So now, I have a Kiesel CT6, a Gibson Les Paul Traditional, an Ibanez RT-150 and a refinishing vintage Fender Precision Bass (i know both the guitar tech and the guitar refinisher). (I’m not considering the Stagg Mandolin for now.) This whole guitar thing has taught be much and I’m still learning. It has been and will be my mini business for a while. And I’m enjoying it.
The Kiesel is a well-built guitar with fantastic tone. She has top-notch clean tones and can growl well with gains. Yet, that is where she pales in comparison with the Les Paul. I like the Gibson’s dark and punchy tones in overdrive and crunch tones. At the same time, she can play the cleans very well too. Both the Kiesel and the Gibson are wonderful guitars but I will sell or trade the Kiesel off on the basis that she’s less “dirty”. Besides, she doesn’t have a good resale value. Fingers crossed, I will be swapping her for another Gibson or even a PRS.
My plan is to get a Gibson Les Paul Standard or a versatile Gibson jazzbox with the Kiesel. Then I could sell either of the higher end Gibson or the Traditional (which was sold to me under her original value), garnering a small profit. In a nutshell, I will keep a Gibson in the 2K to 3K range. I might have rejected Gibson for much of my trading “career” but this past week of playing with a Gibson has changed my perspective completely. A Gibson is worth keeping to a musician.
My vintage Fender Precision Bass is targeted to return to me by end of October. And I hope to sell it off to fund one more high end guitar in a Tom Anderson, a PRS or a Suhr and yet make some profits. The little profits will help me run my guitar trading business. I will also learn how to repair guitars more proficiently and service guitars properly.
I may choose to keep the Ibanez RT-150 for good since it is the cheapest made-in-Japan quality guitar. I won’t make much if I were to sell her.
But of course, all the above are just my plans. And often, my plans don’t work out accordingly. There will still be surprises (who would have thought I could embrace Gibson?) and changes along the way. I may still go after my original dreams in the Telecaster, the Jaguar and the Bass VI. Trading and playing different guitars have taught me to keep an open mind and to adapt to the changing market conditions.