...guitar, that is.

Here's a question for everyone: If you had to choose one guitar to be your one-and-only-do-everything-go-to guitar, what would you choose?

A purely hypothetical question of course, but if you insist on a reason, say a new law was enacted that said that to avoid conspicuous consumption and preserve the rainforests of the world, each guitarist would only be allowed to own one instrument. Or that a new study proved that a player would become a better player if they dedicated themselves to one guitar (actually, I have my suspicions about that last one having some merit, but that's a topic for another day).

only 1

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0119700800

? Scary isn't it?

What a grim scenario... ? Imagine hiding guitars in the cellar whenever the Guitar Vice Squad drives past...the fear of never knowing when a boot will kick in your studio door

I would go for my Godin Solidac, if I had to choose between the ones I have right now, for it's versatility. If I did not have any guitars but could choose only one from whatever's out there, I probably would have chosen a Fender Strat.

My RR3 Jackson, I love the neck so I could always get better components if the guitar mafia allows it ?

Fender Strat

I got mine because it is the guitar I wanted more than anything else. After 20 years with it I have never felt the need for anything else, other than for variety or novelty value. With the grim picture you draw I would not feel any worse off electric wise, as I got rid of all the others anyway. Acoustic wise I would have a problem though. I still can not get enough of them.

My current axe is pretty neat but if budget wasn't an issue, then probably a JS chrome boy, custom-made for me ?

ESP M-II played it at marshal..awesome guitar.

Strangely enough I've been thinking about this for a few min and I can't come up with anything in particular.
It'd probably be the Fender Custom Shop Flat Head... Just one of those that I really like for no reason in particular. (ok, maybe it's the asthetics - piston inlay rocks!)

just to rock the boat a bit, i would go for the Gibson Robot Guitar

I actually did this for over a decade - sold off dozens of guitars and kept one, modded to within an inch of becoming the starship Enterprise. ? Got it to cover as much ground as possible - MIDI, piezos and a range of humbucker and single coil sounds from two humbuckers. While my focus has changed away from a do-everything guitar these days, it's still my #1 go-to.

@Riaan - Yeah, flexibility would be the key. The Godin's a good choice for that.

@Riaan & Seph - It's hard to beat a Strat for that (although I would fit piezos too). I'd also go for a graduated range of pickups: a hot singlecoil or low power 'bucker in the bridge, a medium power single-coil in the middle and a low power single-coil in the neck. That kind of arrangement covers everything from rock through blues to clean.

@Mike - Mmm. John Mayer Strat. GREAT guitar, if overpriced. Pickups would need to be changed though - they seem to be voiced to use a more midrange-heavy amp like a Vox or Marshall and still get something of the scooped Fender amp sound. Otherwise an Eric Johnson...

@Lindy - Bang go my preconceived notions of you bringing out the softer side of this forum. ? There ya go shattering my illusions of the fairer sex. It's getting so you can't trust a good stereotype these days. ?

@Dirkv - Interesting. I can understand the choice of an LP - limited range of voices, but good ones (provided you find a nice example). Robot version, I'm not sure about... Give me a tuner and my hands any day - less to go wrong.

would have to say the Fender 1970 Jag-stang
used by Kurt Cobain ?

Probably a Suhr Modern with a non-locking trem
http://www.suhrguitars.com/modern.aspx

or a Vigier Shawn Lane model.
http://www.vigierguitars.com/page/fiche_produit.php?id_prod=233

Maybe even an Ibanez J-Custom RG
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/series_jp.php?series_id=1&year=2008&cat_id=1

or a Caparison Horus
http://www.kyowashokai.co.jp/caparison-eng/e-08product/e08classichorus.html

Yes, i'm all about the super-strat.

It would be a tough decision, but you'd be forced to get the best guitar possible. The Variax would probably become massively popular for flexibility.

Oeffff ... Martin DM3MD (Dave Matthews signature model)
http://www.harmony-central.com/Events/SNAMM99/Martin/DM3MD.html
(just in case they take away our amps too)

I heard this question in many guises- If your house was burning which guitar would you grab? If you could have any guitar in the world what would it be? If you starving/freezing would you sell/burn/eat your guitar? The answer is always the same for me, I monogamously will always choose my Jap Strat that I have had for nearly 20 years. You might want to ask Dr Brian May the same question.

Renesongs wrote: You might want to ask Dr Brian May the same question.

?

...closely followed by: "Can I have your others then?"

Very, very interesting conundrum Alan!

If it had to be a Strat (which I wouldn't choose because I'm not a traditional kind of guy, although I do like 'em) it would definitely be an Eric Johnson Strat: 12" Fingerboard radius which is non-negotiable for me, beefy sounding bridge pickup compared to a regular super-bright Strat bridge pup along with bridge tone control (why they don't do this on all strats is beyond me), 1-piece maple neck & thin nitro-cellulose finish. One of the ultimate Strats IMO.
Check these reviews out:
http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/fender-eric-johnson/Jul-05/11252
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=98191&src=3SOSWXXA
The only issue I've heard of (like nearly all big-name guitars these days) is the Quality Control from the factory isn't always the best.

If it had to be a Strat

It wouldn't have to be - your choice of anything. What would it be then and why?

I figure if I'm going to limit you to only one guitar, the least I can do is let you choose anything your heart could desire. ?

Understood, just thought I'd give my opinion on the ultimate strat (well Fender anyway) 'cos the features really set it apart vs other Strats IMO. Actually I already own my ultimate guitar. i just don't like to tell the whole world about it 'cos I think it's a well-kep secret as far as great guitars go. As you know I'm a fan of Cort for the quality you get for the $. Well here it is: http://www.cort.co.kr/english/products/common/view.asp?product_id=109 Mine's a Cort KX Custom in Transparent Black (the pic is Shadow Blue Burst). Why? - The neck profile, shape and the fact that it's painted. Thinner than Fender, thicker & rounder than Ibanez Wizard. - 24Frets, 25.5" Scale & Set neck with sculpted heel. Great sustain, 2 octaves per string & great upper fret access. - Mahogany body with 20mm arched maple top. Mahogany warm, but brighter than most because of thick maple top. - String through bridge. Super stable tuning while not being a pain when changing strings (Ala Gibson Tuneomatic). - 3-way pickup selector (don't like 5-way) & 1 tone, 1 Vol positioned close to hand for quick changes mid-song. - Seymour Duncan JB Bridge & '59 Neck. One of my favourite pup combos. Great tone. Super versatile + singlecoil tones from push/pull coil split on tone control. Basically 6 tones from 2 pups. - No binding on fingerboard (I really dislike plastic binding!) + nice low action & lower frets (large, 2.7mm) than your average medium jumbo. I like the feel of slightly lower frets vs your average Ibanez fret size (except the JS). - Great build quality for the money. Not quite PRS or Suhr, but still very good for a fraction of the $. Plus I feel way happier to take it to gigs without having to worry about hurting it 'cos it aint so much $ to replace. - Installed Schaller Straplocks for peace of mind while going wild on stage + changed Vol knob for a more grippy one. As you can see I'm pretty specific as to what I want and this was the only thing that fit the bill to the letter of what I want, including high-dollar boutique guitars. What I'm going to add to make it totally perfect: - Planet waves auto-trim locking tuners, just 'cos I like 'em. - Tonepros Graphtec Ghost TOM bridge + Acoustiphonic Preamp for great acoustic tones on stage. - Perhaps a change to Seymour Duncan P-Rails pickups for even more versatility, but as it is I'm happy with the current combo. Pretty soon I'm gonna buy a second one as a backup, though I do have several other guitars. These days I only take this guitar to gigs with no backup. Never had an issue or so much as a broken a string on this one in 2 1/2 years so no need. I suppose it's not really my secret anymore now?