If only all the things about cruise ships didn't make me utterly fear the idea of going on a cruise...
http://www.bluesaliveatsea.com/ looks like a winner! Expensive but wow.
I have a nice Strat, that is the guitar I started on. I like it until near the end of the neck. The last fret is a reach for some things I've played. I can play it there but it's one of those things where I have to turn the guitar a little more left around my body and get the neck up high to get there. I played my daughter's Epiphone Wildkat and was taken by how much easier it is for me to play that. It seems shorter and the string spacing feels different. She has her own band thing going so I can't just take it, especially with the way she has it set up for the punk rock thing. It doesn't sing well. It growls or it screams like a monster. I'm not into that. Maybe 35 years ago... maybe. Probably not, I was listening to Zeppelin, Floyd, Stones, etc.
So I went to the guitar store and played a few Gibsons. And also tried some other Fenders. Tried a Telecaster, a Jaguar, a Firebird, an SG, a 335 (too big feeling), and the Les Paul (a few different models of it). This is what I should have done in the first place. When I bought the Strat is what because of the music I was listening to. Kenny, SRV, Buddy Guy, Benoit, I liked how it sounded so that's what I got.
Spent about 2 hours tooling around in the guitar store. I liked this one Les Paul (I played a few different ones) for I don't know why I just kept coming back to the same one, it was comfortable and easier to play, and it sounded pretty cool.
I just payed off the note on the bike so there's room for it in the budget and the wife says OK it's your anniversary/birthday/Christmas present all in one... for this year and next until it's paid off... and I'm OK with that.
I ordered the one I kept coming back to, because I wanted a different color. The one I kept coming back to is in this terrible hot pink fade and that just no. So it'll be here Tuesday but in a more natural color with a figured top.