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My current avatar...The ones that got away!!


daneman

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This is a 1971 Gibson SG pro. This is exactly like the first good electric I ever owned,except mine still had the gibson pseudo-Bigsy. 2 gibson molded P-90 type pickups,front loaded control panel,set neck.The stock bridge I replaced to one like in the picture.

 

a721_12.jpg

 

I also saved up $70 and bought a set of Grover rotomatics and put them on myself.

You guessed it...my first real guitar mods!!

Tho I had messed around with cheap japanese pawn shop guitars,trying to make normas,and harmonys play like the big boys.

This guitar is of course long since gone,20 years and more.Also long gone is the Gibson Discoverer Tremolo amp that I bought and fixed to play her through.

1d44_0.jpg

 

So my thinking is this..Tell me about the ones you wish you'd kept!!!!!

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How much time you got?!!? God, the list could go on and on, but (in no particular order) mine were:

 

Pretty much every Ibanez "lawsuit" I ever owned (my favorite will always be the dark cherry bolt-on SG - one of the best guitars I ever owned, bar none). Had a fairly rare set neck black beauty LP clone, the aforementioned SG, a set neck korina Destroyer/Explorer with a really sweet Bartolini Hi-A pup at the neck and their version of the 1275 which I sadly never played much then, but sure wish I had now.

 

A '70s all rosewood Tele that I literally played the finish off of.

 

 

A '59 reissue LP standard that I got talked into selling. In fairness, I did make a pretty tidy profit on the deal, but I stupidly figured I'd be able to find another one just like it [-o< . Still looking...

 

There are definitely others that belong on this list, but these are the few that really stand out in my mind.

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I never had it, but I had the chance to buy a vintage (50s or 60s) Hoyer twelve-string acoustic with electronics for $50. It felt like it was melting in my hands.

 

I didn't, because I had to buy a present for a girl.

 

I went back two days later and it was gone.

 

The story didn't end well on either front.

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The ones I miss the most,besides that first SG;

 

'65 Gibson Melody Maker Double cut cherry

 

A Martin 12 string slot head,rosewood back and sides,don't remember the year or model

 

'65 Gibson J-40 accoustic sunburst

 

'60s Gibson SG Special ,Dimarzios Badass Bridge,Grovers walnut finish turning purple

 

Custom flying V built from an Ohagan Body Blank (thru neck) Dimarzio's Custom switching.

 

Gibson Les paul Deluxe,Seymour Duncan Invader,Bartaloni Rythm,Kahler pat applied for stud mount Tremelo

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Boy, Daneman, you're asking for a floodgate of memories...

 

I still remember going down to my local guitar store Betsy's music store (which totally resembled a pawnshop /junkstore) back in the day with the main owner Betsie working the whole store by herself.

She let me take home a couple of old strat copies to work on, which i sanded down, repainted, and gave back for her to sell. In kind, she let me have this old les paul custom copy which was broken at the neck and the repair work was horrible! but being 14, i was excited to have my first LP copy...

Few years later i traded it in and now wish i had not...

So to this day, i've pretty much hung on to every purchase...

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I had a Silvertone (by Sears!) hollowbody jazzbox in natural with 3 single coil pickups mounted in clear plastic, with a rotating 5 way lever for pickup selection for my first guitar. Wasn't what I wanted, but it was what my parents bought. I traded it for a Squier Strat, sold it when I decided I didn't like it, spent the cash on fast horses, booze, my Harley and a select few women (mostly anyone that would have me). Heavy sigh. Don't even have a picture of the guitar, but this was the Harley...

 

Picture063.jpg

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Well, Dane, I mebbe added a dollar or three -- actually, I bought that bike right where it sits in that picture, just outside London, England, and I think I paid $675 for it from a guy who had just dropped it on his wife's leg for the 2nd time in a month...and Suplex, I can't remember the quote, so I'll paraphrase a line of John Wayne's in "The Shootist". "There's two things a gentleman never discusses. That's a woman he's had his way with, or a man he's had the shootin' of."

 

BTW, Shootist gets my vote as All Time Best Western Movie.

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Well' date=' Dane, I mebbe added a dollar or three -- actually, I bought that bike right where it sits in that picture, just outside London, England, and I think I paid $675 for it from a guy who had just dropped it on his wife's leg for the 2nd time in a month...and Suplex, I can't remember the quote, so I'll paraphrase a line of John Wayne's in "The Shootist". "There's two things a gentleman never discusses. That's a woman he's had his way with, or a man he's had the shootin' of."

 

BTW, Shootist gets my vote as All Time Best Western Movie.

[/quote']

 

Hahaha just kidding man...after the beautiful bike pic and the great story I couldn't resist...:-s

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Daneman,

This topic always makes me think about how stupid some of my trades have been,

but okay, I'll play.

 

Ones that got away from Amino:

 

1. mid to late sixties cherry Gibson SG (not sure of the date cause I did not care about serial numbers in my teens)

It was my first real Gibson. 2 P-90's, conversion from the vibrato to a stop tail. It had a cracked headstock which had been professionally repaired before I bought it. The guitar played fine and sounded fine but I was in a heavy metal hair band and I wanted something with more visual appeal. I don't even remember what I traded it for.

 

2. Early 80's Fender "The Strat" with the gold plated hardware and lake placid blue paint. This was my first Fender and again I traded for something that I thought looked cooler on stage. ( Ibanez Destroyer) The Ibanez was a good guitar but if I had known what that strat would be worth today I would have shoved it under the bed for 20 years.

 

3. Late 70's Gibson Les Paul Special - flat top, P-90's, all black just like the one Glenn Frye plays in the Eagles reunion DVD. That guitar had unbelievable tone and sustain, especially through my Marshall.

 

4. Speaking of my Marshall, it got away, too. Not sure of the year but I think it was late 60's, small script, 50 watt, single channel, no master. That thing nailed the Angus tone. When I quit playing live and started doing more writing and studio work it just sat for months and I got the bright idea to turn it into cash flow to pay rent. What was I thinking?

 

5. 1982 Ibanez Artist not sure of the model but it had the most beautiful 3D flame top I had ever seen. Gold hardware, ebony fretboard and sweet vintage sounding pickups. I still get GAS when I see a nice Artist on eBay.

 

6. Mid 70's Microfrets guitar that had a tremolo with a roller nut. I think my boys Grand Funk Railroad had some kind of endorsement deal with this company. It was a well built, fine playing guitar but not much to look at.

If you find one of these out there now it will probably be sitting next to a dinosaur egg.

 

7. I also parted with various other accessories along the way that now have become coveted gear. Boss CE-1 chorus ensemble, Ross overdrive pedal, Maestro parametric E.Q. MXR flanger.

 

Hind sight is when you realize what an *ss you were to make such stupid decisions.

Oh well, I guess it makes me appreciate the gear I have now even more.

 

Cheers!

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This is a 1971 Gibson SG pro. This is exactly like the first good electric I ever owned' date='except mine still had the gibson pseudo-Bigsy. 2 gibson molded P-90 type pickups,front loaded control panel,set neck.The stock bridge I replaced to one like in the picture.

 

[img']http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k199/Daneman_photos/a721_12.jpg[/img]

 

I also saved up $70 and bought a set of Grover rotomatics and put them on myself.

You guessed it...my first real guitar mods!!

Tho I had messed around with cheap japanese pawn shop guitars,trying to make normas,and harmonys play like the big boys.

This guitar is of course long since gone,20 years and more.Also long gone is the Gibson Discoverer Tremolo amp that I bought and fixed to play her through.

1d44_0.jpg

 

So my thinking is this..Tell me about the ones you wish you'd kept!!!!!

 

About 1972 I had that exact SG except mine had two Bartolini Hi-A pickups...and the guitar I gave up for it, A Burns Jazz Sound (with the infamous "Wild Dog" and "Surf" tone settings) is one of a very few I actually regret moving away from even though the Burns was kinda crappy-mostly sentimental value there. I don't remember what happened to the SG-1 or whatever that thing was called..I did also get a '61 SG LP Standard around that time...$450 for that one if I recall...I still have the '61 SG but it's been re-fretted twice and the wood around the frets has been weakened so now the frets don't seat real well and the neck joint isn't the most stable so it's kinda been retired... Another would have to be my mid-60's Epiphone Crestwood Custom that I traded for a '65 Riviera that I traded for a '65 Casino in 2001 after using the Riviera as one of my main guitars for over twenty years-I love the Casino but the Riviera had personal history. The Burns was my first electric guitar c.1968 and the Crestwood came a year later. The real heart break for me is that I started out buying and selling student/intermediate level guitars...like Les Paul Juniors and Specials <sigh> and I'd buy them for like $75-$100 and make $25-$30 re-selling them...for usually under $150..know what a mid 50's Les Paul Special goes for now?...and I sold dozens of them over the years for CHEAP. Don't hate me but I may go look at a '68 D12-35 Slot Head at Elderly's tomorrow. I don't have a nice 12 string and have been looking. I was in a band a long time ago and one of the guys had a D12-35S and I recall really liking it...have to go see if my affection has stood the test of time...

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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I had a Silvertone (by Sears!) hollowbody jazzbox in natural with 3 single coil pickups mounted in clear plastic' date=' with a rotating 5 way lever for pickup selection for my first guitar. Wasn't what I wanted, but it was what my parents bought. I traded it for a Squier Strat, sold it when I decided I didn't like it, spent the cash on fast horses, booze, my Harley and a select few women (mostly anyone that would have me). Heavy sigh. Don't even have a picture of the guitar, but this was the Harley...

 

[img']http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/garyelcrrt/Picture063.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

 

That gorgeous bikes color reminds me so much of this...

 

539820.jpg

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YES!!! It was a D12 35 S!!

That sounds exactly right. That was a sweet old girl.Hope you find one you like!

Post pics if you do.That would be so cool.

My little brother has a Gibson SG 1, Just like the pro,but only has 1 p-90.1 vol 1 tone.

My other little brother's guitar teacher had 1 of those 3 pickup Les Paul SG's Cherry with Gold hardware.

He let me play it for a bit.In 1980 it was still in amazing shape.Wonder whatever happened to that.

Probably went to his kids.

 

Thanks Uncle Al !!

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Daneman,

.....

 

6. Mid 70's Microfrets guitar that had a tremolo with a roller nut. I think my boys Grand Funk Railroad had some kind of endorsement deal with this company. It was a well built, fine playing guitar but not much to look at.

If you find one of these out there now it will probably be sitting next to a dinosaur egg....

 

Back about 1973 or so Terry Knight who managed Grand Funk sold a bunch of Farner's guitars to a local pawn shop guy named Harold Goodman and for about a year I owned a black Micro Frets that had belonged to Farner...Sorry but GFR wasn't one of my favs so it being his guitar meant nothing to me and it went the way of so many guitars in some horse trade. Micro Frets were made in Maryland and were quite innovative. That wasn't a roller nut, it was an adjustable nut where you could fine tune the intonation at the nut. The pickups though didn't have much ommmph-kind of a Mosrite meets Rickenbacker sound...

It's kind of strange for me with bands like Grand Funk and even Bob Seger and Nugent because my cousin and aunt owned some Detroit area night clubs in the mid/ late 60's (The Crows Nests East, West, South, and North) and these guys were just local bands who played there...Terry Knight And The Pack...The Rationals...Scott Richard Case...Motown was a lot more than black song and dance acts...fabulous time musically...

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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I too love reading all of these great stories of the past, these fine gentlemen like Gary and The good Uncle share.

 

I can't stand this time frame we are in...there just seems like so much more was offered when it came to music and amazing gear in general years ago. However, the brightside is the beauty of todays technology to find, hear and see almost all of it.

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What is that Gary? Looks like a Fender headstock...?

 

Looks suspiciously like a Trini Lopez Standard in Pelham blue..I've owned three of those in my life a cherry red one, a Sparkling Burgundy one and the aforementioned Pelham blue one that after forty years of nitro yellowing looked more like sinus infection green..and alas none of *those* made it to my list of regrets..I did however make a bunch of money two years ago when I sold the Pelham blue one...light blue (Sonic, Daphne, Pelham) guitars with nitro clear top coat finishes don't age real well and end up snot green a lot of times...Sparkling burgundy looks better after forty years because when the top coat yellows it gives a golden glow to the underlying Burgundy and that's one of my favorite guitar colors-forty year old Sparkling burgundy...

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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