The first time I bought a guitar I was barely a teenager and the year was 1978. After scouring the printed Want Ads you could pick up for $.75 at the convenience store, my dad drove me to check out a used 1972 Martin D-18. About all I knew then as a 13-year-old was that Martin was among the best. I was not disappointed. The guy selling was a singer and had used this guitar some for accompaniment. This guitar was in great condition and had a big beautiful sound. I shelled out $600 of my hard-earned cash from my weekend paper route for my first real purchase ever. It came with a heavy wood guitar case.
That Martin guitar later traveled with me everywhere, including France, Spain, Switzerland, and Venezuela. It played campfires to concert stages, clubs to recording studios, and street corners from Harvard Square to Caracas. It picked up a number of cosmetic scars along the way, but it held up beautifully despite rough treatment. I had that guitar for about 18 years before I got married, had kids, and moved on to other priorities including a career in civil rights law.
Decades later I can still remember the sound, feel, and smell of that Martin guitar - the thrill of owning and playing it. While that particular guitar is long gone, I have decided this day to embark on a quest to discover and resurrect dusty vintage and premiere guitars so that they can impart such pleasure again. And the internet has made the search so much easier! On Ebay alone tens of thousands of guitars are listed daily for comparison, many with beautiful pictures and all the specs.
Today, Saturday, a search of local New England Craigslists yielded several interesting candidates. In fact, as I returned to my computer after lunch a
Dean Nouveau CR acoustic/electric w/ a hardshell case was just posted a couple of towns over at a very attractive price. A quick internet search revealed a $769 original list price and good reviews. It turns out this model guitar was only made for two years (2001-2002) and judging by the lack of any online listings it's not easily available. It's a visually stunning guitar with a beautiful double cutaway body and sparkling abalone inlays that give the look of a much more expensive instrument. The included picture in the Craigslist posting did not reveal any obvious issues so I made the call and within fifteen minutes of the listing I had set up a showing for that evening. Cool!
On my way over I borrowed a small amplifier and guitar cord from my brother, the professional musician in the family, and headed over to check things out. The owner had bought this instrument used, had never plugged it in, and had clearly not played it recently as the case was dusty and the strings were ancient. As I tuned up and strummed the instrument, the low E string did noticeably buzz at the first fret. An adjustment was clearly needed, but might be as simple as putting in a new set of medium light strings. Fret work or a tweaking of the adjustable truss rod that controls the tension in the neck of the guitar might also be needed. I'd have to go to a guitar shop for that as I do not have my own workshop or the expertise for this. Then, when I plugged the guitar into the amp, the guitar's built-in preamp would not stay on consistently even after switching out the battery. I also noticed that the case, which was in good shape, was not a Dean case, so the guitar did not sit snuggly, but floated around a bit.
On the plus side, there was absolutely no wear on the fretboard. Clearly, this guitar had seen very little use. Cosmetically, there were only three tiny dings on the top, and no apparent structural issues. All in all, although it was hard to determine the quality of the guitar's tone and action with the ancient guitar strings it was sporting, this was a visually satisfying guitar with what appeared to be reasonably easy fixes. After going over all the issues with the owner and the possible need to replace the pre-amp, we agreed on a very reasonable price. This was not a tough decision! Even if I have to sink in a few bucks to get this back to playing shape and another $80 for a brand new Dean case, I'll have an instrument easily worth more than what I paid for it.
This might be the start of something both fun and worthwhile!
Today, Saturday, a search of local New England Craigslists yielded several interesting candidates. In fact, as I returned to my computer after lunch a Dean Nouveau CR acoustic/electric w/ a hardshell case was just posted a couple of towns over at a very attractive price. A quick internet search revealed a $769 original list price and good reviews. It turns out this model guitar was only made for two years (2001-2002) and judging by the lack of any online listings it's not easily available. It's a visually stunning guitar with a beautiful double cutaway body and sparkling abalone inlays that give the look of a much more expensive instrument. The included picture in the Craigslist posting did not reveal any obvious issues so I made the call and within fifteen minutes of the listing I had set up a showing for that evening. Cool!
On the plus side, there was absolutely no wear on the fretboard. Clearly, this guitar had seen very little use. Cosmetically, there were only three tiny dings on the top, and no apparent structural issues. All in all, although it was hard to determine the quality of the guitar's tone and action with the ancient guitar strings it was sporting, this was a visually satisfying guitar with what appeared to be reasonably easy fixes. After going over all the issues with the owner and the possible need to replace the pre-amp, we agreed on a very reasonable price. This was not a tough decision! Even if I have to sink in a few bucks to get this back to playing shape and another $80 for a brand new Dean case, I'll have an instrument easily worth more than what I paid for it.