Anyone here actually PLAYED a vintage guitar?

[slider]

I play vintage instruments quite oftwen and regular. not like the guitars you all mention, but guitars. I play lap steel and pedal steel.

1936 Rickenbaker Model 59 six string lap
1939 Epiphone Century six string lap
1940 Epiphone Zephyr lap
1974 ShoBud 1 pedal steel.
I also have a vintage amp a Gibsonette from 1958.

I like old stuff.

[Tweedledee]

Quite a few, actually.

 

My father-in-law has a '67 Tele Custom and one of his friends leaves his '57 Les Paul at his house. The Tele is incredible. I absolutely love to play it every chance I get. Fantastic neck and it sounds exactly like you would expect (and hope!)

 

The LP is kind of a mess cosmetically, but I love how it looks. It was a goldtop but someone stripped the finish years ago so now it just looks like worn wood. Also it has an old headstock repair. It's definitely a players guitar and not an investment piece. The neck is pretty good and it's set up well, so it plays great. And those old P90s are perfect, particularly when you just use the neck pup.

 

I used to own a '60s Musicmaster that was a fun little guitar, though it had the neck with the really narrow nut so it was a bit cramped.

 

I've played other ones as well, but those are the ones that stand out.

[Sic666]

I played a 60's lp goldtop with mini humbuckers unplugged. It felt really good thought the neck was sticky as hell but In reality it felt as good as any Gibson of today.

[Rick 381]

My 1962 Gretsch Tennesean,

 

 

I have played the current one and it is a very nice guitar. Quality is about equal. Just don't like the finish on the new one. At the time I bought this one it was the same price as a new one. Now it's worth about 3 times as much. Really glad I decided on the 62.

[No Arrow_Dann]

1958 proto type korina flying V and explorer
both setup perfectly and played like guitars that god owned...
(jackson was nice too)

[Kasper]

I played the '63 sunburst strat of my uncle, albeit only unplugged, need to plug it in if I get another chance. It sounded like a Strat even played acoustically, and very 'dry' due to the wood being, well, dry. It felt great, especially the neck with that nicely worn down feel, and it looks amazing of course.

Also a '70s (I think) SG with the 3 pu's, my '58 H

[Jkater]

Early 70's, as a teenager, I owned a Gibson SG custom with a bigsby. I bought it for cheap and sold it for cheap. I didn't realise, of course, how much $$$ I could have sold it three decades later. Here's the pic (can't see much of the details):







This Hagstrom Impala from the sixties is one of the most special guitar I ever had. I was again in my teens:







This Fender Mustang bass was heavily modded and a sweet short scale bass to play. Sadly, I lend it to a good friend (and a terrific player) and it got stolen at one of his gig. Here's a pic (I had thicker hair in those days and BTW, that guitar that my buddy is holding was also mine and is a vintage too: one of the first Norman made in Quebec. It is that guitar that I used to record "foxglove" on my soundclick page) :

[metallica_00]

My friend has a fiesta strat with mismatched body and neck years...it's like a '63 body and '64 neck or something, I dunno. Both are pre-CBS. It sounds awesome...I've played a lot of Strats...Custom Shop, D'Prego (the ultimate snob boutique Strat), Nash, G&L. This one is definitely the fattest sounding one I've ever played and its super punchy. Great neck too.

[Loxley]

I got to play a '67 Cherry Red ES-335.. it was going for $8,000.. absolutely gorgeous, but really beat up. I didn't even play it plugged in, but it sounded just beautiful un-plugged.

[lowendnyc]

I have no idea if this counts, but two of my basses, a Fender Precision and an Ovation Magnum I, are both at least 30 years old. The Fender's great, and I'm lucky to have it, as I would not be able to afford a similar piece today. Or rather, I could, but I really wouldn't want to pay that sort of price for something as simple as a Precision.

[Satyrist]

I've played a bunch of vintage strats and teles over the years, never owned one though. Not surprisingly, they vary widely from one to the next. A few were flat out amazing, with that magic combination of the resonance only time can bring and a neck that feels like it's been broken in for you. However, many are just old and overpriced. I'll probably never own a vintage classic, and I can't say that really bothers me much.

[Kerzeck]

Oh yeah. I also got to play (and draw, but that's another story) Jimmy Thackery's 1958 Flying V. I was lucky enough to get to spend about 2 hours with it. Playing, holding, caressing....just feeling the guitar.

 

F-N AWESOME!!!

[Faber]

I've played several, back when vintae were merely very expensive and not ridiculously priced like today. Of the lot of them, there were only two that had "it" - my teacher's late 60s 335, and a band mate's 1964 strat. Both extremely fine.
Most vintage guitars I've had the pleasure of playing have simply been various degrees of decent

[roadscholar]

I'm real lucky in this department. The bass player in my band (used to be 2nd guitarist) has quite a collection. I gigged extensively with a '61 Strat of his about 10 years ago. Didn't play that great at all, but sure sounded good. Killer pickups. Neck was real slim, which I don't dig. I've played loads of stuff sitting around his house; '55 Les Paul goldtop, '55 Black Les Paul Custom, Several Tele's from the 60's, '57 ES-175, '63 ES-335, '68 LP Goldtop, '66 Hardtail Strat, and several others. Used quite a few of his vintage amps too; Blackface Deluxe, Princeton, Twin, Super. Brown Pro, Tweed Vibrolux. Also, my Dad is the original owner of a '58 Strat and a '57 Martin D-18. Played both of those around the house a lot over the years.

[billythegoat]

A couple not many. A 60's Gretsch Tennessee Rose, which was one of the best ever. It just screamed quality. Everything about it was solid construction and you could tell time was put into every detail. I feel like going back to church just so I can play that guitar once more.

And the other just squeaks over the line, it was a '72 Mustang. Doesn't qualify for this thread anyhow and it was so modded it was a whole different Mustang. Great guitar however.

[ajcoholic]

Did you ever get to spend five minutes plunking away on a pre-CBS Strat? Or perhaps today you are the lucky owner of a '59 LP flametop? Either way, what was it like? How did it compare with its modern equivalent (if indeed there is one)? For the purposes of this thread, let's consider anything that was manufactured pre-1970 as 'vintage'. I know this isn't the official definition of 'vintage', and it may not be everyone's idea of what it should mean, but we gotta draw the line somewhere. Exceptions shall be considered if accompanied by a particularly interesting anecdote, insight, or pic of a bird with a nice arse

A fellow in my town has a 56' LP Junior, in MINT shape (checked finish but no scratches and no wear, case looks like it just sat under a bed for the last 50+ years). He let me borrow it for an afternoon to measure and make templates from. I also took a million pics, and used it to make my copy from.

I played it for a while, during its stay my home. I have to say, I was probably too nervous to really rock it out, but I really liked it. Fat neck and sounded great - frets were a little small for my liking though.

If it were mine, I think I would have no problem playing it. But, beloning to someone else I was too afraid of dinging it to enjoy myself.

I also have had my hands on an early 50's Gibson J45. Beautifull guitar, and I did get to play it on more than one occasion. Stunning tone, played like butter, even though the fretboard had grooves worn in between the strings. I would pay the $5K it was worth to have one - if I had 5K to blow on one guitar

The 10K the juniour is worth though? I dont think so..

AJC

AJC

[James Hart]

Spent 1984 until 1996 owning this 1961 Jazzmaster

(me playing it in my 1986 yearbook)

I own a 64 Guild Starfire & early 70s Univox tube combo (that my old man is farting around on... I'm a bassist. I did gig the Fender & Guild playing in a cover / bar band back in the 90s.

[outtahear]

Worked with a bunch of vintage dealers in the 80's, -mid 90s'.

Played lots, owned a few, still own 1 0r 2. (2 old Strats; dec 57, Jan '61 , '60 Tele). Tough knowing every time I plug one in and play, it's the equivalent of burning money.

 

But I do-this looked {censored}in' new when I got it in '86..

 

Tele:

 

[songsforbears]

I've actually played more pre-CBS Fender guitars than I can count. I always find them a tad disappointing, but it's still very cool to hold guitars that are twice my age! My problem with them is that all of the ones I've played sound kind of dull, lifeless, and just feel grimy. I've never played a real pristine vintage guitar.

[Guitzilla]

A friend of mine used to go to Axe in Hand in Dekalb in the late eighties (it's glory days) and the owner liked my friend because he was constantly buying from him. The owner would bring out all of the new stock of vintage guitars from his back room. I've played more fifties and sixties Strats, Teles, and Les Pauls than you can believe, but never owned one. Some played amazing, some played horrible. I liked the broken-in feeling that they all had, however, my main guitar from the ninties now has that feel.

I played the 70's? Teisco? in my Avatar alot...it was my first guitar

[Brian Krashpad]

Not exactly valuable, but I own a 1960 Duo-Sonic, so obviously I've played that.

[_pete_]

I owned a '63 Strat when I was 14.

It wasn't considered vintage then and I was too dumb to know how good it was anyway.

[dimmypage]

Together: DIMMY! How you doin'? Ever play a '59 LP...?

Funny:thu: the guy who bought the guitar to flip would have probably beat my ass senseless if I put even one scratch on it. The thing was slighly out of tune and he wouldnt even let me tune it:eek:

[Hanglow]

Interesting. Not many pre-CBS Strats around these here parts. I only know of one for sale in Scotland!

 

 

Is this it?

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_detail.asp?stock=px-G15ES871&guitars=4

 

 

[flummox]

I've played lots of pre-CBS Strats and Teles. Some were no better than the modern ones. A few were breathtaking. But the best Strat I ever played was a '68, and the second best was a Blues King built by Strings and Things in Memphis in the early 80s.

 

That poor '68 belonged to a friend of mine, and eventually ended up with EMG's, a Khaler trem and neon green paint.