loudnlousy
Gretschified
Wow. That`s quite a rare bird. Treasure it.
Do you still have “the one”?
- Thread starter TSims1
- Start date
englishman
Gretschified
I wish I did have my 1974 Telecaster, probably mentioned this before.. I started using a Gibson 330 on stage and suddenly someone showed up at my door to buy my Tele, It really wasn't for sale but this guy was like one of those window salesmen that you really regret letting into your house, before I knew it he had talked me out of the tele (I forget how much for) and he was gone. I was was young and dumb and was left standing there dazed.
I still have my Yamaha classical guitar I got in 1968. It was my first guitar that I bought myself. My cousin was in the AF and sent us a catalog where everything in it was half price. I bought the guitar for $25 it was selling for $55 in the local music store. Came with a cardboard case too. It is now in a nice hard case I got when a local music shop went out of business for $30. My next guitar I bought in about 1972, maybe, was an Ovation Balladeer made in the USA. Like an idiot I sold it in the 90's.
rze99
Gretschie
Yep
I bought this in the early '80s. I inherited a little money at the time as a young lad. I always wanted a Les Paul. Of course.
A '74 Gibson Les Paul Custom 20th Anniversary in wine red.
Pretty rare as it turns out now, but I didn't know at the time. I was 18 when I bought it, The Custom Shop recently did a reissue. £5k minus a penny if I recall. This is worth about the same now, I think.
I kept this not just because I vowed to the relative I would (but I did, and I have), but because it is a tremendous guitar.
Incredible tone and ease of playing. If very heavy! I did most of my recording and gigging work in my 20s and 30s mostly into a Marshall JMP 50w stack with this and a '70s Strat. Simple set up. I have the shoulder muscles to prove it.... and I still have the late '70s JMP stack too.
Sometimes they both come out to play together for fun. The previous owner tapped the humbuckers with the mini switches.
Turned out to be a good investment financially. My Mum wanted me to buy South African gold coins or something with the will money. Nah. There is gold right here, baby.
And it's been a beauty to own and play. People sometimes comment when they visit my home. "That's a lovely old red guitar". Yes it is. This is the one I grab if there is a fire and as it was bouht with inheritance money it's staying with me till the end.
It's beautiful... and it's an animal. Think classic Mick Ronson tone.
I bought this in the early '80s. I inherited a little money at the time as a young lad. I always wanted a Les Paul. Of course.
A '74 Gibson Les Paul Custom 20th Anniversary in wine red.
Pretty rare as it turns out now, but I didn't know at the time. I was 18 when I bought it, The Custom Shop recently did a reissue. £5k minus a penny if I recall. This is worth about the same now, I think.
I kept this not just because I vowed to the relative I would (but I did, and I have), but because it is a tremendous guitar.
Incredible tone and ease of playing. If very heavy! I did most of my recording and gigging work in my 20s and 30s mostly into a Marshall JMP 50w stack with this and a '70s Strat. Simple set up. I have the shoulder muscles to prove it.... and I still have the late '70s JMP stack too.
Turned out to be a good investment financially. My Mum wanted me to buy South African gold coins or something with the will money. Nah. There is gold right here, baby.
And it's been a beauty to own and play. People sometimes comment when they visit my home. "That's a lovely old red guitar". Yes it is. This is the one I grab if there is a fire and as it was bouht with inheritance money it's staying with me till the end.
It's beautiful... and it's an animal. Think classic Mick Ronson tone.
gtttrrr
Country Gent
I Have that one! Grandpas…. Now set high for slide! Love the grungy pickups when driven
rze99
Gretschie
I thank you kindly, sir.
rze99
Gretschie
fab!
gtttrrr
Country Gent
My first “real” guitar is the black late 80’s Charvelle, fastest neck in the west! Followed by the 90’s ESP shown with.
First was a Mako strat copy that a local luthier built a neck for and put a Seymour HB in,, wish I still had that one,,I do have the old neck hanging in studio though.
First was a Mako strat copy that a local luthier built a neck for and put a Seymour HB in,, wish I still had that one,,I do have the old neck hanging in studio though.
I don’t have pics at the moment due to life complications that would skate the edge of the rules to discuss. Hope I can get a pass this time. 
I still have my 60s Gibson J50 Adustable. My father gave it to me in the 70s when he got a Martin D35. I have that now also.
The late great Homer Ledford, a family friend, carved a new bridge from gorgeous “Madagascar” ebony. I don’t know whether he really meant Macassar ebony. I also don’t know when ebony export from Madagascar was banned, or how long he might have had that piece. Homer’s basement was like Santa’s workshop, and one of his dulcimers is in the Smithsonian.
I’ve already donated several instruments to a relief effort that would also skate the rules. I’m trying to decide whether to donate this one or some others also.
I’ve found that there are some things too special to sell, but giving them away is entirely different.
I still have my 60s Gibson J50 Adustable. My father gave it to me in the 70s when he got a Martin D35. I have that now also.
The late great Homer Ledford, a family friend, carved a new bridge from gorgeous “Madagascar” ebony. I don’t know whether he really meant Macassar ebony. I also don’t know when ebony export from Madagascar was banned, or how long he might have had that piece. Homer’s basement was like Santa’s workshop, and one of his dulcimers is in the Smithsonian.
I’ve already donated several instruments to a relief effort that would also skate the rules. I’m trying to decide whether to donate this one or some others also.
I’ve found that there are some things too special to sell, but giving them away is entirely different.
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Ricochet
Senior Gretsch-Talker
Still have the One, but retired it after 20 years. Thin wide necks don’t agree with me anymore and I moved on.
MentalTossFlycoon
Gretschie
Me and my original electric guitar 1965 Yamaha SG3. This was back at a time when the quality of Japanese guitars was comparable to the Chinese stuff made today. Wasn't the best guitar I ever had but was certainly a good instrument to learn on. Traded it in 1979 for a Gibson ES 347. Still kinda wish I still had it.
Gretschtim1
Country Gent
Oh yeah! I've used mine on some recordings recently. I love the tone of those pickups. It's amazing that something so cheap and old sounds so good. My Mom & Dad paid $25 for it along with a small tube amp back in 1967.
A few years ago I had my tech clean and repair the switches and he made a new arm for the tremolo. Didn't change the keys but put a Gibson style bridge on it. I'm using GHS flat wounds on it because they remind me of the Black Diamond strings that I used on it back in the late 60s...
.
Gretschtim1
Country Gent
I thought I was the only one who held onto old equipment receipts...oh you bet I do .....both of them
The guitar in question in fact it will be 46 years old this Wednesday , Jan 5th .
I was 17 yrs old and between me saving my nickels , and a Xmass gift of $75 from my parents . My father and I spent the day together in The Bronx at Bronans Music where I bought my " real " first guitar . Then we went to McDonalds when McDonalds tasted like hamburgers and fries and had lunch with dad . A great day , a great memory .... Man oh man , I was only 17 years old , had the world ahead of me , and I didn't even know it .
My Yamaha FG-160 . Still have it to this day along with all the ( what little it came with ) case candy . Yes sir , good times and bad . It's been everything from my " chicken wire days " to my " chick magnet " . Seen hundreds of places with 1000's of songs from Jackson Browne to The Eagles to The Beatles along with some Chuck and Elvis and even the theme song to Home Improvement .
As you know , just the other day I posted a thread about a new harmonica ......I'll let the harmonica story tell it's own
I still have both the guitar and harmonica and I'll never let them go , no matter what . It's still part of my soul .
" Heading back to the front porch where I started ,
It's the place where I found the most enjoyment and imagination .
Just me and my guitar ,
The simplicity of not only my playing , but of life .
It's part of my soul "
Thunder
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. Great 1st guitar.
Gretschtim1
Country Gent
Ahhh - a 70s black Les Paul Custom - my first professional guitar. It fell off of a guitar stand in 1977 and was never the same again even after 4 trips back to Kalamazoo, mich for lifetime repair...
. I sold it in 78 for $300. If I'd only knew then what I know now I would never have sold it. The tech I have now could have fixed it and made it right again. That 1973 Lefty Les Paul Custom is worth $5000 today....
loudnlousy
Gretschified
I used to own a 70ies LPC in winered, too. (Although mine was a little more "brownish-red" coloured.)
Great guitar. I lost it at a concert where I was a guest musician. It was hit by a stage-lighting-traverse that fell down off the ceiling. It broke my Les Paul`s neck and crushed my Stratocaster as well. Neither the promotor nor the "technician" who was resposible for the stage, sound and lighting had an insurance.
So I dumped both in a nearby container and went home.
In hindsight it was a miracle that no man was hurt. (And I mean this deliberately ambiguous.)
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First electric....Christmas 1983....Aria Pro II (Made in Japan)......was actually my primary guitar right up through 2008, and still used often.
Plastic nut replaced with bone nut, floating bridge converted to standard, original pickups replaced with Carvin pickups, 3 way switch replaced with 5 way, original tuners replaced with Sperzel locking tuners (all done in the late 80's, early 90's)...it seems like there was something else, but can't remember off the top of my head.
Plastic nut replaced with bone nut, floating bridge converted to standard, original pickups replaced with Carvin pickups, 3 way switch replaced with 5 way, original tuners replaced with Sperzel locking tuners (all done in the late 80's, early 90's)...it seems like there was something else, but can't remember off the top of my head.
Thanks . It's the nerd in me . I have receipts from things I don't have anymore too . ( not just equipmentI thought I was the only one who held onto old equipment receipts...
)
I try to collect the flier or catalog when I buy a guitar, but those are mostly on the web now and harder to find a stack of copies in a store. Sometimes you can email and ask the manufacturer to mail you a paper catalog though.Thanks . It's the nerd in me . I have receipts from things I don't have anymore too . ( not just equipment
