Kiddo has been taking lessons in music production for a few months now. What was once a nice little
place for me to play my guitar has been nearly overrun by her keyboard, launchpad, laptop, monitor, and
other accoutrements she's incapable of keeping tidy (part of her syndrome).
OCD is another part of her syndrome. Lately, her obsessions have varied, and one of them has been
buying a guitar. We've tried to be gentle about guiding her away from these crazes as they emerge,
but a couple of weeks ago when I walked back into the music store to collect her from her lesson, she
was standing at the counter with a huge wad of cash in her hand — she'd just bought a used guitar,
with guidance from her music instructor.
She's in the doghouse for that little stunt. She can't even play the thing until she gets her
cast off of her arm. The good news here, though, is that it's not too shabby for an entry level
instrument. And actually, I find myself a little jealous. It's got two Semour Duncan humbucking pickups
that give it a better sound than my Gibson Les Paul has.
I can't have that.
For some time, I've been quietly drooling over Eddie Van Halen's line of instruments, but believed
they were out of my reach... until last night. I happened on American Musical Supply's website — I
used to get catalogs from AMS for years — and found they're selling EVH instruments at very reasonable
prices. I found an EVH Wolfgang Special with a D-Tuna device in a lovely deep purple color:
I thought these instruments only came in black and cream — and honestly, I'd be fine with either
color. But I like the deep purple... it lets me sort of assert a preference that helps to make it
MINE.
Of course, making it mine will be a challenge. I think I'm going to be "stalking" this web page for
a while.
In the meantime, I'm thinking about customizations I can do to my Les Paul that won't cost $1000...
upgrading the pickups is one possibility.
UPDATE:
We have a Guitar Center store nearby, and I noticed they're charging the same price as I found
on the other stores' sites online. Guitar Center is also running a special right now where I'd get an
extra 15% off of the EVH if I traded in my Les Paul. I'm thinking really, really hard about this...
hard enough that I almost want to pack it up and head over to have it appraised.
Also, I heard back from the Gibson support shop. They won't install a Floyd Rose system on my LP
because the angle of the headstock makes it impossible.
The other option I was considering was intalling new pickups on my LP. I got some good advice from
one of the Guitar Center guys about this... price tag would end up at about $240. If I end up hating
the EVH and keeping my LP, this is my alternate route.
UPDATE:
Took in the LP. They offered $400, which, considering I bought the guitar 15 years ago at $849,
isn't too shabby; they'll mark it up and sell it for probably something in the ballpark of what I
paid, I expect. With the 15% discount, my equity in the EVH is around $550, meaning I'll bring it
home for about $550 out the door ($450 + $100 tax).
So the plan now is this: they're going to a nearby store that has one in stock. And when I say
"going", I mean they'll drive there to collect it. I'll come back to my store, plug it in and
play with it, and if I find it acceptable, the deal is done.
I got a little choked up about it this afternoon while the Les Paul was being appraised. That guitar
represented ascension into maturity in a way. Before I bought the Gibson, I had a Jackson/Charvel Fusion
Deluxe I bought in the late '80s at a music shop in the Keys. Strat body,
super fast neck. Had a series of effects pedals I used to
play through into a Crate amp or something like that. I gave up on Malmsteen, Reid and Vai and dumped
all of that crap and bought the Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall amp. Nothing else. Let the amp do the
work. The guitar was built in Nashville in October, 2004; I probably bought it in 2005. I LOVE that
guitar. It's hard to let it go, but... we'll see what tomorrow has in store.
FINAL UPDATE:
The EVH they showed me was not in Deep Purple... it was in a jaw-dropping flat black called
"Stealth," sort of the guitar equivalent of a blackout package on a car: all black hardware, including
the tuning pegs. The fretboard is black upon a lovely light maple neck. The pickups, which sound lovely
by the way, are in alternating colors of black and cream; the same cream color is also found only on
the binding.
Initially, I thought I'd just play this in the shop and have order the instrument in Deep Purple
Metallic; but my daughter convinced me to buy this guitar instead. The great thing about the store
policy is I can play it for 45 days, then bring it back and have order the purple if I really wanted
it that badly.
Playing this guitar — through my amp at home — is a lot of fun. It certainly has a different sound
than did my Les Paul. To start, it doesn't have the tinge of "twang" my G-string had, and the pickups
delivery lovely, buttery sounds: the bridge pickup delivers crisp highs, but combines well with the
neck pickup to deliver a smoother sound with more bass. If the guitar was a stack
of pancakes, the bridge pickup brings lots of melted butter, and the neck pickup brings the warm syrup;
the combination is undeniably delicious. (This is probably an awful metaphor, but it's morning and I
haven't eaten yet.) The neck is thinner than my LP, and that has certainly impacted my play; the LP
neck is much fatter. Through the Floyd Rose trem system, I can now add little accents here and there as
I work through my usual playlist; these songs don't really call for divebombing — and I don't think
I'd try until the strings are done stretching anyway. I haven't used the D-Tuna yet, but my
curiosity is building. There is one thing about the guitar that I find a little weird: the headstock
is small enough to make the neck seem short.
The only thing I'm unhappy with in the trade is that the guitar did not come in a case. When I bought
my Les Paul, it came in a gorgeous hardshell case with a guitar-shaped cloth inside to cover the
instrument, and a built-in combination lock — easily $200. I was stunned when the store manager walked
in carrying just the instrument — not even in a gig bag. I can buy an EVH hardshell case for $159,
and I likely will — the body isn't a standard strat or LP type shape. It's the premise, I guess.
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