the floor so that the two rows don't conflict. We have a cat, and I was afraid it might try to chew on them, so I raised it up thinking it'd still work...it still holds guitars and looks more impressive, but doesn't actually hold more than just one rail would have.
Yes, the ones on the right are turned flat, because...
To make sure the door wouldn't hit the guitars, I made a custom slat-rail-mounted, long-reach door stop that I hung between the guitars, out of some gorgeous claro walnut I found in a Woodcraft scrap cutoff bin, and a customized String Swing slat rail back plate.
Then in 2020, I received a guitar I ordered at the end of 2019. Behold: Excaliber.
Burled one-piece maple top with a hand-stained finish, with matching headstock and after-market back plate, swamp ash body with a transparent black finish, 5-piece maple/purpleheart neck, and a ziricote fretboard with abalone inlays, abalone headstock logo, and abalone topped knobs. Stainless steel frets, piezo electronics, chrome hardware.