My data is acquired from experience and exposure. Thats why I say, I will tell you when try 100 Made in USA Fenders. In the meantime, I am short cutting the process for you.
I have to give you a ball park figure for magical guitars right? As I said, for Fenders its 5% for me. John and Paul have lower estimates. On the extreme is Gibson with about 1% and the other extreme is Suhr at around 10% -- yes I am surprised by Suhr because they seem to be getting their numbers up.
I once sat down with all the employees in one of the popular guitar stores in Melbourne CBD. It was a slow day for them and I was free and I knew all of them. It was a modern guitar store.
after the conversation warmed up, I asked them point blank: lets get serious now. I know you are all working musicians. you play when you're not here and you've been working at this store for many many years. we all know by this time in our lives
what a good Les Paul sounds like. So let me ask you this. how many Les Pauls have gone through your hands that sounds close to the real deal, or close to what we hear in the famous records we love and cherish?
don't lie to me. we're just the only ones here. no customers. you know what im talking about: the bloom, the chirp, the dual tone blah blah blah,
you know what I'm talking about. then one of them answered: I've been working here for more than 8 years. none of the modern les pauls. and I've handled a lot of special orders from the Gibson Custom Shop. the really high end ones.
the ones you have to wait for quite some time before they arrive. from all those orders I had made, there was only ONE that passed through our hands. it was really gorgeous. and it sounded like what a les paul should sound like.
when you hear it. you'll know right away that IT IS A LES PAUL. no questions. and all the sales men nodded. the guy then said, ask these guys, there were there too. they got to play it.
so i tried to make sure I heard him correctly and asked: so that's the only one? only one? nothing after?
he said. "nothing"
so I joked, "whoever that guy is, he's one lucky guy then"
they all reacted, "well hell yeah! when you hear that les paul, you'll know "its the one"
If it doesn't "hiyaw" - word on the street is he won't play it, buy it, or name drop about it.
Not sure why the 2% magical resonance stuff is worth fretting over when most people should be worried less about the 2% they may statistically never have rather than spend time finding an instrument that works for you, and then actually learning to play the thing and make music with it. I mean, seriously, say you have access to that <2%..then what?
the reality is, music can be enjoyed at any level. its just that the quality we want to have depends on us -- nasa atin to set our priorities and set where to tow the line.
accepting the truth will set us free.
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