...is a bit like your first girlfriend. You don't really know what you're getting yourself into. You think it's supposed to be fun, but it seems like too much hard work. You can't really afford her. You're sensitive to other people's comments about her, and your clumsy fumblings soon change to slick expertise...and you never forget her.
I still play the same one. Fender Mexican Standard Strat. Switched out her pickups for noiseless ones around 5 years ago. She's got a chip where a soccer ball was kicked into her 13 years ago. Her neck is a little worn, but she still sounds good. She's not the best guitar in the world, but she works for me. She's outlasted several girls. Don't know if I ever want to change.
A Sears Silvertone electric, circa 1960-something. The same kind David Lindley used for it's unique sound.
Takamini electric, blue/black, humbucker pickups. Not bad for what it was, but I thought it looked cool and that's really what I cared about for the first guitar.
"First guitars tend to be like first loves: ill-chosen, unsuitable, short-lived and unforgettable." -- Tim Brookes in "Guitar: An American Life"
a hondo cherry sunburst les paul copy. Bought it for 90 bucks from a local preacher. It was inspired by my guitar hero at the time..Ace Frehley. I now have a real cherry sunburst LP standard. I'd probably pay just as much for the fake one I had first if I could find it.
My first? Some cheap Sears acoustic that handled poorly and sounded like **** - no idea what happened to it, don't really care. Now the second - a '53 Tele - still have her after all these years.
I had played acoustics for a year or two before my first electric (got it when I was 14). I was dead-set on a Les Paul. Wouldn't settle for anything less. I mowed lawns and pinched pennies for the better part of a year before I could afford one. I remember the day I finally bought one-- a black and gold Les Paul Custom. Exactly what I wanted. Yeah, still got it. If my house were on fire, it's the first thing I'd try to save.
Horn89, that's a great story. I'd go with the LP standard or deluxe, but that's just me. My first was an Ibanez double-cutaway electric. It was probably a lot better than I thought it was at the time.
My first one was a cheap acoustic when I was about 10. Several years ago my mother had it framed and it is hanging in the basement. Had another cheap acoustic and some double cutaway, hollow body electric that my parents found for me. Then Frampton Comes Alive came out and I started saving my money. About that time, a guitar company called Electra started making a LP copy called Electra MPC that had these swapable 'modules' that went into the back of the guitar. Easier to deal with than pedals. I was 15 years old and beat myself up over whether to buy the black LP or the Electra. Being the dumbass 15 yr old, I went with the 'cool' MPC guitar. That piece of **** still thought it was a tree and never held a tune for more than 15 minutes. It was a beautiful guitar though and the modules were fun to play with. I think they made about 15 different ones. Hell of it is, the Electra was about the same price as the LP at the time. I am STILL pissed that I bought that guitar and not a true LP. Not only did the ******* salesman let me buy that one, but he also sold me a Fender Super Reverb. Don't get me wrong...killer amp that went WELL past 11 but WTF does a 15 kid need with an amp that big. Even in the hs auditorium, I couldn't turn it up past maybe 2 and the jazz band didn't stand a chance if I put it past 5. I ended up selling both while in college and living off of the proceeds for quite a while. Now have a Fender Nashville Tele, Taylor 514 acoustic, a very good Hohner 12 string (when Hohner made good guitars), and several other acoustics and mandolins I have picked up over the years. Still, I wish I bought the LP when I was in high school. Beatha, What is the story on the '53?
first guitar 3/4 $30 piece from ebay. damn thing is still goin strong. not sure what I will get next but definitely dont have the money right now.
She was a "67 Gibson SG. White with black humbuckers. played her for 2 years til I broke her neck acting like JImi Hendrix. Traded her in for a '69 Gold top Les Paul. Wish I still had her but that's the way it goes.
My first was an old peavey. My first real guitar was a '97 Fender California Series with Tex-Mex pickups. Sadly I had to let her go, but I will have another.
some old sears sunburst thing, circa 1978. Came with an amp with 1 knob for $89. I figured out I could plug it into my dads cassette deck, press record and pause, turn the level all the way up, hit tape monitor, and walla - DISTORTION! - through the stereo speakers. Smoke on the water never sounded so good. My dad said it reminded him of Iron Butterfly. First REAL guitar was a red Fender Bullet. Strat style, tele head. Circa 82.
Hand me down, I believe the brand was Harmony, hollow body red electric which was a POS. At age 16 sacked groceries and bought a 1976 starburst Les Paul which was either a custom or deluxe. Sold it in 1985 due to financial problems during last semester of college. I still cry over it. Also have a Alvarez Yari D45 1978 modle which I still have. It is a great accoustic and Yari's take off of a Martin. Great deep tones. Recently bought a Seagull parlor which is fun to mess around on while watching TV or sitting out on the porch at night. I want another Les Paul but can't afford what I want. BTW I also played through my stero before I could afford a good amp.
wedgie, I think my electric hollow body was a Harmony as well. I think my folks bought it at JC Penney. The body shape was sort of an ES-335 copy with a tremolo bar. Mine was sunburst.
Hull that is the one. Mine had white knobs and was a hand me down from my oldest brother. It was actually not a bad one to use to see if I would enjoy guitar playing. But going from a Harmony to a LP was...well I think you can figure that one out.
72 fender tele thinline (Japanese copy, not real) The most versatile guitar i ever played. Rockabilly, rock, metal, blues, country. It wasnt untill i owned the guitar 20 years that I learned many of the JAP copies Were actually superior instruments to the originals.
53 Tele, 67 SG, 69 LP, 76 LP, 72 Thinline, 78 Yari.... Damn, there are some cool guitars here. There is some HF poster who found a mid-40s Martin that was owned by Boxcar Willie. Can't remember who it was but it was a cool story. Found it: Badexcuse wrote:
Man, I forgot about that one. I think I plugged it in once just to make sure it would work. I gave it to Schutt, then we bought him a Line 6 amp for a going away gift.
An acoustic bought from a music store near 45th and Duval back in the late 70's. The strings seemed too high and my hands are more fit to play violin, so it was hard to make chords. Most of my energy then went to playing cello. A year ago I dusted the thing off, admired the ancient beat up case it came in and passed it on to my wife's godmother's highschool grandkid, who finally did it justice.
Pretty much the bottom of the line Fender Squire II Strat. Still have it and I'm still not very good.
Silvertone with a Bigsby tremelo. Piece of **** from a pawn shop for $45 when I was 15. Still have it.
