Your First Guitar

[Danno]

Not actual photo but you get the idea...

Christmas 1994 my older sister got a Sunburst Squier Strat Pack from our grandparents. Summer 1996 it became mine as her dreams of being the next Courtney Love were over and I was an aspiring Johnny Ramone.

 

[thunder58]

Oh yea ... I still have it too .... and it really is my " Holy Grail " . My Yamaha FG-160

 

[emgee254]

Just like this in cherry finish. I had no concept of what an SG (or any other guitar) was. It had pickups and I just liked the look of it. Not a bad guitar.

 

[cielski]

Silvertone Amp-in-Case single pickup, short scale, 2 watt amp. Christmas '63.
It went, along with some other stuff, to fund a Hammond B3.

 

[Seamus]

Acquired one of these from my friend's brother. Looks like a million bucks. Sounds like 50 cents.

It somehow had negative sustain. And the pickups picked up even the squeak of the strap. Such a horrible guitar. And I wish I hadn't traded it away!

 

[Mr Twangy]

 

[Cryin_Caleb_Aaron]

My father’s first guitar was a Silvertone his parents bought for him in the early 60’s.
When I was a boy he gave it to me and it became my first guitar. He had lost the amp/case long ago.

(Picture from google)


Sadly, in a moment of thirst and desperation, I sold it.
I regretted the sale and I tried to buy it back a few weeks later. The man I sold it too refused. He said “I’m not a pawn shop, Caleb”.
I learned a little something that day.
It still breaks my heart to think how cheaply I treated that guitar. Yes, it was a piece of crap, but it was a sentimental piece of crap.

 

[Danno]

My father’s first guitar was a Silvertone his parents bought for him in the early 60’s.
When I was a boy he gave it to me and it became my first guitar. He had lost the amp/case long ago.

(Picture from google)


View attachment 203913

Sadly, in a moment of thirst and desperation, I sold it.
I regretted the sale and I tried to buy it back a few weeks later. The man I sold it too refused. He said “I’m not a pawn shop, Caleb”.
I learned a little something that day.
It still breaks my heart to think how cheaply I treated that guitar. Yes, it was a piece of crap, but it was a sentimental piece of crap.

A valuable lesson indeed. I wish I took better care of my first or at least sold it. In college after my first love broke up with me 2 years in after finding a new man before leaving me I smashed my first guitar into pieces at an Anti Valentine's Day Open Mic a few weeks later.

 

[hcsterg]

Well... This time, I'll leave my first guitar, a Venerable ES-335TD from 1980 - still with me 43 years later - to present my first custom designed and build from scratch guitar : my Fake Lefty Improbable Danelectro "Minerva Verde", which is an evocation of the great design of the Dano DC59 :

That Bottle Green Metallic Paint is Alfa Romeo "Minerva Verde" (below, on a model 166) :



Below, my regular LH DC59 in copper (why did I idiotely sold her ?) flanked by two Custom Fake Lefty Improbable Danelectro guitars :

One little regret : I should have slanted the middle lipstick PU on my Minerva Verde. Beside the fact that it would have been more aesthetically more "Dano-ish", th plucking of the strings would have been completely "interference-less".

A+!

 

[Highroller]

Three that could arguably be called "first" guitars ...

The first one I ever played, my brother's Silvertone, vintage '67 or thereabouts. Needs a little work 50+ years later, but he still has it today.



The first one I ever owned, a complete POS thing called a "Tele-Star", shown here years later - stringless, bridgeless, and literally, minutes away from the trash.



The first electric guitar, a Bradley SG knockoff from Veneman's Music, circa 1974. It's not a complete piece of junk, about on par with the average Ibanez of the era. Bradley was Veneman's house brand at the time, I think it cost about $89, which would be a $400-500 guitar these days. That'll get you a decently playable guitar. I still have it, every once in a while I'll use it for slide.

 

[radd]

I was given an old Teisco electric guitar in the late 60’s. Absolutely unplayable above the 3rd fret. You could slide your entire hand under the strings at the 12 fret. I eventually threw it away and bought a great new Yamaha acoustic in a chip board case for $75.00.

 

[JC higgy]

This was the first guitar i ever had,its a Satellite 65T shortscale ,bought used by my dad! This one isn't mine, sold it long time ago.​

 

[Pops]

My first guitar came from the dime store when I was 13. It was acoustic, had nylon strings that kept breaking and I could never tune it. Can’t recall what became of it. My second guitar was an Epiphone LP Studio, acquired a year ago and featured here in the black guitar thread. It was tunable and played well, and inspired me to continue learning.

 

[Ricochet]

A used Admira classical nylon string acoustic. After 25 years I sold it to my uncle in Paris cause I wanted the money. Suspiciously he stored it at my parents holiday home. Recently I took it on myself to rescue it and brought it home cause the humidity and heat had a visible effect. She will be allright.

First electric was a nice looking black but cheap plywood Japanese Strat which I took apart after 2 weeks, or it might have been 2 days, not sure.

 

[Humpblock]

I had a 3/4 size early 70s Yamaha acoustic. The neck was like an oar and I reckon the strings were 5mm from the frets. I don’t know how I didn’t give playing guitar up cause of it.

 

[Zeek]

Christmas 1969 or 70 ?

 

[Gretschman2]

I'm embarrassed to try and describe how bad my first guitar was. Total piece of dime store garbage. But I'm sure happy with the ones I have now.

 

[LesB3]

I actually started on bass... my drummer room mate told me that "Guitar players are everywhere, so easier to be in a band if I played bass."

"Lyon" by Washburn "P" Style Bass. I think I paid $159 for it new. Couldn't afford an amplifier so used another room mate's 5W transistor no name guitar amp instead.
Gave it to my brother at some point (he still has it), but the pickguard has been painted black and now has dayglo pink zebra stripes (don't ask).

Me and the drummer started a "band" in our basement, he played drums, I played (distorted bass) and sang. At some point he decided the band should be called "Truck."
He was actually an excellent drummer, and had the "Lars Ulrich" white, double bass Tama kit, which I think was around $2k+ at the time (1990's).

 

[slide]

Montgomery Ward "Airline" branded acoustic guitar. Parlor sized, and I believe it was a re-branded Stella, because a friend had one that was very similar that was a "Stella", which I believe were made by Harmony back then.

 

[S. Rock]

my first guitar is/was a 1959 Gretsch Anniversary model. still have it, too. when I play it, it's like visiting with an old friend. it was bought used and had been played a good deal by the time I got it.