Did you buy your first electric on looks?

[Dru Edwards]

Hey, so, did you buy (or get) your first electric guitar on looks, because your "hero" played it / a song you liked, or because you really thought it was the best for you?

I wanted my first electric to be an Explorer because I loved the look of it and it was used by bands I listened to (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, etc). Too expensive so my parents bought me a generic strat type guitar (which I still have). A year later, I went out and bought a BC Rich Warlock because I loved the look. 25 years later, I would have made a different purchase

How about you?

[Bob Womack]

In 1971at the age of fourteen I saved up $25 dollars and took the bus to downtown Knoxville, TN, to hock shop row. In my town, the pawn shops were all clustered along the North end of Gay Street on both sides of the bridge over the Southern Railroad tracks. A funny aside: it was "New York accent central" in that little enclave in the South. In that space, within a three-block radius, were probably seven hock shops. I took my princely sum and trooped through all the shop, looking for something, anything that I could afford.

And there I found it: a lovely, sunburst, four pickup thing shaped like a Stratocaster. The four chrome pickups and pickup selector switches absolutely gleamed in the lights of the shop's display area. I knew absolutely NOTHING about electric guitar, so it was an absolute surprise when I got it home and discovered that it could extract blood from my fingers and find a way to feedback at practically volume level. The four pickup on/off switches were horrible and intermittent. The guitar was a tough school mistress on the subject of buying with your eyes. I was glad to get shook of it a couple of years later. There are still a couple of pictures of me with it. Here I am jamming with my first bandmate, drummer Bill.



Bob

[Acoustic Pain]

Hero worship, guilty



Close as I can get to my hero's 59 Sunburst.

[Steve DeRosa]

Had a stack of catalogs (Gibson, Harmony, Kay, Gretsch, Framus) for the better part of a year back in mid/late '63; really wanted a candy-apple red hardtail Strat, but both my father's guitar-playing co-worker and my teacher (a teenage phenom named Jack Wilkins) - hardcore jazzers both - steered him/us in the direction of a hollowbody. Since we lived in Brooklyn - and my grandparents lived two blocks from the factory - Gretsch was emerging as the instrument of choice; then came February 9, 1964, 8:00 PM, CBS-TV - and the end of further discussion. Couldn't afford a Country Gent, couldn't get a Vox amp for love or money; still have the 6117 Double Annie and Ampeg top-panel Rocket amp (non-reverb) I bought that May - and that Filter'tron and class-A cathode-bias amp combination still delivers those King George tones fifty years on...

[BTF]

You should have put "Cost" into the survey. Mine was a horrid Hondo II with a failing neck that made the action suitable for slide and little else. I had little money for extras at the time and traded the music store owner (yes, he saw me coming!) an Army field backpack, a climbing rig and $40US for it.

I just wanted to be the adopted son of David Gilmour!

Funny thing is, I went to work for that store owner two years later.

[imwjl]

I knew for sure what Les Paul, Telecaster, Stratocaster and Lucille were, was attracted to but not understanding some expensive guitars. A great Guitar Center salesperson who went on to be a store manager picked through some moderately priced Yamaha and Squire guitars choosing a Strat he said was good. He asked me to wait or come back while he did setup and fresh strings.

It wasn't the best looking at all, but it sure made a difference to have one that played and sounded its best.

FYI: This was 2006 decades after I owned an acoustic but never an electric.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

In 1971at the age of fourteen I saved up $25 dollars and took the bus to downtown Knoxville, TN, to hock shop row. In my town, the pawn shops were all clustered along the North end of Gay Street on both sides of the bridge over the Southern Railroad tracks. A funny aside: it was "New York accent central" in that little enclave in the South. In that space, within a three-block radius, were probably seven hock shops. I took my princely sum and trooped through all the shop, looking for something, anything that I could afford.

And there I found it: a lovely, sunburst, four pickup thing shaped like a Stratocaster. The four chrome pickups and pickup selector switches absolutely gleamed in the lights of the shop's display area. I knew absolutely NOTHING about electric guitar, so it was an absolute surprise when I got it home and discovered that it could extract blood from my fingers and find a way to feedback at practically volume level. The four pickup on/off switches were horrible and intermittent. The guitar was a tough school mistress on the subject of buying with your eyes. I was glad to get shook of it a couple of years later. There are still a couple of pictures of me with it. Here I am jamming with my first bandmate, drummer Bill.



Bob

Great story Bob! I too knew nothing about electrics except what looked cool

[dchristo]

I got my first electric guitar for Christmas when I was 5 years old

[clintj]

I knew I wanted a Les Paul type guitar after seeing how much music I loved was played on one, but it still came down to beauty when I picked a cherry sunburst one.

Hey Bob, is that a Teisco four pickup in that pic? They make awesome electric slide guitars if you're going for a Hound Dog Taylor or Elmore James sound. Friend of mine has white one autographed by Hubert Sumlin and quite a few other bluesmen.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Acoustic Pain

Hero worship, guilty

<<snippet pic>>

Close as I can get to my hero's 59 Sunburst.

Who is that hero? Jimmy Page? Great looking guitar!

Originally Posted by BTF

You should have put "Cost" into the survey. Mine was a horrid Hondo II with a failing neck that made the action suitable for slide and little else. I had little money for extras at the time and traded the music store owner (yes, he saw me coming!) an Army field backpack, a climbing rig and $40US for it.

I just wanted to be the adopted son of David Gilmour!

Funny thing is, I went to work for that store owner two years later.

LOL - yes, I should have put "cost" in there. Many people buy their first guitar on whatever is the least expensive guitar in the shop because that's all they have.

[BTF]

It's no problem. On the bright side, I moved up to a Japanese-made monstrosity called a "Continental Bluesmaster" which was neither continental nor a blues master.

Gods, it's a wonder I don't play accordion...

[Acoustic Pain]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Who is that hero? Jimmy Page? Great looking guitar.

Ding ding ding we have a winner.

Check this out I picked up last week $599 w/hardshell case.



But sadly going back. Just plays like crap. Not the design but this one in particular.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Acoustic Pain

Ding ding ding we have a winner.

Check this out I picked up last week $599 w/hardshell case.



But sadly going back. Just plays like crap. Not the design but this one in particular.

I have that same guitar. Bought it online from Sam Ash when I lived in the US 8 or 9 years ago. I replaced the bridge pickups of both necks with a Seymour Duncan '59 (12 string neck) and a DiMarzio Super Distortion on the 6 string. I did gig it once. If I was going to gig it more than that I would have replaced the tuners. I've since put those pickups in different guitars.

Are you going to get another one?

[Jim Tozier]

The first electric guitar I bought was a 1986 Japanese Fender Stratocaster... black with a white pickguard and a maple neck. Bet you can't guess who my guitar hero was.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Jim Tozier

The first electric guitar I bought was a 1986 Japanese Fender Stratocaster... black with a white pickguard and a maple neck. Bet you can't guess who my guitar hero was.

Is it Eric Clapton? Dave Murray of Iron Maiden also played a strat like that but with super distortion pickups.