For a song....

Bish and racetruck - Thankx :D

You first four - you guys are way too serious. Kev and Taso, I actually put the real story disclaimer in there thinking of you guys.
Stormy Monday - I was hopin' you coulda helped me with my T-Bone blues thread.

I guess I'll tell the story that inspired me to post this.
I didn't figure that I'd be the only one to have something like this happen.
And since I think about it all the time.... I figured this could be sorta cathartic.

I was in a small guitar shop back in the early 90's where I bought my strings.
I like Pure Nickle half rounds and they were the only place around that had 'em.
Anyway - I was perusing the music books when these two (I would say 14 year olds) came in.
They went up to the counter and wanted to know how much you could sell and old Gibson guitar for.
The owner told them he had no idea and would have to see the guitar first.
It seems an older friend of theirs had an old guitar and somebody else offered him 500 bucks for it.
He wanted to know if it was a good deal.
Well, one of the kids says he's going to go get it and takes off on his bike.
I thought it would be worth it to hang around - so I waited for him to come back.
He comes walking back in with an old beat up brown leather hardshell case, lays it on the counter,
flips open the lid and....
A 56 Goldtop with P-90s.
All original, Kluson tuners, Gold paint all cracked, crazed, and greenish.
The two guys that worked there started LAUGHING at the kid.
They told him to sell it right away to the sucker who would pay 500 dollars for that piece of junk.
I couldn't believe it.
You have to remember though that it was like 90/91 and no one at that time was into vintage Gibsons, any kinda Fenders,
or tube amps. It was a dark time for music.
So I mean, I coulda offered them 600 cash right there - which I could've easily gotten, and walked away with it.
I didn't because, although I wanted a LP/goldtop - this one had single coil pups - and I already had 5 Guitars at the
time with SC pups including a 63 SG with P90's. I wanted Humbuckers, so I didn't get it.
Saw one just like it on ebay a couple months back - $55,000.00
Wasn't being negative bud, what we wree saying was "I don't understand what you're asking for. " basically. The "for a song" part of your post is what confused me.

Anyways, great story, and no, I've never been in that poisition before.

Thankx Taso.

I must admit, I'm feeling a bit embarrassed by the whole thing :oops:
My apologies.

Ken

Please don't! That's one of the added negatives with online chat, sometimes its tough to discern a writer's tone.

I should have voiced my questions with words instead of smilies :lol: Just like I learned in skool.

No hard feelings at all. :D

Hmmm...I had a black 1970 Ric 330 I sold for next to nothing back in 75. I was as dumb as a box of rocks back then :oops:

I had a old Gibson F-hole acoustic With a old p-90 for $25 back in 1977.(not sure what model it was) I pawned it for about the same amount.The seventies was very hard on me :cry: :oops:

I also had a #1 issue Super Man comic bock I found in a old carriage house in 1966. I traded it in for a newer issue in 1967. :oops: :cry: :roll: :evil:

Please don't! That's one of the added negatives with online chat, sometimes its tough to discern a writer's tone.

I should have voiced my questions with words instead of smilies :lol: Just like I learned in skool.

No hard feelings at all. :D
Quoted for truth. I agree.

Taso and Kev - Thankx guys, really.
You've been great about it.
I'll have to remember to check my temper at the door from now on :wink:

Smokin'dog - The 70's did sound a bit rough on you.
You didn't happen to trade the Caddy for that Mopar back in '79 did ya????

A Gibbo F hole acoustic....?
Like one from the 30's that all the old country players used????
How did it have a P-90 on it....?
Sounds like an interesting guitar, either if it was a moded 30's acoustic, or another model that I'm not familiar with.
Cool.

Thankx for the stories

Ken

Hey, the Mopar is much cooler than the caddy was 8) 8) :lol:

My story involves not a guitar, but an....

accordion. :oops:

At an estate sale many years ago there was this really cool small black antique accordion that I was coveting. It was in good shape and played well, as demonstrated by the auctioneer. The sale was not that well attended and it looked like it might go cheap.

I don't really play accordion, but I had a fairly high-quality toy one as a kid that I actually spent quite a bit of time with and could play. Being a pianist, it didn't take a lot to read the music and make some decent tunes on it. I liked the portability of the accordion over the piano (a factor that also lead me to taking up the guitar).

Anyway, just having purchased our first home we were there at the estate sale to buy furniture, and backed out on the accordion bidding early. It went for only $75 and I've often thought of that instrument and wished I'd gone higher in my bid. For me, it's the "one that got away." :(

Margaret

Thank you for your story Margaret :D

It certainly doesn't have to be an expensive piece to get your regrets.
I agree.
And I have a story about letting a cheaper vintage guitar slip through my fingers as well.
I'll post it later.

When I saw you in "looking for" as well, I thought maybe after posting this, you decided to put out some feelers
on an accordion. :wink:

Nothing wrong with the accordion. My grandpa played one all the time. 8)
Good memories of good times.

Ken :)

Mama's got a squeeze box that she wears on her chest...... :lol:

It's not a vintage guitar but I was able to pick up a Godin LGX3 for a "song". A local big guitar store had 3 of these in stock (translucent purple, translucent deep red, and a honey colour all in AAA flame maple top) and not only was the model being discontinued by Godin but the store was stopping carrying Godin guitars. MSRP at the time for these was around $1600 and street price maybe $1100. I was able to get the deep red one for $600 out the door with a Godin hardshell case after a little bit of haggling. It's a wonderful guitar - 3 Duckbuckers, LR Baggs pickup in the bridge, locking tuners, nice flat fingerboard, mahogany body, sounds wonderful and looks beautiful.

I did do some checking up on accordions not too many years ago, but ended up with a guitar instead.

If I were rich I'd go out and buy a vibrophone, a drum kit, some steel drums, and a pedal steel guitar. For starters, anyway. And I'd hire some fabulous instructor to give me a crash course in each.

The question for Smokindog is, "DID you trade the Caddy for a microphone?!"

Margaret

Hyperborea - Thankx for the contribution :D
You actually didn't let that one get away - good call.
Sounds like a real nice one. 8)

Margaret - You going Hawaiin on us???? :D
Or Caribbean maybe????
A cool and relaxing sound none the less.

Yeah, I was a bit dissapointed; I left it wide open for Smokin'dog to give the 'proper' reply:
No'ah -I traded the Caddy... for a microphone.... :wink:

Ken

Back in the 80's, like so many other folks, I was made redundant. With quite a bit of severance pay in my pocket, I decided to treat myself to a nice guitar, so I bought an Epi LP. Beautiful guitar, dark maroon, real top-of-the range job. Paid almost £200 for it, which was a LOT of money for a guitar back then.

Couple of years later, I was made redundant by my first wife. Ended up living in the Salvation Army for a while. Absolutely skint - didn't have two pennies to rub together. Got my guitar back, and my amp - 30W Vox - and took them to the pawn-shop. Got £50 for the pair. Of course, when the time came to redeem them, I didn't have the money so they were sold.

I still remember that guitar - it was my first real electric. I can even remember the serial number....K777090. So if anyone out there's got it and wants to sell it - let me know!!!

:D :D :D

Vic

I just remembered - the other side of the coin. Couple of years ago, I bought a nice Yamaha acoustic with a cut-away. Then Nick mentioned he was selling a guitar, I asked him what he wanted for it, bought it off him. That's the SPT acoustic - made the Yamaha superfluous. So I sold it to one of the guys in the pub for £100. A few weeks later, I saw it in a pawn shop - definitely my ex-guitar! Bought it for £35, sold it again a couple of weeks later for £85! I could do with a few more weeks like that!

:D :D :D

Vic