How did you get the oldest guitar you have?

[RichardP]

These are great stories. My oldest is a 1950 D18 that my dad bought new. He fell and broke his back that year and the body cast didn’t allow him to play. I was 10 at the time and he taught me a few chords and the Martin quickly became mine. Because it was my dad’s, and because it is what I started with, It will stay with me.

My oldest guitar is my 2003 Martin 000-18MC that I bought new. It is the Martin Carthy signature model. I got rid of the zero fret a couple of years ago and replaced the brass bridge pins but I have taken good care of it. It has been played a lot so the finish is wearing through on the neck and it is on its second full refret.

It has kind of an interesting purchase story. I got wind of its arrival in town at a local store so I showed up just as they were unboxing it. I was the first person since the factory to play it. I liked it instantly and enquired about the price but they said it wasn't priced yet so I left.

A couple of days later I returned to play it again. When I checked the price I couldn't believe it. It was WAY under priced. Like crazy under priced. Being a good Samaritan I talked to the guy at the desk who always smelled of pot. No no no the price is correct. Would not listen. Ok I said and left again.

I should mention that at that time a new Martin here would sell for at minimum MSRP plus the exchange rate. This guitar was priced way below that. Way below. Almost ridiculously below.

This experience repeated again with me coming back and telling them price was out of whack to no avail. Would not listen. Later that year the shop had a no tax event and I just could not resist any longer. I showed up and said I'll take it. The staff member started to ring it up and suddenly developed a upset look of his face. Just a moment he says and disappears into the back. He comes back with the manager who starts to tell me it is incorrectly priced.

Now I should mention we have consumer protections here one of which is that the price on the sticker is the price you must sell it for. No bait and switch. I knew that and I'm sure the manager did too.

I told the manager that I had told his staff over and over that the price was wrong and that he could sell it to me at the price on the tag or I'm leaving. No hard feelings. So they did but they were not too happy about it. But I know that I was honest about it so I have no regrets and the guitar is well loved and has been played lots since.

Here's a pic:

[Todd123]

Wade, my oldest guitar I bought when I was in my twenties. I've had it for over 40 years now. I bought it from Stan Jay at Mandolin Brothers and it's a 1954 D28.
Over the course of my life I returned quite a few times to Mandolin Brothers with other guitars and traded up to get different guitars but this guitar has always stayed in my possession.
This guitar has special meaning to me so I don't see myself ever getting rid of it even though I rarely play it. I'm a working musician but it's not the one I use. Boy I miss Mandolin Brothers and Stan Jay.

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

No hurry and you're still young (you're just a few short years older than me). Your son is also a guitarist, right?

Ha ha thanks…


He is! He loves the Guild too! He also loves playing my Taylor.

His first electric was a Squier Strat mini. Last year we had the original tuners (which are real scrap, totally rubbish) swapped out for a decent set and gave it a good setup. Those Strat Minis sound awesome and now his plays well too.

But he’s grown out of it and now has a gorgeous all mahogany Cort Luce 450 which I bought for him a few years ago (sort of like a Martin OM15 but much cheaper). It is a keeper.

Then last year he saved up for a PRS SE 35th Anniversary which has the best neck I’ve played on an acoustic. I helped him a bit with the cost and bought a hard case for it. The PRS gig bags are decent but I prefer cases every time.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by pieterh

Ha ha thanks…


He is! He loves the Guild too! He also loves playing my Taylor.

His first electric was a Squier Strat mini. Last year we had the original tuners (which are real scrap, totally rubbish) swapped out for a decent set and gave it a good setup. Those Strat Minis sound awesome and now his plays well too.

But he’s grown out of it and now has a gorgeous all mahogany Cort Luce 450 which I bought for him a few years ago (sort of like a Martin OM15 but much cheaper). It is a keeper.

Then last year he saved up for a PRS SE 35th Anniversary which has the best neck I’ve played on an acoustic. I helped him a bit with the cost and bought a hard case for it. The PRS gig bags are decent but I prefer cases every time.

Pieter, you son is starting his own heirloom collection! I've been tempted to buy a Squier Mini Strat not for myself but for a 12 year old player just starting out. Smaller scale length is easier on the fingers.

[stormin1155]

Bottom row... The stenciled parlor was my dad's. He ordered it from the Sears catalog for $3 circa 1930. I don't remember him ever playing it, but I remember it being in the back of a closet and pulling it out from time to time as a kid and pretending to play. By the time I got it, it was literally in pieces and I rebuilt it. The parlor to the right of it is probably a few years older. It was given to me by a friend, also in pieces. He said that if anyone could bring it back to life, I could, so I did. I did an X-brace conversion, gave it a truss rod, new frets, and refinished it.

Interesting story about the archtop on the left. It was also given to me by a friend. I don't know where he got it, but the story is that it was built by two friends upon returning from WWII. Inside are their signatures, some Bible verses, and the date, 4/16/45. My friend gave it to me on 4/16/18... exactly 73 years later.

On the top row, the Yamaki Deluxe Folk I bought in 1973 with my graduation money, and it is the guitar I've owned the longest. The Harmony H-1260 next to it was also a gift from a friend. Yes, I have some great friends!

[L20A]

Back in 1982, I was at a music shop with a buddy that was there to buy a new guitar.
While he was setting up the sale, I walked down a row of Martin guitars that were hanging on a wall. As I walked past each of them, I gave each one a strum.
After doing this to 3 or 4 guitars, I strummed the next one and WOW!!!!!
I picked it up and took it to a small room and strummed a G chord and it was love at first strum!

The guitar came home with me the following day.
I had to take out a loan to pay the whopping $900.00 that it cost me.
To be able to afford the monthly payments, I had to quit my bowling league.

I still have the guitar to this day.
It is my beloved Martin D-35.

[OddManOut]

I got my 1949 Martin 00-18G from my father who passed away in 2014. He modded it in the early 70s to give in a flamenco vibe.




My father playing this (unmodified) Martin c. 1950

[DukeX]

My oldest is a Cedar/Rosewood 1995 Webber OM.

I traded up from a Larrivee D-05 that I loved, but I was moving toward fingerstyle.

I had never heard of Webber, but with hundreds of fine guitars to choose from (in my price range) at Buffalo Brothers (remember them?), the Webber just kept on defeating the bigger name brands, round after round, until I had to take it home.

Lucky me.

[mawmow]

Well, it was on my very 50th birthday, in 2006 :
I bought my first solid wood, a brand new Taylor 510 (2006).

[RRuskin]

Circa 1967 - I was at my repairman's shop in Dearborn, Michigan for some minor work on my D-28 and spied an interesting neck hanging behind his bench. When asked what guitar it came from, he reached behind himself and put a 1907 Stahl Style 6 body in front of me. I'd never seen one before. When told it came from the same shop that made Maurers, I asked who owned it. It happened to be his and would be put back together and sold. I bought it on the spot and told him to call me when it was done. It was the single smartest guitar buying decision of my life.

[Caddy]

My oldest guitar was bought new for me by my parents in 1959 when I was just short of 12 years old, a 1959 made in Hoboken, N.J. Guild archtop.

[Bob Womack]

I had been pursuing one of these guitars for years but the money and the availability never lined up. Their reputation for a great sound is fantastic. When I finally decided to pursue one headlong I discovered that they draw a premium price and there is a a reason why: They are indeed outstanding-sounding guitars and Rickenbacher made a small number of them in the original configuration that made them famous.

In fact, as I began looking for one I discovered that there is sort of a community of owners of these guitars, a quiet back society. To get one in good shape at decent price you may have to find a way in. I came into that knowledge when a nice member of the AGF heard that I was looking for a Rick, took me by the hand, and introduced me to some owners who were looking for homes for their Ricks. I eventually was drawn to a particular example and my AGF friend introduced me to its owner via email. The owner asked for my phone number, called, and spent an hour gently interviewing me. Because the guitar had belonged to his father it had sentimental value and he wanted it to go to someone who would play and love it. I explained that I had wanted one of these to use in recording sessions. Apparently I passed the test because he sold it to me, remarking that the original tweed case would bring instant credibility when I brought it to sessions.

This is a Bakelite Rickenbacher B6 "Panda" lap steel guitar. The various characteristics of this guitar date it to a very narrow window between early 1940 and 1941.

Bob

[Jim Owen]

Wade,

I’m thinking that the acoustic guitar that’s been longest in my possession is a Gurian size 3R that I bought new in 1976. I was looking for a good acoustic to play while my 000 18 was getting major repairs—and to serve as a back up when the Martin came back. I learnt the hard way that gigging and practicing a lot with the same guitar means wear and tear.

So I tried a lot of new guitars, determined that I was going to buy a new guitar with a lifetime warranty. Couldn’t find a Martin that I liked. Wouldn’t play anything out of Kalamazoo because I thought they were all clunky with silly pickguards. Tried a Mossman that I liked, a Gallagher that sounded good but seemed too heavy. A shop in Chapel Hill, NC, had the only Gurian I’d ever seen. I bought it. It’s the only guitar I ever bought new.

And I played many a gig with it. I have it still; it’s seldom played, but every time I get it out, tune it up, and sit and play, I still love the sound. My hands are clumsier than they were in the 70s so the string spacing is tough.

The oldest guitar I own is an 1890s Washburn parlor guitar, but I’ve only had it around 30 years.

Of course, the Gurian’s lifetime guarantee went pear shaped when the company dissolved after two fires.

Now the guitar I play most is a clunky Gibson with a big, silly pickguard.

[cedartop52]

Mid-60s Stella...where my guitar journey started in 1966.