Okay, long story short (well, as least not as long as it could be LOL). On a whim, when I was 15, a bunch of us went to see the Kingston Trio (HEY, it WAS 1961, okay?), and I realized about 20 minutes into the show that these guys weren't working, they were having FUN! Told my Dad the next day that I wanted to learn to play the guitar. His only response was "If you're gonna play guitar, you need a Gibson". I guess that would be in honor of his older brother, who played a Gibby mandolin. My first guitar was a Gibson LG-0, that Mom & Dad financed (hey, it cost $85). Wish I still had it because it holds many memories of "sing alongs" in our kitchen and front porch, with friends, neighbors, etc. but it became the down payment for my first electric (a Fender strat) when I started playing in a cover band a couple of years later. And here we are, over 50 years later, and I'm still learning new things on this wonderful instrument.