33 famous guitarists, their first guitars, and how they learned

[g2c]

On my hunt for guitar lesson reviews I came across this gem. I'm obviously nowhere near any of these guys, but it's fun to think about the very first guitar I picked up, and the first full song I got through.

 

1st guitar: On a whim I put in a super low bid on a Gibson Nighthawk on eBay and won it. The guitar reeked of smoke, I almost couldn't stand playing it

 

1st lesson: Some now-defunct website that had a tutorial on open chords - I believe Em was my first chord

 

1st song: 1st song I played start to finish was U2's "One," just using the tabs

 

Curious to hear other people's firsts!

[Bucksstudent]

The article would be better if it didn't list some of the players for the hell of it like Jack White and John Mayer.

 

My first was an Amada acoustic, made in Romania. It had crazy high action, which caused me to experiment with lower tunings. The first song I learned was "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. My first band was called The Destructive Symphony, and it was me and another guitarist in his bedroom when I was 15. Then there was Midnight Rose, which was in the drummer's basement. I haven't been in a band since high school.

[Grant Harding]

First guitar was a hand me down acoustic with unplayable action, when I was 8. Before that it was ukulele, which I won't count.

 

First song was My Dingaling by Chuck Berry.

 

Still waiting for my first lesson.

[wankdeplank]

1st guitar: MIJ Teisco Strat copy that my mom won in a music store contest

1st band: The Spartans - we were twelve and thirteen year olds that hung out together in an upstate NY community called West Nyack. Came up with the name at a camp out. I could play a little, nobody else could play at all. Had one or two practices, then my parents moved to Jersey.

1st lesson: Probably twelve, guy actually expected me to practice, and he wouldn't teach me any R&R which was tearin up the AM back then.

1st song: Down in the Valley or Puff the magic dragon (I think)

[thatsbunk]

First guitar was a Yamaha acoustic (which I still have 40 years later). I don't remember

the first song I learned, but it was probably a Dylan song... Never took any lessons but learned to play following the chord charts in a Dylan songbook.

 

 

My my first electric was an Ibanez les Paul copy & I do remember the first song I learned in a band setting (rod Stewarts "hot legs").

 

 

 

btw- I'm not among the list of 33...

[DeepEnd]

First guitar: No-name $19.99 acoustic from Montgomery Ward

First electric guitar: Fernandes Strat copy

First band: Heartsong, a Christian acoustic group in college, back in the mid 70's, not really a "band" but I've never been part of a band except praise band

How I learned: Mostly self-taught, plus help from other, better guitarists

First song: Don't remember but the first song I played in public was Amazing Grace

[6down1togo]

My first guitar was a Conrad Jazzmaster copy circa 1967 which I still have. My first lesson started with the normal finger exercise and a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using open and fretted notes. By the middle of the lesson I knew this wasn't going to work so I reached in my pocket and handed my teacher $5.00 and said "Let's start with the chords to "Heat Wave" which was the first song I learned start to finish. I kept the arrangement with the teacher and learned a new song each week. My parents were impressed that I was learning to play songs and never questioned if I was learning theory. My goal was to be a competent rhythm player, lead just seemed to complicated for me.

 

Formed a band in HS. We first called ourselves "The Sound System" which we changed to "NFG" after our first gig. Our bass player said afterwards "Man, that was just No F***ing Good" and of course we ran with it. When asked what NFG stood for, we took turns answering with random names like New Found Groove, Never Found God (when feeling philosophical), New French Girlfriend and many other random names. Nasty Fish Guts was one particularly bad one.

[BG76]

My first guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Standard that I still have. I was already playing for a few years before I got it, as my dad also played.

 

First song I ever learned was Walk Don't Run by The Ventures. When my kids got into guitar playing I turned the same stack of Ventures records over to them that my dad and I had used.

[badpenguin]

First guitar.... a Kay red white and blue acoustic, with action high enough to drive a truck under. Never learned anything on it.

First playable guitar, was a Domino strat like thing with a metal pickguard and 4 pickups. (wish I still had it)

First song was "Ohio" by Crosby Stills Nash and Young.

first chord, was either an Em, or D major.

[g2c]

My first lesson started with the normal finger exercise and a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using open and fretted notes. By the middle of the lesson I knew this wasn't going to work so I reached in my pocket and handed my teacher $5.00 and said "Let's start with the chords to "Heat Wave" which was the first song I learned start to finish.

 

Haha love that story, "rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" made me lose it!

 

It's interesting to see the split in people's first guitars - there's those that get something decent and are fortunate enough to still have it to this day, and then there are those who started on some no-name thing "with unplayable action" as @koiwoi said. The silver lining of unplayable action = your fingers build super-strength

 

[t_e_l_e]

my first guitar: cheapest available acoustic with nylon strings, learned to "play" on it and played it for almost a year until i had enoughe money after my summer job and i could afford a black washburn wd10 which i still have hanging on the wall, after 20 years of abuse

 

first song: its a tie between u2 running to stand still and pink floyd wish you were here both songs got me into playing besides g'nr patiences which i learned later the first year beside two dozen other songs

 

first lesson? never had a real lesson, started playing with a friend every weekend, he had lessons and was ac couple of weeks ahead of me, he got lessons from an other friend and he showed me regulary what he had learned, but after some time i overtook him in playing "solo's"

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

First Guitar: A Harmony (?) archtop that one of my uncles hooked me up with. Shortly after that my dad bought me a few el-cheapos at once from some guy he knew - a couple nylon strings and another semi-hollowbody electric. Then I borrowed a Gibson J45 for a while when I really started getting serious, and I've had dozens and dozens of guitars since then.

 

First lesson: From one of my high school band directors. He had a Yamaha classical he kept around the band room, and I picked it up and started messing around with it at lunch one day.

 

First song: I think it was one I figured out while messing around with my uncle's archtop - Radar Love by Golden Earing.

 

First chord: Most likely it was probably an Em.

[g2c]

First chord: Most likely it was probably an Em.

 

Same! That's the best one, so, we coulda pretty much stopped there.

 

 

[orourke]

 

First Guitar: Was a Harmony (like Phil) I still have it. Got it for Christmas around 1968 or 69. Baseball bat neck, but I learned to play on it.

 

First Lesson: Was with a guy name Al Alcaro on Fordham Road in the Bronx. Me and my twin brother shared a one hour lesson a week, we did it for a few months.

 

First Song: Was probably On Top of Old Smokey, though I remember the first song that I ever figured out off a record was It Came Out of the Sky by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[WRGKMC]

Its amazing how many in that article didn't know what their first guitar was and how many had acoustic first

My first guitar used a used Kawai Acoustic. First store bought was a Suzuki 12 string acoustic.

First electric was a Vox Apollo with on board electronics.

[g2c]

Its amazing how many in that article didn't know what their first guitar was and how many had acoustic first

My first guitar used a used Kawai Acoustic. First store bought was a Suzuki 12 string acoustic.

First electric was a Vox Apollo with on board electronics.

 

Huh, today I learned Suzuki made guitars. Interesting!

[WRGKMC]

^^ They were actually built a bit better then the Yamaha guitars at the Tine but it was a toss up. Its been nearly 50 years since I had it but I'm pretty sure it was close to this. The Headstock did taper. Of course this ones yellowed badly.

 

I think the Back was two pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it had mother of pearl around the edges too, but again, my memory does fail me a littler.

 

 

Yamaha acoustics pretty much copied the Epiphones in the late 60's early 70's pretty closely in looks.

 

Toyota another car ,manufacturer tried to get into the game too but weren't very successful.

[Emory]

First was 59 Gibson Melody Maker (2 pickup) with fake alligator case for $65 (1965). Saturday morning lessons split cost with friend (he had Danelectro). Teacher I think played in country band, bit hung over, had nice Hagstrom. Taught On Top of Old Smoky etc.... I think lessons lasted about 6 months, then I got a Golden Beatles Book...

[Scarywoody]

First Guitar: Washburn Mercury II. Bought used. Still the best neck of any guitar I play.

 

First Song: More than a Feeling by Boston.

[Malcolm Ramone]

Not mine, per se, but the guitar I learned to play on was my Mom''s martin! Thinking it was a 00-something, narrow body joined at the 12th fret. She took it to Victor's House of Music in town, said "I want to get this restrung, so my kid can bang around on it! They were all "NOOOOOOO!" They were practically begging her to spare that classic such an ignoble fate! I remember how pleasantly wide the neck was. As for my own axe, my parents wanted me to take lessons for a year before considering buying me an electric. I ended up buying a Peavey T-30 from the official high school rocker. I wasn't made for lessons. I did, later on, take some lessons from Frank Zappa's nephew, cool guy who also lived in town. I was more interested in talking music, guitars, and sound. He said "don't waste your $$ on lessons here, you can hang out at my house if you want to talk music!"