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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | anybody have a good closet guitar story they would care to tell. we all dream of finding a mint whatever, forgotten by a widow and left to unknowledgable, uncaring kids who would rather have a ski rack for the car than grampa's old guitar. come on guys, make me jealous. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | I have played guitar since I was in the first grade unfortunately it does not show, but I still practice.
I have been in bands since I was in the 6th grade up until about a dz years ago at that time my world fell apart for a variety of reasons and although I still dabbled with the guitar since I was buying and selling them I did not really "play" I have not clue if any of this makes sense to you or not.
about a year and a half ago my old drummer sans his x wife called me from the new girlfriends crib to grab an axe dust off suzipep's bass (my wife) and come over and jam we did and it got me started to play again (along with sitting in with a local blues guy)
anyway the keyboard player a guy who plays a weekly sunday church gig w choir says to me you deal gutars maybe you can help my girlfriend sell her father's old guitar I said sure what is it he said a D'angelico I made him repeat it 5 times and actually spell it for me. I told him sure. He told me what she was offered and I agreed I was also told the guitar was stripped and may be missing some "parts" and was not in great shape.
Well to make a long story even longer I waited 8 months before the guitar made its way from CT to NJ and one 20 degree day I met my current keyboard player under the walt whitman bridge where wrapped in an afghan was the guitar. he wanted to unwrap it I just said let me see the headstock he did I quickly bundled it back up paid him and took the guitar home.....I
originally I was going to flip it but after restringing and playing it I could not let it go. eventually I will like to get it refinished and the neck angle is slightly off but I think I am going to keep it. I play it every day. John d'angelico must be rolling over in his grave with some of the music I attempt to play on it but so be it.
Now did I ever tell you about the 53-0018 martin I bought for $6.......
[ March 22, 2002: Message edited by: alpep ] |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | was it one of the ones from the 30.s al, i guess they are still made aren't they? that whole story sounds like 'the french connection". all you need is a car chase scene.
now that 53 0018 (i have a 67 i bought new) for $6 would be worth hearing too! |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | i traded a guy a preecher deluxe, new of course, for a 57 esquire, A- condition all original. He thought he was getting a good deal since his "new" guitar had two pickups and the old one only had one. My friend Timm Kummer, wintage buyer from MARS, told me I would go to Hell for that. That's OK, that's where all the cool guitars are..... |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | the d angelicos made now are made in Japan they are nice instruments but in all honest remind me more of gibson than the custom jazz guitars that they are
Mine is a 1937 excel John D'angelico died in 1964. Jimmy D'Aquisto took over for him to become the premier archtop guitar builder until his untimely death about 5 years ago or so. Now Bob Benedetto is considered the current master builder. He contracts with Guild (fender) to produce a line of guitars the he designed and have his name Very nice stuff but expensive yet not as expensive as his handbuilt guitars. I recently bought a benedetto strat that is a sleeper on the current market and a totally hand built guitar by bob.
anyway my excel
the 53 martin story I was about 1983 I was waling around a flea market with my best friend from grade school he spots a beat up guitar and says you don't want that POS Al. I stopped picked it up and asked how much.the woman said $6 I pulled it out of my pocket and paid her. My frien asked why I did not get it for 3 I said because if she ever found out she sold a martin for that little she could at least say that bastard paid my asking price. Well the guitar had missing wood from the top and the side was cracked but the neck and frets were in good condition I flipped it to a luthier for $250 as is who put a top on it. eveyone happy all around LOL
did I ever tell you about the tweed amp my dad got for a $1 |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 613
Location: Zion, Illinois | Found myself suddenly single around 1979. Met a girl, very nice looking. She told me her brother was selling her deceased daddy's guitar for $200. I took a look and (no B.S.) it was a pre-war Martin.
Idiot that I was (I was more interested in something else besides guitars), I told her what it was!
There's a moral here somewhere. I will say one thing. Even with rusty strings, I'ld swear it sounded better than my Gibson J-200.
And we broke up about 2 weeks later .
Bradley |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | i can see that i might have passed by a few good guitar deals by not knowing what i was looking at. the only thing i am likely to find in a closet here is a huge spider. actually they dont even have closets here. i'm really enjoying these stories though.
is there a book or good website that deals with these highly collectable rare guitars? i checked out that mando brothers site from another thread. these guys are selling a few special guitars at the price of a new benz! and i'm embarassed to admit, there are MANY I'VE NEVER HEARD OF. well it't never too late to learn, and you guys make it a pleasure. |
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closet guitars
