Gigs Guitar..and VG stuff

[pasha811]

As an owner of a soon to be 25 years old Strat+ I am worried about taking her to clubs and on stage together with my VG99.
Robbery has become usual lately.. So I am thinking about several options.
First GP-10 to fulfill portability and COSM in a box, then as a guitar, I have selected GC-1 or a Fender Modern Player
http://www.fender.com/series/modern-player/modern-player-stratocaster-hss-rosewood-fingerboard-silverburst/
GP-10 best buy is the one with GK3 included so I could mount the GK3 onto a Fender Modern Player without worrying too much.
What do you think? GC-1 is made in USA right? While the Modern Player is made in China  .
I have no experience in buying many guitars having got only my Fender Strat+ 25 years ago.. The Fender Modern Player + GP-10 fits the budget while GC-1 needs stretching it a lot.. but is there really a quality difference? So any experience with the Modern Player as a Guitar and as a GK3 mounted Guitar?

Best
Pasha

[CodeSmart]

And the third option is a cheap used Strat and then put a GK-Kit into it @ 3-5 hours work.
I don't care so much where a guitar is built. The neck of my US made American Special sucked until I PLEKED it. And pups can easily be replaced.

[Elantric]

What do you think? GC-1 is made in USA right? While the Modern Player is made in China

Actually GC-1 is assembled in Mexico.

These days when judging a guitar, I trust my hands to test the fret job and neck profile ( I prefer larger chunky necks) , and my ears for the sound - my recently acquired (Fender) Squier's (from China) sound and play great, but thats me.

A bit off topic:
Some folks require a "bonding spiritual kinship with their instrument type " that owes more to the  historical significance of famous riffs played on similar looking  instruments of similar pedigree.

This week I'm getting great tones with spank and bark and earthy "Tony Joe White" tones  from an Epiphone Wilshire reissue which I will play a few gigs this week  - because its the right tool for my current task.


(This same guitar works for Will Ray of the Hellicasters too:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21400-will-rays-bottom-feeder-my-epiphone-1966-worn-wilshire-reissue

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Epiphone_Worn_1966_Wilshire_Electric_Guitar_Review

[pasha811]

And the third option is a cheap used Strat and then put a GK-Kit into it @ 3-5 hours work.
I don't care so much where a guitar is built. The neck of my US made American Special sucked until I PLEKED it. And pups can easily be replaced.

I forgot.. it's a shame on such an excellent forum.. but I am no DIY person.. So I have great respect for all the brave modding you all know how to do.. you're teasing me.. :-)

[pasha811]

Actually GC-1 is assembled in Mexico.

These days when judging a guitar, I trust my hands to test the fret job and neck profile ( I prefer larger chunky necks) , and my ears for the sound - my recently acquired (Fender) Squier's (from China) sound and play great, but thats me.

Thanks Elantric. I have no prejudice about where a Guitar is built, however everybody says buy US Made. The reviews I saw about the Modern Player are good and they put the guitar on top of the MIM strats. Converserly the GC-1 has this esthetically internally mounted GK-3 on board that avoids mounting the GK3 on top of it.. but I am with you. The Modern Player deserves a test so I will go into the shop next Saturday, some reviewer claims that the glossy neck it's a little sticky but I'll see.

Thanks for reply
Best
Pasha

[pasha811]

.. Just an afterthought.. After more research it looks to me that GC-1 is a kind of hybrid. Mexican Made (thanks Elantric) but with inline American Tuners and Texas Vintage pickups (also from Mexico?). So the Tuners are actually better than MIM strats and maybe also pick ups. Have your say..

Best
Pasha

[MusicOverGear]

On the psychology tip, I can tell you what's helped me with similar issues. For things that are non-fungible - e.g. a favorite guitar, a perfectly tweaked fuzz pedal - I assemble two of them, as identical as possible. That way if I lose it for any reason, no problem, I just drive home and get the other one and later start buying the parts to make another.

Also things I'm attached to I don't let out of my sight outside the house. E.g. if I take a homemade guitar and modded amp to a gig with separate sound check and downbeat/line check, I pick them up after soundcheck and take them with me wherever I go in the interim. I used to lose things to theft when I was young - including one of my all-time favorite guitars from an affluent suburban church LOL - but it's been over a decade since I lost anything to human malice or the elements. Basically I treat theft like aging and health - every piece of gear is on a timeline to when it may get stolen; if I am careless the gear will be gone soon, but if I take precautions and form good habits without obsessing over it, it may last a very long time.