First electric guitar

Sully0556

Sully0556

Inspired
So I'm sitting on the couch playing my "couch guitar" that my parents bought for me when I was around 10 years old. It's a 1965 (ish) Ephiphone Olympic that came (used) with an Epiphone amp. I played the hell out of it for 5 or 6 years until I was able to upgrade to a new Peavey T-60 and put the Epiphone in the case for years. I was looking at it and wondered what it was worth. WOW! in decent condition they're going for well over $1000 (mine has been stripped and re-finished) and the original amp which I haven't touched in 30 years is an EA-35T which I see is also worth a decent amount of $. I think they payed around $200 back in the mid 70's and the bundle is likely worth 4-5x that now. Pretty cool!
I'll never sell the guitar but I'm thinking the Amp is just a dust collector so maybe I'll list it and see what happens. Funny how old equipment becomes treasures after decades.

How many of you still have your first guitar? Do you still play it?

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First guitar was a Goyatone or something like that. Made in Japan. One single coil pickup that squealed at any sort of volume. Was missing its bridge. I paid $25 for it and made a really crummy bridge out of a piece of wood. Had it for about a year and learned how to play on it. Sold it to a guy for $30 who used it for slide. Doesn't bother me that I still don't have it. Hah! That guitar I played through an Allied Radio KnightKit tube stereo amp. My speaker was a big cardboard box, full of crumpled up newspaper with several speakers I'd removed from this and that mounted on the box and wired together. I plugged the guitar into the magnetic phono input of the KnightKit amp and got great distortion. After I bought my second guitar, which was a Sears Silvertone solid body with D'Armond pickups, I finally got a real amp. The first amp was a Sears Silvertone Twin Twelve, the one where the head goes into the back of the speaker cabinet for carrying. Paid about $40 for it. Now that amp I wish I still had since they are collectable. The Silvertone guitar would probably be collectable now, but it was a crappy guitar. Better than the Goyatone though!

Steve
 
SJonesofva said:
First guitar was a Goyatone or something like that. Made in Japan. One single coil pickup that squealed at any sort of volume. Was missing its bridge. I paid $25 for it and made a really crummy bridge out of a piece of wood. Had it for about a year and learned how to play on it. Sold it to a guy for $30 who used it for slide. Doesn't bother me that I still don't have it. Hah! That guitar I played through an Allied Radio KnightKit tube stereo amp. My speaker was a big cardboard box, full of crumpled up newspaper with several speakers I'd removed from this and that mounted on the box and wired together. I plugged the guitar into the magnetic phono input of the KnightKit amp and got great distortion. After I bought my second guitar, which was a Sears Silvertone solid body with D'Armond pickups, I finally got a real amp. The first amp was a Sears Silvertone Twin Twelve, the one where the head goes into the back of the speaker cabinet for carrying. Paid about $40 for it. Now that amp I wish I still had since they are collectable. The Silvertone guitar would probably be collectable now, but it was a crappy guitar. Better than the Goyatone though!

Steve
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I had two Silvertones around then, first the single 12, then the 2x12.

Inspired by Terry Kath, I eventually mounted a load resistor inside the 1x12 head, so I could use it as a preamp for my Blackface Bassman. That rig rocked!
 
My 1st electric was a 78 Ibanez Artist. Beautifully made guitar. Weighs a ton. Before that I played my brothers guitars. I gave the Artist to my son. And he promptly put a giant gouge on the back of it. Think he had it leaning on something and it fell. Whatever it hit disagreed with the finish. Can’t recall what I paid for it but they are somewhat valuable now. The damage didn’t help but that’s his problem now. It’s still at my house actually and this post reminds me I need to string it and give it a go.
 
I admire those who had the foresight or whatever it was to keep those early instruments. I played on my brother’s guitars at first, then Mom eventually bought an Electra 335 copy for me. It was a good starter. Next was a 1972 SG that was my first “wish I hadn’t traded that one away” musical instrument. I eventually got another 72 SG Std that I still have, but that was my first pro gigging guitar, and it’s gone. I‘d like to still have those first two!
 
I still have my first "gigging" guitar, 1989 Ibanez RG760 that I played until a few years back and had to retire after being re-fretted and gone thru may times. I loved that guitar but the time just caught up with it. :)
 
Unfortunately no. I wheeled and dealed my way toward better guitars over the years, but since it's always fun trying to remember them all:

* = regret selling, also included age at the time of acquisition lol.

FIRST GUITAR (12-years-old): 2002 Ibanez AX20
FIRST GREAT GUITAR (15): 2004 Jackson DKMGT*
SCRAPPY UNDERDOG (15-16): 1999-2003 Washburn WG580 (not sure what year, finish was a sort of Cosmic Black type deal)
JUST OK (16-17): 1998 (?) ESP LTD M-307
LEGENDARY (17-18): 1999 Ibanez RG7620 (Black)*
NECK DIVE FOR AFRICA (19-20): 2010 B.C. Rich Marc Rizzo Stealth 7
EPIC (22): 2007 Ibanez RG550 (Road Flare Red) 20th Anniversary
EVEN MORE EPIC (24): 2014 Ibanez RG2820 (Japan exclusive in Cherry Blossom quilted maple)*
GODLY (27): 2009 ESP Horizon FR (Black)*
NOT MY CUP OF TEA (31): 2021 (or was it '20? :sweatsmile:) Fender Professional II Stratocaster (HSS | Maple | Mystic Seafoam Green)

Current guitars:
GODLY (30): 2011 ESP Horizon FR (Snow White)
HOPEFULLY GODLY (32): (Arriving soon) 2006 Caparison Dellinger SE (Black, HSS)
 
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1st guitar: ‘77 Guild classical. Still have it. Still play it daily.
1st electric: ‘85 Kramer ‘no Bozos’ Baretta. Still have it. Sounds incredible; needs new frets.
2nd electric: used ‘82 or ‘83 Kramer Voyager with Rockinger term. Destroyed through serial stupidity.
 
IIRC Mine (long gone now) was a Univox Les Paul Copy. I traded my Kawasaki KX 80 Dirt bike for it and a Marshall full stack. I am pretty sure the stack was a solid state, but at the time I had no idea there was any differences. So it could have been a nice one, who knows. Never learned a single lick on it ;)
 
Dave Merrill said:
Baby blue Hagstrom 1, long gone.
Just like this:
https://reverb.com/p/hagstrom-hagstrom-i-blue

Paid about $200 including a Gregory POS amp.

There's a lot of gear in my past that I wish I hadn't sold, either because it's worth a lot, or because I wish I still had it.

Oh well.
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I remembered I left out my mom's Martin nylon string, which is the first guitar I played on much. I liked it, but I knew nothing, started in 6th grade.

It met a super inglorious end. I left it on my bed, my college roommate and a friend of his were horsing around, and it got sat on/fallen on, smashed to bits.

I had been taking lessons from a nylon string guy, so I thought I should replace it with something decent. Got an Alvarez Yairi, but it wasn't the same, didn't have the heart of my mom's. Duh I know.
 
My first guitar was a Mako bullet….a Korean copy of a Japanese copy of an American guitar….with sky diving action. I then got a blue Charvel Model 4, (wanted the white one but the tremolo was missing pieces), became a better guitar player immediately. Sadly sold it. Years later my best friend got me a white model 4, And… it was signed by Sammy Hagar! Never selling that one…
 
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