Nick W's Guitar Candy

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Nick W's Guitar Candy

This is a page for the guitar inventory of Nick West well known as Nick W's Guitar Candy on Reverb.com

Please cross reference my existing inventory on Reverb to see my current inventory. Message me here or email me at [email protected] with any questions.

08/31/2026

This graphic represents a percentile breakdown of the guitars I have sold over the last 10 plus years.

Anything that I sold just a few of or a handful of was too small of a percentile to make the list. And there are numerous of those small boutique brands or one-off purchases.

But among those that had enough quantity. More than 0.1%, this is how it breaks down.

The top six are not too surprising. With the exception of the custom order only brand Kiesel being sort of specialty of mine.

Fender Gibson and Paul Reed Smith are definitely The Big Three for virtually any seller or shop. They are like Toyota Honda and ford. Are they the best? That is certainly more debatable and I think we would have a more diverse percentile if everyone stated what their favorite guitar brand is.

05/04/2026

So I got this guitar all prepared for sale. However, I do not think I'm going to list it right away. I'm going to keep it and play it for a while. Who knows how long that could be. So you're getting a sneak preview.

This one comes to you handcrafted entirely in Gdansk, Poland. It is the most well-known guitar brand from that country, and a highly regarded brand worldwide. But it is not widely available or distributed, due mainly to the ultra boutique premium nature of the brand and the high cost of entry. The brand is Mayones the model is called the legend.

It has a unique body shape, but it is one of the few unconventional designs that is still symmetrically ergonomic. It feels very comfortable to play. It resembles something in between a Telecaster and a Les Paul, but with a more flowing sculpted look for sure.

It is made from four different woods: alder, mahogany, maple, and a rarely seen fretboard wood called purpleheart. When purpleheart is fresh, it has a deep purple appearance. Over time it oxidizes and gradually turns brown, with the purple remaining as an undertone hue. Some exotic woods look cool but are not really worth bringing into the guitar realm because they are expensive without offering anything sonically over traditional woods. Purpleheart is both beautiful and genuinely toneful.

This is a unique guitar that sounds unlike anything else I've had among the roughly 3,000 guitars I've featured over the years. For that reason alone, I'm hanging onto it for a while. It's different enough that I actually have to adjust my ears to its unique frequency palette.

The final observation I have is the satin finish and color work here are really special. Almost hypnotizing. The satin finish feels smooth when you touch it. High gloss looks great, but one drawback is that it tends to stick to your skin if you have even a little bit of sweat. Satin finishes also tend to ding, smudge, and show playwear more easily. This one has virtually none of that, so it has clearly been babied.

What do you think? Is this a cool guitar or what?

Anyone want to take a guess at what the eventual list price should be?

02/17/2026

These are two examples of a Gibson SG Supreme. This model is the " Custom" version of an SG. Rarely seen and for many years it is out of production in the Gibson lineup.

Notably it has highly figured maple top which is a big departure from an SG Standard. The inlays on the fretboard and headstock, though only a visual upgrade also distinguish this model.

One little structural improvement i like about it to is the upper strap buttons is mounted to the horn rather than the base of the neck. It creates a better playing angle when using a strap.

11/26/2025

Here i have a pair of Gibson Les Paul 70s Deluxe Reissue's here. The 50's and 60's are the most sought after recreations of the Les Paul.

Lesser known is the 70s era. The "Deluxe" model was known for it's Mini humbuckers. For a good while The Gibson Les Paul Standard during that time had no Humbucker models. The Mini humbuckers were stock and there are many original 70s Deluxe's out there that have been routed (carved) to be converted to humbuckers. It was a heads cratching move to phase out humbuckers. And for that reason the Deluxe Les Paul is a sleeper model that is less circulated than the 50s and 60s reissues.

So how do the mini humbuckers sound? They sound great! They have the rounded smooth tone that humbuckers are known for but are a little tigher and punchier than regular humbuckers and have an output similar to full sized humbuckers. They lack the spiky treble frequency response that single coil pickups have. But are regarded in the same camp as P90s due to the tighter more concise sound.

09/12/2025

If I use superfluous praise too often, it loses its impact. I’ll risk that here because this is probably both the best-looking and best-sounding seven-string guitar I’ve ever had, at least in my memory off the top of my head.

This is a headless guitar based on the shape of a Gibson Explorer. For that reason, it’s named X-Type. Part of what makes it look so striking is the nature of the finish. In guitar finishing, there are three major categories. You have solid colors, which are the easiest and least time-consuming to make—a guitar that’s black, white, red, etc. Next, you have translucent colors, often combinations that fade from a darker color to a lighter one, creating a burst. These are the most common, particularly with figured woods like flame maple.Last, and what’s featured here, are stains.

A stain is pre-applied to wood for deeper pe*******on into the wood pores, and stains tend to look very realistic and natural. A good walnut stain can make light pine wood actually look like walnut. So, what we have here is a color called Solana stain—a light golden red or warm dark orange, if you prefer. It has a greater level of clarity than typical translucent finishes, and that’s why you can see the detail in the figuration of the quilted maple here. It really pops. It somehow looks more natural to me.Additionally, the fretboard, which has only a very fine, minimal satin finish, is stained black. Black stain over maple allows the warm yellow undertones of maple to push through a little, giving it more of a warm, light charcoal look, which still shows all the detail of the flame maple figuration.

Building a custom Kiesel guitar is interesting but also challenging because you’re trying to create the perfect color and wood combination. If it doesn’t turn out as good as you hoped, you’ll be disappointed. I didn’t design this one, and I wouldn’t have thought of this color or this exact wood combination—quilted maple over swamp ash with a multiple-laminate neck featuring purpleheart and walnut. But I must say, this is an absolute perfect 10 out of 10 build, and this is the most impressive color I’ve seen in a while.

Every once in a while, you get a really pretty guitar that just doesn’t sound or play as well as a very bland-looking one. This is not such a case. This guitar sounds as good as it looks, which is saying a lot. I’m going to keep this one in the living room until it sells and play it. I don’t think it’s going to be a quick seller because it’s a seven-string and the economy sucks. But this is the most impressive and enjoyable aspect of being a guitar dealer—getting surprises like this one.

07/27/2025

These are two examples of the the best " Non Fender" Telecaster models, T style guitar.

A Tom Anderson Icon T and a Suhr Classic T

These are on the level of a Fender Custom shop Tele, but have more modern innovative features and modern playability and feel to them. The Telecaster is one of the Oldest electric guitar designs. The original is hard to beat. Fender still offers a 1952 reissue Telecaster. I prefer these two myself.

05/01/2025

This guitar is being sold solely on the purpose of it's just too cool for me to play it sitting down in my living room, otherwise I would keep it. This guitar has to be played standing up on a stage.

This x style shape goes back quite a ways. The original of this type was of course the Gibson eXplorer. They don't quite rest on your leg as easily as a rounded cut of a guitar shape would. And since the upper strap button is on the back of the guitar. When you're standing it slightly tilts the guitar towards your stomach and chest. Giving you better visibility of the fretboard while standing. Most radical shapes like x's and Z's and V's are tailored for standing playing rather than sitting.

This is a one-off custom Kiesel guitar. Called the Hyperdrive. It's one of the guitars and there's always a couple of month like this that just strikes me as absolutely perfect for what it is in every single way. The playability, the tone, the condition, the choice of color. The wood selection.

I played it standing up for a while to put it through its paces. And I immediately start getting tired. For me playing guitar is a relaxation thing done from a leather chair. This one would be ideal for a stage rocker though. We'll see how it goes.

02/10/2025

A great majority of the iconic guitar brands are made in America. Interestingly there are quite a few iconic amplifier makers that originate from the Uk. I would nominate Japan as a very prevalent guitar making country as well.

Featured here are specimens from the two most notable guitar builders in Germany. Deutschland is known for its craftsmanship and innovation and that is well represented with these two. Framus is the guitar division of the company Warwick who are known for their incredible Bass guitars. This guitar is called the Idolmaker.

The gold Top guitar is called the 52 senior. Which is a humorous play on words of Gibson's Les Paul Jr. It's single pickup has three different wiring schematics that give the pickup three different distinct voicings. The hardware is crafted from steel rather than typical zinc alloy. Which gives it sharper, distinct overtones.

Both of these guitars are rare in America and on the used market there's hardly any of them available. I can't say they're quick sellers or easy sellers but they're different and unique compared to everything else I have.

12/21/2024

This is certainly interesting. 3000 fake Gibson guitars were confiscated. This is the largest bust ever. I can only tell you that I hate fake guitars. And there is a very ambiguous gray area with them mostly in Asian countries is where they come from.

In America it's simply would not be worth the time to make a passable fake guitar. You might as well make a budget guitar and just sell it legally. These guitars are made by professional guitar factories about the equivalent of the China Epiphone factory. I've even heard from someone that these counterfeits are actually made in the same factory that Gibson previously had their Epiphone guitars made in. I suspect this one was a sting operation of some sort that is just so Brazen to manufacture 3,000 guitars that would be worth $18 million.

All politics aside. It's kind of sad. Because it's indicative of our economic state. That energy could have been used to make something so much more productive than 3,000 fake guitars. But greed and or desperation run rampant currently.

Have I ever run into a fake guitar or been fooled? Yes once about 8 years ago in the beginning of my guitar selling career. I still have it sort of like a trophy or token. I paid $1,100 for it it's worth about $150. And yes it's a Gibson Les Paul Custom a fake one.

I know what to look for now. Fakes come in all brands, Gibson is the most popular of course. But interestingly there are a lot of fakes of smaller boutique guitars too. The best way to spot a fake is to determine what it is supposed to be and then look over and over again at that exact model and year of guitar of what it's supposed to be compare it to screenshots online of that exact model and look for little things different. The way the serial numbers are either painted on or inscribed in. The way the hardware looks the way the binding looks. Logos can be a little bit off etc. In retrospect when you really know what to look for the fakes actually are pretty obviously fakes. But they prey upon the inexperienced. They're shiny and new looking and if you haven't looked at hundreds of Les Paul's it looks pretty believable.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/26/us-news/feds-seize-3000-fake-gibson-guitars-potentially-sold-for-18m/

08/17/2024

This is a Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120. Chet was one of the original endorsers of the electric guitar. So this is a historic guitar model lesser known to casuals than say a Les Paul or a Stratocaster.

Gretsch was popular among the early country and western scene and it is popular now amongst Rockabilly. This color is aptly named Western orange stain. It's a beautiful transparent color. The body itself is made out of laminated maple.

This one is a new old stock model being sold as used. I occasionally get these from connections in the industry and when i have NOS stuff it moves pretty quick. It truly feels like a rare bargain when you get an open box like new guitar at a discount. I enjoy working on them as well as you can imagine i have seen "everything" when it comes to the listed condition of guitars i am purchasing.

Address

17 Patriot Way
Bakersfield, CA
93312

Website

https://reverb.com/shop/nicks-gear-garage-36

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