Of all the ‘hobbies’ I picked up over the years, I’ve got to say not too many actually ‘stick’ permanently. Playing guitar though seems to be an exception. Come to think of it, I was never motivated as a kid to play music, which probably has to do with the fact that my parents made me, instead of something I really wanted to do. 20 or so years later, the music side of me seems to have resurrected itself, and I’m actually starting to enjoy it a lot more.
It didn’t come back with a lightning though. To think that I have been playing guitar casually for the last 1.5 years or so now, I have never actually owned one! They were either borrowed, or someone else’s unwanted guitars. I am finally at a stage where I am happy to pour some ‘hurt’ money of my own into it to keep my motivation alive. So here goes…
It’s an Australian made Cole Clark Culprit 3 semi-hollow electric guitar with 2 x humbuckers. It’s similar to the one Jack Johnson uses occasionally on his live performances (except the one used had single coils), which you can see an example of here on Youtube: Jack Johnson (with a Cole Clark). It retails for about AUD$1800, which I fortunately did not spend THAT much money on! I bought it on eBay from someone who poured all that money on a new one just under 1 year ago, and decided to sell it. I only paid $692. I’ve got to admit, I have been waiting a LONG time for someone to sell it at that price!
Cole Clark is probably a lot better known for their acoustic guitars than electric. Having said that, they’ve enjoyed such wild successes with those acoustic guitars of late, they started to produce electric ones too. The quality of the wood remains, and they’ve proven over and over again, they can make good guitars. Thus I genuinely believe the electric guitars they make are as good, if not better than the majority of Mexican made Fenders out there. Hey, if it’s good enough for Jack Johnson, it’s good enough for anyone!
Got to love the signature Cole Clark headstock design:
The previous owner obviously loved it to death as there were not a single bit of noticeable nicks or marks on it. The strings were new Fender strings, the volume and tone pot were upgraded to Stellartone Tonesyler, and action adjusted very close to the neck. The whole setup made playing it very easy and totally enjoyable. Not to mention the sound is a HUGE upgrade from the cheap plywood guitars I’ve been playing until now.
Maybe I am not expressing on my face very well, but I can tell you I am extremely extremely happy with the buy:
Unfortunately, the minute you buy one, the list of ‘compulsory’ accessories start to creep up which appear to be ‘infinite’. Guitar stands, shoulder straps, cables, recording interfaces, speakers… the list goes on…. Damn.. I hate hobbies sometimes. It’s like women. They all have a way of draining all your money.. 🙂 I’m just kidding!!
Alright.. gonna get busy playing. A couple more posts later, perhaps I’ll even post one of me playing it! In the meantime, if you happen to be reading on this post specifically about Cole Clark Culprit 3, then I suggest you take a look at what this baby sound like on this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr_AwiN9Bck
How good are these Guitars? Any chance you would want to sell? I’m in the market for one.