The Canadian Guitar Forum banner

The one that got away(misery loves company)..

2K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  Budda 
#1 ·
I think we have all passed on guitars we wished we would have bought, but some passes are more painful than others.

Back in the mid-80s I had the opportunity to check out two Les Paul Customs at a friend-of-a-friends. One was black and one was red. I wanted to like the black one, but there was this evil growl coming out of the red one's bridge pickup through the Marshall that was really inspiring.

I played each one a few times and it became clear pretty quickly that there was something special about the red one's tone.

So I asked how much, dreading the answer, and the guy said $500.00 for either one... I said wut? I asked him if they were stolen and he admitted they were stolen from break-in at a downtown music store the previous week. Yikes!

I couldn't get out of there fast enough, but to this day I still think from time-to-time about what could have been.

Not that I need a hug or anything.....:(

Anyone else?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Back in high school a friend of mine went to see George Thorogood with a girl we knew. After the show they stole a guitar each. He went straight home with the intention of stashing it at my place. Um, gee......thanks. I probably would have been stupid enough to do it. LOL! Anyway his partner in crime thought it would be a good idea to hit a bar after. A couple of roadies strolled in and found her. She pointed them in the direction of the other guitar. Al was resolved with no police intervention. Or broken teeth.
 
#33 ·
In 1966, I had a chance to buy a '56 Gold Top for $110 from a guy in my class. I also borrowed it for two weeks and played a gig with it. Thing rang like a bell. But had to give it back because I couldn't come up with the money. I was 16. I had $20 from the gig and about $10 or so. Parents wouldn't give me the extra money. Again this was 1966 and was in grade 11. Oh well.
 
#8 ·
Working a produce-stand job at the By Ward market in 1971, a guy not far from work was selling his two-pickup Firebird V for $150. He was in a Stones cover band,and when Keef switched to a clear lucite Dan Armstrong, he had to as well, so the Firebird had to go. I tried it out after work, told the guy I'd be back with the cash at lunch the next day, and left. Apparently, shortly after I left, another guy came by, offered him $160, and gave him $20 cash as a deposit. When I came back, the vendor told me what had happened and that the guitar would be sold to the other guy.

Ironically, I had $80 cash in my pocket when I tried the guitar out. This was during a period of history when there was no Paypal, college students could not have credit cards, there were no ATMs in existence, and banks closed at 3:00PM sharp.
 
#24 ·
In the late '60s Award Guitar in Edmonton had a '57 Strat on the wall. It was $225, $250 something like that. It didn't come with a case so I passed on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rozz
#25 ·
This sort of thing happens to me all the time with acoustics, not so often with electrics. But, whatever.

Shortly before he died, a friend tried to give me several of his guitars as he really was declining in health and figured he'd better get rid of a few things. Trying to be hopeful for him, I declined. As it happened, I ended up looking after his estate, what little there was to it, and those guitars had to be sold to pay off his meagre bills. An Eastman archtop jazz model and a Godin Summit were among those guitars.

There was a lovely Telecaster Custom in a pawn shop near a military base once that seemed to be calling my name. Judging by the dust it looked like it had been there forever, and it was significantly overpriced. I left to think about it but returned the same day only to find it had been sold.
 
#26 ·
About 10 years ago,I had a chance to get a Fender 1950 Broadcaster from a dealer in SanFran.Its was going to be a trade for a few of my guitars,a R9,and a few Custom shops.broadcaster was all original,but.....it was a refin.backed out,because I was too snooty,because of the refin.If only,my son brings it up time to time.
 
#28 ·
No smokin sisters in my history (a few missed opportunities, because....well frig, I am stupid), but after grunge hit, I saw a Desert Yellow Jem 777 at the local Cash Converters that the guy said had belonged to Marvin Birt of Haywire. It was $800, but I was a starving student.

It was not to be.

Then there was the 70's Ibanez V, made of "korina" that Don had at Ed's Music Workshop (at it's old location on...Dublin?) in Peterborough. I played it, and it sounded fantastic, for $440! Again, starving student days, so no go.

Now I have my gear fund ($30 per pay goes in, and I don't even miss it), so if something like that pops up at a ridiculously good price, I can jump on it.

As for the other missed opportunities, I am married, so they will remain missed. Dammit.
 
#29 ·
During the summer break of post-secondary skoolin' (early 80s), I worked in a guitar store in Calgary. A '64 Strat came in that I could have bought for my '73 + $1K. Well, $1k, when you're a student, is like 3 months living expenses. I just couldn't swing it. While I regret that, my '73 still sounds and plays great. It'll never be worth as much, but it fills the gap sonically (and Strats aren't my main squeeze anyways).

Another one was a real nice mid 80s Vantage LP doublecut in a pawnshop for around $300 with original case (this was in the late 90s). It was a bit clown-bursty but in good shape. Thought about it, went back the next morning and yep, it was gonzo. Damn, that woulda been a nice pair with my Vantage semi-acoustic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rozz
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top