Your First Guitars..tell the story..(photos if you have any)
The year was 1964, I was 12 years old, sick of piano lessons, and wanted to get into guitar. I was into Motown, Country, and American Rock&Roll, more than the British invasion. Tried to make my hair look like Elvis, and remember doing a good job of that with Bryl-creem. (a little dab'll do ya) Roy Orbison came out with \"Pretty Woman\" that year, but mainly the Beatles were top in the charts. I was going to just describe my first guitars, but I searched around the net, and came up with some photos, and this was one of the most nostalgic moments for me...especially finding photos of my \"George Jetson\" guitar. (that's what I called it)
My first guitar was a 1950's Harmony H165. These were very well made Honduran Mahogany flat tops. They were plain, just having a cream celluloid sound hole and a tortoise shell guard-plate. No binding, just smooth rounded edges, with a lacquer finish. Brazilian rosewood finger board and pin-less bridge, and had a chipboard case.
I was so happy to find photos of this guitar. I did yardwork and odd jobs during this time, and got this guitar by working my butt off for a whole day in exchange for the guitar. The guitar was missing strings, and was a mess, but I had already fallen in love. I had to sand this whole guitar down, and put on a new lacquer finish, and I also notched the bridge piece to lower the action, and put on new strings, before I could even play it. So my first experience with guitar was doing my own luthier work on it. The action was too high on these guitars, and even though I lowered it some, I didn't suffer any fret buzz, and actually did an excellent job with the finish.
I got some MelBay guitar books and taught myself. I remember the first song I actually learned that I liked enough to play in front of others, (after a year) was (I can't get no) Satisfaction, by \"The Rolling Stones.\"
My second guitar was the most exciting guitar I ever owned, and I bought it new in 1967. It came with a little 10w solid state Teisco amp called Checkmate10, and was a Teisco Japanese made guitar. I've loved Japanese made guitars ever since, and they still remain my favorite luthiers. This guitar was my \"George Jetson\" guitar, as it was the most futuristic guitar I ever saw. Again, I thought I'd only be able to describe this guitar, which would be hard to do, but I searched the net, and found photos, and I felt like I found hidden treasure. This was the first time for me in 40 years I've seen this guitar. I remember it very well, and wish I still had it. But today, this guitar would cost several thousand dollars, and they are very hard to find. They were very well made with low action and a unique pickup arrangement. It was called Spectrum 5, and had both mono and stereo switching. I would have described it as having a strat like body, but this was way better than a strat in my hands, and the action seemed far superior, as well as the price was affordable.
My third guitar ended up being a '70 Cherry Gibson SG. But the guitar I miss the most is that Teisco.
My first guitar was a 1950's Harmony H165. These were very well made Honduran Mahogany flat tops. They were plain, just having a cream celluloid sound hole and a tortoise shell guard-plate. No binding, just smooth rounded edges, with a lacquer finish. Brazilian rosewood finger board and pin-less bridge, and had a chipboard case.
I was so happy to find photos of this guitar. I did yardwork and odd jobs during this time, and got this guitar by working my butt off for a whole day in exchange for the guitar. The guitar was missing strings, and was a mess, but I had already fallen in love. I had to sand this whole guitar down, and put on a new lacquer finish, and I also notched the bridge piece to lower the action, and put on new strings, before I could even play it. So my first experience with guitar was doing my own luthier work on it. The action was too high on these guitars, and even though I lowered it some, I didn't suffer any fret buzz, and actually did an excellent job with the finish.
I got some MelBay guitar books and taught myself. I remember the first song I actually learned that I liked enough to play in front of others, (after a year) was (I can't get no) Satisfaction, by \"The Rolling Stones.\"
My second guitar was the most exciting guitar I ever owned, and I bought it new in 1967. It came with a little 10w solid state Teisco amp called Checkmate10, and was a Teisco Japanese made guitar. I've loved Japanese made guitars ever since, and they still remain my favorite luthiers. This guitar was my \"George Jetson\" guitar, as it was the most futuristic guitar I ever saw. Again, I thought I'd only be able to describe this guitar, which would be hard to do, but I searched the net, and found photos, and I felt like I found hidden treasure. This was the first time for me in 40 years I've seen this guitar. I remember it very well, and wish I still had it. But today, this guitar would cost several thousand dollars, and they are very hard to find. They were very well made with low action and a unique pickup arrangement. It was called Spectrum 5, and had both mono and stereo switching. I would have described it as having a strat like body, but this was way better than a strat in my hands, and the action seemed far superior, as well as the price was affordable.
My third guitar ended up being a '70 Cherry Gibson SG. But the guitar I miss the most is that Teisco.
Comments
My first git'r, about late 70's, was an LP copy so lame that firewood would've been the best use of it. :oops: 'Course, at the time I didn't have the vaguest idea what action, intonation, etc was. :oops: :oops: All the guys I knew were in cover bands (Foghat, Nugent, Freebird, BadCo, yada...) and I wanted to be too. But I wasn't cool enough. Oh yeah...I couldn't play for shite either...
Soon afer, I started getting some pretty decent git'rs...I think the first really good git'r I got was also Japanese, a '79 Ibanez Musician MC200 bl0nde. The only bl0nde I've ever had for more than a few hours. :?
Then I went on a vintage kick and in a few years had a lovely '72 sunburst strat, a Gib ES-335 in walnut, a '72 Gib ES-345 in that stunning cherry they did then, and then a walnut '68 ES-355ESTD that not having anymore STILL wakes me up at night. :? Also had a great Washburn 12-string acoustic.
Then I sorta gave up playing for about 20 years :oops:. Since then, I've gotten the 'binez some company: an Ibanez RG3 with DiM PAF Pro's, coil tapped, and a bone nut; an '02 Dean Exotica acoustic electric with Fishman elec'ics; and a couple really nice Peavey basses (a Grind BXP and a Cirrus).
I've also got a Gib Custom Shop Alex Lifeson 355 on order, but it's been many months and I think I have about as much chance of actually getting it as I do of having Shania beat on my door at midnight wearing nothing but a fur coat and a sly smile...
The 'binez:
My 355 was very similar to this one, but in ten times better condition:
The 345:
But it was time to grow up. So I sold it to the kid across the street for $50. Took the money and partied my ass off and a few days later left for the USN. What's really neat about this story ( to me anyways! ) Is several yrs later, my brother inlaw had to go over this dudes house for something, and I went with him. And while over there in the corner was this guitar. Looked just like that Harmony I re-did. I asked him where he got it. Turns out he got it from some dude that got it from the kid I sold it to! It was my old garbage salvaged refurbished guitar! WoW! I thought how cool. It's still being played! Thus ends the story of my first few guitars... Sorry no pics.
When my friends come over and we play acoustic, they first grab their guitar or my ovation. Then they eventually try my Yamaha and are amazed at the tone.
I was thinking of having a pickup put in under the saddle, but read that it might affect the tone, so I bought an Ovation for A/E playing.
1st electric: Cheap Oahu (Made by Supro) fiberglass constuction.
This picture is from before the Carvin. Top row, middle - it's a nylon string acoustic by some Korean company whose name I do not rremember now. My mom got it for me when I was 14 (or maybe for my 15th birthday), because I was planning on taking a guitar class sophomore year of high school.
8^p~~~
Thanks man, it's a great guitar. Unfortunately right now, the electronics are so busted, and I haven't had a chance to fix them. As far as tone and playability, it's everything you would expect for Charvel.
1st Elec guitar, a cheapo Sears wishbook LP copy I bought with paper route earnings.
1st good guitar, a LP standard I bought saving money I earned as a bus boy at the airport Hilton. Was stolen from rehearsal space 3wks later. Since then I would't leave as much as a pick at a rehearsal space.
To replace that, I had a Madeira (guild make??) guitar HH that looked something like an Artist body, but weighed about 5 lbs.
My 1st guitar was a Hondo Strat copy, white, hardly stayed in tune. Not a bad deal for $100, with a Fender Squier 15 practice amp, as something to learn on.
That one led to me buying my 1st \"professional\" quality guitar, a 1987 Kramer Striker ST300 with built in preamp. Floyd Rose trem, string locks, gloss black, just beautiful, and stayed in tune indefinitely, no matter how long it sat, or how hard I played it!
I really miss that Kramer!:(
Only 1 other Kramer like it, that I ever saw, Tommy Shaw had at a STYX concert I attended not long after I sold it to a nearby pawn shop... :shock:
Anything's possible... 8)
Eventually ,on my 16th X-Mas,my parents got me a Cort strat copy that got used -abused-travelled thousands of miles as i moved around the country in my later teen years.I repainted it differantly every 6 months with rattle cans until i was 21 and got a Dean Hollywood Z from my sister for fixin her car.Then at 21 i got the first 2 guitars i ever \"payed for\"....A BC Rich Warlock NJ 6 and a glitter rock white Bass.
eventually i got a $100 sx flying V copy and the a Gibson LP studio.Both played like crap compared to my Warlock.So I bought a couple of USA Fender Strats that never played worth a damn either so i sold them and got squier strats that sadly played better :?
Then i thought i hit the motherload.......i walked into a music store and seen this Beautiful Jackson RR3 with chrome hardware and Eerie-dess paint for $500 brand new and HAD to have it!!
heres a pic from 2004 with most of the guitars mentioned........
then in 2005 i started painting guitars for folks and took in trades and before i knew it........there were 60+ guitars laying around the house :shock: .Enough was enough and more than half of them have left
so every guitar in the pic has been sold-traded-given to family-or turned into a template
at least i still have the rear deck on my house :twisted:
It's an \"Epiphone by Gibson\" that I bought at a pawn shop for ~$250. Got a job at a grocery store, spent every cent of my first couple checks to get it. I remember it like yesterday:
Grandma: \"where's your check?\"
Me: \"I used all of it to put a guitar on hold\"
Grandma: \"WHAT!?!?! You'll just get bored with it any way!\"
12 years later......
I'm not sure what kind of wood it's made of, but this is a heavy guitar. It has a bit of an arched top too. I swapped out the bridge after I bought it with a Schaller trem. The guy at the shop talked me into it after the old one broke, and I'm glad he did. Too bad my Ibanez is too thin, or I'd replace it with this one.