INSTRUMENTS PART II: Freddy's Revenge

So, my first electric guitar was Thaddeus (R.I.P.)
He was destroyed by a horrible event--me. See, Thaddeus was made of plywood, and I thought I could make my own guitar out of plywood. So I took Thaddeus apart, but never rebuilt him. He sure kept the family warm that cold January night though.

Thaddeus came from Grandma, I think. Once she found out I was into guitar she started buying any cheap, tag-sale guitar she could find. She's very musical, as is my Paw and his brother, so she was probably excited I was playing music too.

Thaddeus looked a little like this:


When I turned 16, my dad took me to the East Coast Music mall. There, we found Ned:


Ned is since retired. He is an Ibanez EX something or other. I played him for a long time (all the way through college.)

Then I got Leroy:


Leroy is a Schecter Omen 6. He was a relatively cheap $300. For the most part, I try to stay away from guitars under $500. Maybe, just maybe, if I play a guitar under $500 and it sounds, feels, and looks great, I'll buy it, but in real life, guitars aren't cheap, and as with everything else-you get what you pay for.

Leroy was purchased in the flesh. He felt right, sounded good, and looked pretty cool too. (Satin Walnut Stain) Of all the guitars I have, he stays in tune the best- and he's the cheapest of my active guitars. He's tuned 1/2 step flat so I can play along with Guns 'n Roses, Alice in Chains, Coheed and Cambria, and yo' momma. Plus, the new Omen 6 guitars have a through the body string design (which I don't care for) while Leroy has a stopbar tailpiece.

Next I got Cederic:


Note that his name is not Cedric, it is Cederic--there is an extra syllable in there.

He is a Gibson SG Standard, and the only guitar I own (for now) that was made in the USA. Therefore, he was also the most expensive. He is so cool. I got him when we still lived in a condo. One time I wailed some sweet riffs on him so loud and awesome, that my neighbors cat crapped it's pants. True story.

Lastly, for now, I got this yet to be named guitar:


For now, I temporarily refer to this guitar as "With myself."

Sometimes Michelle says, "What the hell kind of thrash metal was that?"
And I answer, "I was just playing With myself."

Or she'll ask, "What are going to do this afternoon once all your chores are done?"
And I answer, "I'm going to play With myself."

Once her boss came over for dinner she asked, "Michael, do you have any hobbies?"
And I answered, "Sure do! Do you want to see me play With myself? Or I can play loudly and you can just listen from here?"

Or just the other day, Michelle said, "Why are you taking so long in the shower?"
And I answered, "Because I'm playing with myself, and when I get out I'm going to play guitar."

I've found the only problem with keeping the guitars down in the basement is that it's cold down there, and sometimes, my hands get cold, and it's just doesn't feel right when I play With myself.
I could go on and on...

Somewhere along the line, I got an electric base from my uncle. (The same uncle that gave me the up right bass, and is the son of my grandma that gave me Thaddeus.)


This bass is named Haave. It's pronounced like slave, but without the sl- and with an h-.
Haave is a 1987 re-issue of a 1967 Fender Jazz bass. He plays well, but the pick-ups have seen better days. Rather than try to replace them, I'd like to get a new bass.

Also, I'd like to get a hollowbody electric guitar to play jazz with. I'm not sure what kind yet-but not a Jay Turser.

Finally, I want to build one for myself, and (in addition to the new electric bass) that'll be it for electric guitars and basses.

Here's one last shot of the whole gang:

l to r: Cederic, Leroy, Haave, Ned, unnamed for now.

It's funny that when I took the picture, there were shadows that you just can't see now, but, I said to Michelle that the shadows made it look like I had a lot of guitars. Then she said, "You do have a lot of guitars." But she was wrong. Well, there you have it. I think I'm going to play With myself now.