What's the longest you've owned a guitar?

[Neil K Walk]

...and when did you realize you actually needed to replace it? How long can a guitar last if you change the strings regularly and keep an eye on humidity but don't otherwise think of typical care such as polishing and setups?

FWIW my Martin D-16GT is 10 and my Larrivee OM-03R is 15. I've enjoyed both guitars immensely but lapses in diligence have resulted in knocks that require repairs that are more than I feel capable of making and I'm worried are more than the value of the instruments themselves.

I've had this same conundrum with automobiles and appliances and at some point have chosen to upgrade. I'm prone to GAS as many of you, but I rarely indulge the impulse. For some reason my guitars seem to be different though, like they're part of me.

Have any of you ever felt this way? Is there a guitar (or more) that you just can't let go of? What did you end up doing?

[Rosewood99]

Ten years, but I only started playing 12 years ago. If I can't let go, I keep it and buy another.

[egordon99]

I have owned my 1992 D-16H since 1992. I am going to have a big 30th birthday party for it next year.

[hermithollow]

55 years - the old Giannini my parent's bought me. It's not a great guitar but it's the first one I owned and played when growing up. I've bought , sold, and built a bunch of them since then, but it's worth more to me than it would be to anyone else, so I keep it around.

[buddyhu]

I owned my first guitar (Yamaha FG180) for close to 40 years. Owned my Taylor 810 for 20+ years. Only let them go because my tastes changed, and because I had increased my commitment to practicing and playing. Both were still ver playable and good instruments, though the Yamaha had MANY dings.

I have owned the guitars that are currently in my stable for 4 months to 8 years. No plans to let go of any of them.

You can get a set up any time. You don’t need to polish a guitar to keep it in good shape. And good playing shape has little to do with bumps, bruises and dings.

[Silly Moustache]

Twenty one years. My 1973 Martin D35.
I fell in love with it when it was owned by the fiddle player in a band in which I played Dobro.
I tried to buy it off him but he wouldn't part with it!

Two years later my picking partner picked it up in a London store.
I'd just bought a new D28.
We swapped.

I sold it to a good frind in , I think, 1996, maybe later, as I foolishly decided to get a Martin J40 and J12-40.

Also, my Collings DS2h. Bought new in 1999 , sold it in 2019. (Didn't actually intend to - but I was in a funk about my hands - so asked a store to "hang it on the wall". It sold in a week!)

Oh well, I had a later version.

[brencat]

I started playing 9 years ago. The longest I ever kept a guitar was just about 5 years (was a 2014 Gibson J-45 "1960s" Custom). The 2nd longest is going on 4 years and is a 2012 Santa Cruz D/PW which I bought used/mint in 2016.

My current stable of 6 guitars is the best I've ever owned but nothing is permanent and all are subject to sale at any moment if I find something that is tonally superior and for the right price.

[drplayer]

21-years...bought my 1998 Martin 000-28EC off eBay in 2000, and it still makes me smile!

[computo99]

Bought a 63’ Gibson J45 in 69’, still have it - 52 years.

[raysachs]

25 or so years. I had a 1968 D28 and a mid ‘70s strat that I bought at roughly the same time in early 1979, when I wasn’t quite 20 yet. Paid about $400 for each of them. They were basically my only guitars until around 2004 or 2005. I had a second electric for a year or so early on in that run. All the playing out I ever did in my life I did before our first daughter was born in 1988 and it was all done on those two guitars.

I sold them both in 2004-2005. I’d basically barely been playing for quite a while and they (the D28 in particular) were pretty challenging to play given that I basically never had callouses anymore and had lost 90% of any chops I ever had. Didn’t need to sell them, they were still fine guitars. I wanted to. I sold them for quite a bit, particularly the D28, and bought a couple of cheap, but easy to play replacements for the rare moment I’d want to pick up a guitar. And used the rest of the money for family stuff.

I unexpectedly started playing a LOT again about 4 years ago. For a second, I’d wished I still had those guitars, but ultimately theyr didn’t meet my needs at this point as well as what I’ve since bought. I found I didn’t want anything as big as a dread anymore and have come to prefer the sound of mahogany to rosewood, so my acoustic is a CEO-7. I’m still a strat guy, but never found any musical use for the tremolo, so now i have a Robert Cray hardtail with a second hand V-neck on it and it’s my perfect electric. And I also have a cheap Epiphone SG with P90s for when I need a P90 fix...

-Ray

[FingahPickah]

45 years. I bought a '73 Guild D44M in '76.... Still have it.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I still have my Harmony Stella that I got on my birthday in 1966. I've had my Guild 12-string and my J200 since the 80's.

[rule18]

18 years (and counting) with my 2003 J-45.
12 years (and counting) with my 1974 Gibson Dove Custom.

As for the "how long can a guitar last with proper care" question, ask the guys with the 1800's Martins.

[fitness1]

'89 Taylor 512c florentine with 1 7/8 nut from '91 to '02. Probably did 500 shows with that thing and almost wore it out!

19 years and counting.