Remember your first guitar? I don't remember the name, but my Mom bought if from someone.she worked with. I ended up giving it to a friend. But I saved up and bought a red Epiphone Semi-hollow body electric in1971.
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The first guitar you bought?
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wileypickett
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A Harmony H167; my dad bought it for me from some music store in south Jersey in 1968. (I had just discoverd Jimi Hendrix.) Long gone, but here's what one looks like.
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Teleguy61
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The first "guitar" I bought--I think I paid $5 in 1962--was two pieces of particle board, glued together with Elmer's in roughly the
shape of a Bo Diddley Gretsch, with the neck, bridge and tailpiece from an old Harmony acoustic, with a DeArmond pickup grafted onto it.
Well, it was what was available, and what I could afford.
shape of a Bo Diddley Gretsch, with the neck, bridge and tailpiece from an old Harmony acoustic, with a DeArmond pickup grafted onto it.
Well, it was what was available, and what I could afford.
After a brief spell with a nondescript Giannini classical that was a loaner from Jean Ritchie, my first "real" guitar was a Hohner Contessa HG-04 a lot like this one.
I played the hell out of that one while I was saving up enough money for the D50 I bought as a junior in high school. Sold it to a friend that abused the hell out of it.
I played the hell out of that one while I was saving up enough money for the D50 I bought as a junior in high school. Sold it to a friend that abused the hell out of it.
The firsts guitar I bought myself was a Yamaha acoustic in approximately 1978. Age 19 or so. It actually was a very good guitar, although I didn't appreciate it at the time.
My first guitar? A Sears Silvertone for Christmas!
walrus
My first guitar? A Sears Silvertone for Christmas!
walrus
My first guitar was a Kay, a lot like this one. My mom got it with Top Value Yellow Stamps, probably my 12th or 13th birthday.
James Hart
Member
first one I bought was mostly with Paper route money plus a couple birthday and holiday gift checks I had banked up.
Ibanez Destroyer II Bass I had been learning on a short scale Harmony that was rescued from a garbage can by my Grandfather.
Long gone (Defretted after hearing Tony Franklin on the Firm's first hit Radioactive, painted metallic grey by an older buddy that was getting into autobody, then sold to another friend). I did repurchase one with a PJ set up years ago dirt cheap on eBay. It is completely disassembled and stripped... sitting in a tote in the garage waiting for me to get around to hotrodding it.
Ibanez Destroyer II Bass I had been learning on a short scale Harmony that was rescued from a garbage can by my Grandfather.
Long gone (Defretted after hearing Tony Franklin on the Firm's first hit Radioactive, painted metallic grey by an older buddy that was getting into autobody, then sold to another friend). I did repurchase one with a PJ set up years ago dirt cheap on eBay. It is completely disassembled and stripped... sitting in a tote in the garage waiting for me to get around to hotrodding it.
The Guilds of Grot
Enlightened Member
I'm a little confused here. The title of the thread is "The first guitar you bought?"
I would think that means you bought a guitar with your own money as opposed to stories about your "first" guitar that was bought by someone else!
I would think that means you bought a guitar with your own money as opposed to stories about your "first" guitar that was bought by someone else!
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Agreed. First guitar I bought was my S300AD. My first guitar was some import catalog thing.
banjomike
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I began playing the banjo.
For years, I was always the only banjo player and was always surrounded by guitars, so for 6 years, I never owned a guitar, but I learned how to play them by using other folk's instruments.
When I finally bought a guitar, I was in the Navy, nursing a serious Jones for learning how to play Bossa Nova, a music that does not fit the banjo in any shape or form.
So my first guitar was a Guild classic Mark II. It was pretty cheap because the music store it came from had just suffered a serious fire. I found it in a warehouse the store was using to sell off their serviceable instruments that weren't burned up.
The Guild was covered in soot and had been stained by the heat, but it was intact and actually a fine sounding guitar. Once I finally got it clean, it even looked OK.
I can't remember how much I paid for it now, but I recall everything in that warehouse was open to negotiation in price, so it wasn't very much. No more than $100, and probably much, much less.
A year later, I went back to the store after the place had been restored, looking for a good steel-string flat top after over 10 months at sea. I had saved most of my pay over that time for another guitar, so I went in looking for a Martin D-18. But when the salesman left to go check his stock, he came back with a D-28 that had a small crack in the bridge between two pin holes.
He said he would knock off $100 if I took the guitar as is. That knocked the price down to $300, with the case adding another $100 to the deal.
And $400 was all the guitar money I had to spend. So I walked out with the D-28. It was my birthday present to myself in 1968. Within a year, I learned to play some Bossa nova on the Guild and how to flatpack a couple of Doc Watson tunes on the D-28.
That set my musical course for the next 20 years, and I still love that music the most of all.
I added a 12-string from the Norfolk base PX, a Brazilian classic, a Spanish black flamenco, and an Autoharp to that, along with the banjo I brought with me into the Navy. By the time I was discharged, I had too many guitars to carry back home with me, so I sold the Guild to a shipmate who really wanted it.
Everything else came home. To this day I still wish I had sold him the Brazilian guitar instead.
All that happened 60 years ago. I still have them all, except for the Martin; I hit a very rough patch in 2004, and was forced to sell it for some fast cash. Needless to say, the D-28 went for quite a lot more cash that it took to buy it.
Many others have come and gone since, but I still miss that plain little Guild and the D-28.
For years, I was always the only banjo player and was always surrounded by guitars, so for 6 years, I never owned a guitar, but I learned how to play them by using other folk's instruments.
When I finally bought a guitar, I was in the Navy, nursing a serious Jones for learning how to play Bossa Nova, a music that does not fit the banjo in any shape or form.
So my first guitar was a Guild classic Mark II. It was pretty cheap because the music store it came from had just suffered a serious fire. I found it in a warehouse the store was using to sell off their serviceable instruments that weren't burned up.
The Guild was covered in soot and had been stained by the heat, but it was intact and actually a fine sounding guitar. Once I finally got it clean, it even looked OK.
I can't remember how much I paid for it now, but I recall everything in that warehouse was open to negotiation in price, so it wasn't very much. No more than $100, and probably much, much less.
A year later, I went back to the store after the place had been restored, looking for a good steel-string flat top after over 10 months at sea. I had saved most of my pay over that time for another guitar, so I went in looking for a Martin D-18. But when the salesman left to go check his stock, he came back with a D-28 that had a small crack in the bridge between two pin holes.
He said he would knock off $100 if I took the guitar as is. That knocked the price down to $300, with the case adding another $100 to the deal.
And $400 was all the guitar money I had to spend. So I walked out with the D-28. It was my birthday present to myself in 1968. Within a year, I learned to play some Bossa nova on the Guild and how to flatpack a couple of Doc Watson tunes on the D-28.
That set my musical course for the next 20 years, and I still love that music the most of all.
I added a 12-string from the Norfolk base PX, a Brazilian classic, a Spanish black flamenco, and an Autoharp to that, along with the banjo I brought with me into the Navy. By the time I was discharged, I had too many guitars to carry back home with me, so I sold the Guild to a shipmate who really wanted it.
Everything else came home. To this day I still wish I had sold him the Brazilian guitar instead.
All that happened 60 years ago. I still have them all, except for the Martin; I hit a very rough patch in 2004, and was forced to sell it for some fast cash. Needless to say, the D-28 went for quite a lot more cash that it took to buy it.
Many others have come and gone since, but I still miss that plain little Guild and the D-28.
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wileypickett
Enlightened Member
Well, not to get bogged down in technicalities, but dreadnut, who started this thread, first mentions his mom buying him his first guitar, then follows up with the name of the first guitar he bought himself.
I say we accept both "owned" or "bought."
The first guitar I bought with my own money was an early '70s Epiphone jumbo with maple back and sides. This after my sister borrowed the Harmony (without permission) to take to a party. She came home drunk and walked it into the side of our house, breaking off the headstock. (No case.) I've never let her live it down.
I say we accept both "owned" or "bought."
The first guitar I bought with my own money was an early '70s Epiphone jumbo with maple back and sides. This after my sister borrowed the Harmony (without permission) to take to a party. She came home drunk and walked it into the side of our house, breaking off the headstock. (No case.) I've never let her live it down.
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davismanLV
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silverfox103
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My first guitar that I bought with lawn cutting and paper route money was a Vega solid body, single pickup, off white guitar. I'm guessing it was about 1961, it was used and I paid, as best as I can remember, $40. Vega was a banjo making company in Boston which made some guitars. Can't find any pictures, but it was pretty basic. I don't think it had any cut-a-ways.......kept it only as long as it took me to save up for a Silvertone twin pickup with case.
Tom
Tom
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davismanLV
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Don was my start... he had some nice guitars. So I stared to play on the Mitsuru Tamura classical and I gravitated to the Martin D-35!! That martin was lovely!! But the neck was sooo narrow at the top. (nut width) and he also had a really nice GOYA!! That was my go to....but I'd never bought my own guitar. Y'all know the story!! And then after health care had a meltdown, I got laid off with a super good "package" and so in 1994 I went to Guitar Center. Holy crap...
I made a super good decision... which is ultimately why I'm here....
I made a super good decision... which is ultimately why I'm here....
lungimsam
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First guitar ever (given to me):
A sunburst Stella acoustic. My cousin got me started playing guitar and gave me his Stella.
First paid for with my own cash:
IIRC, a mid-1980’s black Gibson SG Standard in the olde Gibson chainsaw case with blue interior. Was very “80’s looking. Probly an 85 or 86 model. Not sure if Norlin era or not. Had speed knobs stock. Ugly! The green Gibson tulip deluxe tuners pooped out pretty quickly. I put Schallers on, iirc and got an Kahler vibrato installed. Sounded good distorted. Terribly dead when played clean. For some reason, I remember it feeling cheap and plasticky and loose things rattled in it. IIRC, I sold it to a local shop and gave the $$$ to my friend so he could pay his rent. Some time later, he and his wife gifted me a “The Strat” -ocaster all blacked out and with the bridge humbucker. That was really 80’s looking. Nice guitar, though.
A sunburst Stella acoustic. My cousin got me started playing guitar and gave me his Stella.
First paid for with my own cash:
IIRC, a mid-1980’s black Gibson SG Standard in the olde Gibson chainsaw case with blue interior. Was very “80’s looking. Probly an 85 or 86 model. Not sure if Norlin era or not. Had speed knobs stock. Ugly! The green Gibson tulip deluxe tuners pooped out pretty quickly. I put Schallers on, iirc and got an Kahler vibrato installed. Sounded good distorted. Terribly dead when played clean. For some reason, I remember it feeling cheap and plasticky and loose things rattled in it. IIRC, I sold it to a local shop and gave the $$$ to my friend so he could pay his rent. Some time later, he and his wife gifted me a “The Strat” -ocaster all blacked out and with the bridge humbucker. That was really 80’s looking. Nice guitar, though.
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First guitar I bought was a nice Japanese classical, about $75 in '64. Not the best choice for a kid interested in blues.
Neal
Senior Member
First guitar I ever bought was a 1973 Guild D-35. I saved up money from two paper routes to plunk down $275 for it, used, at Chuck Levins in 1975.
It is still in my possession 48 years later.
It is still in my possession 48 years later.
Minnesota Flats
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A slope-shouldered, beat to crap Gibson J45.
One of these, but not in such good condition:
First electric was a Coral (Danelectro) Firefly, like this one:
One of these, but not in such good condition:
First electric was a Coral (Danelectro) Firefly, like this one:
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RBSinTo
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My first guitar was a red or blue dreadnought whose brand I've long forgotten, that I bought for $12.00 from a neighbour's son, when I was about 10 or 11.
It was difficult to play and hurt my fingers, and after a short time I sold it in a local record store for the same $12.00 that I paid for it.
It would be another thre or four years before I would become interested in learning to play, and buy my second instrument, an inexpensive classical guitar.
RBSinTo
It was difficult to play and hurt my fingers, and after a short time I sold it in a local record store for the same $12.00 that I paid for it.
It would be another thre or four years before I would become interested in learning to play, and buy my second instrument, an inexpensive classical guitar.
RBSinTo