Last Saturday, I bought a no-name, neck-through, V-type guitar at a pawn shop. There's no company name, serial number, or any other markings on it. There's no cover for the truss-rod adjuster in the headstock, and the cover for the controls is missing from the back of the body. The scale length is fairly short, and the neck is almost as wide as my acoustic 12-string. There was no amplifier for me to plug into.

But when I played it in the shop, it seemed to come alive in my hands. I bought it, unheard, for $250 Canadian.

So I got home with it, re-soldered a couple of bad connections at the controls, lined the control chamber with copper tape (for better sheilding), and plugged it into my small practice amp.

OMG! :D This lady [u]sings![/u] :D :D

It definitely takes a light touch, and lots of finesse. There's enough sustain that I really have to pay attention to muting unused strings. The frets are high enough that variations in finger pressure cause slight changes in pitch. The pickups sound sweet and clear if the strings are stroked, but tend to growl and blur on heavy attack. In short - a very expressive instrument.

Now I find that I have to re-learn how to play all of my repertoire. This is a good thing, though, because stuff I haven't been exactly enthusiastic about lately is now coming out in fresh and exciting ways. Who says the thrill is gone?

I don't know who made this guitar, much less where it came from, but its taking me to the next level, and I'm more excited about my music than I've been in a long time. :D :D :D