I never had the guitar set up professionally, but I came home after school every day and played and played and played. $215 later I had my Seville Les Paul, Rock Amplifier Company Petros I 1x10 combo amp (with a dedicated distortion knob!) and a Lifeline 10’ straight cable. I’d have to figure that out later because the Gibsons said the same thing…hmm. There were rhythm guitarists and lead guitarists but I’d never seen a treble guitarist before. By the way, the real deal Les Pauls were way out of my league at $600, so I just let it go and wondered why the toggle switch was labeled Rhythm and Treble instead of Rhythm and Lead. It could have been his long hair and cool jeans, or just the fact that he was telling me with these riffs that I too could rock for $99. This particular store carried the Memphis and Seville brands, and somehow the way the sales dude jammed out “Cat Scratch Fever” sold me on the wine red, bolt-on Seville Les Paul copy. Interspersed with the real Gibsons were the knock-off brands that to my untrained eye were basically the same guitar. My heart was set on a Les Paul because of Ace Frehley, and this store had a mile of them-hung up, row by row, in every color and style. The best store we had (Mau’s Music) was probably a half hour away and to this day I can vividly recall the anticipation of a weekend trek to scope out what I’d be spending my hard-earned paper route money on. Going to the music store was like going to Mecca for any young, aspiring guitarist. Maybe my buddy would even cough up the book since he wasn’t using it anyway. I started saving my paper route money so one day I could take over all six strings. It drove me crazy not having my own guitar. Lessons with compelling names like “E-nuff” and “E-string boogie.” It didn’t sound like KISS, but at least there was some semblance of music being made on that first string (he never made it to the B string). My buddy had rented one and was taking lessons, so any chance I got I’d hang out at his place and watch him play through his Mel Bay Book #1 lessons. Allow me to share my story… it might even sound similar to your own.īy the time I was 12 all I could think about was playing the guitar. It was a cheap knock-off with a bolt-on neck, but that guitar meant everything to me. While my first real guitar was a 1980-81 Gibson “The SG,” before that I had another guitar…a Seville Les Paul copy. Whatever it was there was innocence to it all, and that my friend is what this article is all about: rediscovering your love of the instrument. Depending on when you grew up it could have been one of those fluorescent colored, pointy-headstock thingies that got you all hopped up about being a rock star. Maybe you had your heart set on a Les Paul or a Strat. Either way, it seems the memories of my first guitar have been on my mind quite a bit these days and that motivated me to dig a little deeper to find out why.ĭo you recall your first guitar? Way back before you knew anything about flametops, PAFs, mojo, and all the other G.A.S.-inducing details we discuss, there was just the guitar. It could be the change of seasons, but I’m going to call it the first step in gear addiction recovery (see last month’s column).
I buy what I like and can afford for my hobby - and I also like Boss, EHX etc when appropriate.I’ve been getting sentimental lately. I also hear (via internet) that many working guitar players cannot use their 4x12s with 100w heads that produced glorious tone without pedals so much anymore. It’s my hobby/enthusiasm, and I always practice and play more when NPD arrives. I don’t need more Fuzz boxes (can a Boss or EHX really do a Spaceman Nebula?) or that Strymon Volante – but when I can afford them I probably will. Those of us who are hobby enthusiasts who will never ever give a moment’s thought about “cutting through the mix” or recording anything but like the sound of electric guitar in their room through small amps may – just may – find some boutique stuff that suits their rig better than Tradesman’s gear that gets a real stomping or risks being stolen - and has all those "mix" issues.Įar fatigue sets in – just the other night I thought I sounded killer then fired it up in the morning and was utterly unimpressed and swapped pedals until satisfied, then swapped it all back again later.