Dream Guitars

[JD01]

Don't want to spam Greg's thread - but its really cool that he's actually managed to get his hands on one of his dream guitars.

Got me thinking, what's my dream guitar - do I even have one? Thinking about it, I think I have 3.

- Mosrite Gospel - this is very rare indeed, even if I could find one I'd likely never be able to afford it. I'd settle for a UniVox
- 60s Fender Mustang with a bridge humbucker and a neck single coil - this might be a more reasonable way of me getting a "vintage" guitar.
- Les Paul Special Doublecut - Obviously I'd never be able to afford a 50s one, but they actually made very good re-issues of these in 2001. I came across one for 700 quid a few years ago but I couldn't stretch to it at the time (I bought a cheapo PRS instead). I still regret that I didn't just buy it and work out how to pay for it later.

Anyone else got a list of "dream guitars" Greg, got anymore? (Other than a '59 LP)

[muttley]

The only guitar I still lust after would be an original D'Angelico. Probably an Excel single pup or possibly a New Yorker.

[Greg_L]

Greg, got anymore? (Other than a '59 LP)

The 59 LP is not a dream guitar of mine. Never was. I just wanna hold one, play one, put it back, walk away forever. I love Les Pauls but I'm finding it very very very hard to believe that $350k Burst is any better than any other nice Les Paul. The closest I've gotten is a few real 57s and one 58, and they were cool, but not that special to me in my hack caveman hands.

The only guitar even remotely left on my radar, and it's way out on the fringe, is a Gretsch White Falcon. And on one of those I'd want the double-cut. I have handled quite a few White Falcons, new and old, and I prefer the thinner 60s/70s double-cut versions.

[Lt. Bob]

- Mosrite Gospel - this is very rare indeed, even if I could find one I'd likely never be able to afford it.

you mean like this?

I had one (of course ) except mine was all natural maple.

[JD01]

Nah, this one:

Although that one you posted is dead cool too.

[Greg_L]

The Gospel is just a Mark V. Any Mark V/ 2nd gen Ventures II is the same guitar. Gospels are incredibly rare. I think they were only made for a very short run during one of his corporate clusterfucks - Semie Moseley was a terrible businessman. He lost his own name multiple times. He was a devout Christian though, so during one of his times of personal turmoil he made "Gospel" guitars...that were just regular Mark Vs. You can find a Mark V much easier and much more affordably than a Gospel.

[JD01]

I did read this afternoon that there were only two MK V gospels ever made. One was Kurt Cobains and he really looked after it. The other belongs to Moseleys niece

[Greg_L]

I did read this afternoon that there were only two MK V gospels ever made. One was Kurt Cobains and he really looked after it. The other belongs to Moseleys niece

Maybe, I'm not sure. I've heard in Mosrite lore that they were made for about two or three years. But he didn't make many guitars anyway, so two or three years of production could still only be a handful of guitars.

The first-gen Ventures II that Johnny Ramone played was a very small run in 1965. Those gave way to the Mark V/Ventures II shape, which was the same as a Gospel. How many got the "Gospel" headstock is anyone's guess. Supposedly he made them for churches. There may be a few rotting in some church basements somewhere.

[CrowsofFritz]

I already love my electric and classical as much as I possibly can. The only thing I might want to add is a hollow body and an acoustic like a Martin 00-15

[Lt. Bob]

The Gospel is just a Mark V. Any Mark V/ 2nd gen Ventures II is the same guitar. Gospels are incredibly rare. I think they were only made for a very short run during one of his corporate clusterfucks - Semie Moseley was a terrible businessman. He lost his own name multiple times. He was a devout Christian though, so during one of his times of personal turmoil he made "Gospel" guitars...that were just regular Mark Vs. You can find a Mark V much easier and much more affordably than a Gospel.

No ..... the really rare gospels were the ones I posted a picture of.
I owned one so I definitely know for sure they existed.

Actually, I remember the one I had being deeper than the one in that picture ..... more of a jazz box and I remember it having a jazz box type floating bridge too ..... and lastly I thought mine had a more normal Mosrite headstock.

I could be wrong on some of this because it was very long ago but of all my guitars, that's prolly the one I'd most like to have back.
Well, I'd like one of my 6 figure gits but only to sell it.
I'd love to have the Gospel back to have and love.

[WhiskeyJack]

TL;DR: I have lost all vision of my dream guitar.

You guys all wanna know something. My dream guitar used to be a 70's Goldtop Deluxe modded the same Mike Ness, but when i started hanging around with all you guys online and learning more and more about what goes into a tone and carving out a sound for a guitar i realized my dream guitar was based only off a bit of fanboying. I never truly had a dream guitar of my own. Weird eh. [mention]Greg_L[/mention] [mention]Lt. Bob[/mention] [mention]Minerman[/mention] and more recently [mention]muttley[/mention] have shown me there is so much more that go into the sound of a guitar / tone that my dream guitar is the one that's going to give me a sound i am happy with. And as long as it isn't pointy and lame with a maple varnished fretboard it's a dream guitar. And my ears really like single coil tones way more than humbucker tones so i am always going to lean towards single coils.

If i had to pick a dream guitar at this stage of my life and guitar fetishing i would best describe it as a Les Paul junior or telecaster body type of guitar with some single coils of any flavor and then garnished to taste with whatever aesthetic du jour that happens to tickle my fancy. Definitely any of the old vintage car colors of days gone by. I like handmade and sentimental more and more each passing day so it would have to be something made by a friend or someone i know and trust to do a good job. Then i am ready to rock and roll. I posted a picture a long time ago of LP Jr body with a P90 on the bridge and telecaster neck pick up that if i recall correctly was wired like a telecaster and it looked real sharp the way the builder had it done up. I am sure purists would cringe at the sight / thought of it but for me it was lustworthy.

[Greg_L]

]No ..... the really rare gospels were the ones I posted a picture of.
I owned one so I definitely know for sure they existed.

Actually, I remember the one I had being deeper than the one in that picture ..... more of a jazz box and I remember it having a jazz box type floating bridge too ..... and lastly I thought mine had a more normal Mosrite headstock.

I could be wrong on some of this because it was very long ago but of all my guitars, that's prolly the one I'd most like to have back.
Well, I'd like one of my 6 figure gits but only to sell it.
I'd love to have the Gospel back to have and love.

I think he added the Gospel name to all of his guitars at various points. It wasn't really a specific model per se. He'd build his usual stuff and add the Gospel paintjob to the headstock to make it a Gospel. You can find examples of "Gospels" in all of his shapes and configurations. They're all based on an already existing model...kind of like the GTO was just a fancy LeMans, or the Impala was a fancy BelAir.

[Greg_L]

TL;DR: I have lost all vision of my dream guitar.

You guys all wanna know something. My dream guitar used to be a 70's Goldtop Deluxe modded the same Mike Ness,

Well, shit, you could do a lot worse than that!

[CrowsofFritz]

more recently @muttley have shown me there is so much more that go into the sound of a guitar / tone that my dream guitar is the one that's going to give me a sound i am happy with. And as long as it isn't pointy and lame with a maple varnished fretboard it's a dream guitar. And my ears really like single coil tones way more than humbucker tones so i am always going to lean towards single coils.

Yeah, it used to be for me that I wanted a nice rustic looking 62’ Strat with Seymour Duncan’s just so I can get the same tone as John Frusciante. But after hearing my Strat for years, I’ve developed a love for the tone I get from it. It’s already my dream guitar, and I’d be super sad to sell it if I were in an emergency or something.

[JD01]

I suppose I had my dream guitar built come to think of it. Most of the other stuff I mentioned I'd scarcely be able to find let alone afford!

Maybe Kurt Cobain just got oddly lucky when he picked one up and got a MK V with a very unusual headstock decal. Despite his apparent don't give a fuck attitude he definitely knew his gear so he probably knew what he was buying. He obviously knew what it was worth, he never trashed it.

[Greg_L]

I suppose I had my dream guitar built come to think of it. Most of the other stuff I mentioned I'd scarcely be able to find let alone afford!

Maybe Kurt Cobain just got oddly lucky when he picked one up and got a MK V with a very unusual headstock decal. Despite his apparent don't give a fuck attitude he definitely knew his gear so he probably knew what he was buying. He obviously knew what it was worth, he never trashed it.

Yeah I bet he knew what he was doing. He probably wanted a Mosrite for the same reason anyone wants one - they're quirky and different and in certain genres they have a distinct "cool factor". A lot of dudes in influential alternative and punk bands from the MC5 to the Stooges to Ramones and B-52s used them back in the day. He was influenced just like anyone else. And I'm no Cobain historian or anything, but I don't recall him ever bashing up anything really good. He used a lot of junk pawn shop stuff for TV gigs where they'd destroy their stuff. Did he ever destroy anything that would be considered vintage or collectible?

[JD01]

I don't think he did. There was also a heavily nodded old Jag and a 60s Mustang that he didn't trash.

He smashed Univoxes instead of the Mosrite and they were pennies until he made them popular again (they're about 700 fucking quid now!!!).

And he generally smashed bog standard Fenders aside from that and he probably got them free. His guitar tech has talked quite extensively about the vintage stuff not being used at the end of the shows and how he always used to cobble guitars together out of all the various remains.

[WhiskeyJack]

Did he ever destroy anything that would be considered vintage or collectible?

In a round about way he for sure did because all the stuff he trashed on stage you can bet there is 100's of little grunge dudes sitting in front of youtube saying "i would have played that guitar if he ever sold it..." they wold have been instant collectible and truth be told there are probably bits of guitar laying on a shelf somewhere that a roadie or stage tech picked up and has mounted in his man cave.

[Greg_L]

I don't think he did. There was also a heavily nodded old Jag and a 60s Mustang that he didn't trash.

He smashed Univoxes instead of the Mosrite and they were pennies until he made them popular again (they're about 700 fucking quid now!!!).

And he generally smashed bog standard Fenders aside from that and he probably got them free. His guitar tech has talked quite extensively about the vintage stuff not being used at the end of the shows and how he always used to cobble guitars together out of all the various remains.

Right, that's what I assumed. Like most guitar smashing rock stars, he didn't smash the good stuff. I've personally never been a fan of guitar smashing, even if it is a cheapo junk prop just for looks. It's dumb.

I saw a vid one time of Billie Joe Green Day angrily throwing a Les Paul Custom off a huge tall festival stage because it went out of tune. So punk rock. Like that pansy fucker doesn't have four guitar players behind him doing the actual heavy lifting on guitar. That shit annoys me.

[Greg_L]

In a round about way he for sure did because all the stuff he trashed on stage you can bet there is 100's of little grunge dudes sitting in front of youtube saying "i would have played that guitar if he ever sold it..." they wold have been instant collectible and truth be told there are probably bits of guitar laying on a shelf somewhere that a roadie or stage tech picked up and has mounted in his man cave.

Ha yeah, a broken Squier is worth a hundred grand now because Kurt Cobain broke it.