How did you get the oldest guitar you have?

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

It's a great hierloom, Pieter.

I bought my first acoustic in Jan 1989, a 12 string Yamaha. It was my best friend for 10 years and I still have it.

I played a family Framus guitar before that and I still have that one too although it's basically unplayable.

It is! It’s a great guitar, had a tech give it a good setup recently and now it plays better than ever!

Heirloom wise there will also be a Guild Starfire V from the 60s and a couple of Gurians from the 70s. I’m not in a hurry…

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by pieterh

It is! It’s a great guitar, had a tech give it a good setup recently and now it plays better than ever!

Heirloom wise there will also be a Guild Starfire V from the 60s and a couple of Gurians from the 70s. I’m not in a hurry…

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

[Parlorman]

My current oldest is a circa 1910 Stetson branded Larson that I bought from a fellow player/collector in Australia. My other Larson (this one Stahl branded) may be the same age as appraisers have differed on their age estimates and the Larson’s records were discarded after their deaths. I bought the Stahl from another player/collector in Vermont.

[The Bard Rocks]

My oldest is a '32 Duolian, bought maybe 15 years ago - on EBay. I'd want a steel-bodied national to learn slide on. It's not much fun to play anything else on (higher action, thick neck) but it has tons of mojo and "the sound". I don't use it a lot since getting my Franks, which has a better sound but is set up to play conventionally. But when I want to use the slide, the National is the one I get. Last night, in fact.

Next oldest is a 2015 Goodall, which I bought new, a fine guitar in every possible way.

[FingahPickah]

In 1976, I was a 20 year old college student looking for my first USA made acoustic.

A friend (fellow player) told me of a local guitar teacher looking to sell a guitar (to fund a custom built classical).

I bought his 1973 Guild D44M (sitka top/ flamed maple b&s/ mahog neck/ ebony fretboard/rosewood bridge) for $300.00.

What made me keep it?

It's a beautiful, no-bling work horse with great sound. And I have only seen (in person) one other (exact model) and it was just a few years ago. My guess is that owners keep them... No surprise here.

[catdaddy]

My 1970 Gibson Hummingbird was a birthday gift from my parents for my birthday that year.

[whatitis]

Mine is an 1890’s Bay State (branded Bruno) parlor guitar that I found in my grandmother’s attic. It was a wall hanger for years until I had it restored. It sounds beautiful, but I don’t play it much because of the wide v neck.

[hubcapsc]

57 Country Western...



-Mike

[kkrell]

Inherited my mom's nylon-string Corelli (house brand of Westwood Music?) around 1962, when I guess she lost interest. It seems to still be in decent condition after 58+ years. Put new John Pearse strings on it, but I pretty much play steel strings now.

[woodbox]

I’ve told this story before, but thank you for letting me tell it again.

It was the fall of 1965.
I was in the 6th grade and enthralled with the sounds coming out of the radio -
the Beatles, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, Paul Revere and the Raiders.

Well, out in the garage, we had all of Grandma’s stuff stacked high,
as she had just sold her place in Long Beach CA, and moved to Oregon.
And up on top of it all was a black chipboard guitar case.
(I later learned it was a 1928 Martin 0-18)

I pulled it down, opened it to find a little guitar with 3 strings on it.
(I later learned they were the low E and A, and B)
I still remember the thrill I got feeling it vibrate under my arm.. it was alive!
And when I played with it, I was too!!

One day, I figured out the opening riff to the Animals song “It’s My Life”, and I was ecstatic.
It changed my life.
To some, that may sound dramatic, but it’s absolutely true.
I felt a connection to something big, and that feeling is here today as I write to you, my friends on AGF.

Grandma gifted that guitar to me for Christmas 1965, 55 1/2 years ago.
She had bought it new in either Long Beach or Los Angeles in 1928 and my Grandfather played it occasionally til he died in ‘62.
In time I figured out how to play some chords from the book that was in the case.(see pictures)
It was my only guitar til I bought a 1988 Martin J65M.. that I also still have.. because I was playing on stage and needed a bigger sound,
and a less precious instrument.

Why do I keep it?
I cannot imagine life without it.

Yes, I’ve had offers, and because my Son doesn’t play, I’ve asked him if he would want the proceeds of a sale NOW.
It’s always a very short discussion.
“We keep the Martin Dad.”

He gets it...

[Slothead56]

I’ve told this story before because it’s pretty amazing but I won’t go into all the detail....if you’re really interested I suppose it’s easy enough to search for the post I put up several years ago.

I bought a Gurian JR in 1978 or 1979. I had been looking for my first Martin when I played this. It was everything I wanted at the time.

I sold that guitar through consignment at Mandolin Brothers when I was getting divorced in 1990 or ‘91.

About 5 years ago, through a sheer and utter fluke, another AGF member PM’d me to tell me he had just put the exact same guitar up for sale. I bought it without hesitation.

So, 40+ years later it’s in my closet. It’s not an everyday player but a reminder of youthful days gone by....

[bluemoon]

I recently inherited a 1962/63 Gibson J-50. Gibson’s records are kinda spotty so I get to say a range. The guitar needed some attention when I got it after sitting mostly I played for 20 years with a bridge replacement (original was plastic and bolted down adjustable) fix the bellying behind the bridge, and address the crack the pick guard was forming. Im hoping to get a new nut and refret this fall but it’s the guitar that started it all for me.

[Shortfinger]

Bought mine new in '72 from a music store on Wabash Ave, in the Chicago loop, a little south of the Palmer House hotel.

In the college dorm, ten years previous, I had learned to play on an old D-18 a guy from down the hall had. He had gotten it from a lawn mower repair shop in Portsmouth, Ohio. His was beat up but the scratches and dings did not affect the sound and feel. It looked 25 years old at the time.

Between then and '72, the 60s happened, and I got jonesing for a Martin, so I did it and threw away the cheapie I had been playing.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

And what’s made you keep it?

Hi Wade…

In 1998 I played an Olson in James Olson's shop in St. Paul, Minnesota for 45 minutes, and wow it changed my perception of how good acoustics can be.

Four years later I sold my 17 year old D-28, we ordered an EIR/Cedar Dreadnought from James. My wife & kids took two years off from eating out, I increased the number of guitar students and gigs I did, and we added the savings from not eating out, and it was paid for by the time it was built.

It was delivered May of 1993, and has been my main guitar ever since. Interestingly, it's not the most $$$ I've ever paid for a guitar. It was $3050 (with pickup installed) in 1992.

The reason I keep it is it's everything I want, and a really amazing guitar.

It's also the third best acoustic guitar I've ever played, and I've played some really nice guitars.

[seannx]

From a previous post…

Almost two years ago I found a 1950 Martin 00-18 in a small music store (now closed) in Nevada City, CA. It had an authentic relic finish, that clearly showed it had been well played over its 69 years. Had it not been made the same year I was born, I may not have even tried it, but thankfully I did. It had a couple of cleated, repaired cracks, the neck had been reset, the action was perfect, and the sound heavenly. After checking comps on reverb, I made an offer that was accepted. Due to its condition, it cost was less than a brand new Martin 00-18 would. It's inspired me to practice far more than usual, and my playing has improved far more than I ever could have imagined possible.