So if you can go into a music store thatвЂ™s got a bunch of stuff to try, thatвЂ™s always the best way to do it I just canвЂ™t imagine buying a guitar online because itвЂ™s such a gamble. I forced myself not to go into the shop and play it, because I had my credit card in my pocket and my wife might have filed for divorce when I got back home!вЂќ вЂњThe last time I did an actual live window shop was years ago when I was playing The Borderline in London and there was a vintage guitar shop on Denmark Street that had a fantastic вЂ™59 Strat in the window. When was the last time you stopped to look in aВ guitar shop window and what were you staring at? As great as the вЂ™64 body is, I instantly regretted it because IвЂ™ve never had a relationship with a guitar that IВ had with that Custom Shop guitar.вЂќ

Eventually, I sold it because I found a 1964 body вЂ“ the real deal вЂ“ and I didnвЂ™t have the money to buy it and so I sold the guitar. вЂњIt was a great guitar and I played it for close to a decade. So I went into a vintage guitar shop in Los Angeles and bought a Custom Shop вЂ™61 sunburst relic. вЂњWhen I got to where we were going, which was Alabama, I saw on the news what New Orleans looked like and I just assumed that my guitar was floating down the Mississippi somewhere and would never be seen again. You had military guys with machine guns making sure you got out, and we had to pack food and supplies in the car and so we had to leave the guitar. To cut a long story short, I had to leave the guitar behind when we evacuated.

вЂњIn 2005 I was living in New Orleans and I was involved in Hurricane Katrina and that вЂ™62 Strat that I bought for ВЈ1,000 was with me on the tour. Have you ever sold a guitar that you now intensely regret letting go? Even for a refin thatвЂ™s almost for free.вЂќ It was in the year 2000 from a vintage dealer here in South Africa and IвЂ™d pestered this guy since I was a teenager and said, вЂPlease, when you find, sell it to me at a reasonable priceвЂ¦вЂ™ And, eventually, I think because of my persistence, he called me one day and he said, вЂIвЂ™ve got a вЂ™62 Strat here, itвЂ™s a refin,вЂ™ and he gave it to me for the equivalent of ВЈ1,000 in todayвЂ™s money. WhatвЂ™s the most incredible find or bargain youвЂ™ve ever had when buying guitars? he gave it to me for the equivalent of ВЈ1,000 in todayвЂ™s money It was in the year 2000 from a vintage dealer here in South Africa and IвЂ™d pestered this guy since I was a teenager. So I contacted Fender and commissioned that guitar.вЂќ вЂњThe necks were twisting and there was not enough rosewood left on the вЂ™boards to refret вЂ“ and I didnвЂ™t have papers for the Brazilian rosewood on the necks, and I almost got a guitar confiscated when I was going into Hamburg one time. The necks were moving around from venue to venue: if I was in the UK and I travelled from London to Brighton, I would have to do a complete neck relief adjustment because the strings would either be against the frets or I would have a slide guitar action. It was a guitar that I commissioned to replace the vintage guitars that I have because they were getting just a little bit troublesome on the road.

Dan gui tar