This year I got to the convention 20 minutes after it opened, and there was a big line that took a while to get through.

Inside, it was pretty darn crowded.  Which means a healthy conference, which means an assured future.  So that’s good.

Walking around the convention, the first thing I saw was a blast from the past:  The original Midiverb, by Alesis.  Oh how we lusted over this thing, back when reverbs were the hot new thing.

This is part of why I love the convention – because it’s like a trip to a Guitar Museum.

Anyway, I spent a grand total of 5 hours on the floor, and I probably went through it from one end to another about 5 times, each time with a different purpose.

In the first walkthrough, I was making notes of what I might potentially purchase.  Here’s what I came up with:

  • MIM Strat, $200
  • All Parts guitar neck, $100
  • Epiphone Les Paul, $250
  • Super Champ XD amp, $250
  • Gibson P90 cream pickup covers, two for $15
  • Telecaster unfinished body, $120

I also took a picture of my favorite pedal name of all time: The Hellephant.

It turned out that the $200 MIM Strat was a fake.  Closer inspection of the decal revealed the word “Affinity,” and the Fender decal was inexpertly applied.  Here’s what I think about that – if you sell something like this and you don’t point out that it’s an obvious fake, you are a fraud.  But I’m not the police, so I didn’t bother explaining to the guy what an asshole I thought he was.  Hopefully no one bought this thinking it was a real Strat.

There was another possible fake on the sales floor.  It had a note on it that said the neck had been replaced with a Fender neck made in Korea, but the decal looked fake to me.  When in doubt, assume the worst.  Comparing it to pics online, I’d wager it was faked.

Personally, I don’t care if someone applies a fake decal to their guitar at home, as long as they don’t go around telling people it’s a real Fender or worse, sell it as a real Fender.  I mean honestly… you can get a real used MIM for $300.  It’s not Bill Gates money or anything.

I didn’t take any pics of the Tele and Strat bare wood guitar bodies, but they looked very good.  Unfortunately I lost the business card of the guy running the booth.  Damn!  It was good stuff.

I ended up buying an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro for $244.  It was in mint condition with almost no fretwear, but the switch was broken.  Which I repaired for $13.99.  I also put a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge position, and now this guitar sounds fantastic.  No, it’s not a Gibson Les Paul.  But for a total of $258 it’s fantastic.  Looks amazing and plays nice.  What’s not to like?

Speaking of like.  Here are URL’s for some of the booths that had stuff I really liked:

I drove home with my new Epi Les Paul and two P90 pickup covers and a big smile.  Thanks, Orlando Guitar Convention, for a great time, and I will see you next year!