Lars68 Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I was in a local coffee shop having some light lunch and a double espresso today. There were a couple of dirty and dusty acoustics hanging on the wall as decoration. When the owner came out with our coffee, I half jokingly offered to buy the one closest to me, a bright red Fender thingy, with one rusty string on it and missing bridge pins. It was full of dirt and had some nasty black paint stains. I thought it could perhaps turn out to be a guitar that I could have lying around the house for easy access and casual playing. My other guitars are cased, since the two boys often think they are protecting the universe, fighting Darth Vader with laser swords all over the house. So I made a reasonable offer for what I thought was at best a salvageable guitar, that would take quite a bit of luck to get working properly. Turns out the owner declined my offer, to say he would give it to me for free!! I tried to get him to take at least some money, but he refused. I didn't know what to say. At this point I still didn't know much about the guitar, except that it was a Fender. Before I left, I made sure to buy some whole bean coffee, and thank him again. I made a big charity donation at the cup by the counter. The owner is from Kenya, and the charity was his personal one for kids playing soccer in his home country. He really appreciated this, and I thought it was a good compromise, since he would not let me pay for the guitar. I spent the evening today cleaning the guitar, which took a loooong time. All the paint stains, dirt, and 99% of the scratches buffed out. In the end the guitar turned out to be in great shape. A few light scratches on the back, a little mark on the front, that's it. Perfect set up and played great! This is one just like it: https://reverb.com/p/fender-sonoran-sce-cutaway-dreadnought-w-slash-electronics-candy-apple-red It has a solid sitka top, laminate mahogany back/sides, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, bone nut and saddle, scalloped braces, and a working Fishman pickup system. It now looks like a guitar that has been played lightly for maybe a few years. No worse than that, and it really sounds very nice too! What a great surprise! I think I`ll be back there next week for some more espresso My plan is to use the guitar for a while. Then hopefully one of my boys will use it in a year or two. If not, I will give it away to a local music school. Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Free stuff is good stuff (usually). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 That guitar has a song in it. And quite likely the owner of the shop would love to hear it someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Great story Lars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 thats cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 You turned it from a decoration to a useful musical instrument! That HAS to feel great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 You turned it from a decoration to a useful musical instrument! That HAS to feel great! Yes, I feel very good about that, and that transformation is perfect future song material, just as 62 said above. It will have to sit on hold for a while, though. I'm currently trying to learn to sing and play another song I wrote recently. Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 What a score, Lars! Fantastic. I got my stepson a Sonoran Mini for his tenth birthday, really sweet little guitar which is put together very well. I find the necks on Fender acoustics a little skinny for me but they look great and sound sweet given their price point. Especially as the price point of yours wasn’t one!! Enjoy 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 and we'll have fun, fun, fun . . . Cool story. The Sonoran is, as far as I know, a fairly recent entry into the Fender acoustic line - part of their California Series. Maybe the restaurant "reliced" it which would explain why it cleaned up so easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 For a hobby player like myself, this Fender is really all I need to make music. The Gibsons and Martins I also own are in that respect luxury consumption. The Fender does not have the same cool vibe and heritage as the other guitars, and it sacrifices a little bit of tone, but not as much as one might expect. In the Swedish market, a J-45 is about ten times the price of a new Sonoran. Ten times! If ever in future financial dire straits, I would fight like a mad man to keep the Gibsons and the Martins. My soul would die a bit if they would have to go, but the music I make would only suffer marginally, if at all, and most listerners would never notice. ”Ah, that new red shiny guitar of yours is way cooler than that old sratched up Gibson you used to play.” Food for thought, and a reminder to self how lucky I really am... Lars Here it is in my backyard: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 For a hobby player like myself, this Fender is really all I need to make music. The Gibsons and Martins I also own are in that respect luxury consumption. The Fender does not have the same cool vibe and heritage as the other guitars, and it sacrifices a little bit of tone, but not as much as one might expect. In the Swedish market, a J-45 is about ten times the price of a new Sonoran. Ten times! If ever in future financial dire straits, I would fight like a mad man to keep the Gibsons and the Martins. My soul would die a bit if they would have to go, but the music I make would only suffer marginally, if at all, and most listerners would never notice. ”Ah, that new red shiny guitar of yours is way cooler than that old sratch up Gibson you used to play.” Food for thought, and a reminder to self how lucky I really am... Lars Here it is in my backyard: https://www.flickr.com/photos/152722330@N05/42694919801/in/dateposted-public/ Sweet Mustang, with a nice ornament hanging from the rear-view mirror. It disaster strikes, you can sell the pony car and keep the guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Sweet Mustang, with a nice ornament hanging from the rear-view mirror. It disaster strikes, you can sell the pony car and keep the guitars. Yes for sure, the car would go first! No contest. It's 53 years old now and a real treasure, but guitars and music are my true love. I bought the car fifteen years ago. It's my retirement fund. Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Yes for sure, the car would go first! No contest. It's 53 years old now and a real treasure, but guitars and music are my true love. I bought the car fifteen years ago. It's my retirement fund. Lars Do you really have a '69 Chevelle SS 396, too? That's some serious American muscle to be driving around the streets in Sweden, between that and the 289 '65 Pony. Between the classic American cars and classic American guitars, I see a pattern emerging. There's a song in there somewhere, just waiting for you to tease it out. It could even be an upbeat song... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Do you really have a '69 Chevelle SS 396, too? That's some serious American muscle to be driving around the streets in Sweden, between that and the 289 '65 Pony. Between the classic American cars and classic American guitars, I see a pattern emerging. There's a song in there somewhere, just waiting for you to tease it out. It could even be an upbeat song... No, no other old cars. The sticker in the back window says ”My other car is a ‘69 Chevy with a 396”. That is pulled from the first line of my favorite Springsteen song, Racing in the Streets. I just thought the sticker was kind of funny, and very appropriate when I found it. No pattern between the American car and American guitars really. I used to own a Volvo P1800 (the most beautiful car ever designed, but mine had too much rust) before the Mustang, and I do have a Levin guitar too I'm not denying that American culture has had a great impact on much of western culture the past generations, and I'm not immune. You guys have made some iconic stuff...but I’d trade for the right P1800 any day... Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 For a hobby player like myself, this Fender is really all I need to make music. The Gibsons and Martins I also own are in that respect luxury consumption. The older I get the more I come around to the same way of thinking. While I am not to the point of divesting myself of my Gibsons just yet, I get just as excited when I snag a Harmony or a Kay and consider myself the luckiest player on the face of the planet for having brought them home to roost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Looks great Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Great story, Lars. A real "slice of life." There's a song in there, waiting to be written. [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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