I bought my first real electric guitar in ‘68 - a new Les Paul Deluxe.
I still play it, but my go-to guitars these days are a Fender Strat VG (discontinued, but so many sounds with the built in synth, detuning, 12 string, etc.) and a Gibson SG (green with gold trim, it’s simply beautiful - it called to me from the web sites).
I don’t play out much these days, but it’s sure fun!
In my last 3 piece band I counted over a dozen microprocessor signal processors. The state of the art is amazing. Guitar synths that actually work, vocal harmonizers in real time, inexpensive mixing boards, cheap lighting.
I think the kids will continue the art of guitar playing. It’s such a versatile polyphonic instrument. But I think the manufacturer’s offerings are way over the top. I recently picked up a Strat print catalog with over a hundred pages in it. No wonder they’re worried about demand, it’s a buyer’s market.
I still can’t figure out who would buy a “pre-stressed” guitar...?
Some of the electronics they sell today are incredible. Electro Harmonixs has a guitar "pedal" that turns the guitar into a Melotron! It sounds incredible!
Mark