Wow. I've got a lot of merchandise. It's really turning some heads. But I'm still having trouble getting anybody to part with much more than about $200. $300 on a really good day. You see, even my expensive stuff is/are still mostly student grade. What I'm embarking on next is bringing in the real thing. Can't sell a thousand dollar guitar if it's the most expensive guitar in the shop. But if people start seeing 2 and 3 thousand dollar price tags, all of a sudden it's a bargain. In several of the instrument lines, this is what it costs to get into the professional game. But the key is to do it without scaring away the bargain chasers - because they're the bulk of new business.

I find it a bit amusing to find out how much I had been blinded by vanity. Hey at least I'm honest about it. Spent some more time working with my personal collection of electric guitars - trying to get them right. Man, Gibsons really suck. And I'm not saying that because of their distribution rules. Let's go back to the guitar I was working on a few days back - thought it needed heavier strings to bring in the adjustment range. Nope - that's not it at all. The bridge pins were drilled in the guitar a quarter inch off. There are no strings I can use and no new bridge I can put on that can correct this huge of an error. To make it right I've got to re-drill the bridge anchors in the right place, leaving a gaping hole behind in the old location. It's an '82 Gibson ES-335S - basically a 335 but solid body. It's worth $650 as a vintage guitar - precisely what I paid for it. It'll be worth a hundred bucks if I fix it - but it'll sound good. Think I'll just sell the wicked thing. As is. And I'm certainly not going to tell anybody about the scale length.

The Les Paul DC (which coincidentally is the same body as the 335S, but with an arched top) has it's own problems. I bought this new for a little over a grand. They didn't trim the ends of the friggin' frets. The frets stuck out a minute fraction and could really cut your hand. I spent about eight hours finishing up what should've been done at the factory. There's an intermittent short in the electronics. Came that way but I never took it back for that either. I'll fix it one of these days. A thousand dollars. Pure vanity. None of my three hundred dollar guitars at the store are screwed up that bad. The vee is perfect though (but only with factory strings). One out of three. I'd say I got ripped off - except for the fact that I'm in a rather unique position to be able to off them for about what I paid. I get vain dudes in my shop everyday. Got any Gibsons? No? Really? Are you an idiot merchant or what? Gibsons are the guitar man. You aren't sh** without 'em. OK, I got your Gibson. No refunds...

And next time I pay retail for a guitar (could happen) - I'm walking in with electronic tuners and elaborate scale and flatness measuring apparatus. And the complete factory walk through. Step 16. Trim the fretboard bindings. Was the guy who did that particular step good or was he stoned that day?