Well about half way through my lessons I started to understand a lot more around the sounds from a guitar and what I wanted from my guitar. Which then prompted me to look in to buying one for myself and returning my brothers back to him.
After weeks of reading and looking through review web sites about Guitars, their sounds and other characteristics I got to the point where I felt I could ruck up to a Music shop and try some out and try and find one that was right for me!
Well, you could spend a long time doing this! and I did, back and to from the shop over a number of weeks trying out different guitars on the way back from work until one Saturday I called in a I got chatting with one of the lads behind the counter. I went through my usual chat about what music I like (Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Chilli Peppers, Clapton, Jack Johnson, Led Zeppelin etc..) and what I liked trying to play…. the above artists!
Quite a wide range of stuff, I really liked the feel of the Fender Stratocasters but wanted something Meatier to play the heavier Metallica stuff etc, I REALLY liked the Gibson Les Pauls, but there was no way I could afford one of those just yet, and I wanted to still get some thinner sounds for the Chilli Peppers stuff…. What to do?
Well the nice lad behind the counter took me over to the corner of the room and showed me one of the 2nd had guitars he had in the shop, a ‘Gordon Smith – Graduate’. This is a Les Paul copy made in Manchester (Partington) with their own pickups and hand built! He also added that they build to your requirement in terms of hardware and electronics! But the deal clencher for me was the fact that they included tapped pots for the pickups (which essentially, if pulled out reduces either or both the pickups to a single coil hence allowing to get the thinner sound that a Standard Gibson wouldnt have given me!
I didnt need any more that this and went off and did my homework on Gordon Smith Guitars.
I dont think I read a bad review about them, and in short they would build you a Guitar in there range with the paint job you want and the Hardware and electronics of your choice (either their standard parts or alternate supplied)
Within weeks I had come up with my Guitar Spec and sent off for some prices.
I pretty well much asked for an allsinging all dancing quote and a Gordon Smith Stock option, which ended upp about £200 difference, so I took the middle road and merged the two! and this is What I ended up with:
- Right Handed, single cut-away with carved spruce top
- Full Gloss front, satin to back sides and neck
- Vintage Sunburst with Tiger stripe (Maple Cap)
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- Tunomatic Bridge
- Unique Gordon Smith One Piece Maple neck
- Natural Headstock (non- Oclour Matched)
- Chrome Pickup Covers
- Tapped Pots for the Bridge and Neck Pickups
- And the pickups themselves:
- APH-1 Alnico II Pro in the Neck
- SHPG-1 Pearly Gates in the Bridge
Its fair to say that (and i think they mention this on their site), they don’t make custom guitars, but they do customise their standard builds, two very different things.
4 months waiting list! the longest 4 months of my life (possibly)! I wish I’d got the one in the shop just to tinker with in the mean time whilst waiting for mine to come in! I looked in the shop…. it sold!
It wouldnt be right without a link to their site, you can find them here at http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com