Keeping/selling your first guitar?

usedtobe

Sold mine in January. Had it from new in 1983. Lots and lots of sentimental value, and many precious memories tied up with the guitar. I'd kept it for years, never playing it, hanging onto it for purely sentimental reasons.

 Then I decided I needed to free up some cash for a decent acoustic. I tried the guitar, and found I couldn't get on with the neck. At all. I used to love the neck on it, but my tastes had obviously changed. I gave it a few weeks, to see if I could get used to it, but couldn't. So I put it up for sale, and although it took a while, it eventually sold.
 The guy who bought it had had one before, but had had to sell it, and had always wanted another. He was made up to buy the guitar, which probably helped soften the blow at this end.
I'll freely admit to filling up as he drive away with it, but after a day or two, I knew I'd done right, selling it. Never looked back since. Still got all the memories, here, in my head, and I can re-live them anytime I want.

Sorry it was a bit of a waffle, and of course, ymmv..

Sassafras

Gallagherone said:

My first electric was a Yamaha Pacifica which sounded OK... I still played it every now and then at home until one day I came home and found my sister had sold it at a car boot sale for £15. 

 

That must be one of @HarrySeven more expensive purchases.

DesVegas

I smashed my first guitar joyasley into the ground after having it for around a year .. a squire tele, it was covered in stickers and worth nothing to no-one .. 

Sarge

Unfortunately I still have mine some 27 years later,  tried to bin it so many times I've lost count but somehow I blink, forget what I was meant to be doing and the damn thing appears back in it's stand upstairs glowering at me,  I swear that piece of shit has a conscience. 

guitarfishbay

Kept it, but it was fairly stickered up, bashed about, and I had written Ibanez over the Squier logo in black permanent marker, as apparently this seemed a good idea at 13...

koneguitarist

Those of you born in 1970's have it so good, first guitars made in 80's and later are so much more giggable  than the crap us oldies bought from Woolies or from "the Catologue" ! 

JookyChap

@stickyfiddle said:

Kept mine (Squier Standard Strat, xmas 2000). Chucked plenty of cash at it and now it's brilliant.

Be fair, you kept the jackplate and upgraded the rest

usedtobe

koneguitarist said:

Those of you born in 1970's have it so good, first guitars made in 80's and later are so much more giggable  than the crap us oldies bought from Woolies or from "the Catologue" ! 

Mine was from the catalogue, in 83, and I was born in 62, but I get your point!

mart

If it's not great to play, why would you keep it? If it were a present from someone you wanted to remember, then fair enough. But just cos it's your first? Makes no sense to me.

Put it another way: suppose you get rid of it. Can you imagine, in ten years time, looking back and thinking "I wish I'd kept that old guitar, so I could be playing it instead of this superb LP/strat/whatever that I've now got"?

HAL9000

My first guitar was a no-name Tele copy that I don't miss one little bit. 

The only one I regret selling is a Squier Tele maybe four or five guitars further down the line. Just had something about it that felt right for me. Though I own rather better guitars these days I still miss that Squier.

DasTurnip

My first guitar was a 70's Japanese strat copy. After I bought a nice G&L strat I had my old one set up for slide in open E so I still use it. 

koneguitarist

usedtobe said:

koneguitarist said:

Those of you born in 1970's have it so good, first guitars made in 80's and later are so much more giggable  than the crap us oldies bought from Woolies or from "the Catologue" ! 

Mine was from the catalogue, in 83, and I was born in 62, but I get your point!

I was born in 62' but was buying quality s/h stuff by late 70's as was gigging. 

thegummy

I just hung my first ever guitar on my wall a couple of days ago. Got it 19 years ago brand new:

DrJazzTap

My first proper electric was a Jap Squier Strat, in lake placid blue with a maple neck. At the time I was into thrash metal...so yeah the beach boys guitar didn't really look the part. I still somehow have hung onto my SG from 1998. I keep meaning to sell it or do something with it. Seeing brand new PRS SE's at £900 has kind of put me off!

I still kick myself for not buying the american vintage 59 strat. I felt a bond with that guitar, but logic got in the way.

Rave

I still have mine 26 years later which is exactly how old it was when I got it. A 1964 Hagstrom Futurama II. It's strung up and sits next to my other guitars but never gets played. It's not worth getting rid of for what's it worth. My folks paid £15 for it in 1990 and I've had it that long it'd be sad to see it go.

Philly_Q

My first guitar was a ropey Les Paul copy which I sold for £25 decades ago, no regrets (although my parents would probably never forgive me if they ever realised, since it was a Christmas present).

I've still got the first guitar I bought myself, my Hamer Special which I bought in 1982.  I wouldn't sell it, although it's in such a state it wouldn't be worth anything anyway.

axisus

I tortured mine to death. It was a Kay LP copy. I pulled it apart and tried to convert it to a double cut. All the pieces ran and hid and were never seen again. The body could be seen in my parents loft for a few decades but I think they eventually binned it.

TTBZ

I still have the body of my first guitar, a strat copy which I stripped, painted, and stripped again to bare wood which I oiled and left that way.. It now has a Squier neck which is nicer than the one it came with but a bit thin for me. It's a bit of a mess but I kinda like it. I wish I never sold my first "good" guitar which was an Epiphone LP Custom. One of the nicest LPs I've ever played with awesome tone and massive sustain. I just didn't really play it once I had my Pearl and SG but I wish I sold the Pearl instead now! I truly believe the Epi was a better guitar than my Gibson SG. I think I just played the SG more because it was newer and shinier.