Show us your herd

[Zandit75]

For just over 20yrs, I was a single guitar man. Now, in the last 12mths, I've bought another acoustic, and currently working on first build.


The Maton has served me very well over the years, but was getting a little dusty with lack of use. Thanks to some new friends I started gigging again and I got the GAS bug. I started looking for a 12-string acoustic, but most that I played had a real tinny/jangly sound to them that I wasn't fond of. I then came across the Ibanez 8-String acoustic. It has octave courses on the D & G strings, and it just gives the chords a fuller sound without the jangle. Unplugged it sounds above average, but it produces heaps of volume when played hard. Plugged into an amp or sound system, and it comes alive thanks to the excellent Fishman pickup in it.

[FrankenWashie]

I finally got around to dragging all of them into one room of the house and setting them up for a photo. These are the monsters that lurk about the FrankenLab!


Back row L-R: Epiphone Casino Circa late 90's, Dobro Hound dog deluxe round neck, Ibanez MMM1 Baritone, Antonino Lorca student classical acoustic, $90 Chinese Cash Converters Squire Strat (Goes well for $90!!).

Front Row: Eastman AR605CE Archtop, Takamine EN20 Jumbo.

At a pinch i can part with most of them, though the Eastman would be a wrench. The Epi and the Takamine you would need to prise from my cold dead hands. I love those two guitars and they have been with me through a lot of personal upheaval.

[gavinturner]

Nice set!

cheers,
Gav.

[FrankenWashie]

Cheers Gav, hopefully soon to be joined by an EXA, an LPM, an SV-1 and eventually the resurrected FrankenWashie! Though he may take a bit longer than first thought.

[Zandit75]

Nice group Franken, certainly diverse.
I'm surprised about your comments on the Takamine. I've yet to play one that sounded good, in my ears at least. These have ranged from high priced brand new ones, and older ones that have been around for ages.

[FrankenWashie]

Nice group Franken, certainly diverse.
I'm surprised about your comments on the Takamine. I've yet to play one that sounded good, in my ears at least. These have ranged from high priced brand new ones, and older ones that have been around for ages.

To be honest, the Tak is the best sounding one of the lot, I've not had a large range of high end acoustics available to me, but everyone who has played it loves it.

I also realise reviewing that photo that i have omitted my Steinberger Spirit six string. It's around the lab somewhere!

[corsair]

OK, lads and lasses - no PBGs... yet, but you may sense a theme!



The two on the extreme left are the two inside guitars at the moment; a Vantage AV325 Avenger au naturel with P90s and uprated hardware all round: it also has an unfinished neck which makes it a honey to play! Behind is a Westone Spectrum LX, a H/S/H with trick switching and a locking trem - a great litttle all rounder.



Vantage VA10 acoustic, Vantage Avenger AV325 "Bougainville Avenger", (upright on table) Vantage Invader II, Electra XV-1 Lady, Westone X300PP Pantera, Aria Pro II U-60 Urchin, Westone XA 1630 Genesis II, Aria Pro II LC440, Westone Raider II, (flat on table, clockwise from top left) Westone 1012 Spectrum II, Westone CL4112 Clipper, Vantage AV 395 Avenger, Vantage AV310 Avenger "Corsair Avenger", Fender Stratocaster. (rack in front, l-r) Westone Spectrum ST, Westone Spectrum MX, Westone Spectrum GTBass, Westone Spectrum GT, Electra Phoenix X195, Commodore lap steel. And a Vantage VS696-12.

Most have been fettled in some way - witness the paint on 4 or 5 of them or had pickups changed out; uprated hardware on most - locking tuners, string trees, output jacks, pots and caps. The Corsair Avenger is a tribute to my father who flew the F4U-1D Corsair in the Pacific during W2; it currently has the neck off to have the headstock re-finished as I wasn't happy with the waterslide decals I'd done. It has a Tonerider ACII in place of the MMK 45 that resided there, and trick switching courtesy of Weirdbits: cheers, bro!!

My main gigging guitar for 25+ years isn't here; I have loaned it to a friend of mine for his collection; it is a Vantage VA900 thru neck, 24 fret monster of an instrument...

[wokkaboy]

wow cool collection Corsair I counted about 20 guitars roughly ?
Do you do archery are they the targets in the background ?

hard to see all the axes there are so many. You definitely have a bad case of GAS !

[corsair]

Thanks, man - and yeah, I did indeed and I could justify it because I was playing out and 'needed' the sound that another could give me! Now, though, they sit in their cases, under a tarp in the shed....

These are all, bar 2, products of the Matsumoku plant in Japan between 1978 and 1987 and are just superb playing guitars!!

My better half and youngest lad are the archers; those targets are from an international event they did last year where they both picked up gongs...

[wokkaboy]

yeah cool Corsair I don't know much about Vantage guitars but know the Japanese build a damn fine product in just about all things manufactured there. Hope your shed doesn't get too hot would hate to see a neck warp from the heat !
What is the lap steel looks interesting ? Now your avatar makes more sense seeing your large axe collection !