Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Little Pigbacon
  • Start date Start date
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

Oldest owned: 1948 Epiphone Blackstone
Oldest seen/played: 1929 Washburn Parlor
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I have played a handful of acoustics from the 40s, but the most interesting was a 1953 prototype Strat, more or less hand built by Leo Fender. It was really crude, and blocky, and not a very good functional instrument, but it had some good ideas in there.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

Seen? Early 20th century (pre ww1)

I grew up playing a 1954 ES 125.

Ive played several 50s and 60s Gibson/Fender/Gretsch instruments.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I ain't no young'un so I've surely seen older and maybe played older. But oldest I have owned, and played for sure, was a 57 Junior.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

IMG_5729.jpg

I owned a terrible G copy form the 70s once. Got rid sharpish.
The above is an 80s Japanese Fender strat standard is my current oldest.

The oldest I remember seeing is some 50s Les Paul and a Martin that goes round the UK Guitar Shows
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I have an old acoustic that was once owned by Hank Snow... It has a 58 stamped inside of it.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I owned a 1960 Strat and a 1960 Duo-Sonic.

I have played an exquisite Martin 2-28 from the late 1890s. And a Washburn from about the same era. I've also played an early- 1900s Gibson L-0 (?) model.

The oldest guitar I have now is my 1975 Martin D-28, bought new in 1976. My best friend. Next oldest would be my original Music Man Sabre II from 1978.

Bill
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

eclecticsynergy said:
I have a '49 Gibson flat top. It's very beat-up but absolutely playable, the neck feels fantastic. Just had the bottom seven frets replaced. The top has ladder bracing so it's a lot quieter than a dreadnought, and less full-sounding. Great blues guitar.
Click to expand...

Here's a pic of that Gibson.
IMG_20170516_125450.jpg

And my oldest electric, a '63. It was refinished in the 70s before I got it.
attachment.php
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I've played a couple 50s strats and Les Pauls at a local shop. My oldest is a '65 melody maker but I don't play it a ton.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I used to have an early 50's Harmony archtop acoustic, a 60s Crown acoustic and a Teisco Del Ray. A buddy of mine in high school had an amazing playing/sounding mint condition 66 or 67 Fender Mustang
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

Where I live there are not many old ones to be seen, nor owned.

But I've seen an old late 40's Gibson acoustic, but this is the only older guitar I have seen than the mid 60's Hagstom I own.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I'm not sure what the oldest guitar I've seen is, though I've seen several from the early 20th century. The oldest guitar I have owned was a '77 LP Custom, and the oldest I currently own is an '86 Charvel Model 4, though it has had the neck from an '88 Model 2 since 2005. The oldest electric I've played is a '55 Strat, though I've also played a bunch of other guitars from that era. The highlights were a friend's '56 Strat that sounded absolutely amazing as well as a retopped / rewired '56 to '59 burst conversion LP. That LP wasn't anything special in terms of collector value, but it played great and sounded far better than the half dozen original 50s LPs I've had a chance to play.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I don't remember the oldest I've played.

I still have an early to mid 50's Vega Westerner. Think early 50's goldtop LP with P90s.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

The oldest guitar I've played is a '61 Strat that belongs to the other guitar player in my band. He also has a '63 and a '67 Strat. The oldest that I've owned is probably a MIJ Fender Contemporary Telecaster from '85.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

Owned: '85 Gibson V, although it was only 4 years old when I owned it LOL.

The majority of guitars I currently own were built between '90 to '95. Very strange for me to think of them as "vintage".


Played: '60s Strat. Seemed very similar to most other Strats I've played.

I'm not one to get caught up on how old a guitar is as some kind of measure of how good it is, or especially how good or important I would supposedly be as a result of owning an old guitar. :rolleyes:

I guess in the '60s/70s, the old '50s codgers were telling young players that THEIR guitars weren't special since they were new at the time. People are always blowing smoke....
 
Last edited:
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

I've played a prewar Martin (I think it was a 000, but I don't recall) and a prewar Gibson banjo. Both were quite impressive. At the same shop, I played a 50's LP jr., a 50's Gibson J-45, an early 60's strat. Only the LP jr impressed me. The J-45 had seen better days, and had a couple of neck repairs done, and it really didn't project like I want a jumbo to. It did have a really nice even sound, though, just no punch.
 
Re: Oldest guitar you've ever owned? Played? Seen?

Way back in the mid 90's when things were simpler (& rather unwashed) my old bass player was cleaning out a barn that was on the verge of toppling over with his father & they found a old 1932 Martin OM-28 which was given to them by the owner!!!

Keep in mind that it's extremely cold here in the winter & it gets reasonably warm in the summertime so this thing was not put away or stored with any intent of preservation in mind. They brought it home, cleaned it up, put some new strings on it & then we tried our best to play it. The bridge had lifted, the neck was twisted, & it had some cracks but it was still a very cool guitar!!!

After a few weeks they came to the realization that this guitar wasn't ever going to be a very good player (@ least not without sending it to a luthier & spending A LOT of money to restore it) his father who was a finish carpenter by trade built a cool little case for it & they put it on display in the living room under glass....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jermo3178
NGD Triple Threat
Replies
5
Views
80
80's_Metal
80's_Metal
C
NGD: US PRS
Replies
10
Views
86
GuitarStv
GuitarStv
beaubrummels
Need recommendations for learner guitar / headphone amp setup
2
Replies
27
Views
230
quadquadquadquad
Q
misterwhizzy
The Super Overdrive thread
Replies
12
Views
136
misterwhizzy
misterwhizzy
Z
NGD Found my low tension couch guitar!
Replies
16
Views
205
zionstrat
Z
Back
Top