My First Guitar

[kiteless]

Having just bought my first ever new guitar amp, I was just browsing the interweb to see if the old solid state amp I've been using for 20-odd years was worth more than £1.

It's not, BTW.

But I was surprised to find on fleabay someone selling my first ever electric guitar (not the one I owned, but the same.......thing). I'm surprised that anyone would pay the current bid price, as I thought I was fleeced 23 years ago when I bought it "sold as seen" for £25! Un-tuneable would be the most gracious thing I could say about it:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-pos-...

Hateful thing.

Although happy now having just equipped the PRS with new D' Addario's and had a test run through the new Vox

Was your first guitar as ste as mine, and what was it?

[mike80]

Worse I should think. My godfather had a music shop (still does for all I know), and I bought the cheapest crappest thing in there. Probably still in my mum and dads loft...

Not sure what it was but look almost home made!

[davepoth]

My first one was a VP Challenger Stratocaster. Once Yamaha started making the budget Pacificas all of the budget manufacturers had to really raise their game, and so my first guitar was at least vaguely playable.

[Malam]

My first guitar was a 1963/64 Hagstrom Futurama in 1990. It had been in my Uncle's attic for years, my parent's bought it off him for £15. I've seen mint examples sell for upto £900 in the past. You really would have to be insane to pay that for one!

I still have mine- it was originally red but my Dad and I refinished it many moons ago..

[Evangelion]

Well here's a story for you. In about September or October 1975 I accompanied a friend of mine to the local music shop where he bought a CSL. CSL was an importer brandname (C Summerfield Ltd) applied to a range of fairly cheap instruments; a common practice back in the day. This was a not-brilliant copy (bolt-on neck dammit) of a Gibson Les Paul Standard.
Couple of years went by, mate got married and lost interest in the guitar so offered it to me. I jumped at it; my current guitar was a Jedson (J E Dallas and Son, another importer brandname) copy of a Les Paul Custom and was pretty naff, so I sold it and bought the CSL. He'd lost the pickguard so I used the spare one off the Jedson - being black rather than cream it was actally the wrong colour, but I thought it looked nice nevertheless. A few moths later I joined a band who thought they were pretty good and didn't like the idea of my using this cheap copy, so I put it in part-exchange for a Gibson Explorer (wish I still had THAT now!).
Then a couple of years ago, I saw a CSL for sale on eBay. It was exactly the same colour as the one I'd last seen 31 years before, but not only that, it had a black pickguard. How many of those could there be? Then when I noticed it was only 5 miles away I knew it had to be the same one. I did message the seller telling him all about its history, but wasn't tempted to bid, because the start price was too high.
So I NEARLY bought my own guitar back!
Here's the pic from eBay:



(There was a story in one of the guitar magazines recently, about someone who bought a vintage Watkins Dominator amp, and upon opening the back, discovered his name scratched inside. It was one that had been stolen from him in 1965.)

[AdeTuono]

Some memories here, with a few old names being trotted out. A mate of mine had a Jedson Les Paul copy, and it was an absolute beaut. It played and sounded like a guitar 10x it's price. They weren't all good though. Anyone remember Zenta guitars? Or Eros? I had an Eros Jazz bass copy (still have it somewhere) which was dire. And Woolworths did their own line of guitars and amps; Audition. Bloody awful things, with strings and an action playing like cheesewire.

Pictured below is the first guitar I ever bought. £15 from a second-hand shop in Gt. Yarmouth, and that was with an amp! 4 pickups, 6 rockers and two pots. Looking very sorry now. Neck has broken at the heel. I've never found out for sure what it is, so if anyone knows...possibly a Teisco? A Google image search comes up with a very similar one (switchgear is almost identical) but it's a double-cut and bolt-on.

I've only ever seen one other; Guitarist Magazine did an interview with Ry Cooder a few years ago, and he was pictured with one. I meant to mail them to ask, but never got round to it. This thread has spurred me on!

[Lucas CAV]

An SG by "Saxon"

Not seen one before or since.

Looked great
Played badly

Biggest plus was the extreme lightness and the ability to bend strings by moving the neck.

[lockhart flawse]

Avon SG copy from a second-hand shop in Leeds - £40.

Sold for a very scruffy USA Strat which cost about £120, sold for a tatty Les Paul Deluxe which was about £280 - all in the late 70s early 80s.

Les Paul Deluxe sold via the Melody Maker classifieds to Wales unseen and then I bought a 1976 model Gibson Explorer re-issue (£375) which I still own.

Reckon the Strat would be worth a bit now.....

L.F.

[kiteless]

AdeTuono said:

Anyone remember Zenta guitars?

fkington hell!

That was the manufacturer of the guitar in my OP! Not sure if I appreciate you bringing the name up again though

[Evangelion]

Avon, Saxon, Shaftesbury ... all importer brandnames from the 70s. Others included Arbiter, Aristone, Columbus, Eros, Grant, Hawk, Kimbara, JHS, Pearl, Marlin, Sakura, Satellite, Star, Top Twenty, there were millions of them. One of the cheekiest I recall was Gilson! I remember Zenta too, had a couple of those. Really awful things.

[lambysdad]

Cannot remember the make, it was a present. But i do remember this;
It was left-handed......I'm not

[AdeTuono]

This thread has brought back so many memories I've had a hunt around, and came up with this site....

http://www.jedistar.com/jedistar_vintage_guitar_da...

...with just about every guitar you've ever heard of (apart from Zenta; maybe it was all a bad dream!)

As a plus, after 40 years I've positively identified my, guitar pictured above; a 1964 SS 4L Teisco Del Ray

http://www.mark-cole.co.uk/teisco/index.htm

Hours of reading...

[davidd]

My first was a Satellite, very, very poor strat thing. Utterly dreadful but it got me hooked. I then got an Ibanez blazer which I loved to bits, although the pickups are weak the neck was excellent. I wore the frets out ;( It went over to Overwater (when they were in Overwater) for a refret after which it was even better. I bought an AC50, boss super overdrive and a cheap analogue delay and that was my sound (pretentious tt that I am) for ages. I still have it (nearly 30 years later) although it hardly ever gets played now.. It could do with a rewire, maybe I'll treat it...

[Stig]

My first electric was a Kay Les Paul copy. Trying to find a good one on eBay at the mo.

[Ewan S]

Well, I've still got my first Yamaha Pacifica which is a 412 model in translucent green. It looks fantastic and plays really well.

My other guitar is a £50 second hand electro acoustic that is also translucent green and is probably rubbish. I wouldn't know as I get fed up playing with the wider neck and revert back to the pacifica within 5 minutes!

[kiteless]

Stig said:

My first electric was a Kay Les Paul copy. Trying to find a good one on eBay at the mo.

Before I could afford decent kit, I had a candy apple red LP copy for years and loved it. It played and sounded much better than the £130 I paid for it. Can't quite remember if that was a Kay

[Bullett]

A Red Marlin P-Bass.

It was ok as a first instrument massively heavy though and quick a thick body on it. Gave it to my brother as part of a deal when my parents got me a New Japanese Fender Precision (which I still have) that would have been 89 or 90. Bloody hell.

[mike80]

About the closest I can find to what I had - it had the same style pickups and tremolo system, although it was blue and the scratchplate looked like someone had cut it out themselves.

http://www.theguitarcollection.org.uk/gallery1/sat...

[epom]

red and white Encore strat copy for me...