Members Spirithawk Posted June 30, 2011 Members Share Posted June 30, 2011 I thought it might be cool to start a thread showing your favorite vintage guitar, that you own, and tell us a bit about it. I love most any guitar, but vintage ones are simply awesome. Most have at least one interesting story to tell. I'll start with mine. This is a 1967 Univox Grand Auditorium that I bought new for my 14th birthday. I drooled over it for what seemed like forever before earning enough for a down payment by shining shoes and collecting pop bottles for the 5 cent refund per bottle. Payed for the guitar that way and am proud it was the first thing I ever bought totaly on my own.. It closely resembles the Western model but this was made at least a year before the Grand Auditorium Western came out. The finish is much better as is the quallity of the wood and the inlays on the headstock are much fancier on mine. The back, sides and neck are solid flamed maple, not veneer. It's obviously a Gibson Hummingbird copy and a pretty dang good one at that. It has the neck action of a low set quallity electric and sounds beautiful beyond belief! 44 years old and if anything the age has mellowed it like a fine wine. I've a long list of proffessional players standing in line begging me to sell it to them but not gonna happen. When my youngest daughter retires from the Navy it goes home with her. Univoxs are becoming very collectable and rightly so. I learned to play on this guitar, carried it all over the country and to Vietnam and back. Every time I look at it a world of memories come flooding back. When I pick it up, and when I play it, it's like putting my arms around an old and much treasured friend. If you don't already have a vintage guitar, that you have loved, still love, and that is a treasure chest full of memories, I sincerely hope you have at least one in your life time. If you truly love guitars then you deserve such a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poppytater Posted June 30, 2011 Members Share Posted June 30, 2011 Nice git and nice story, glad you have a soulmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastblueheeler Posted June 30, 2011 Members Share Posted June 30, 2011 Cool guitar and great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted June 30, 2011 Members Share Posted June 30, 2011 My favorite vintage is also my oldest. Circa 1900 Bohmann Grand Concert. Why? Love the size. Love the tone. And I love the history. The builder is relatively unknown, yet he was innovative. Perhaps the first builder of mandolins in the US. Perhaps one of the first builders of guitars that could handle steel strings. He also built a wide variety of instruments. Violins. Basses. And, of course, harp guitars. http://www.harpguitars.net/history/bohmann/bohmann1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 I only own two real vintage instruments - my 1932 Dobro and my 1930'ish Martin uke. First the Dobro story - a clerk at a local music store knew I liked resonators and called me one day to say they had one on consignment. It was a very old beat up reso - cover and cone were crushed, the guitar was spray painted black. The clerk said it was owned by a women in a small town near by who said her father had bought it when she was born (1932, serial numbers on old 'bros are hard to trace). She wanted 2 hundred bucks for it - I took pity on it and her and took it home. Turned out to be a Type 27 which sold new for $27 - did I get ripped off paying $200? Stripped to bare wood, redid the mild 'burst, build a jig to straightenthe cover, put a new cone and tuners in - otherwise pretty much original parts. Took it up and played for her - don't think I played very well, but she wept. That guitar is priceless to me. My dad called me one day and said he was at an estate sale and there was an old Martin there. I asked him what it looked like - he said pretty small, all redish brown and they thought about 1930 - did I want it. Thinking "bingo, 00-17 or something I said 'sure, how much' ". He said "buy me lunch next time you are in town". Bought him lunch, he put a little case in front of me with a 1930'ish style 0 uke (their cheapest model). It even had a package of strings ($1.60 for the pack) and a chord book - I noodle around on it from time to time. I think he said he gave $10 at the yard sale, lunch cost me 20. Ripped off again. Sorry, don't have a pic of just the uke - here it is with my dulcimer and mando and my wife's scooter. Even tho its not "vintage", my first guitar was a 69 Yamaha - this was it and me circa 1970 and a couple of years ago (with the old 'bro in the background). As I recall I did pay a hundred for the lamie Yamie - still have it, still play it. nothing much has changed, has it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 In 2003 I drove to Hershey, Pennsylvania to bury my mother's ashes.Afterwards I traveled to nearby Gettysburg tomeet a guy who had a couple parlors. I left with a late 19th century "A.G Kretschmar of Philadelphia" (whatever that is) but that's the city where I lived as a boy when I got my first guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 My oldest guitars are: A BM Espana classical 1969 An Eko Ranger VI 1970 A Kay LP ~1971 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 1951 gibson J-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 1931 national duolian..Guy next to me is holding a 1929 Supro (very rare). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted July 1, 2011 Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 I had a 000-17 of about the same vintage once upon a time. Great tone, but needed a neckset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spirithawk Posted July 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 Gee, is everybody playing new guitars? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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