The first guitar you bought?

[SFIV1967]

I believe it was a Musima, made in East Germany. It was identical to the one in this video, apart from the tuning machines, but I'm pretty sure the ones in the video have been replaced.

Actually those machine heads were original to that vintage of Musima. The one in the video is not very vintage, it seems to be from the 1980s. I still have my dad's Musima export model guitar which is similar to that one but with a normal bridge and older tuners. The guitar I have is from about 1969.

The first one I bought new from my money was from Guitar Centers house brand, a "WFM Mitchell MD-100-OP" dreadnought Made in Korea. She was about $300 inkl. gig bag at that time. Not as cheap as one would think. The Chinese made Mitchells are way cheaper now. This Korean one had a Solid Spruce top, laminated mahogany sides and back, rosewood fingerboard. All satin finished. And sounded pretty good and was loud but somehow was hard to play for me. I guess I didn't know too much about proper guitar setup yet.
I don't have any photos of her, but she looked like that one below, and they had a cool label I thought.

Ralf

 

[jp]

This was the first guitar of my choosing that I got by trading a Hondo II LP for it. It was super cool -- a mid-60s Eko 290 Barracuda.



But this was first one I paid for myself -- a 1979 Ibanez ST200 MIJ by Fujigen.

This was an extremely well-made guitar with a rock solid and heavy body, center block of maple, and mahogany outer blocks separated by walnut strips. The set neck was laminated maple with a rosewood fretboard, and it had adjustable tension VelveTune II Ibanez tuners. The bridge had a metal sustain block directly under it which allowed notes to sustain an incredibly long time. My favorite standout features were the electronics, though. Two open exposed bobbin Ibanez V@ pickups with the EQ-2 active/passive EQ with treble and bass cut/boost.

For a teen enamored with Santana, which I was at the time, it was an amazing buy for $300 bucks. Someday, I'll pick up another when I find one in nice shape.



These are not original photos of my guitars, but they looked just like these.

 

[Longnose Gar]

Ovation Celebrity purchased new from the shopping mall music store when I graduated college in 1995. I think it was about $450, and the hardshell case was nicer than the guitar. I donated it to my kids' school. Here it is hanging in the school music room.

 

[West R Lee]

Ovation Celebrity purchased new from the shopping mall music store when I graduated college in 1995. I think it was about $450, and the hardshell case was nicer than the guitar. I donated it to my kids' school. Here it is hanging in the school music room.

That's cool Longnose. Very generous of you.

West

 

[Longnose Gar]

That's cool Longnose. Very generous of you.

West

I wish I could take that credit, West. It was always a lousy guitar. I just didn't know it. These resell for about the cost of shipping today. I hope it doesn't ruin any kid's guitar dreams. At least it didn't mine.

 

[West R Lee]

I wish I could take that credit, West. It was always a lousy guitar. I just didn't know it. These resell for about the cost of shipping today. I hope it doesn't ruin any kid's guitar dreams. At least it didn't mine.

Ah, but your heart was in the right place.

West

 

[ReevesRd]

My first guitar was an Ovation Legend.

 

[Sal]

The first guitar I bought was a Framus. Soon after my friend and I hopped a boxcar to Duluth and I brought it along … without a case. Dumb kids. I only have these two pictures of that guitar; he and I on a pier in the Duluth Harbor. Me on the left. My next guitar was my Guild D25 bought new in ’78 with a case.

 

[fronobulax]

First bass was a no-name made in Japan solid body. I remember it was white. I think I paid for it but it may have been a gift. I am reasonably certain I did not pay for the replacement, the JS II, because my parents were professional musicians and providing a quality instrument was just part of the cost of raising children. So the first instrument I am certain I bought and paid for was the '67 Starfire purchased used in the late '70's.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Actually those machine heads were original to that vintage of Musima. The one in the video is not very vintage, it seems to be from the 1980s. I still have my dad's Musima export model guitar which is similar to that one but with a normal bridge and older tuners. The guitar I have is from about 1969.

The first one I bought new from my money was from Guitar Centers house brand, a "WFM Mitchell MD-100-OP" dreadnought Made in Korea. She was about $300 inkl. gig bag at that time. Not as cheap as one would think. The Chinese made Mitchells are way cheaper now. This Korean one had a Solid Spruce top, laminated mahogany sides and back, rosewood fingerboard. All satin finished. And sounded pretty good and was loud but somehow was hard to play for me. I guess I didn't know too much about proper guitar setup yet.
I don't have any photos of her, but she looked like that one below, and they had a cool label I thought.

Ralf

This was the style of tuning machines that mine had.

 

[Westerly Wood]

a yamaha.

ROFL

 

[Guildedagain]

Red label Nippon Gakki FG-75, paid $75 in 1975. All it knew how to play when I got it was Sweet Home Alabama but I showed it all kinds of new stuff, traveled the Southwest with it.

 

[GGJaguar]

First bass was a no-name made in Japan solid body.

The first bass I bought was a Hondo Fame 830 (I think it was an 830) which was a basic P-bass style. That launched my bass playing for the next 15 years or so.

 

[wileypickett]

The first guitar I bought was a Framus. Soon after my friend and I hopped a boxcar to Duluth and I brought it along … without a case. Dumb kids. I only have these two pictures of that guitar; he and I on a pier in the Duluth Harbor. Me on the left. My next guitar was my Guild D25 bought new in ’78 with a case.

Framus was sort of the Harmony of Europe. The first 12-string I owned was a Framus with a bolt-on neck. Got it around '74. I tried everything I could think of to make that guitar sound good -- nothing worked. The guitar is long gone but I still have its "batwing" pickguard.

 

[Nuuska]

There were some guitars before the first one I remember buying. The first could have been loaners - at least one was for sure.

The first I remember buying was a small Framus - bolt-on-neck - about parlor size - really good neck and easy to play.

I went to Germany to be ein Austauschschüler in Kassel - and bought a Höfner 12-string - next year same shop and another Höfner 12-string. About that time the Guild DE-400 came along - it had loose truss-rod and therefore the neck had remarkable bow. Everybody and their cousins were horrified to touch the rod - "It will brake" they said - so I got it really cheap and adjusted the truss-rod - after all it is human made . . .

Then a nylon-string Landola came along - and various other guitars came and vent - until summer 1975 I bought F-50-R

After that the game was over - no return - until death us part

 

[wileypickett]

Because the postwar embargo on U.S.-made musical instruments was still in effect in the early '60s, a lot of the Brit bands from that era played Framuses (Framii?) and Hofners and such, including the "Big Two" -- Beatles and Stones.

Lennon played a Framus 12-string on some early sessions, and in addition to Bill Wyman's famous Framus bass, Keith Richards played a Framus jumbo six-string acoustic, with a cutaway, on some early Stones sessions.

 

[walrus]

Because the postwar embargo on U.S.-made musical instruments was still in effect in the early '60s, a lot of the Brit bands from that era played Framuses (Framii?) and Hofners and such, including the "Big Two" -- Beatles and Stones.

Lennon played a Framus 12-string on some early sessions, and in addition to Bill Wyman's famous Framus bass, Keith Richards played a Framus jumbo six-string acoustic, with a cutaway, on some early Stones sessions.

And Lennon playing the Framus in "Help!" on "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" gave it plenty of exposure!



walrus

 

[SFIV1967]

This was the style of tuning machines that mine had.

Same like on my dad's one! Made by "Vogtsberger" or similar name in the Markneukirchen area. I know the cousin of him (Luthier Karl-Heinz Neudel).
They were used in the 60s and early 70s on Musima guitars.



Temporarily I replaced them with new Rubner custom made machineheads (the two below) but I might go back to the original tuners as I found a pair in good working condition. Those machineheads had a non-standard distance between the tuning posts.



Ralf

 

[Canard]

I had acoustic guitars that I was given, Kay, Framus, etc, before I actually bought something for myself.

My first big splash out was from the Sears mail order catalogue, a Silvertone vaguely Mosrite thing. It sounded terrible through whatever amp I had at the time, but once when a band was using a church basement as a rehearsal space, the minister's son (a wannabe drummer) and I (a wannabe guitarist) snuck into the basement and used the band's gear without permission (Hey, kids in those days!). It sounded great through a Fender Dual Showman.

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