Progression of guitars

[Silenced Fred]

What are the guitars you owned? If there are too many, simplify to favorites, most memorable, etc.

 

For me, it was a Squier Strat starter pack, I bought for 200 dollars when I was in 7th grade. inch high action, pickups werent that good, still had a little fret buzz, but I loved it. From there, I got a Samick LP copy, then bought my Gibson Studio. I currently own the Studio, Contemporary Strat, Yamaha Classical, and a broken acoustic.

[DAS44]

Cruddy starter guitar.

 

Gibson LP Studio

 

My Grandfathers old Harmony

 

Guild A-50 (1965)

[Riffster]

I had my brother's Fender Mustang when I was a teen, he sold it and I did not play for 20 years.

 

Then I bought an Epiphone Les Paul starter pack, strike 1.

 

Then I bought a Epiphone Les Paul with a bigsby, strike 2.

 

Then I bought my Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany, homerun.

 

Then I kept on buying guitars, but the Gibson LP is what brought inspiration into the equation.

[Notes_Norton]

1) Japanese Epiphone Acoustic - unknown model (the tag is faded) but says Epi...Kalamazoo...Made in Japan (pawn shop special (still own it)

 

2) 1970, Kalamazoo Gibson ES-330 (still own it)

 

3) Kramer/Focus/Faux-Strat (traded it in since after playing it for a while, I decided I prefer longer radius necks)

 

4) 2001 Epiphone Casino (still own it)

 

5) ESP/LTD EC-50 which I modded myself (GFS Mean 90 pups / 1 vol 1 tone / Varitone) - which has become my gig guitar

 

Here are my electrics

 

 

? Notes

[Andre S]

Yamaha Classical for about 6 years, then Gibson Les Paul Studio then the Martin OM-1

[Dom_JEM]

i still have every guitar i ever bought. my first real good guitar was a ibanez SA series....then came the ibanez JEM....then a few cheaper "knock around" guitars ....and then the Gibson SG Standard

[L5Larry]

Played my first chords on the family baritone uke, and classical guitar. My first two electrics were el cheapos. My first "real" electric guitar was a 1960 Stratocaster.

 

The chronological order of highlights:

 

1960 Strat

1964 Firebird

1975 Les Paul Standard

1975 ES-335

Special ordered, custom built, Custom Shop re-issue '54 Strat

1990 L-5CES

2000 Historic Series '59 ES-345

1947 L-7

 

Many others have come and gone over the years, but the guitars listed above are/were my "working" guitars.

[Mr. Natural]

See Murph's "I Like Mine...." thread for my Gibson progression. There's been a few other brands in the mix, too, over the years.

[Laaz]

First real guitar a 1981 Ibanez Destroyer II. First Gibson was the same year a 1981 The Paul.

[Hall]

one or more at $50, $200, $476.76, $979, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500, $3,000, $3,500, $4,000 to no more new ones ever!

:(

[jefleppard]

for $125cdn, in 1978, my mom bought me a black el degas les paul and a sears electronics amp. i asked the music teacher at school if i could have a broken violin bow and i was off to learn the dazed and confused live solo. 3 years later, i got a vantage les paul in sunburst. it never stayed in tune. i modded it with a schaller bridge and dimarzio super distortion pups. my brother still has it. around '82-'83 ish i bought a crimson red ibanez destroyer. this was a sweet one. i loved the rosewood fretboard. the pups were hot but still sounded good clean as there was alot of flanger (too much, really) used in those days. i sold it and bought a squier tele really cheap. i put original tele pups from the 60's in it and fell in love. i had a roland jazz chorus 77. i was in new wave heaven. after missing the mark with several indie rock bands (one almost made it) i ditched electric for folk, dicovered johnny cash, billy bragg, richard thompson, neil young etc... i had a cheap fender dread and i wrote like a mother. after establishing myself around town i bought a taylor 415 acoustic from steve's in toronto. then i became obsessed. with. buying. guitars. i bought, sold and traded constantly and i still do. i'm starting to realize the distraction it causes but its so much fun. i've owned low, middle and high end stuff but my epi 56 gt and seagull acoustic seem to be my go-to guitars nowadays. why am i on the gibson forum then? do you really think this kinda socializing goes on in the seagull forum? lol.

[Gibson4life]

My order (By most memorable)

-Strat Copy (No Name)

-Fender Telecaster Thinline

-Gibson Les Paul Studio

-Gibson J-45

-Gibson Les Paul Custom

There has been ALOT more inbetween, but these 5 are probably my favorites.

[milod]

The first was a horrid nylon string classical guitar. Then upgrades of that for a cupla years until I started playing some rock. Then I was playing a Rick. But... stuff happens. <grin> Then I played an add-on F hole. Then... an avalanche of stuff between about 1969 and 79. Most of my stuff comes from '75 to '79.

 

m

[NeoConMan]

My first guitars in the seventies and eighties;

 

Fender P-Bass copy - complete and utter piece of sh!t I got from a catolog. First guitar I called mine.

Conn Drifter Acoustic - if I remember the name. Ex-wife did it in during a decorating accident.

Ibanez EVH-looking piece of sh!t that's probably worth money now...

Kramer Stryker - actually a nice Strat copy.

 

 

 

Here's a short list of some others I had over the years, in no particular order.

 

Martin D-35 - never could get used to the neck, traded it off.

Applause Acoustic - I was restringing it for a lady who let me keep it. Piece of sh!t. Gave it away.

Guild DCE-3 - Great Maple body acoustic. Sold it on Ebay to buy a Taylor 615, I just haven't yet.

Baby Taylor - for the daughter of a lady I was dating, I played it as much as she did.

Epiphone SG JR. Surprisingly good sounding with a P-90, gave it to the daughter of another lady.

Epiphone Flying V - Heavily modded, played pretty good, sounded decent. Off to Ebay.

Chiquita Travel Guitar - Killer little guitar, Ebay took it to France of all places...

 

Wish I had kept the Martin D-35 and the Chiquita.

 

 

 

These were the boy's guitars before he pawned them for dope.

 

Fender Strat Deluxe - ordered it exactly how he wanted it.

Alvarez AD-60 Acoustic

Gibson Les Paul Special

 

 

 

Here's the recent line up.

 

Gretsch Lap Steel

Kustom K-200

Peavey T-40 Bass

Peavey T-60

Fender Strat

Gibson SG 12

Danelectro 59 DC

Fender Strat HB

Fender Strat P-90

Guild Starfire III

Gibson Les Paul Classic

Guild Blues 90

Gibson 335

Fender Tele

Rickenbacker 381 V69

Gibson SG 61 RI with Maestro

Gibson SG Classic, P-90's

Gibson EDS 1275 Double neck - Custom Shop

Gibson Melody Maker

Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop

PRS Custom 24

[FirstMeasure]

It all Started when I was 8.......

 

A Global student sized Acoustic from the Sears Catalog.

 

Then a couple of Pawn Shop JOKES that wouldn't play.

 

Then at 16 I got my Bass, an Astro P-Bass copy. I broke it and left half of it in Indiana.

 

Also at 16 a Harmony Acoustic from the Sears catalog.

 

Then at 17, everything got a lot better. My first Real Electric, a 1988 Olympic White Fender Stratocaster. Still have it, and it's got New Pickups, as seen here.

 

Then about 15 years later I needed a compliment to my Strat, so I bought a 1995 Heritage Cherry Nighthawk. That changed my life, I no longer GASSED for a Les Paul. If anything happened to my Hawk I'dhave to replace it with another Hawk from the 90's.

 

Then about a year later My Strats Pick Ups just died. they sounded thin and Hissed like a mother*uc*er. So I got a 2004 Deluxe Players Strat to use while I taught myself how to change pick ups and generally Mod Guitars.

 

Then my brother noticed I was admiring a Buddy Guy Start on Musicians Friend, a Red one with White Polka Dots. That Christmas my Brother and my Parents got together to buy it for me. :- It was on Killer Sale.

 

Then I started GASSIN' for a Hollow Body, ended up gettin' an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II. Great Guitar for the price, comes with Gibson USA Electronics Throughout.

 

In there somewhere I got an Epi Mandolin, and Epi Mandobird IV, a Fender Resonator (now with Broken Headstock), a Fender GDS500se All Solid Wood Acoustic, and an Ibanez Flying V in pieces with a case.

 

Oh Yeah, another Christmas Gift from Mom in 2000 was an Aida F-Style Mandolin.

 

Nothing too collectible (except maybe the FSR Buddy Guy Strat), but all great players and very usable instruments.

[Thin_Lizzy]

1983 - Classical guitar

 

1987 - Hohner Pro L59 (Nice Les Paul replica in tobacco sunburst)

 

1988 - Seagull S6.

 

1989 - Charvel Model 4

 

1996 - Squire Strat Korean

 

2002 - Fender Stratocaster USA

 

2008 - Gibson SG Standard

 

2009 - Gibson Les Paul Traditional.

[pohatu771]

I still have all but one of mine. The Squier I started with is actually quite nice... I like it better than the Fender Strat, which is the only guitar I've ever sold.

[Thin_Lizzy]

The Squier I started with is actually quite nice... I like it better than the Fender Strat' date=' which is the only guitar I've ever sold.[/quote']

That's interesting, I recon the higher end Squires are better than USA Standard Strats. My Squire is really nice too and much better than my Fender Strat. It's well made, has a really nice neck and sounds great. I still play mine more than all my other guitars.

 

Forget badge snobbery, the Squire is a great guitar.

[Blackie]

I first bought an acoustic for 5 dollars that had action so high it was prolly good training. Then my dad got me a plywood 1 pickup strat looking

thing. Then I got a pre-cbs fender mustang that was a quality guitar, the action was the lowest of any guitar I have had since.

[charlie brown]

Western Auto "Truetone" (Stella) (1st ever guitar), then...a Harmony flat-top (played like and electric,

compared to the "Truetone")! The the first "Electric" guitar, was my '64 Fender "L" series Strat

(which I still have). Next, came the Gretsch Country Gent, then a '66 Epiphone Casino. Then a '68

Gibson Les Paul Custom, and '68 SG Standard w/maestro, a Rickenbacker 360-12 (Jet Glow), and

somewhat later, a Gibson ES-355 Stereo (Red), with Maestro. Stopped playing music, entirely...to try

something else, to make a "living?" So, I sold ALL of my guitars, and amps. Bought Hasselblad, Nikon,

and Leica cameras...and pursued "Photography," as a means to a "Living," for 30 years. In a weak moment,

in 1977, I found (and bought) a used '76 Gibson LP Deluxe (which I still have, as well). Then, in December,

1980...John Lennon was assassinated, and a crashing wave of sentiment, and nostalgia took over my "better

senses," and I bought, my currently owned, Gibson Les Paul Custom. At that same time, I ordered a Rickenbacker

360-12WB (because it was the closest thing, they had, to a "George Harrison" model, and was prior to their

"Classic Reissue series") I had to wait over a year, to get it. (Anyone that knows Rickenbacker, probably understands that?!) I haven't sold any of those, and won't! Plus, over the years, I've added to them. But, ironically, I didn't really start "playing" much, at all again, until 2000. G.A.S. really started, then! Haven't added anything, in a couple of years now. There are still a few, on my "Bucket List!" But, we'll see if that really every materializes? ;>)

 

CB

[SG fan 420]

That's interesting' date=' I recon the higher end Squires are better than USA Standard Strats. My Squire is really nice too and much better than my Fender Strat. It's well made, has a really nice neck and sounds great. I still play mine more than all my other guitars.

 

Forget badge snobbery, the Squire is a great guitar.[/quote']

Yea, I was in the market around Christmas for a MIM or Highway one strat, nothing suited me. Then I was at my local Fender/Squier dealer and picked up a Squier Standard Deluxe, I was in heaven, best feeling neck I've ever played, BAR NONE!! Alot of the same specs as an American Standard, two point floating trem, small modern headstock, Semour Duncan P.Us. I love it!!!

[pohatu771]

Mine isn't any sort of fancy Squier... it was part of the "Stop Dreaming, Start Playing" pack, or something similar to it.

[brundaddy]

I'm gonna reply just to see if my remaining brain cells can remember... My first was a Takamine 3/4 size flat top, a nice hand me down. Then a Yamaha 112 (strat copy), LP Studio, Charvel superstrat, Alvarez dreadnought, Flying V, black ES 135 (the one I'd want if I were marooned on an island), SG '61 RI, Nighthawk Custom, Gretsch Electromatic bass, Carter Starter pedal steel, ES 137 Custom, Martin dreadnought, ES 175, First Act LP Jr copy (a nice player, and for $20!). What a trip down memory lane...

[cookieman15061]

Nylon string acoustic (73) sold

Aria SG copy (75)

Aria 12 string acoustic (76)

Electra les paul copy (79) sold

Kramer 3000 (88) sold

Alvarez artist acoustic (94)

Fender American Strat (98)

Fender P-bass (99)

Epi Casino w/bigs (06)

Gibson VM studio (08) sold

Epi Std natural Casino (08) sold

Fender mim Strat (07) sold

Fender mim Tele (03) sold

Fender 50s Strat(09)

Hofner violin bass (09)

Gretsch 5122DC (09)

Gibson les paul studio deluxe (09)

Epi IB John Lennon Casino (09)

Rickenbacker 330 (99)

 

and was lucky enough to win

Gibson Slash goldtop (signed)

Epiphone Slash goldtop (signed)

[Murph]

My first good one was the '61 Melody maker in my sig. I gigged a '72 Recording Les Paul for 14 years, and had a '96 American Strat. They are both gone.

 

The rest I kept.