A new guitar is like a Dog.

[Dharmajester]

Had this thought a day or two ago.
I bought my first electric guitar in 1969 and subsequently have been through quite a roster of instruments. 1979 I was looking after a guitar store in London. We specialised in vintage and secondhand stuff we'd brought over from NY but also bought brand new Gibsons 20 at a time from Mannies as we could import them and still sell them 30% cheaper than you could buy a new one from a conventional store. I always had a preference for vintage stuff, felt better, sounded better and back then wasn't particularly any costlier than new. Now obviously vintage instruments are very expensive and if I still owned any I'd be scared to leave the house.
The current production from the big brand custom shops feels far more consistent than vintage ever was, however only the occasional one, as with vintage, is magical out of the box. The rest of them frequently feel, like they have the tone lurking inside, just needs bringing out by playing the crap out of them for 10 years.
This is where the title come in… Ergo, like a dog, a new guitar is a 10 year commitment cos only then will it be wide awake and producing fully the tone it is truly capable of.

[Delayman]

Having recently acquired a dog - I hope I never think of a guitar like I do a dog. Owning a dog has wrecked our life - like having another baby, except it needs walking straight away.

but I do appreciate your sentiment re owning for a while before judging. Sometimes you just know that a guitar is not going to work though, so why wait 10 years on those ones? Life's too short.

[Danger Mouse]

If any of my guitars spend 10 minutes trying to bite a hedgehog, yelping in pain after each attempt, they're up for sale.

[Molly]

I've never owned a 'true' vintage guitar (to me that means 60s -) so can't compare CS gear with the stuff it's supposed to be a reissue of. However, I have had a lot of CS guitars. I'd always thought them consistently good but a few recent Fender offerings have been disappointing. So it came as no surprise to learn that taken as an independent manufacturer the Fender CS is now the third largest guitar maker in the US. Gone is the basis up on which it was founded.

Nevertheless, some pretty special stuff does come through. My 'new' 55 Strat is the most 'alive' a guitar I've ever owned and it says something that it's really hard to put down. In that way I guess it's exactly like a dog.

Bad pun to end on, sorry...

[Dharmajester]

I should clarify that I meant Brand new.

[willow13]

Having recently acquired a dog - I hope I never think of a guitar like I do a dog. Owning a dog has wrecked our life - like having another baby, except it needs walking straight away.

yeah this .... I have 3 kids but man I am so not grown up enough to own a dog. For me the thought of having to pick up its shit constantly is a big "no way" (it was bad enough changing nappies for around 6yrs (if my math is right ) for the little things I help create)

[Jay]

Nice title and hypothesis... but I say dog's bollix to all that.

Tone wood does'not exist and guitars don't get better with age.

[Timoes]

I,m lucky. I can take both my dog and guitar to work. Dog every day, guitar some days. A dog is alot of work. People just dont realise.

[Darth Sabbathi]

Nice title and hypothesis... but I say dog's bollix to all that.

Tone wood does'not exist and guitars don't get better with age.

I disagree. I reckon guitars need to be worn in for their character to come through. Very new guitars almost always feel a bit sterile to me. Not to say they need to be 30 years old to be any good - but they need the show room shine taken off. Which can take quite a long time...

[Bg]

Nice title and hypothesis... but I say dog's bollix to all that.

Tone wood does'not exist and guitars don't get better with age.

why do you keep buying those old jappers then

[Jay]

Nice title and hypothesis... but I say dog's bollix to all that.

Tone wood does'not exist and guitars don't get better with age.

why do you keep buying those old jappers then

Cause I like them horns

[sizzlingbadger]

'59 Labradors are pretty rare.

[AiRdAd]

Totally agree that puppies take up a lot of time!!! fun - but still lots of time!

[Mr Davison]

Guitars a 2005 model, about half the dog out of it

[Bg]

Nice title and hypothesis... but I say dog's bollix to all that.

Tone wood does'not exist and guitars don't get better with age.

why do you keep buying those old jappers then

Cause I like them horns

but only the old horny ones will do?