Spike

Yeah, you post a pic of your new neck and everyone kind of piles on. That's so not fair. When I saw the pic, my first thought was "Holy crap, that looks fantastic!" And that's coming from an admitted ebony snob. So, huge congrats on the new neck! It turned out great and I can't wait to see it on the guitar.

And those checkmark thingies are slanted the wrong way.

They have a Euro model that has holes already drilled. I'm not sure which V-Pick you prefer but the description in the Euro states that it's a great replacement for the Jazz III so if you like the small pointed ones, that one might work for you. Another V-pick convert here. I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical but decided to go ahead and give them a try. Yeah, they're expensive as picks go but in the grand scheme of things, I figured it was a relatively cheap tweak so what the heck. I ordered a selection of the ones that I thought would be most likely to work for me. I'm still going back and forth a bit on which one I prefer but one thing is certain -- the picks I used to use (primarily the Jazz III) sound absolutely dull and lifeless in comparison. Note: my playing still sounds dull and lifeless -- there's nothing that will fix that -- but hey, at least the tone is better. I just placed another order for a few more various picks. I'm kind of starting to wish I had never tried them. I need to get a keychain pick holder to carry them as I'm notorious for losing picks out of my pockets and/or purse. I don't lose picks around the house but if I leave the house with 10 picks, I'm lucky to have 2 or 3 left by the time I return. I think I'll just carry the Jazz III and other assorted el-cheapo picks with me until I get a keychain holder.

I happened to pick up a used one of these from a local shop on Saturday. (A genuine Gibson, not a Chibson.) It's pretty much identical to the one on eBay but mine is a 2014 Studio Pro. While the counterfeits are certainly getting better, they often get the logo placement wrong and have crappy pots, caps and pup wiring, among other things. As others here have said, the one on eBay certainly looks like the real deal.

Wait, So we have to sound good on a guitar in order to justify owning it?!? Oh crap. Looks like I need to sell, well, all of my guitars if that's the case. Back to the subject of the thread. The most expensive guitar I own has to be my 1970 Les Paul Custom. (At least, I think it's ~1970. Gotta love the preciseness of the Gibby SNs during that era). It's a Black Beauty "fretless wonder" that I bought for $550 used many, many years ago. After I injured my wrist and could no longer play, I sold everything (including, yes, a 4-digit Standard) except for the LPC. I just couldn't bear to be without a guitar, even if I couldn't play, and since the LPC was steadily appreciating the most in value AT THAT TIME, I figured it made the most sense to hang on to the LPC. Well, that and the fact that it sounds absolutely killer. Fast forward many, many years and I'm able to (sort of) play again. My wrist still gets inflamed but not quite as badly as it used to and at least it's allowing me to play a little so that's better than nothing. I still suck but that's to be expected. Hell, I sucked even before my wrist injury so no change there. Still miss that pencil-neck 4-digit though.

My 1981 Dean ML is my #1 guitar, mainly because it's a beater so I can leave it out on a stand and not really worry. The pic is a bit deceptive as there was some hackery/butchery done by a previous owner and the eBay seller was, uh, less than honest about it. I won the dispute but decided to keep the guitar, partially because return shipping would have been expensive but mainly because the guitar plays like a bandit. The neck is very comfortable for my wrist (I had wrist surgery years ago and a lot of necks just don't work for me) and I can beat the snot out of it and it still stays in tune. It's a beater. What's not to love?

Damn. I soooo wanted to make this. I had three other things on the schedule for Saturday and, by juggling them, I thought I might possibly be able to fit this in. An email from my boss Saturday morning kind of shot everything all to hell. (Not his fault, BTW.) Looks like a great time was had by all! I'm really sorry I had to miss it. ScottM, thanks for posting the pics. They're much appreciated by those of us that couldn't be there. BruceM, one of these days I'll get there and actually be able to check out your Silver Standard. When is the next jam again?

Sorry but no can do. I just got back into playing after many years away due to a wrist injury and subsequent surgery. I have only recently begun to rebuild my quiver. That said, I've snapped up enough guitars in the past couple of months that I'm pretty happy with what I have. However, I'd still like to add a pencil-necked Standard to my collection at some point so I just can't sign on to this. Once I have acquired the aforementioned Standard, it might be a possibility but until then, not a chance.