Tell me about your first good guitar
 

We all talked about her crummy first guitars
I want to hear about your first good guitar
Mine was a guild 25 factory black
I still miss that guitar
How about you?

I guess good is relative. I played an Epiphone FT-130 MPL in the 70s and it was good. I traded it for an Ovation Custom Balladeer for the latter 70s and it was good and when I got to L.A. I traded that for my Martin HD28 and that was great. Everything since has been golden.

Mine was a Guild DV52. Before that I played a 90s Yamaha FG something cutting my teeth at song writing and gigging. I think I bought the Yamaha in the early 90s and the Guild around 2000 or 2001?

I thought my first good guitar was a Yamaha I got in high school in '73 but it really was the Gibson J200 in '89. It's all relative really.

The first good guitar that I bought myself was a Guild D55. I still have it, and it's still amazing.

My ‘73 Guild D44M I bought used in 1976. I still have it and play it regularly.

Acoustic or electric?

Electric was a 1961 Les Paul Jr. First year SG body, single P90. Probably the guitar that I most wish that I'd have held on to.

Acoustic? 1975 Guild F-50, bought in 1980. Once I picked up the Froggy and the McAlister, it just wasn't getting played anymore, so I released it into the wild in the hope that it would spark someone else.

My first good guitar was a '79 Guild F512 that I foolishly sold because I couldn't keep it in tune...

Yamaha FSX730SC. I worked my butt off to get the cash to buy it. It's been through 4 cases. It's aged beautifully. It now has bone nut, saddle and rosewood bridge pins and Gotoh SGV510 tuners. The finish is a little messed up in spots, but it fits like a worn in baseball glove and sounds like a million bucks. I just played it at church last week.

My 1972 Guild F30 was bought brand new in 1973, complete with a Guild cardboard case. It's still the guitar I miss the most.

Tommy

Guild D-50, 1977

Traded in '82 for a Pimentel classical, and a Flatiron mandolin

The year was 1968 and the guitar was a brand new Ovation Balladeer with a shiny back. I could afford it since I was making decent money playing bass in a rock band, giving guitar lessons at the local music store and driving a dry cleaners delivery truck...while going to high school. The Ovation had a great neck and was modern looking. I played a lot of Leonard Cohen, S&G and Donovan on that guitar...and eventually Cat Stevens and John Price. In college I traded it for a kayak. A few years ago I bought an exact replica of that guitar created by Ovation to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Balladeer. A sentimental favorite for me! Dan

I took out my first student loan as a senior in college. I guess I didn’t need all of it for school and living expenses, so I took a drive down to Manhattan and came home with my Gurian. My first good guitar. My first guitar. My only guitar for the next 44 years. Still plays like buttah (I’m used to the narrow neck) and has deeply resonant tone.

Ask me in 2045 about my J-45.

Gretsch 6117 Double Annie sunburst, made in Brooklyn - bought brand-new in May 1964, still own it

1963 D-28, bought new when I was 15. I'd still have it if not for the fact that it gave me back and shoulder problems as I approached my 40th birthday.