I done a bad thing (important lesson enclosed)

When I bought my Telecaster earlier this year, I promised, pinky swore, right hand to the guitar gods, that it would be the last guitar I'd buy for a very, very long time. I had good reason to say this. I never thought I'd find another guitar that spoke to me the same way, or fit me as well, or was just so full of epic awesomeness as my Tele.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. My wife and I were in Fort Collins for hair appointments. Usually we schedule them together, but this time it didn't quite work out, so I had about an hour and a half to kill while my wife was getting primped and pampered. Since it was a beautiful sunny day, I decided to walk down to Spotlight Music, the same place I took my old Hondo to get rebuilt. What better way to waste some alone time than to be surrounded by guitars? I can't think of many.

While strolling around the shop, I saw a guitar hanging on the wall that I remembered from when I dropped off my Hondo in January. It was an Ibanez RGR421EXFM in transparent lavender burst (makes you really appreciate names like "Stratocaster," doesn't it?). Despite the alphabet soup name it was an absolutely stunning guitar, as the picture on the right shows (it looks even better in person). So when one of the workers walked past and asked me if I needed any assistance, I asked him if I could play it. He got me a cord, a pick and a tuner and told me to pick an amp and play.

First, some boring guitar specs: it's a standard RG shape with a pretty light weight mahogany body, a maple bolt-on neck with a thin Wizard profile and 24 frets on a rosewood fingerboard, white binding, a reverse tilt-back headstock, and a high-access joint. It has two humbuckers (a V7 and a V8), a master volume and tone, and a 5-way switch that coil taps the humbuckers in a way that I don't really know (I couldn't find the wiring diagram on Ibanez' Web site since the model is no longer made) but sounds really good. It has a fixed bridge which I love because I hate tremolos. The bridge is a regular hardtail Strat-style with individual saddles and a string-through design. The guitar was made in Indonesia, but judging from the quality of the build it really doesn't make a difference here.

I chose a Line 6 amp because I have one at home, so not only would it sound similar, but I'd actually know how to operate it. The first thing I did, though, was inspect the guitar. The build quality was outstanding. There were no rough spots, no dings or nicks, the hardware was solid, the finish was perfect, the frets were smooth, and the neck binding was gleaming white. I never had a guitar with neck binding before, and I gotta say I really like it. After a quick tune I plugged it in.

Sure the guitar looked great, but once I played it through the amp it reached a new level of awesome. It had a versatility that I didn't expect, from full-on metal to Hendrix-style blues to clear, sparkling clean tones. All five positions had their own distinct tone. The coil-split positions on the Blues amp setting were perfect for SRV riffs. The humbuckers did classic rock tones and metal tones with equal aplomb. What impressed me the most was the string clarity. Even on the highest gain setting (Insane), you could hear each string without any mud.

Playability was outstanding, too. The Wizard neck was thin and comfortable - I had no DeQuervain's symptoms, and I was abusing barre chords like there was no tomorrow. The frets were bigger than the ones I'm used to on my Fenders, and I have to admit I liked them. They were jumbo enough that you didn't have to touch the fretboard. The radius was pretty flat - I'm guessing 12" - and it didn't fret out. I tried, believe me. The neck was a little wider than a Fender, so Hendrix-style thumb fretting was a little more difficult, but it wasn't impossible and with a little bit of acclimation I probably wouldn't even notice it.

The best thing about this guitar was that it made me sound like a better player than I actually am. Even the guy who set me up walked by and said, "you're really tearing it up." He could've just been buttering me up to make a sale, but I like to think that I sounded good. I felt like I sounded good. All guitars have their own voice. Sometimes, when you sit down with a guitar, it just doesn't speak to you. This one did. I heard its song and was captivated. I could say honestly, and without exception, it was the nicest guitar I ever played.

At that point came the thoughts. First and foremost, I realized I made a terrible mistake. Had I played this guitar before I bought my Tele, I never would've bought my Tele. It's better in every respect - looks, playability, sound - and matches it in build quality. For less money, to add insult to injury. I don't even care that it wasn't made in the U.S.A. Ibanez is a Japanese company, and you can tell that they brought their Japanese quality standards to their Indonesian factory.

But the truth of the matter is that I blew any guitar budget I would've had when I bought my Telecaster. And it's not like I lose in this situation - I still have an awesome, American-made Fender that's 99% as good as the Ibanez. Sure the Ibanez is a better guitar in my opinion, but it's not that much better. It's like comparing a Ferrari to a Lamborghini. Sure the Ferrari is better, but it's still a freakin' Lamborghini.

And herein lies today's lesson: comparison shop. When making an important purchase, don't buy the first thing you see, be it a guitar, a car, or a house. Look around. Try out a few things. Then make up your mind. I didn't, and I ended up losing out on a fabulous guitar. But hey, maybe my loss could be your gain. If you're around Fort Collins and you're in the market for a hardtail Superstrat, stop by Spotlight Music and check out the lavender Ibanez hanging on the wall. You may end up leaving the store with the best guitar I've ever played.