albertjohn Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I did not wish to hijack Todd's thread but Tommy's posting got me thinking. Here is the only item I have from my youth. A 1972ish Yamaha SG30 with non-original hard case which I have modified a bit. I know it's not a Gibson but this guitar started the 30 year quest for one. Please excuse the slippers. They are my wife's and were the first thing that I found to wear at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Nice AJ!!! I wish I had had the forsight to save some of my 1st instruments. Not the very first, but one of my first guitars was a VOX 12 string that was built like a tank... all natural wood and loud as my AJ! My first electric was a natural wood copy of a Les Paul and it is another I would like to have back.... Live and learn though. Glad you still have your quest guitar! It sure is a pretty one! You should post some additional ones of the guitar..... (minus the wifes slippers!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 If we all still had our old baseball cards and comic books, we could be trading them in for any and all the guitars we want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Hey GB.... your quote of "Alcohol is only a temporary solution if you stop drinking. " reminds me of a Ron White quote.... If life gives you lemons, make lemonade........... then go find someone to whom life has given Vodka and have a party!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Albertjohn- Are your feet really small or does the wife have a couple "gunboats"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 My first electric was a Harmony ES-335 copy. I got it from a record store (vinyl...remember those?) for $45. A lot of money for a kid back then. From what I remember, it was a nice playing guitar. BTW: I don't have it. I gave it to my younger brother's friend. He still had it about ten years ago. I've since lost contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I traded my trumpet, against my father's wishes, for a little "Melody" classical guitar about 1964. I had played the trumpet in 5th and 6th grade band. Here is a squeeky clean TWilson in his dorm room with said guitar in 1966, freshman year. This was before my late friend, G.Brown broke one of the turning pegs while running from an over protective "Dorm Mother", in charge of preserving the virtues of the co-eds in her charge!! Beer was involved as well as an attempt at serenading a certain dorm resident named Penny. Luckily, I didn't have to witness the destruction, physical or auditory, that took place on that moonlit night so long ago. I still have it and it has about 0.001" of wood on the back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I did not wish to hijack Todd's thread but Tommy's posting got me thinking. Here is the only item I have from my youth. A 1972ish Yamaha SG30 with non-original hard case which I have modified a bit. I know it's not a Gibson but this guitar started the 30 year quest for one. Please excuse the slippers. They are my wife's and were the first thing that I found to wear at the time. I have to say AJ, those slippers are really not great but I do like the carpets! And TWilson.......what happened? Your "before and after" photos paint a dismal picture of self abuse and neglect! As to things from my youth, I have two teddy bears (one of which was disembowelled by my faithless terrier, Fred but no guitars. The oldest guitar I had is the Giannini moentioned in another thread, which is now in the ownership of one Thermionik and his lovely lady. To take Gearbashers point, if we'd kept the things we'd be rich, actually reminds me that I am wrong. Somewhere in this house there is my Grandfathers/fathers my stamp and cigarette card collection. Now if I could find that, catalogue it, present it for sale and ultimately sell it then I would expect it to fund my next purchase ........a beaten up 2 year old Chinese "strat" John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 Albertjohn- Are your feet really small or does the wife have a couple "gunboats"? I'd say more akin to HMS Dreadnought and HMS Iron Duke in the days when the Royal Navy was the envy of the world and Brittania ruled the waves. You know what they say about big feet............. Lovely Jubbly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I still have my dear old dad's naval telescope, with which I used to check the time from Big Ben from as far back as I can remember - maybe 1955 or thereabouts, and HIS father's Long-Case clock, which was in the family long before I was born ('52) and whose ticking soothed me through many a troubled night as a nipper. It is ticking as I type this, brass cogs in wood and accurate to 1 second a month. And I also have memories of bricking it during the hot-period of the cold war - and now I am doing it again. Plus ca change, n'est pas..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I've still got my Johnny West doll ERRRR I mean "action figure" from 1965 or 66. Anyone unfamiliar, it was basically the cowboy version of G.I. Joe. One arm disintegrated but I bought a broken one at a yard sale, stole a good arm and still sold the remains of the donor carcass on ebay for a few bucks (lot of Scot in this Scott) Up in the attic I have a few boxes of comic books from the 60s, 90% Archie Series, which probably are worthless because I actually read them over and over and didn't keep them in acid free anti-static antiseptic lilac scented bags. I've culled through my old toys and sold them on ebay; cold hard cash outweighed any sentimental value. That's not typically the case with me, but for example in 1969 I got a toy tractor for Christmas, nowadays it would be like the ERTL stuff people collect. It was close to mint. It was close to mint because I really didn't LIKE it but I was constantly reminded of how much it cost and therefore I should like it and appreciate it. Well, it stayed in the attic until a few years back when it went on ebay for $104. Screw sentiment at that point. Oddly I have a hankerchief sent to me from cousins that were stationed in Okinawa in '67 or so. It had these little cartoon Japanese kids and this weird looking dolphin type character. 35 years later I found out it's Obake No Qtaro, some Japanese animated ghost from that era. Good thing I never blew my nose on it.... it might be worth a couple bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 beautiful 'bird, todd. sorry 'bout the hijack but....... AJ, i love it. that thing looks like a beast. how does it sound? here's my first guitar and i still have it. a hand-me-down from my brother. the guitar (kent) was bought in 1962, three years before my birth, in bermuda by my grandmother. it is a KSD special! missing 2 tuning pegs and has a pencil for a bridge. decorations are courtesy of my kids when they were small. i marked the 5th and 7th frets with masking tape so the kids could play 'twinkle, twinkle' using a bottleneck. i have recorded it for slide parts and it has a po' boy bluesman sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I still have my dear old dad's naval telescope' date=' with which I used to check the time from Big Ben from as far back as I can remember - maybe 1955 or thereabouts, and [i']HIS[/i] father's Long-Case clock, which was in the family long before I was born ('52) and whose ticking soothed me through many a troubled night as a nipper. It is ticking as I type this, brass cogs in wood and accurate to 1 second a month.And I also have memories of bricking it during the hot-period of the cold war - and now I am doing it again. Plus ca change, n'est pas..... Interesting you mention a famiy heirloom clock. There was a wind-up mantle clock in our family. Sat on a shelf in the 'homestead' kitchen for more than a hunnert years. It was wood cased with glass front with gold filigree painted on the inside. Family legend has it it was a wedding gift to my great-grandparents. They were married in the late 1800s. My grandfather was born about 1890 or so. In 1909 they built a somewhat modest, but well appointed two story home, moving out of the small, barely more than a cabin, house that came with the farm. They needed more space to house their growing family of eventually 9 kids... and said clock. Eventually all the kids grew up and moved to farms of their own. The youngest, my great-uncle, eventually owned the 'homestead' and said clock. As far back as I could remember I always admired that clock. Thinking someday I'd like to have it. However, the 100 odd great grand kids and even odder grand kids, probably thinking the same thing, certainly limited my chance of being willed it or of competing for it a very slim chance at best. Fast forward to this past week-end. My great-uncle's wife, my great- aunt passed away this past spring and the family were all in attendence at her estate auction. The auction was held in the drive of the century old farm yard. Numerous items I was inerested in went for more money than I could afford. I bought an old Kodak box camera, from one of the 8 hayracks of household items and personal effects, for a buck. Yeah, that ought to be good enough. There's not much else I'd care to have, well except the kitchen clock, which everyone else in the family probably will want. The auctioneer's truck approached the last hay rack. Presently, a pendulum clock... not THE clock went up for bid. I said, well maybe I can bid on it. My great-uncle once confided it never worked right from day one. Surely it'll sell cheap. Besides, an heirloom is an heirloom, even if it doesn't work. Before I could utter a single bid, the auctioneer was at 1, 2, 3, 4, 500 heading for 1250 the selling price.. to someone outside the family. "Nuts" I said as they held up THE clock. "I'll get a bid in, by God," even if I don't win it, at least I can say I tried. The bidding started at 100, then 150. "200," I said. I figured 500 was my limit. Up went the stakes. "450," said I. I thought, "Nuts if someone goes to 500, dare I go 550? or 525?" "I mean it's nearly the price of my much lusted after Epiphone Hummingbird and case." (obligatory guit tar talk) Suddenly I realized the auctioneer couldn't get anyone to rebut with 500, nor 475. Could it be...? Could it be....? "Sold!," said he, motioning my direction. A hush fell over the crowd as kith and kin all looked my direction. "WHO?" was the unspoken shout of those turning to see if the little clock had stayed in the family. Sheeplishly, I slowly pulled my numbered ticket from my shirt pocket. A cheer went out and a cousin handed me my clock... MY CLOCK!" I carried my clock to where my folks were sitting. As I handed the little clock to my dad, "Hold MY clock," was all I could say as my legs nearly buckled beneath me, "It's the only thing I wanted out of the house." The little clock is currently in an old whiskey box on my work bench. I've been somewhat afraid to even wind it up. Maybe tonight. The 'Bird will have to wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 beautiful 'bird' date=' todd. sorry 'bout the hijack but.......AJ, i love it. that thing looks like a beast. how does it sound? here's my first guitar and i still have it. a hand-me-down from my brother. the guitar (kent) was bought in 1962, three years before my birth, in bermuda by my grandmother. it is a KSD special! missing 2 tuning pegs and has a pencil for a bridge. decorations are courtesy of my kids when they were small. i marked the 5th and 7th frets with masking tape so the kids could play 'twinkle, twinkle' using a bottleneck. i have recorded it for slide parts and it has a po' boy bluesman sound. [img']http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/cunkhead/firstguitar.jpg[/img] Looks a bit like my Harmony Stella. Probably is. They made half the guitars in the world way back when. Many with 'insert logo here' on the order form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 beautiful 'bird' date=' todd. sorry 'bout the hijack but.......AJ, i love it. that thing looks like a beast. how does it sound? here's my first guitar and i still have it. a hand-me-down from my brother. the guitar (kent) was bought in 1962, three years before my birth, in bermuda by my grandmother. it is a KSD special! missing 2 tuning pegs and has a pencil for a bridge. decorations are courtesy of my kids when they were small. i marked the 5th and 7th frets with masking tape so the kids could play 'twinkle, twinkle' using a bottleneck. i have recorded it for slide parts and it has a po' boy bluesman sound. [/quote'] It's a fore-runner for the SG2000 (eventually - now that is a beast!) and I believe almost rare. Although I saw one in Denmark St a couple of months ago for about £100, so not worth much. Has a couple of humbuckers which are OK. Still plays well. I bought it from a school friend who worked in a music shop. I'll be forever attached to the case as some of those stickers bring back very fond memories. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on slide has got to be the coolest thing to wheel out at Xmas. I'm going to steal this idea and have Fred do this on his Tele at Xmas. Thanks Cunk, it's something I would never have thought of........... never came up in the Chartered Accountancy exams you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Johnt writes:And TWilson.......what happened? Your "before and after" photos paint a dismal picture of self abuse and neglect! Ah, yer a rascal lad, and a great one at that. Yes, being 18 as I am in above photo, seems like a billion years ago. Ok, that' s an exaggeration, a half-a-billion. That was 1966. College was great fun. Learned to understand the sanctity of the beer. Those college dances, girls everywhere but very elusive compared to the raw pickup tecniques used by 18-year old fresman boys. It was so much fun that I spent the first part of my sophomore year in Basic Training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Hell, all nostalgia isn't a fond memory! lol I thank you Johnt, I was missing your slings and arrows ( in a backsllapping sort of way, as you say, ha!!) Good stuff, and TRUE!!!! Boy, howdy!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 Please excuse the slippers. They are my wife's and were the first thing that I found to wear at the time. A likely story! I let my guitar from my youth go to a friend for $10. It was a 1968 Hofner 172 strat-like-guitar with a white naugahyde finish and a black neck and pickguard and I learned to play guitar on it. Not a great guitar but collectible. My friend has had it for 26 years. I actually asked him about it last time I was back east. He refused to sell it as he plays it every week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted August 29, 2008 Author Share Posted August 29, 2008 TommyK, I love your story. Sometimes there are things even more important than guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 TommyK' date=' I love your story. Sometimes there are things even more important than guitars![/quote'] +1. sorry, tommy. i should have mentioned it earlier. that was a fantastic story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 tommyk- I second and third that. Nice story and something I might do. Nostalgia and the "good ol' days" is right up there for me. I still have the yellow, steel log truck that my father gave me in 1950. It's on top of my book shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Yes' date=' being 18 as I am in above photo........................... That was 1966. [/quote'] Gawd you are an old debbil ain't you? In 1966 which year I believe England won the World Cup at football I was oh let me think ??? ah yes 16! Hah so I will not be the eldest in Bozeman, there will be others with more tourist stickers on their Zimmer frames ( Walkers?) " I have been to Niagra Falls" etc. perhaps you and I can get special dispensation for the factory tour and get a golf buggy or something? and the seats nearest the Khazi for all live performances. Just dropped a pick What was it George Burns said "Is there anything else I can do when I am down there?" Have a good w/e! Happy Days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Johnt-did I say I was 18 in 1966? I meant 13 1/2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Here's the guitar I learned on and let get away from me :D : 14 in 1970! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 very sweet guitar, drath. your face tells it all. like a kid that just found his older brother's porn collection/stash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 your face tells it all. like a kid that just found his older brother's porn collection/stash! Getting a tad worried about you bud! First we have an expose of your fetish to kiss Crow's unwashed hand and now you seem to indirectly reminiscing about you older brothers "stash" ( Is that a technical word for the 1964 editions of Health & Efficiency magazine in their binder? AH>>>>>>>>> So THATS the item you have retained since your youth, I see it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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