Home › Forums › Discuss Your Gear › Old guitar
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May 31, 2018 at 12:47 pm #101143
Does anyone own an old guitar with a good story to tell?
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May 31, 2018 at 3:16 pm #101158
I’m pretty sure lots of us do.
Sunjamr Steve
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June 1, 2018 at 4:29 pm #101265
Let’s hear it then.
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June 1, 2018 at 4:46 pm #101267
Isn’t an old guitar sometimes a neglected new guitar?, tbh I’m only guessing here cos I don’t have and old or neglected new guitar..hshaha..
I’m just pulling your leg, looking forward to reading the replies..cheers..Billy..
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June 1, 2018 at 8:30 pm #101314
I’ll give it a go… Not an “old” guitar but one of my most memorable guitars is my 12 string Yamaha acoustic. Bought it new in 1994. Rarely does it see much action anymore. While I consider my “AAM” days (after Active Melody) my most informative where I’ve learned the most the quickest, my 12 string was present during my most formative years. A lot of songs were composed on this guitar (nearly all of them not worth a darn). I played this guitar for a lot of church masses, weddings- including one song for my own wedding, and (sadly) funerals. It was front and center with me while trying to woo many a gal. For a guy who had virtually no game with the ladies, it was instrumental (pun intended) in whatever success I did have. So, not old but certainly memorable.
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June 2, 2018 at 11:35 am #101374
I have my old Tesico out in the garage I got for Christmas when I was 12. When I was 15 I decided to take it apart to paint it a wild color. I am 62 now and it is still not back together
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June 2, 2018 at 3:27 pm #101396
About 45 years ago I bought a cheap nylon string with the intent to refinish it. I paid 40 dollars. That included a bass guitar gig bag. The finish was nice so my original plan never happened. A couple years after I bought it the bridge started lifting. I still have the guitar. I can slide a credit card under the middle part of the bridge, but the ends are still keeping it in place. Every time I change strings, I expect to be bonked in the head by a flying bridge.
I keep it tuned open G, half step down. It is neglected. I drag it out when I’m in the mood for some Hawaiian slack key.Jim J
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June 4, 2018 at 8:37 am #101798
About a couple months ago, I was looking for a guitar for my sister in-law and I found one on craigslist. While at the guy’s house, he also has another guitar he is selling for cheap. It’s an Alvalrez 5022 made in Japan in the 70s and the guitar was in bad shape: broken headstock, lifted bridge, bulge behind the bridge (turned out there was a loose brace), and a couple worn frets. The guy mentioned that the guitar (in its better days) has really nice sounds. I have heard of good things about those old Alvarez guitars and despite have never fixed a single guitar in my life, I decided to give it a try. The project took longer than I expected but it was finally done a couple weeks ago and all I can say is WOW! The owner wasn’t kidding, the guitar is so easy to play and has such a wonderful mellow and warm sounds. Now every time I walk by I have the itch to pick it up to play and most of the time I do just that.
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June 10, 2018 at 9:26 pm #102246
Well if you guys want to hear a potentially interesting story allow me to entertain you with mine. I am currently 70 years old, and when I was 12 I thought that it would be great to play guitar. So off I go to a second hand shop in Penticton, BC, Canada. I bought an acoustic guitar, as that was what I was told to do by the people in the know, little did I know. I bought one for 20 bucks and the guy threw in a Mel Bay Book 1 and a tuning pipe. At the time I was living in an orchard and after picking fruit for the day I would have a go at this monster. Now the strings were so high off the frets that you could drive a truck under them lol… I persisted all winter and next spring. In total frustration I finally took the guitar out in the orchard and trashed it to death on an apple tree. So as far as I was concerned that was the end of guitar playing for me. However the great stringed gods in the sky had other plans for me. I was at Evans Hobby Shop in Penticton one day and he had a musical group playing in front of his store. After they were done Frank (owner of the store) and I were talking and Mel (lead guitar player) came up and started talking. They had played a Ventures tune, and I had commented that he (Mel) had made it look so easy. He said easy as pie, then I told him my story about my attempt and the subsequent Murder of my acoustic guitar. Mel laughed and said you just had a piece of junk, you should get a Fender Guitar.. I said really? Then h went on to say not only that you should get a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster. Now to a person in the know one would know he was pulling my leg, In 1963 it was a lot of loot to get one of those guitars. But me not knowing any different just assumed he was telling me the truth. Now at the time I was 12 years old, living on my own since I was 11 years old, living in a one room shack and either going to school or working dawn to dusk in an orchard. At any rate, off I go to the music store and asked guy there that I was interested in buying a guitar. He turned around and was reaching an acoustic off the wall, I said no not one of those things. One thing to be noted in those days there were no guitars around besides American made. Harmony, Silvertone the famous Sears guitar..lol. Of course there were Gibson, Fender and the like. He turned back to me and asked what I was interested in… I said A Fender.. He looked at me strange and said “Where’s you dad? I said what’s my dad got to do with it? He shrugged his shoulders and walked down the counter a bit and started to reach down some basic Fender electric, and when he put it on the counter I said no not this one, I was told to look at a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster…. I still remember the look on his face… almost priceless.. He then said again Where’s your dad.. Quite funny actually. So finally he took me down to the end of the counter, laid a cloth on the counter and placed a sunburst Jazzmaster on the counter… He said “Don’t touch it” you can look but don’t touch. I said ok, how much was the guitar. It was $599, I just remember $600 bucks. I said ok, thanks and left. I’m sure the guy thought that I was some kind of nut. About an hour later I walked back into the shop and the same guy asked what he could do for me. I said I’m here to buy the Jazzmaster, I had to go to the bank and get the cash. I swear he almost broke the glass counter top with his jaw it dropped so fast…lol… At any rate I bought the guitar and have had it ever since. It is a tad road worn but still plays great. I practiced so much that I wore out a neck and in 1965 I replaced the 63 neck with the 65. Had I know what the value would have increased to I would have kept the old neck to.. It’s a bit of a read but I think an interesting story of an old guitar. I still play it today. I have added a Gibson 335 and a Fender Telecaster to my collection. I did have a 355S but it seems that someone wanted it more than me and it went missing one night in Toronto when I was in university. I’m going to try and attach a photo of the Jazzmaster in all it’s now condition glory…lol
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June 11, 2018 at 6:06 am #102254
Chris, that was an awesome story. There’s buying an old guitar that has “mojo”, then there’s actually buying that guitar new and making your own mojo. Regardless what it might be worth to someone else, that guitar must be priceless to you. Thank you for sharing!
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June 11, 2018 at 6:14 am #102257
What a great read, thanks for telling your story.
..Billy..
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June 11, 2018 at 7:14 am #102258
Billy. Thank you for the wonderful story.
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December 6, 2018 at 6:27 pm #118036
About a couple months ago, I was looking for a guitar for my sister in-law and I found one on craigslist. While at the guy’s house, he also has another guitar he is selling for cheap. It’s an Alvalrez 5022 made in Japan in the 70s and the guitar was in bad shape: broken headstock, lifted bridge, bulge behind the bridge (turned out there was a loose brace), and a couple worn frets. The guy mentioned that the guitar (in its better days) has really nice sounds. I have heard of good things about those old Alvarez guitars and despite have never fixed a single guitar in my life, I decided to give it a try. The project took longer than I expected but it was finally done a couple weeks ago and all I can say is WOW! The owner wasn’t kidding, the guitar is so easy to play and has such a wonderful mellow and warm sounds. Now every time I walk by I have the itch to pick it up to play and most of the time I do just that.
I think you are an ass ,,jmho,, if i met you in person..you’d be in trouble i think lol
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