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Thread: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

  1. #1
    Forum Member redisburning's Avatar
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    Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    We all have them.

    Some were good guitars but weren't what we wanted at the time. Some played great but didn't sound so good or vice versa. Some were experiments in guitar types we don't normally go for. Some were because we were offered too much to turn down.

    E.G. I really miss this one. Im not at all a telecaster guy and hated not having the cutaway with a ******* passion but this guitar was like a ten tonne hammer tonally:
    [url=https://flic.kr/p/XCcE8h]

  2. #2
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    There have been guitars that I've missed, but the guitars that I have now suit me so well that it's hard to miss the ones that I've given up.

    I kinda wish I still had my Mesa Thiele EVM12L cabinet! I think it'd kick ass with my Soldano Astroverb and Mesa Express 25.

  3. #3

    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Such a cool picture, OP! It's funny... The telecaster is a guitar that I've never wanted enough to actually obtain, yet it's the one guitar that I've continuously gassed for over the years. No idea how that happens lol.

    I feel the same as Don for the most part. The guitars that I currently own are ones that I can't imagine not having. I love them all for different reasons and have little to no regrets regarding most that I've parted with. The only ones that I wish I still had were nothing great, but they all had sentimental value:

    * The first electric guitar that I ever owned... a beat-up hand-me-down electric strat-type. I don't even remember the brand but it was a cheap-o.

    * My second guitar... a super low-end flying-V with silver-burst. Came from a company out of Ohio named VJ Rendano. That was all that was on the head-stock although I'm not even sure that this particular company actually manufactured any instruments.

    * My first acoustic. It was another cheap one. I believe it was a Maestro but not sure.

    * A relatively inexpensive Charvel that was my first "bad ass" electric lol. Also was the first Floyd Rose equipped guitar that I ever owned.

    * A beautiful Alvarez 6-string acoustic that was a gift from my Mom. Wish I had never let that one go.

  4. #4
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    I'm so happy with the guitars I have now, and I wouldn't trade them for any lost along the way.

    But...I wish I had kept the 70s Telecaster Bass I owned when I was 16. It was right handed, of course, so I sold it when I bought my Ric 4001. I learned so much about playing bass with that instrument, and it sounded great. But because I'm a lefty, when I flipped it over, it was impossible to get to the upper frets--the cutaway just didn't allow it.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    "We all have them?" No, not really. I've never sold a guitar. Then again, for most of my life I had only two. My collection is just that: a collection.

    Maybe some day I'll sell off a guitar or two. But for today, I enjoy having them and having a choice from which to pick.

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    "We all have them?" No, not really. I've never sold a guitar. Then again, for most of my life I had only two. My collection is just that: a collection.

    Maybe some day I'll sell off a guitar or two. But for today, I enjoy having them and having a choice from which to pick.
    I get that!!! Me too! I've only gotten rid of two guitars in my life - my first guitar was a Harmony 3/4 size acoustic - the neck fell off and I threw it out. The other was an Ovation Breadwinner (solid body electric) - I'm kicked myself countless times for selling that one back in 1979.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    All my guitars have had their place in my own personal history, and I do miss the MOMENTS I first bought them, brought them home, felt good while holding and playing them... They were what I had back then.

    But I don't really miss any of them, the guitars themselves. They were nothing special, mostly budget models I bought because I was still learning and playing at home by myself.

    When I first joined a band I sold them and bought my first Fender, which was my first "real deal" guitar, and started jamming and playing live gigs with it.

    I still own all my good guitars, so no. I don't regret having sold the guitars I sold.

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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Discounting the "learner" guitars I owned, I only regret selling/trading the ones I wish I had to sell today!
    I traded a Mosrite MkI that I carried while in the service, for a P bass, and a Gibson S-1 I bought from a guy 2 months after he bought it. Both had necks too small for my fat fingers. I traded the P bass for a Gibson EB that my wife still plays, and let the S-1 go to the fellow's kids who sold it to me. He died too young!

  9. #9
    Forum Member redisburning's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    "We all have them?" No, not really. I've never sold a guitar. Then again, for most of my life I had only two. My collection is just that: a collection.

    Maybe some day I'll sell off a guitar or two. But for today, I enjoy having them and having a choice from which to pick.
    how did you know which ones were really for you if you didnt try many along the way?

    and personally, for me to really know I have to live with an instrument for a while. play it through all my amps on different days and judge if the days I like it the least are still good enough.

    I guess Im sort of an anti-collector collector. I amass hordes of things trying to find "the one" and then pare down aggressively after.

  10. #10
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    I still have my first two guitars- the 3/4 size Harmony acoustic that my parents bought new for me in 1971 when I was 8 and the 1978 Yamaha that they bought used from a friend in 1978 or 1979 for my sister. I got re-started on that guitar in 1979 and bought it from her.

  11. #11
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by redisburning View Post
    how did you know which ones were really for you if you didnt try many along the way?

    and personally, for me to really know I have to live with an instrument for a while. play it through all my amps on different days and judge if the days I like it the least are still good enough.

    I guess Im sort of an anti-collector collector. I amass hordes of things trying to find "the one" and then pare down aggressively after.
    Well, that's me, too. I begin by finding a guitar that appeals to me and buying it. Most of my collection has come my way within the past couple of years, so I'm still in the "getting to know you" phase. I do find myself playing some more than others, but in all honesty, some of them I bought for their collectable value, and so they sit in their cases. Until I get the wild idea to pull one out, tune it up, plug it in (yes, they're mostly electric) and play a bit.

    Those "orphans" are likely the first to go when I get to the point of wanting to (or needing to) sell.

  12. #12
    Forum Member VibroCount's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Very few regrets.

    I have deep interests in many hobbies. I am both a comic book and science fiction fan. I once had a huge comic collection, but I found I enjoyed reading them more than collecting them so I sold off all but a few precious issues and replaced them with anthology books where I can read every issue and not worry about the pulp paper crumbling.

    I take a similar attitude with guitars. I want them all, cannot afford them all, so after I get one, if I find I rarely play it (tone, weird neck shape to my fingers, just doesn't fit), I sell it to acquire either a new guitar, bass, amp, ukulele, comic book book, signed first edition science fiction book, a pile of DVDs or Blu-rays, a fancy yo-yo (I'm not very good, but I like to try), or whatever.

    Two I wanted very much, and I searched and searched and searched before I got them, were a DiPinto Galaxie IV and a Fender Precision Bass.

    I sort of half miss them, but not really. The DiPinto is like a cartoonist's vision of an electric guitar: slightly oddly shaped, with four pickups. Mine was sparkle pink where the clear overcoat had yellowed enough so it no longer looked purplish or pink, it was a slightly pink shade of red. But I like a more tightly curved radius on the fingerboard. It was very modern and gigging with it I kept missing notes... the learning curve was too high. Like a cool silver age comic book, very cool to have in the collection, but I didn't want to use it.

    The P-Bass was a Fender (not Custom Shop nor Squire) MIM Cabronita in candy apple red. I often do a custom touch on my instruments, and the bright white pickguard (and back side control panel cover) were way too white for me. The maple neck and fingerboard were nicely figured, a little curly, but not flame, quilt, or birdseye. I found a woodworker in Virginia who created real wood pickguards. I mailed him the guard and cover, and he sent them back with amazingly deep figured birdseye maple which fit perfectly. I added a maple wood thumb rest, right where I like it. The knobs were chrome knurled like a P-Bass or Telecaster. I found another guy with maple and cocobolo stripes across the top and sides hand-made knobs. It had Gretsch like pickup tone, a Badass bridge, in a stunning P-Bass unlike any other. But I found the P-Bass neck was not (again) for me. I used it less and less often, preferring my AVRI '62 Jazz bass. I liked the P-Bass because it weighed far less (but good tone) than the J-Bass. I sold it and bought myself a better (than what I had) acoustic electric bass.

    I miss them because they were eye catchers. Gaze stoppers, actually. Not just players, but non-musician audience members wanted to check them out. But I have other instrument I prefer playing.
    Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

  13. #13

    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    After reading through these comments, I realize that I don't necessarily regret or "long for" any guitars that I used to have... just that it would be neat to still have at least a couple of them.

  14. #14
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by VibroCount View Post
    Very few regrets.

    I have deep interests in many hobbies. I am both a comic book and science fiction fan. I once had a huge comic collection, but I found I enjoyed reading them more than collecting them so I sold off all but a few precious issues and replaced them with anthology books where I can read every issue and not worry about the pulp paper crumbling.
    I had a pretty nice comic book collection - specializing in Marvel comics. I had original Fantastic Four, Spiderman, etc... I came home from college one college break and couldn't find the box of comics. My mom said, "Those old smelly things"? I threw them all out!".
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by gibsonjunkie View Post
    I had a pretty nice comic book collection - specializing in Marvel comics. I had original Fantastic Four, Spiderman, etc... I came home from college one college break and couldn't find the box of comics. My mom said, "Those old smelly things"? I threw them all out!".
    x 3

    I had three comic books collections over the years of my life. My father was a diplomat, and we moved every few years.

    The first I had as an elementary school kid. Action Comics, Detective Comics -- you know, the early Superman, Batman and Justice League stuff. We moved to Thailand and I was told there was no way we could take all those "things."

    In Thailand, I started anew, adding Marvel (n.b., I wrote a letter to Stan Lee and it was published in an edition of Spider Man, and I received a postcard reply, too!), and a large collection of British black-and-white comics, mostly war stories and American westerns (!). Same story: too much bulk and weight to ship back to the States...

    When I moved overseas again after my high school years, I thought I'd gotten smarter. Left my comics and record collection with Stateside friends. Only to find out said friends were nowhere to be found upon my return.

    I could probably have retired on the income those comics (and records) would have fetched. Sigh.

  16. #16
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Hi, everybody

    My name is Dan. I am a gear slut. Many have I played, often did I listened, many have I fedexed, so long it was ago oh oh so long it was ahhhhhh go ah yeah

  17. #17
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    About four years ago, I suffered a pretty debilitating left hand index finger injury. Thought my guitar playing days were over. I traded my Fender CS '64 Jazz Bass relic for a pedal steel guitar. I started playing any string instrument where I could use a tone bar (pedal steel, dobro, lap steel, etc.) I did that for about a year and a half. Then my finger ability started to come back. Started playing bass again. And it was at that point I regretted trading the CS Jazz. That was one fine bass. Now, I don't regret owning a nice, vintage pedal steel guitar! So maybe it's a wash...



    And here is the pedal steel I traded it for.


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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    I don't recognize your guitar. Interesting with the metal rear apron, did you move one of the knees? Is the front apron also metal?
    I have a Bud, and an old Fender, like them both!

  19. #19
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
    I don't recognize your guitar. Interesting with the metal rear apron, did you move one of the knees? Is the front apron also metal?
    I have a Bud, and an old Fender, like them both!
    That's an '80s BMI. But a BMI that was assembled and sold by a shop in Wisconsin or Minnesota (can't recall what Dan from BMI said). Dead giveaway was the lack of serial number stamped on frame. I never did figure out what that milled aluminum block up front was for. Front apron is a plastic plate over the aluminum frame. Came to me like that.

    I took that picture when I didn't have the proper steel pedals and amp. Now have a nice Hilton volume pedal and a Peavey Nashville 112 amp!

    I've got an S-8 Guyatone as well - Japanese knock off of the Fender Deluxe. That's a pretty cool guitar too! The old buds and fenders are pretty danged cool...

  20. #20
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    I too have a lap, Dan, an inexpensive Gretsch 6 string, it's pretty handy to get in and out for a quick jam.
    (The Nash 112's are really popular on the SGF!) My hobby is tinkering with tube amps, so I built a Twin clone with a 15" SRO, and also have a Music Man 115 One Hundred, that came with the 'Bud, (it belonged to an old friend).

  21. #21
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Whereupon we commiserate about guitars we regret selling

    wow!! four 6L6s through a giant coffee can? I bet that can make your pant legs flap. Even if you're wearing shorts

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