Dave Onorato is the best. Such a good natured, funny, positive person. I always watch when he's in your videos. I love the "chat" videos... so many great stories! Cheers!
Back in the 70's I bought a Marshall head from a lady who lived close to my home - she was selling it for her son who was in hospital & she knew nothing about the amp other than it having an extra knob which 'made it louder'. It was a modded distortion circuit. I think I paid 50 quid for it - sold it about 18 months later as I wanted to buy a Les Paul Junior and needed the cash. Her son? Was Peter Green. Every time I see a Marshall I feel sick.
It's weird that all these pieces of history were just gear to people and their families... Dave Murray bought his famous black Stratocaster from the newspaper, it was Paul Kossoff's so he needed to scrape together some extra cash. Naturally, he had no problems modifying it to play in Iron Maiden. Legends beget legends...
Badfinger were from SWANSEA[WALES] When PETER HAM died I was asked by his brother [my employer] to work on his S.G. STANDARD,-which was in a poor state.I did not know then about it being a gift from GEORGE HARRISON! As a thank you I was given PETES chrome slide which you can see him use on several songs. I STILL HAVE IT.
And just to be clear, Peter Ham's SG is not the same SG that Dave purchased from Joey Molland. The Harrison / Ham SG is currently owned by a private Collector. The Molland SG is currently part of the Hard Rock Cafe collection. Very cool that you ended up with Pete's chrome slide.
Here is my story. When I was in high school 1970s I roadied for this band called "Fritz" the bass player had a Les Paul gold top (I have a photo of it) he gave it to my friend who gave it to me. It was Lindsey Buckinghams LP. His fixer called me 25 years later and asked if I still had it. I did. I gave it back.
Great topic!! I have a great story,. Years ago my dear friend sold a Gibson Custom from the 70's that he got from his grandmother as a birthday present as a kid. He later regretted selling it since it was a gift from hes beloved grand mother. Years later he found out that a famous guitarist, Kee Marcello of Swedish band Europe owned it. Eventually he bought it back from Kee and now they are good friends!
My five regrets are: 1) early '70s Marshall 100W full stack (pre master volume) - sold to buy maternity clothes for (ex)wife; 2) 1973 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe gold-top - sold to pay off debt from recording deal gone bad; 3) Gibson CS-336 - sold to pay off debt from recording deal; 4) 1976 Gibson Explorer - traded-in for CS-336 (and cash); 5) Fender Stratocaster '57 reissue - traded in towards Gibson Les Paul Classic [those two trade-ins were because of change in the music styles of bands I was playing with, but I wish I would have kept those guitars since they had a lot of character to their sound]
Kirk Hammett has possession of (and still uses) my early 80s Marshall JCM 800 that was hot-rodded by Todd Langer (who designed the ADA MP-1). I put an orange sticker on it and still see him using it on every record to this day in the studio. My recording studio was burglarized in the early 90s and his engineer at the time took over my studio space with whatever gear was left over. Kirk traded an Ibanez bass for my amp, but it was never his to trade to Kirk. It wasn’t part of the gear list that he took over. I had just never had a chance to go grab my amp from the burglarized studio. I later ended up working for Kirk as his engineer and realized that not only did he trade it Kirk my Marshall JC him 800 amp it was never his to trade but he also ripped off Kirk’s older Digidesign ProTools cards as well. I feel weird asking him for the amp since he uses it to this day blended with whatever current a signature amp he’s using.
TRADED: 1965 Martin O-18 with hand-sculpted braces for a Gibson 1959 ES-120 Jazz box in a Seattle shop, 1950's Gretch amp, 1950's Gibson amp, Stolen: 1971 Blond Strat (Day after a late night gig my college housemate thought it belonged to the garage sale items being sold at a flea market--he sold it for $75, I didn't have the heart to tell him what it was worth, and he didn't have the money to replace it), Gibson MK-3 (fabulous full tone), 1926 Martin OO-21 (in pieces, was being rebuilt by luthier who was looted). Kept: 1968 Gibson Gold Top Deluxe with the mini humbuckers that I bought in 1972 with money saved mowing lawns: $325. This guitar changed my life and continues to give me inordinate pleasure. Lessons learned! Keep practicing!
10:41 The double-twist is that, much later, Gibson releases the notorious "Play Authentic" video condemning copies, and one of their biggest signature artists rose to prominence with a copy.
In the 70s, I bought a student guitar that was a little beat up and could use refinishing. It had a glue line crack (so had been possibly dropped or just dried in SoCal heat over the years). Fixed it up, painted it transparent blue, replaced the broken pickguard with some machined aluminum of the same thickness. Later, I sold it for $250, which was about what I paid for it, mostly because my band was refocusing and needed a bass player more than a rhythm player. It was a 1956 Les Paul Jr.
As for the Kris Drerrig guitar it's also funny that when Gibson made the Custom Shop Slash Les Pauls' they used the measurements and specs from Slash's Kris Derrig LP to make those very expensive Custom Shop models. Play Authentic...yeah right.
This is a great video. I had a 1957 Les Paul Junior in TV yellow I bought in 1976. It was the most resonant guitar I have ever owned. I owned a Super Lead and a few Fenders amps. I couldn't get it to work for me. I was too young and inexperienced to realize what made the Junior so special. I sold it in 1977. I have no memory of who what or where I sold it, but I regret it every time I see a LPJ.
Great to hear a mention of Badfinger! Along with Budgie are my hometown rockers (Swansea, Wales UK 🏴 🇬🇧) More Dave features please Rick! Always fascinating and cool
Love this channel Rick. So intimate. I used to drop off Billy Squier's Marshall heads to Cesar Diaz for mods in 1989 and 90. I loved going to see Cesar because down the block was the Frank Frazetta Art Museum! I was always into comic art. I miss my 1967 ES 335 that I let get away. Sold it to Richie Freedman at We Buy in NY to pay the rent. I also bought a 1967 Fender Super Reverb the same day from Manny's. The guitar ended up with Dean Parks (Out of Sam Ash Hollywood years later while I worked there. Another story!) and the Super with Joe Perry. I lent it to Jimmy Crespo when he joined Aerosmith when Joe left. Jimmy left the amp with the Aero camp and upon Joe's return to the band, the amp was his.
I sold my 1969 Fender Stratocaster because I got sick of thyroid cancer and couldn’t work,I felt sick all the time and going through my costly medical treatment, I was behind on my mortgage payments.. I lost my guitar and lost my Home.. Really bad time for me and my wife that was also dealing with health issues too.. she passed away and I am still here with my Lord’s Help..Amen
In 1970 the lead guitar player in a local band sold his 1958 korina Explorer to a friend of mine for $200. The guy who bought it didn't even play guitar, he just always thought it was such a cool looking guitar. He hung onto it, and quite wisely realized it was gaining in value. I remember going to Teddy's in Milwaukee with the guitar and showing the guitar to Jon Paris. Jon wanted to play it for a set, and my friend wouldn't let him. I think Jon was a little miffed , hehe. Anyway, I have not kept in touch with my friend over the years, but I believe he sold it for $50,000 in the late 20th century. The rest is history.
This will sound silly, but mine's a Line 6 pod. I found it used, it looked exactly like the one I used in the studio to make my first record with. I got home, plugged it in, and no lie, it was the same pod I'd used in the studio- I knew, because my presets were still in there. I couldn't believe it, there were so many great memories attached to that little red bean! I sold it to get some money to spend at a local anime convention, and I've been kicking myself ever since!! If I ever come across it again, I'm grabbing it and never letting go!
I traded a 1974 Marshall head and 4X12 cab for an L5 Lab Series, what a dope. It was around 1977-78, and I wanted something with a master volume. I also traded a 1974 LP Standard and a Rickenbacker fretless 4003 when I bought my new Martin HD 28 in 1987. I could keep going but it's too painful.
Love these videos with you and Onorato. I find myself laughing along with you guys. And I find myself wishing I still had my Duo-Sonic with matching tweed amp. Sigh...
I had a 61 Gibson SG/Les Paul, PAF's, Sideways Vibrato that I traded for a crappy Sequential Circuits Max synth. Believe it or not that's my second buy sell trade regret. My number one regret was selling my 1965 Corvette so I could buy a PA system. On the Badfinger subject, I wound up doing full production and got to mix for few of their shows, after sound check Joey Mulland and I wound up backstage and talked for about an hour. He told me all kinds of great stories about working with the Beatles, Clapton, The Concert for Bangladesh and lots more cool stuff. He's a great guy!
a very early goldtop with p 90 soapbars with a trapeze bridge. the bridge was difficult , the clear coat was checked and it needed a fret job . i traded it for a selmer flute at sam ash ... i saw it about a year later in a glass showcase in sam ash with a price tag of 20k.
Thanks for all that you do to keep things interesting here Rick. My story - Maybe not as significant of many here but I had a mid-70's Ibanez LP copy that I learned to play on. I remember that it had the best tone - even better than my current LP Standard. Anyway, I left for "college" (West Point) in 1980 and left the guitar at home. My brother was broke and thought is would be OK to pawn the guitar and get it back later for me. I came home on leave many months later and the guitar was gone... Wish I still had it.
My portable Hammond X-5 along with its big giant Leslie speaker. I didn't want to sell it, but I had just bought a Roland JX-8P which I still own and play, and I needed to make room (I had a Hammond Elegante too). A small church bought it. I loved that organ, always had to lock down the reverb when I moved it.
Too bad you had to let the Hammond plus speaker go, but as far as I remember, the JX-8P was/is a pretty cool synth, too! I tried one out many, many Moons ago in a Music Store and remember suddenly hearing sounds from the Grace Jones song 'Slave To The Rhythm'; I read only recently that's what they were actually using on that recording, too! 😀
I was flipping a lot of vintage gear on ebay in the early years and one of my main sources was a Guitar Center that came to town. Their staff didnt seem to know anything and I wasnt about to educate them. Over time I walked out of there with a 1968 Les Paul goldtop, a San Dimas Charvel Star with custom graphics, a Gibson V2 with boomerang pickups, USA Hamers, Orville by Gibson LP with P90s and wrap around bridge, 1970 Marshall 100 watt heads, G & Ls, too many to list here. My credo was NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR INVENTORY. Its twenty years later and I still wish I had kept that '68 Goldtop!
My first electric guitar was a westone thunder 1A and I still know how it smells. Heavy as shit for a ten year old but I loved it. Having played classical since I was seven. Until I found Ritchie Blackmore/deep purple. I was sold xxx
Rory Gallagher? Apparently, an important part of Rory's tone was an early seventies treble/boost called the S. Hawk Ltd Hawk II Tonal Expander. I bought one of those for my new Rhodes in 1976. Eventually, it ended up on a shelf and then the box of items that were destined for the ecco station. About a year ago I happened to look at a list of items that Lee Sklar was selling. Damn if the asking price for a Hawk was several hundred dollars! I had to rush to basement to look. Fortunately, I had procrastinated on my trip to the recyclers. Retrieved!
I think he just used a Rangemaster for the first few years, so I did not know he had switched to the Hawk. Google confirms. Cheers. See that vid where Brian May says when he was a teen he asked Rory how he got his sound? A treble booster into a Vox at that stage. The rest is history. I also saw a thing where somebody had asked Jimi Hendrix what is like being the best guitar player in the world and he replied "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher". What I am curious about right now is the Schafer wireless unit that is supposed to be key to the Angus sound. The compander, boost and limiter stuff in them. I am sceptical. I know for years after that era he did not use one, but he still had his tone. Another tone of that era I really like is Roy Buchanan. A Tele into a Vibrolux. That guy was amazing. Lots of tones I like. Early Maiden and Priest stuff too. Kind of a raspy, mid boosted distortion for Maiden etc. I am forever hankering after some gadget I think will give me a sound I like. Another one is Ritchie Blackmore on Perfect Strangers. His lead tones are amazing on that record. Even the most basic licks sound awesome due to all that liquid sustain etc. I have no idea how he got that tone though. I read until Deep Purple MKII he was using a Marshall combo that had a Vox chassis stuffed into it. He used it until Marshall modded the Major amps to sound more Vox he said. Maybe Vox is what he used for those solos. Early on was the little blue Hornby Skewes treble booster until he switched to the Akai tape machine. I have no idea what it does to his sound. I wonder if it is a loudness circuit like lots of old hi-fi gear had back then. Malmsteen's tone is tricky too. Running a DOD 250 that hot is noisy as hell. The HS-3 bridge pickup is weak and thin and does not sound good for power chords, but he somehow managed to make it sound so good. His delay and reverbs seem to be added at the board. Much more than I am comfortable using unless it is in a mix. Page. I think he used the fuzz a lot more than many people think and his amps were not as dirty as people think, i.e., not heavily crunching. In that It Might Get Loud film he kicks it on and there's that Led Zep sound. A Tone Bender MKII into a EP-3 tape echo, with the wah. But every Tone Bender MKII demo I see sounds like super thick heavy fuzz and not at all like Led Zep. I dunno. I am going to get a clone of one and see if lowering settings on the guitar and fuzz gets there with my Plexi replica. Klon hype. No player I really rate or records I like used one, so they have never been on my radar. I want to get a klone one to see for myself if the hype is justified. Maybe the Ceriatone one. What got them so hyped? John Mayer? Not my thing, even though he is a damn good player. A bit too clean cut, pop music polite, and nice for me. Woops, I got carried away thinking and typing about tone. I do that sometimes -- usually when I am procrastinating. Cheers.
@@aquilarossa5191 - Well, when it comes to individual players' personal guitar tones it isn't hard to go on at some length. 👍 The blues oriented guitar player that I played with for a couple of decades inevitably always got pretty close to the same ballsy tone, no matter what guitar, amp or pedal (or even no pedal) he used. He is a gear hound and constantly changes things up. What never changes is is concept of tone, so he seems to almost will his sound out of any gear. His brain, ears, hands (including his singing vibrato) do the magic. I thought that keys player were gear nerds. No. Guitar players are the worst (best?). I'll work with a piece of gear for years, instead of making a change after every NAMM show. Good ideas and good concepts trump everything. I saw Rory open for Deep Purple in 1973 and then a couple more times after that.
You know he used to use a Dimarzio FS1 when the original pickup in his strat died? I also read an interview with him where he said that someone once told him that his strat body was maple (?!). I don't believe it personally but his tone could be hella bright. Largely due to the treble booster I'd imagine.
Sold a 54 lespaul goldtop that I acquired when I was 18 (I'm now 60). I was a month away from losing the house I had bought and lived in for 20 years... Long story how I ended up in that predicament but I had no where else to turn... It still hurts but I have vowed to replace the guitar when I sellout the house here in the next couple of years.
Oh man! This one really hit home with me! BTW I've always had regrets over every piece of gear I ever sold. A '64 Gibson SG Jr. With the original fake alligator skin case. It even had the Gibson tag with it. A late 60's Gibson SG Melody Maker. An '86 Gibson Les Paul Studio. A '74 Gibson SG Special with mini humbuckers. A light blue Ovation Breadwinner (sounded like crap, but is now collectible). An '86 lake placid blue Japanese Fender Strat. An '83 black Squier Strat. An early 70's Hi-Watt 50 head with a Gallien Krueger 4x12 slant cab with 25 watt Greenbacks. An early 80's Roland Jazz Chorus 120. An early 80's 50 watt Musicman head and cabinet (1x12 E.V.). Going way back, my Kustom 50 metalflake grey tuck and roll 1x12 combo. My Acoustic 150 Amp and 6x10 cab. I no longer sell gear. My heart just can't take any more. :-)
I had a beautiful Rhodes Mark II stage piano in great condition that I traded in for a crappy Korg knockoff of a DX-7 (A Korg DS-8, which I probably kept for about two years before it became obsolete garbage). Every time I pull up a Rhodes patch on one of my digital keyboards (which is often), I regret that stupid trade-in. I guess in my defense, it was around 1988, give or take, and Rhodes hadn't fully taken its place in the realm of vintage keyboards people found desirable -- not in the FM synthesis era. Oh well.
This video is why I never sell my gear, even if I think its a POS. I'm currently on 18 guitars, 7 amps & 1 bass & I'm buying another guitar tomorrow. I'm 23 & I hope to eventually have more than 25 guitars by the time I'm 25. Hell, I've bought 7 new guitars this year alone. I need help.
I was on a long search for a guitar with a jazz sound that I heard in my head. One day at a jam a seasoned player said to me "can I borrow your axe, man?". I let him play it and heard the sound I was trying to find coming out of my guitar and amp. The main part of the sound depends on the touch of the player.
I bought a beat up 1954 ES295 at an auction for $125 in 1963-4. Loved it, played it, broke it, had it refinished and still have it in mint refinished condition. It'll have to be buried with me! Gave away my short scale EKO bass, my Yamaha Pacifica an a few others.. never regretted anything..well maybe the Yamaha..lol
Love these stories! When they say "We'll throw in a gig bag" you know you're getting screwed. Coming from a 16 year old kid, trading his old 72 marshall 50 watt, which had Jim Marshall's signature on the test date tag, for a series 10 bass :-(
Here is one to top em all! I bought a Travis bean tb 1000 for $350.00 but the catch was if I sold it, I had to sell it back to the guy I bought it from. I needed money for a truck I don't have any more so I sold it back to him for the same price.
Hey it is good to see Dave Onorato back to Rick's channel. It has been a while, this was fun to watch with Rick and Dave. I think the one LP I regret selling was a 2007 or 08? Ebony standard LP well it kind of felt weird compared to my other LP's. Now, that I have the ability to buy them, I have 7 Gibson's LP's and 2 Epiphone LP's with updated electronics and switchcraft jacks and toggle on those two Epiphones. Gear disease - we sell them, then buy more. I do not regret selling my 4X12 Mesa Cabinet's or my SG. The 2X12 cab's are more than sufficient for gigging and not gigging these days...LOL
54 Gold top. Bought at a pawnshop in the mid eighties for $800. Sold it 6 months later to help pay for a new HVAC system for the house, thinking I’d find another one down the road. You guys know the rest…
Good job Rick drilling down to get the answer from Dave. I sold my 69 Johnny Smith ( bought it from Alex Music 48th St ) He had 2, Benson bought the blond one on the Breezin album. Anyway, picked up 71 Marshall and cab. Still regret selling it.
When I was broke I pawned a lot of guitars, but I was always able to buy them back. One time, I was in really bad spot and I tried to get rid of a pre-CBS tele that was my dad's guitar teacher's. They offered $150 because there was a sale on (MIM) Telecasters at Guitar Center that week...Thank God they didn't offer me more, or know what they were talking about! I paid my bills, and I still have the Tele! It isn't for sale.
My first guitar was one of those Sears Silvertone (Danelectro) guitars that had an amp built into the case, that I got for 8th grade graduation back in 66. It was the black/white one with a single lipstick pickup. I sold it to a friend for $50 back in the 70s. Wish I had it now.
I have selling regrets too, but in the early 60s, I was in the Navy with a cherry red ES-335 I bought in Boston a couple of years before. A guy on the ship wanted to learn to play, loved the ES, so I showed him some basic chords which he practiced religiously. One day, when our ship pulled into Newport R.I., he asked me to go into town with him and find a guitar for him. So, we walked around for a little while, and saw this pawn shop. In the window was a black Les Paul, three pickups, a Bixby tail piece and completely gold plated...for $100, with the HS case. It was immaculate. I looked at him and said "buy this one', which he did. Now, I was discharged soon after that, but I always wonder what happened to that guitar. I would like to think he still has it, but I have never seen one like it anywhere. He was from Texas, and his name was John Slaughter, like the ranger. Such is life.
'91 sold my amazing sounding 1981 HIWATT Custom 50 head with cover in mint condition for $225 (Canadian $!) to a music shop (Music Bureau) to pay a debt to my brother. However later that year, I ended up finding in the paper an older marshall 100W head covered in dust for $350 to match my JCM800 Lead Series 260W cab. Almost didn't buy it since there was no cabinet to test. Years later with the internet and having it serviced by the amazing amp man Buzzy Burack in Toronto, I discovered it is a late1968 plexi panel! Still have it and sounds amazing, but I really do miss that Hiwatt! Thank's guys really enjoyed that!
I love these guys talking about this topic. Five of my sales of shame (all 'cuz I needed the money): (1) Bone stock 1968 Strat with case, (2) 1957 Les Paul Special TV yellow, (3) 1985 G&L Broadcaster w/ maple fretboard, (4) Terry McInturff one-off custom, (5) Jackson USA one-off P Bass. Bonus sale...Two-Rock Amethyst Special (Indoor Storm) amp head (one of three ever made). Misery loves company!!
I think we can all relate to this. My regret was getting rid of a 1974 Rickenbacker bass that was so sweet. Years later I got a 75 to replace it, which is great, but I still have a tiny twinge of regret about that 74.
Love your show especially this episode. I bought a Mesa Boogie Mark IV new directly from Randall at Mesa in 1979. 100 Watts 1X12 (JBL) in a blonde tolex combo amp cabinet along with a Anvil case made for it. I loved that amp. 8 years later I was a full-time student with a family of 3 working 2 jobs -- so I sold it along with a custom pedal board I had made. I don't remember what I sold it for. I have regretted it for years -- and of the many items of gear I have sold that sale is my biggest regret. Ironically my then wife invested the money in the stock market and lost it. The #2 regret is selling a Gibson Howard Roberts I bought new with case in 1976. I paid $2400 in 1976. I just paused to ask Google what $2400 of 1976 USD is worth: $11,500 in today's dollars, I sold it 1981 along with 3 other guitars (1978 Gibson Les Paul Pro Deluxe, 1960s Gibson ES-335 12-string, 1960s Martin D-18) to pay for my then fiancee's engagement ring. I still had to pay $2K on top of the money from guitar sales. Same wife. We are since divorced!
I’ve acquired a few “never sell” pieces of gear over the last few years, I pray they never make my regret list! 😂 The best item is a 62 Brown Deluxe owned by Terry Sylvester of The Hollies. That amp has become integral to my sound, I don’t know what would have to happen to sell it. But this video proves things happen!
Love these stories! My first spec built Fender Strat (pre-Custom Shop) was a '96 Deluxe Plus model in Vintage White with a vintage stain finished solid maple neck and vintage frets, Gold Lace Sensor Noiseless pickups (the good ones), Schaller locking tuners, LSR roller nut, 2 point trem, pearloid pickguard... and it played like a dream! I sold it to take my wife to Machu Picchu Peru while visiting her family the first time back in 2013... and still hoping I find it some day up on Reverb so I can buy it back! Crazy part of the story is I sold it once before when my daughter was born and my ex-wife and I were moving out of California (pretty much sold all my gear except for one acoustic guitar)... but I thankfully found it on Craigslist one day and bought it back from the guy I sold it to 5 years prior! 😎🤘🎸 Oh.. wait.... also regret selling some keyboards... my first... Roland Juno 60 then my Juno 106 and especially my Roland VK-1000 drawbar organ keyboard.. that thing was a monster in weight... but also in tone!
My dad left my brother a blonde 1953 Telecaster with a really nice tweed case. The back of the neck was marked with a hand written TG 53. He sold it many years later for reasons similar.
I had a beautiful 1973 100w Superbass. As you may know its basically the same circuit as a 60s Plexi. I was too scared to play it as it was really vintage and I felt it needed nurturing - not that it ever let me down. I sold it to buy something else. Regret it to this day.
Dave! Rick! About that gear you regret selling... "If you want it, here it is. Come and get it. But you'd better hurry 'cause it's going fast..." (A little Badfinger humor there.)
Rick, I used to own an '81 or '82 JCM800. I sold it because, as a college student at the time, the thing was eating tubes by the week. I couldn't afford to keep it. I regret to this very day selling that amp. It was one of the greatest sounding amps I ever owned. I still have 2 JCM800 2x12 Cabinets from way back then and I still use them. I wish I knew what made the amp chew up tubes like it did. I also had 2 Peavey 5150 amps that sounded absolutely killer with a Fuzz Face in front of them. I basically regret selling ever piece of gear I ever sold.
That story about freaking out over rubber goo on the tolex reminds me of why I hate lending my gear out to people. One night my band's singer asked to borrow a guitar so I lent him my nice midnight wine Stratocaster. Dude proceeded to sweat all over it and even worse it looked like he scratched it all up with heavy picking. I got it home and freaked out, my pristine Strat ruined! After calming down I realized that once I cleaned it up it was fine and the scratches were just swishy marks in the sweat. No more lending my good gear to anyone. My brain can't handle the stress. If I ever sell any of my basses or guitars I don't ever want to see them again because I couldn't bear to see them being abused by their new owners lol.
You got your guitar back though. In high school I loaned out an amp to a friends brother and it was stolen from him. He was an idiot, and I knew his parents and didn’t feel right holding them accountable for my loss, but that hurt! I don’t loan out anything anymore and try my best not to have to borrow anything either.
Sell my basses or guitars? Just the thought makes me nauseous. Ive sold enough over the years. Now ill never even part with my cheapos. I love them all!
I have guitars I bought new in the 80's that have thousands of playing hours on them that still look pretty new and I have seen some that people bought less than a year ago that look like they only played them while eating chocolate cake with their fingers and used it for a hammer. I don't see how someone can wreck a guitar so quickly!!!
When my aunt passed a long time ago my dad gave me her small body Martin acoustic And I sold it through a guy I met at guitar center. Would love to still have that.
In 1999 I traded a late 80s Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp for a fucking Line6 Pod 1.0 at house of guitars in Rochester, NY. The future is digital, they said. 20 years later I still cringe thinking of this moment of stupidity.
I reconnected with an old friend recently who also is a guitarist, and I was surprised when he told me that his amps have been sitting in a corner and catching dust while he's been using his Line6 Pod exclusively! 😳
I used to have a vintage Stratocaster where the pickups had just begun to age and the plastic was beginning to yellow. I'm sure it's a nice sounding guitar now and probably looks great.
My first thought was my JCM 800. First year of issue (81ish)! I bought it brand new out of the box. Sold it about 8 years later (married having kids) and didn't know what I had. I think the sale price was $600.
This kind of makes me wish there was a VinWiki for guitars and gear. I would love to know the story of where my guitars came from why someone traded or sold them. Also it would be neat to see where gear has gone once you sell it.
Back in my broke-ass college days a 1969 335 was the one that I now regret selling. There's a reason that your 20's aren't known as the "Age of Wisdom." No offense 20-somethings....
This post should be happening at a bar… For me, it was a ‘61 Tremolux. First year piggy back, Blonde/Ox blood Grill. 1 x 10” (tone ring) replaced with 1 x 12”, closed back cabinet. 18 watts Amazing tone, absolutely the most gorgeous Tremelo ever. Needed the cash ….😢
OMG, I knew I had to listen to this when I saw the title. Of course, I started thinking about the gear I've sold that I wish I still had. My #1 example of this, by far: A 1967 Gibson ES-335, previously owned by Micheal Toles, of the Bar Kays. I grew up in Memphis,, TN, and my dad sold insurance there. One of his customers was Micheal, who was behind in his bills one month(as musicians are so apt to be). My dad had told Micheal that I was learning guitar at age 13 or so, , and Micheal offered to sell/trade the ES-335 to my dad to pay the premium on his insurance policy. Micheal had used it to record the "Hot Buttered Soul" album with Isaac Hayes, among many other things, and my dad accepted. I have a photo of me playing that guitar in 1975 with my high school church choir. I finally sold it in 1981 to a local music store in Memphis. My dad had died of cancer a couple of years before, and I needed the money for tuition because I'd been accepted to medical school. Forty years later, and I'm a Professor of Oncology at a major medical school, so I guess it worked out, LOL! But damn, I wish I still had that guitar!
I’m writing this with a brown paper bag on my head. Many years ago, I sold my 1929 Dobro guitar in order to pay my electricity bill. Can’t even remember to whom I sold it. I know, its a shame… but… I do have and still have my beloved 1967 Martin 0-16NY that I bought in 1969! So, all in all, this isn’t so bad.
I played in bands from 1988-1994 in Seattle, the whole sorted grunge story arc. Played in bands from the beginning when when it was loud, raw and honest, to every band in America moving there and getting signed because they wore flannel and stared at the ground when they played. My band had some label interest (we rehearsed at NAF), but we weren't fitting the mold musically of the dirge of bands in Seattle in later days (not grungy or disheveled enough) so we faded away. I sold my Modulus Q4 bass in 1994 when I moved to Phoenix out of spite and disgust at the music "business" (and I needed rent money). It was my first professional level bass, beautiful and sounded like a symphony and armageddon at the same time. My regret comes more because after I sold that my career as a chef took off and I was working insane hours and moving around several different countries, and I never owned a bass or played in a band again. Im older now, perhaps wiser (though thats debatable) and can afford some quality gear......its calling me again.
Rick! I sold my ‘73 12 string Penco to a friend because I wanted an electric. He had it for many years and was kind enough to sell it back to me..It was my high school graduation present and hangs in my office today. I remember it was $136 new..the best playing 12 string ever.
@Raymond Schuler isn’t it though! An immeasurable act of kindness that changed my life in college and to this day 33 years on, keeps giving in ways eternal.
The only reason l have given guitars away…l was down and out and so was this acquaintance…but he wouldn’t let me borrow one of his guitars so l could play…so l decided that if l ever get back on my feet again l would give guitars to others and not be that guy… l’ve done a few and more before l go…probably going to Old Town School of Music soon to donate my 2001 83 reissue Mexican Strat w/ Dimarzio Vintage…that will be a good day…or not…still mulling that over…but something will be given this year…maybe the lbanez acoustic w/ Fishman… ( bought for 30$ at a garage sale w gig bag; 450$ guitar )
After years of gigging and loving the sound of my Farfisa Compact Deluxe, I downsized and gave it away for free to a wide-eyed teen that wanted the sound of "96 Tears", The Doors, and Deep Purple. Rock on, dude!
1967 I bought a 1958 Les Paul Jr. for $50 in a pawn shop outside Washington DC. 1972 I lent it to a friend. 6 months later he committed suicide and before I heard his parents had his apartment cleared out and everything sold. In 1966 I was dating a young lady whose widower father had owned a high end music store in the 1930s. He gave me his deceased wife's 1905 Martin 028 complete with the coffin case. It was in mint condition. I played it for a year and was in heaven. Then I broke up with his daughter. 6 months later I was feeling so guilty I gave it back. Her father tried to convince me to keep it because I loved it, but I couldn't. Those are the two I still think about. The LP Jr for the house I could buy today with it and the 028 for the history and the gorgeous tone.
G.E. Smith is a great reference. I've seen tons of interview clips of him on TH-cam. He is a great story teller. He would be a really cool Skype or whatever for you guys because he has played with everyone.
This video exudes all thats great about Rick Beato videos...including the unique topic. I sat and watched this with a fellow muso friend. We had our own stories to add. The video is full of, sadness, funny quips, wit, and evokes similar feelings of loss. Just simple genius. And Dave is a worthy video partner with personality....perfect choice . Could not stop watching keep it up Rick!
That's all wonderful! Loved the stories! Myself? Whilst not a financial thing, they meant a lot to me. I had one of the first Mexican Made Fender Teles, in Artic White late 80's/early 90's. My first very proper guitar. Cost £199 and, to this day, it was my very fav guitar. Famously it never went out of tune for the first couple of weeks. I had an Artic White Fender Roadhouse Strat, custom white pearloid pickguard. Maple neck. That was from '95. Played wonderfully. Finally, I had a Les Paul, Classic 60's, in Honeyburst in 2002. I had the pickups changed, to Seymour Duncan Anico Pro's, with the neck reversed for that Peter Green sound. It sounded great. Played alright for me....but people loved that guitar and it's sound more than I did. I was known, in one store, as 'the guy with THAT Les Paul'. I sold them as I was planning to emigrate to America..... ...and that sadly never happened.. But, I miss those guitars...especially that Tele.... G x
Dave Onorato is the best. Such a good natured, funny, positive person. I always watch when he's in your videos. I love the "chat" videos... so many great stories! Cheers!
Agreed. I could listen to you two all day
totally! does Dave have his own channel?
daves thee very best
Yeah, I agree.
Totally agree, such an infectious laugh! 😁
Back in the 70's I bought a Marshall head from a lady who lived close to my home - she was selling it for her son who was in hospital & she knew nothing about the amp other than it having an extra knob which 'made it louder'. It was a modded distortion circuit. I think I paid 50 quid for it - sold it about 18 months later as I wanted to buy a Les Paul Junior and needed the cash.
Her son? Was Peter Green. Every time I see a Marshall I feel sick.
Holy.
Effn.
_Shit!_
@@speedingtickets The Greeny Les Paul.
OMG!
Lex Luthier!!! LOL - are you an evil guitar maker?!!!
It's weird that all these pieces of history were just gear to people and their families...
Dave Murray bought his famous black Stratocaster from the newspaper, it was Paul Kossoff's so he needed to scrape together some extra cash.
Naturally, he had no problems modifying it to play in Iron Maiden. Legends beget legends...
Perfect idea for the RB2 channel - Rick plays the Stairway solo on a 12-string 🤘
Any video with Dave guest appearing is an immediate thumbs up. He, Rick
, and Rhett make this look like so much fun
Rhett gets on my nerves can’t take that guy. Nothing personal just can’t take him. 🤷♂️
Badfinger were from SWANSEA[WALES] When PETER HAM died I was asked by his brother [my employer] to work on his S.G. STANDARD,-which was in a poor state.I did not know then about it being a gift from GEORGE HARRISON! As a thank you I was given PETES chrome slide which you can see him use on several songs. I STILL HAVE IT.
That is some bragging rights. Really cool to hear
Very cool.
Wow I love badfinger
@@theceo1 Well done Bernie. I was just about to mention that Badfinger were from Swansea. An incredible band. Cheers, Glyn.
And just to be clear, Peter Ham's SG is not the same SG that Dave purchased from Joey Molland. The Harrison / Ham SG is currently owned by a private Collector. The Molland SG is currently part of the Hard Rock Cafe collection.
Very cool that you ended up with Pete's chrome slide.
Here is my story. When I was in high school 1970s I roadied for this band called "Fritz" the bass player had a Les Paul gold top (I have a photo of it) he gave it to my friend who gave it to me. It was Lindsey Buckinghams LP. His fixer called me 25 years later and asked if I still had it. I did. I gave it back.
Gave?
Great topic!! I have a great story,. Years ago my dear friend sold a Gibson Custom from the 70's that he got from his grandmother as a birthday present as a kid. He later regretted selling it since it was a gift from hes beloved grand mother. Years later he found out that a famous guitarist, Kee Marcello of Swedish band Europe owned it. Eventually he bought it back from Kee and now they are good friends!
that is a great story :)
My five regrets are: 1) early '70s Marshall 100W full stack (pre master volume) - sold to buy maternity clothes for (ex)wife; 2) 1973 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe gold-top - sold to pay off debt from recording deal gone bad; 3) Gibson CS-336 - sold to pay off debt from recording deal; 4) 1976 Gibson Explorer - traded-in for CS-336 (and cash); 5) Fender Stratocaster '57 reissue - traded in towards Gibson Les Paul Classic [those two trade-ins were because of change in the music styles of bands I was playing with, but I wish I would have kept those guitars since they had a lot of character to their sound]
Kirk Hammett has possession of (and still uses) my early 80s Marshall JCM 800 that was hot-rodded by Todd Langer (who designed the ADA MP-1). I put an orange sticker on it and still see him using it on every record to this day in the studio.
My recording studio was burglarized in the early 90s and his engineer at the time took over my studio space with whatever gear was left over. Kirk traded an Ibanez bass for my amp, but it was never his to trade to Kirk. It wasn’t part of the gear list that he took over. I had just never had a chance to go grab my amp from the burglarized studio. I later ended up working for Kirk as his engineer and realized that not only did he trade it Kirk my Marshall JC him 800 amp it was never his to trade but he also ripped off Kirk’s older Digidesign ProTools cards as well. I feel weird asking him for the amp since he uses it to this day blended with whatever current a signature amp he’s using.
Crazy story. Kirk seems like a gracious guy though.
Just ask him for a 2% of gross cut for all the albums and shows he's used it on :-)
Dude, I would have just told Kirk about what happened with the amp. I bet Kirk would give you the amp back no problem.
@@marvinshenk Or pay him for it. LOL
Fuck Kirk just get it back
1971 marshall super lead half stack. In mint condition. Bought it for$400 in 1994. Sold it because I was broke. Think about it often.
Now we know why Rick’s studio always looks so neat and tidy!
TRADED: 1965 Martin O-18 with hand-sculpted braces for a Gibson 1959 ES-120 Jazz box in a Seattle shop, 1950's Gretch amp, 1950's Gibson amp, Stolen: 1971 Blond Strat (Day after a late night gig my college housemate thought it belonged to the garage sale items being sold at a flea market--he sold it for $75, I didn't have the heart to tell him what it was worth, and he didn't have the money to replace it), Gibson MK-3 (fabulous full tone), 1926 Martin OO-21 (in pieces, was being rebuilt by luthier who was looted). Kept: 1968 Gibson Gold Top Deluxe with the mini humbuckers that I bought in 1972 with money saved mowing lawns: $325. This guitar changed my life and continues to give me inordinate pleasure. Lessons learned! Keep practicing!
10:41 The double-twist is that, much later, Gibson releases the notorious "Play Authentic" video condemning copies, and one of their biggest signature artists rose to prominence with a copy.
Martin Barre of Tull is another ... his famous les Paul custom he played on several of their first albums was a counterfit.
Dave is cool hang, would love more of him on the show. Cheers from CA. Appreciate all you do
Love hearing from Dave. You two have great stories. More Dave when you can Rick. You two always laugh and tell great stories. Very cool.
In the 70s, I bought a student guitar that was a little beat up and could use refinishing. It had a glue line crack (so had been possibly dropped or just dried in SoCal heat over the years). Fixed it up, painted it transparent blue, replaced the broken pickguard with some machined aluminum of the same thickness. Later, I sold it for $250, which was about what I paid for it, mostly because my band was refocusing and needed a bass player more than a rhythm player. It was a 1956 Les Paul Jr.
Ouch!
@@luminousbrilliance1711 exactly my words :D
As for the Kris Drerrig guitar it's also funny that when Gibson made the Custom Shop Slash Les Pauls' they used the measurements and specs from Slash's Kris Derrig LP to make those very expensive Custom Shop models. Play Authentic...yeah right.
This is a great video. I had a 1957 Les Paul Junior in TV yellow I bought in 1976. It was the most resonant guitar I have ever owned. I owned a Super Lead and a few Fenders amps. I couldn't get it to work for me. I was too young and inexperienced to realize what made the Junior so special. I sold it in 1977. I have no memory of who what or where I sold it, but I regret it every time I see a LPJ.
1. 70’s Dan Armstrong fretless bass, rosewood neck. 2. 1968 Guild Starfire bass fretless ebony neck. 3. 60’s Bassman 50 watt amp. 4. 64 Fender Precision. 5. Roland D-50 synth and R8 Drum Machine.
Great to hear a mention of Badfinger! Along with Budgie are my hometown rockers (Swansea, Wales UK 🏴 🇬🇧)
More Dave features please Rick! Always fascinating and cool
Mike Gibbons used to tell me that the REAL Badfinger was when they were a 3 piece IVEYS back in Swansea!
Love this channel Rick. So intimate. I used to drop off Billy Squier's Marshall heads to Cesar Diaz for mods in 1989 and 90. I loved going to see Cesar because down the block was the Frank Frazetta Art Museum! I was always into comic art. I miss my 1967 ES 335 that I let get away. Sold it to Richie Freedman at We Buy in NY to pay the rent. I also bought a 1967 Fender Super Reverb the same day from Manny's. The guitar ended up with Dean Parks (Out of Sam Ash Hollywood years later while I worked there. Another story!) and the Super with Joe Perry. I lent it to Jimmy Crespo when he joined Aerosmith when Joe left. Jimmy left the amp with the Aero camp and upon Joe's return to the band, the amp was his.
I sold my 1969 Fender Stratocaster because I got sick of thyroid cancer and couldn’t work,I felt sick all the time and going through my costly medical treatment, I was behind on my mortgage payments.. I lost my guitar and lost my Home.. Really bad time for me and my wife that was also dealing with health issues too.. she passed away and I am still here with my Lord’s Help..Amen
In 1970 the lead guitar player in a local band sold his 1958 korina Explorer to a friend of mine for $200. The guy who bought it didn't even play guitar, he just always thought it was such a cool looking guitar. He hung onto it, and quite wisely realized it was gaining in value. I remember going to Teddy's in Milwaukee with the guitar and showing the guitar to Jon Paris. Jon wanted to play it for a set, and my friend wouldn't let him. I think Jon was a little miffed , hehe. Anyway, I have not kept in touch with my friend over the years, but I believe he sold it for $50,000 in the late 20th century. The rest is history.
This will sound silly, but mine's a Line 6 pod. I found it used, it looked exactly like the one I used in the studio to make my first record with. I got home, plugged it in, and no lie, it was the same pod I'd used in the studio- I knew, because my presets were still in there. I couldn't believe it, there were so many great memories attached to that little red bean! I sold it to get some money to spend at a local anime convention, and I've been kicking myself ever since!! If I ever come across it again, I'm grabbing it and never letting go!
I traded a 1974 Marshall head and 4X12 cab for an L5 Lab Series, what a dope. It was around 1977-78, and I wanted something with a master volume. I also traded a 1974 LP Standard and a Rickenbacker fretless 4003 when I bought my new Martin HD 28 in 1987. I could keep going but it's too painful.
Things come and go but memories and the people who made them with you are priceless.
Love these videos with you and Onorato. I find myself laughing along with you guys. And I find myself wishing I still had my Duo-Sonic with matching tweed amp. Sigh...
I had a 61 Gibson SG/Les Paul, PAF's, Sideways Vibrato that I traded for a crappy Sequential Circuits Max synth. Believe it or not that's my second buy sell trade regret. My number one regret was selling my 1965 Corvette so I could buy a PA system. On the Badfinger subject, I wound up doing full production and got to mix for few of their shows, after sound check Joey Mulland and I wound up backstage and talked for about an hour. He told me all kinds of great stories about working with the Beatles, Clapton, The Concert for Bangladesh and lots more cool stuff. He's a great guy!
Thanks Rick , Love all the Rochester references .Born and raised ,left for 10 years ,came back. Grew up going to the same stores you did .
really touched by Rick's story of his mom buying him that first guitar. That's amazing, what a great story.
Badfinger - one of the saddest stories in Rockmusic. And Without You - still a perfect pop song. Even with Mariah Carey making it hit.
Harry Nilsson had a global hit with "Without You" when Mariah was three years old.
Dave is great! The Internet needs more Dave.
a very early goldtop with p 90 soapbars with a trapeze bridge. the bridge was difficult , the clear coat was checked and it needed a fret job . i traded it for a selmer flute at sam ash ... i saw it about a year later in a glass showcase in sam ash with a price tag of 20k.
Thanks for all that you do to keep things interesting here Rick. My story - Maybe not as significant of many here but I had a mid-70's Ibanez LP copy that I learned to play on. I remember that it had the best tone - even better than my current LP Standard. Anyway, I left for "college" (West Point) in 1980 and left the guitar at home. My brother was broke and thought is would be OK to pawn the guitar and get it back later for me. I came home on leave many months later and the guitar was gone... Wish I still had it.
My portable Hammond X-5 along with its big giant Leslie speaker. I didn't want to sell it, but I had just bought a Roland JX-8P which I still own and play, and I needed to make room (I had a Hammond Elegante too). A small church bought it. I loved that organ, always had to lock down the reverb when I moved it.
Too bad you had to let the Hammond plus speaker go, but as far as I remember, the JX-8P was/is a pretty cool synth, too! I tried one out many, many Moons ago in a Music Store and remember suddenly hearing sounds from the Grace Jones song 'Slave To The Rhythm'; I read only recently that's what they were actually using on that recording, too! 😀
I was flipping a lot of vintage gear on ebay in the early years and one of my main sources was a Guitar Center that came to town. Their staff didnt seem to know anything and I wasnt about to educate them. Over time I walked out of there with a 1968 Les Paul goldtop, a San Dimas Charvel Star with custom graphics, a Gibson V2 with boomerang pickups, USA Hamers, Orville by Gibson LP with P90s and wrap around bridge, 1970 Marshall 100 watt heads, G & Ls, too many to list here. My credo was NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR INVENTORY. Its twenty years later and I still wish I had kept that '68 Goldtop!
My first electric guitar was a westone thunder 1A and I still know how it smells. Heavy as shit for a ten year old but I loved it. Having played classical since I was seven. Until I found Ritchie Blackmore/deep purple. I was sold xxx
Your channel is the absolute for guitar players. True topics we all discuss amongst ourselves
I would love to hear stories about amazing guitar or gear discovery stories...a vintage Strat at a garage sale, a Craigslist Burst find, etc.
Rory Gallagher? Apparently, an important part of Rory's tone was an early seventies treble/boost called the S. Hawk Ltd Hawk II Tonal Expander. I bought one of those for my new Rhodes in 1976. Eventually, it ended up on a shelf and then the box of items that were destined for the ecco station. About a year ago I happened to look at a list of items that Lee Sklar was selling. Damn if the asking price for a Hawk was several hundred dollars! I had to rush to basement to look. Fortunately, I had procrastinated on my trip to the recyclers. Retrieved!
I think he just used a Rangemaster for the first few years, so I did not know he had switched to the Hawk. Google confirms. Cheers.
See that vid where Brian May says when he was a teen he asked Rory how he got his sound? A treble booster into a Vox at that stage. The rest is history. I also saw a thing where somebody had asked Jimi Hendrix what is like being the best guitar player in the world and he replied "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher".
What I am curious about right now is the Schafer wireless unit that is supposed to be key to the Angus sound. The compander, boost and limiter stuff in them. I am sceptical. I know for years after that era he did not use one, but he still had his tone.
Another tone of that era I really like is Roy Buchanan. A Tele into a Vibrolux. That guy was amazing.
Lots of tones I like. Early Maiden and Priest stuff too. Kind of a raspy, mid boosted distortion for Maiden etc.
I am forever hankering after some gadget I think will give me a sound I like. Another one is Ritchie Blackmore on Perfect Strangers. His lead tones are amazing on that record. Even the most basic licks sound awesome due to all that liquid sustain etc. I have no idea how he got that tone though. I read until Deep Purple MKII he was using a Marshall combo that had a Vox chassis stuffed into it. He used it until Marshall modded the Major amps to sound more Vox he said. Maybe Vox is what he used for those solos. Early on was the little blue Hornby Skewes treble booster until he switched to the Akai tape machine. I have no idea what it does to his sound. I wonder if it is a loudness circuit like lots of old hi-fi gear had back then.
Malmsteen's tone is tricky too. Running a DOD 250 that hot is noisy as hell. The HS-3 bridge pickup is weak and thin and does not sound good for power chords, but he somehow managed to make it sound so good. His delay and reverbs seem to be added at the board. Much more than I am comfortable using unless it is in a mix.
Page. I think he used the fuzz a lot more than many people think and his amps were not as dirty as people think, i.e., not heavily crunching. In that It Might Get Loud film he kicks it on and there's that Led Zep sound. A Tone Bender MKII into a EP-3 tape echo, with the wah. But every Tone Bender MKII demo I see sounds like super thick heavy fuzz and not at all like Led Zep. I dunno. I am going to get a clone of one and see if lowering settings on the guitar and fuzz gets there with my Plexi replica.
Klon hype. No player I really rate or records I like used one, so they have never been on my radar. I want to get a klone one to see for myself if the hype is justified. Maybe the Ceriatone one. What got them so hyped? John Mayer? Not my thing, even though he is a damn good player. A bit too clean cut, pop music polite, and nice for me.
Woops, I got carried away thinking and typing about tone. I do that sometimes -- usually when I am procrastinating. Cheers.
@@aquilarossa5191 - Well, when it comes to individual players' personal guitar tones it isn't hard to go on at some length. 👍 The blues oriented guitar player that I played with for a couple of decades inevitably always got pretty close to the same ballsy tone, no matter what guitar, amp or pedal (or even no pedal) he used. He is a gear hound and constantly changes things up. What never changes is is concept of tone, so he seems to almost will his sound out of any gear. His brain, ears, hands (including his singing vibrato) do the magic.
I thought that keys player were gear nerds. No. Guitar players are the worst (best?). I'll work with a piece of gear for years, instead of making a change after every NAMM show. Good ideas and good concepts trump everything.
I saw Rory open for Deep Purple in 1973 and then a couple more times after that.
What was very important to Rory's tone was Rory..
Simon van der Heijden - As I said.
You know he used to use a Dimarzio FS1 when the original pickup in his strat died? I also read an interview with him where he said that someone once told him that his strat body was maple (?!). I don't believe it personally but his tone could be hella bright. Largely due to the treble booster I'd imagine.
Badfinger were Welsh. The drummer's son has a youtube channel - Circle of Tone.
I had found out only recently that 'No Matter What' was a Badfinger song - now that name and song get mentioned aaall the time! 😄
Sold a 54 lespaul goldtop that I acquired when I was 18 (I'm now 60). I was a month away from losing the house I had bought and lived in for 20 years... Long story how I ended up in that predicament but I had no where else to turn... It still hurts but I have vowed to replace the guitar when I sellout the house here in the next couple of years.
Oh man! This one really hit home with me! BTW I've always had regrets over every piece of gear I ever sold. A '64 Gibson SG Jr. With the original fake alligator skin case. It even had the Gibson tag with it. A late 60's Gibson SG Melody Maker. An '86 Gibson Les Paul Studio. A '74 Gibson SG Special with mini humbuckers. A light blue Ovation Breadwinner (sounded like crap, but is now collectible). An '86 lake placid blue Japanese Fender Strat. An '83 black Squier Strat. An early 70's Hi-Watt 50 head with a Gallien Krueger 4x12 slant cab with 25 watt Greenbacks. An early 80's Roland Jazz Chorus 120. An early 80's 50 watt Musicman head and cabinet (1x12 E.V.). Going way back, my Kustom 50 metalflake grey tuck and roll 1x12 combo. My Acoustic 150 Amp and 6x10 cab. I no longer sell gear. My heart just can't take any more. :-)
I think Badfinger would make for a great What Makes This Song Great episode!!
HEy Dave I'm still waiting for a guitar tech channel from you!
I had a beautiful Rhodes Mark II stage piano in great condition that I traded in for a crappy Korg knockoff of a DX-7 (A Korg DS-8, which I probably kept for about two years before it became obsolete garbage). Every time I pull up a Rhodes patch on one of my digital keyboards (which is often), I regret that stupid trade-in. I guess in my defense, it was around 1988, give or take, and Rhodes hadn't fully taken its place in the realm of vintage keyboards people found desirable -- not in the FM synthesis era. Oh well.
This video is why I never sell my gear, even if I think its a POS. I'm currently on 18 guitars, 7 amps & 1 bass & I'm buying another guitar tomorrow. I'm 23 & I hope to eventually have more than 25 guitars by the time I'm 25. Hell, I've bought 7 new guitars this year alone.
I need help.
LOVE Dave Onorato....wow...such a great person with exceptional experience and sense of humor.
I was on a long search for a guitar with a jazz sound that I heard in my head. One day at a jam a seasoned player said to me "can I borrow your axe, man?". I let him play it and heard the sound I was trying to find coming out of my guitar and amp. The main part of the sound depends on the touch of the player.
I bought a beat up 1954 ES295 at an auction for $125 in 1963-4. Loved it, played it, broke it, had it refinished and still have it in mint refinished condition. It'll have to be buried with me! Gave away my short scale EKO bass, my Yamaha Pacifica an a few others.. never regretted anything..well maybe the Yamaha..lol
Love these stories! When they say "We'll throw in a gig bag" you know you're getting screwed. Coming from a 16 year old kid, trading his old 72 marshall 50 watt, which had Jim Marshall's signature on the test date tag, for a series 10 bass :-(
Marshall 4x12 box with blak backs
( G12H-30, 55Hz)!!!
I love the friendship you guys have
Here is one to top em all! I bought a Travis bean tb 1000 for $350.00 but the catch was if I sold it, I had to sell it back to the guy I bought it from. I needed money for a truck I don't have any more so I sold it back to him for the same price.
70’s Ibanez Artist (Scofieldish type) because I was 13 and I wanted a pointy Steve Vai type widdly-widdly guitar.
Hey it is good to see Dave Onorato back to Rick's channel. It has been a while, this was fun to watch with Rick and Dave. I think the one LP I regret selling was a 2007 or 08? Ebony standard LP well it kind of felt weird compared to my other LP's. Now, that I have the ability to buy them, I have 7 Gibson's LP's and 2 Epiphone LP's with updated electronics and switchcraft jacks and toggle on those two Epiphones. Gear disease - we sell them, then buy more. I do not regret selling my 4X12 Mesa Cabinet's or my SG. The 2X12 cab's are more than sufficient for gigging and not gigging these days...LOL
54 Gold top. Bought at a pawnshop in the mid eighties for $800. Sold it 6 months later to help pay for a new HVAC system for the house, thinking I’d find another one down the road. You guys know the rest…
How's the HVAC doing?
Good job Rick drilling down to get the answer from Dave. I sold my 69 Johnny Smith ( bought it from Alex Music 48th St ) He had 2, Benson bought the blond one on the Breezin album. Anyway, picked up 71 Marshall and cab. Still regret selling it.
When I was broke I pawned a lot of guitars, but I was always able to buy them back. One time, I was in really bad spot and I tried to get rid of a pre-CBS tele that was my dad's guitar teacher's. They offered $150 because there was a sale on (MIM) Telecasters at Guitar Center that week...Thank God they didn't offer me more, or know what they were talking about! I paid my bills, and I still have the Tele! It isn't for sale.
My first guitar was one of those Sears Silvertone (Danelectro) guitars that had an amp built into the case, that I got for 8th grade graduation back in 66. It was the black/white one with a single lipstick pickup. I sold it to a friend for $50 back in the 70s. Wish I had it now.
I have selling regrets too, but in the early 60s, I was in the Navy with a cherry red ES-335 I bought in Boston a couple of years before. A guy on the ship wanted to learn to play, loved the ES, so I showed him some basic chords which he practiced religiously. One day, when our ship pulled into Newport R.I., he asked me to go into town with him and find a guitar for him. So, we walked around for a little while, and saw this pawn shop. In the window was a black Les Paul, three pickups, a Bixby tail piece and completely gold plated...for $100, with the HS case. It was immaculate. I looked at him and said "buy this one', which he did. Now, I was discharged soon after that, but I always wonder what happened to that guitar. I would like to think he still has it, but I have never seen one like it anywhere. He was from Texas, and his name was John Slaughter, like the ranger. Such is life.
Sounds like Jimmy Pages. Haha. He got his back. It was played in a punk band for 20 years. Too much.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
'91 sold my amazing sounding 1981 HIWATT Custom 50 head with cover in mint condition for $225 (Canadian $!) to a music shop (Music Bureau) to pay a debt to my brother. However later that year, I ended up finding in the paper an older marshall 100W head covered in dust for $350 to match my JCM800 Lead Series 260W cab. Almost didn't buy it since there was no cabinet to test. Years later with the internet and having it serviced by the amazing amp man Buzzy Burack in Toronto, I discovered it is a late1968 plexi panel! Still have it and sounds amazing, but I really do miss that Hiwatt! Thank's guys really enjoyed that!
I love these guys talking about this topic. Five of my sales of shame (all 'cuz I needed the money): (1) Bone stock 1968 Strat with case, (2) 1957 Les Paul Special TV yellow, (3) 1985 G&L Broadcaster w/ maple fretboard, (4) Terry McInturff one-off custom, (5) Jackson USA one-off P Bass. Bonus sale...Two-Rock Amethyst Special (Indoor Storm) amp head (one of three ever made). Misery loves company!!
I was friends with Dave's dad when he lived in Oklahoma. One of the coolest guys I've ever known. Good to watch you on here Dave! Tim from Muskogee.
I think we can all relate to this. My regret was getting rid of a 1974 Rickenbacker bass that was so sweet. Years later I got a 75 to replace it, which is great, but I still have a tiny twinge of regret about that 74.
Love your show especially this episode. I bought a Mesa Boogie Mark IV new directly from Randall at Mesa in 1979. 100 Watts 1X12 (JBL) in a blonde tolex combo amp cabinet along with a Anvil case made for it. I loved that amp. 8 years later I was a full-time student with a family of 3 working 2 jobs -- so I sold it along with a custom pedal board I had made. I don't remember what I sold it for. I have regretted it for years -- and of the many items of gear I have sold that sale is my biggest regret. Ironically my then wife invested the money in the stock market and lost it. The #2 regret is selling a Gibson Howard Roberts I bought new with case in 1976. I paid $2400 in 1976. I just paused to ask Google what $2400 of 1976 USD is worth: $11,500 in today's dollars, I sold it 1981 along with 3 other guitars (1978 Gibson Les Paul Pro Deluxe, 1960s Gibson ES-335 12-string, 1960s Martin D-18) to pay for my then fiancee's engagement ring. I still had to pay $2K on top of the money from guitar sales. Same wife. We are since divorced!
I’ve acquired a few “never sell” pieces of gear over the last few years, I pray they never make my regret list! 😂 The best item is a 62 Brown Deluxe owned by Terry Sylvester of The Hollies. That amp has become integral to my sound, I don’t know what would have to happen to sell it. But this video proves things happen!
Sellers remorse???? We all got these if you been at it for a while. Thanx guys.
Love these stories! My first spec built Fender Strat (pre-Custom Shop) was a '96 Deluxe Plus model in Vintage White with a vintage stain finished solid maple neck and vintage frets, Gold Lace Sensor Noiseless pickups (the good ones), Schaller locking tuners, LSR roller nut, 2 point trem, pearloid pickguard... and it played like a dream! I sold it to take my wife to Machu Picchu Peru while visiting her family the first time back in 2013... and still hoping I find it some day up on Reverb so I can buy it back! Crazy part of the story is I sold it once before when my daughter was born and my ex-wife and I were moving out of California (pretty much sold all my gear except for one acoustic guitar)... but I thankfully found it on Craigslist one day and bought it back from the guy I sold it to 5 years prior! 😎🤘🎸 Oh.. wait.... also regret selling some keyboards... my first... Roland Juno 60 then my Juno 106 and especially my Roland VK-1000 drawbar organ keyboard.. that thing was a monster in weight... but also in tone!
⚓️ Dave, Rick, THANKS 😎. The STORIES!!!
My dad left my brother a blonde 1953 Telecaster with a really nice tweed case. The back of the neck was marked with a hand written TG 53. He sold it many years later for reasons similar.
I had a beautiful 1973 100w Superbass. As you may know its basically the same circuit as a 60s Plexi. I was too scared to play it as it was really vintage and I felt it needed nurturing - not that it ever let me down. I sold it to buy something else. Regret it to this day.
Yeah basically the same circuit as a 67 Superlead. My stock 70 Superbass is a beast
Saw Jellyfish in 93 at First Ave in Minneapolis. Joey Molland joined them on stage and they played "No Matter What"
Dave! Rick! About that gear you regret selling... "If you want it, here it is. Come and get it. But you'd better hurry 'cause it's going fast..." (A little Badfinger humor there.)
Rick, I used to own an '81 or '82 JCM800. I sold it because, as a college student at the time, the thing was eating tubes by the week. I couldn't afford to keep it. I regret to this very day selling that amp. It was one of the greatest sounding amps I ever owned. I still have 2 JCM800 2x12 Cabinets from way back then and I still use them. I wish I knew what made the amp chew up tubes like it did.
I also had 2 Peavey 5150 amps that sounded absolutely killer with a Fuzz Face in front of them.
I basically regret selling ever piece of gear I ever sold.
That story about freaking out over rubber goo on the tolex reminds me of why I hate lending my gear out to people. One night my band's singer asked to borrow a guitar so I lent him my nice midnight wine Stratocaster. Dude proceeded to sweat all over it and even worse it looked like he scratched it all up with heavy picking. I got it home and freaked out, my pristine Strat ruined! After calming down I realized that once I cleaned it up it was fine and the scratches were just swishy marks in the sweat. No more lending my good gear to anyone. My brain can't handle the stress. If I ever sell any of my basses or guitars I don't ever want to see them again because I couldn't bear to see them being abused by their new owners lol.
You got your guitar back though.
In high school I loaned out an amp to a friends brother and it was stolen from him. He was an idiot, and I knew his parents and didn’t feel right holding them accountable for my loss, but that hurt! I don’t loan out anything anymore and try my best not to have to borrow anything either.
Dude, I have guitars for sale that I built from scratch, and some illogical part of my brain is worried they'll go to a bad home lol
Sell my basses or guitars? Just the thought makes me nauseous. Ive sold enough over the years. Now ill never even part with my cheapos. I love them all!
You should leave 'em in their guitarcases, that way the will stay pristine forever and ever and ever and ever...
I have guitars I bought new in the 80's that have thousands of playing hours on them that still look pretty new and I have seen some that people bought less than a year ago that look like they only played them while eating chocolate cake with their fingers and used it for a hammer. I don't see how someone can wreck a guitar so quickly!!!
When my aunt passed a long time ago my dad gave me her small body Martin acoustic And I sold it through a guy I met at guitar center. Would love to still have that.
In 1999 I traded a late 80s Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp for a fucking Line6 Pod 1.0 at house of guitars in Rochester, NY. The future is digital, they said. 20 years later I still cringe thinking of this moment of stupidity.
Ouch!
Funny because I bought a Mesa Studio Preamp from that same store in early 2000. I lived in Ithaca back then. Still have it!
I reconnected with an old friend recently who also is a guitarist, and I was surprised when he told me that his amps have been sitting in a corner and catching dust while he's been using his Line6 Pod exclusively! 😳
😱
Hi Rick, just for the record, Badfinger were A welsh band from Swansea.
The Les Paul for the Kramer is so funny, I love that he still has it too.
lol
Thanks guys. a great episode. Our drummer knocked a symbol into my first And only SG back in 1975. I glued rhinestones around it. Cheers
I used to have a vintage Stratocaster where the pickups had just begun to age and the plastic was beginning to yellow. I'm sure it's a nice sounding guitar now and probably looks great.
Ouch Dave the Badfinger '62 SG! That will leave a mark!
Badfinger is a tragic story!
Pete Ham was an excellent song writer
I for one would love to see Rick do a video on a Badfinger song
Awesome post! I really enjoyed the conversation.
My first thought was my JCM 800. First year of issue (81ish)! I bought it brand new out of the box. Sold it about 8 years later (married having kids) and didn't know what I had. I think the sale price was $600.
This kind of makes me wish there was a VinWiki for guitars and gear. I would love to know the story of where my guitars came from why someone traded or sold them. Also it would be neat to see where gear has gone once you sell it.
Back in my broke-ass college days a 1969 335 was the one that I now regret selling.
There's a reason that your 20's aren't known as the "Age of Wisdom." No offense 20-somethings....
This is the most depressing thing I've read all day... Sorry for your loss.
This 20-somethhing (me) is definitely taking notes. 😅☠
Holy crap that was painful to read. Sorry to hear that friend!
My 1970's Black Gibson Flying V, sold it for food in college in the 80's and to this day I miss that guitar! "Pain shared is pain diminished" lol
This post should be happening at a bar…
For me, it was a ‘61 Tremolux. First year piggy back, Blonde/Ox blood Grill. 1 x 10” (tone ring) replaced with 1 x 12”, closed back cabinet. 18 watts Amazing tone, absolutely the most gorgeous Tremelo ever. Needed the cash ….😢
OMG, I knew I had to listen to this when I saw the title. Of course, I started thinking about the gear I've sold that I wish I still had. My #1 example of this, by far: A 1967 Gibson ES-335, previously owned by Micheal Toles, of the Bar Kays. I grew up in Memphis,, TN, and my dad sold insurance there. One of his customers was Micheal, who was behind in his bills one month(as musicians are so apt to be). My dad had told Micheal that I was learning guitar at age 13 or so, , and Micheal offered to sell/trade the ES-335 to my dad to pay the premium on his insurance policy. Micheal had used it to record the "Hot Buttered Soul" album with Isaac Hayes, among many other things, and my dad accepted. I have a photo of me playing that guitar in 1975 with my high school church choir.
I finally sold it in 1981 to a local music store in Memphis. My dad had died of cancer a couple of years before, and I needed the money for tuition because I'd been accepted to medical school. Forty years later, and I'm a Professor of Oncology at a major medical school, so I guess it worked out, LOL! But damn, I wish I still had that guitar!
I’m writing this with a brown paper bag on my head. Many years ago, I sold my 1929 Dobro guitar in order to pay my electricity bill. Can’t even remember to whom I sold it. I know, its a shame… but… I do have and still have my beloved 1967 Martin 0-16NY that I bought in 1969! So, all in all, this isn’t so bad.
Did you sell it in the UK? My cousin has a 1929 resonator he bought from the London Resonator Centre in the late ‘90s / early 2000s.
@@Funkybassuk No, in Canada. But a guitar can travel! I sold it in the eighties. If I remember well, the serial number was something like 239.
I played in bands from 1988-1994 in Seattle, the whole sorted grunge story arc. Played in bands from the beginning when when it was loud, raw and honest, to every band in America moving there and getting signed because they wore flannel and stared at the ground when they played. My band had some label interest (we rehearsed at NAF), but we weren't fitting the mold musically of the dirge of bands in Seattle in later days (not grungy or disheveled enough) so we faded away. I sold my Modulus Q4 bass in 1994 when I moved to Phoenix out of spite and disgust at the music "business" (and I needed rent money). It was my first professional level bass, beautiful and sounded like a symphony and armageddon at the same time. My regret comes more because after I sold that my career as a chef took off and I was working insane hours and moving around several different countries, and I never owned a bass or played in a band again. Im older now, perhaps wiser (though thats debatable) and can afford some quality gear......its calling me again.
I love hearing old band names, like Rick’s “Billionaires,” which he was in while selling gear because he was broke.
Rick! I sold my ‘73 12 string Penco to a friend because I wanted an electric. He had it for many years and was kind enough to sell it back to me..It was my high school graduation present and hangs in my office today. I remember it was $136 new..the best playing 12 string ever.
No regrets….I’ve enjoyed giving guitars away.The ones I’ve kept, well they have become like friends these past 18 years.
No regrets
No refrets
No zero frets
No vets
No cigarettes
No debts
No corvettes
@Raymond Schuler isn’t it though! An immeasurable act of kindness that changed my life in college and to this day 33 years on, keeps giving in ways eternal.
The only reason l have given guitars away…l was down and out and so was this acquaintance…but he wouldn’t let me borrow one of his guitars so l could play…so l decided that if l ever get back on my feet again l would give guitars to others and not be that guy… l’ve done a few and more before l go…probably going to Old Town School of Music soon to donate my 2001 83 reissue Mexican Strat w/ Dimarzio Vintage…that will be a good day…or not…still mulling that over…but something will be given this year…maybe the lbanez acoustic w/ Fishman…
( bought for 30$ at a garage sale w gig bag; 450$ guitar )
After years of gigging and loving the sound of my Farfisa Compact Deluxe, I downsized and gave it away for free to a wide-eyed teen that wanted the sound of "96 Tears", The Doors, and Deep Purple. Rock on, dude!
1967 I bought a 1958 Les Paul Jr. for $50 in a pawn shop outside Washington DC. 1972 I lent it to a friend. 6 months later he committed suicide and before I heard his parents had his apartment cleared out and everything sold. In 1966 I was dating a young lady whose widower father had owned a high end music store in the 1930s. He gave me his deceased wife's 1905 Martin 028 complete with the coffin case. It was in mint condition. I played it for a year and was in heaven. Then I broke up with his daughter. 6 months later I was feeling so guilty I gave it back. Her father tried to convince me to keep it because I loved it, but I couldn't. Those are the two I still think about. The LP Jr for the house I could buy today with it and the 028 for the history and the gorgeous tone.
G.E. Smith is a great reference. I've seen tons of interview clips of him on TH-cam. He is a great story teller. He would be a really cool Skype or whatever for you guys because he has played with everyone.
This video exudes all thats great about Rick Beato videos...including the unique topic. I sat and watched this with a fellow muso friend. We had our own stories to add. The video is full of, sadness, funny quips, wit, and evokes similar feelings of loss. Just simple genius. And Dave is a worthy video partner with personality....perfect choice . Could not stop watching keep it up Rick!
I haven't owned enough gear to have sold much. But I do still have the first guitar I ever owned, and I still play it and love it.
That's all wonderful! Loved the stories! Myself? Whilst not a financial thing, they meant a lot to me.
I had one of the first Mexican Made Fender Teles, in Artic White late 80's/early 90's. My first very proper guitar. Cost £199 and, to this day, it was my very fav guitar. Famously it never went out of tune for the first couple of weeks.
I had an Artic White Fender Roadhouse Strat, custom white pearloid pickguard. Maple neck. That was from '95. Played wonderfully.
Finally, I had a Les Paul, Classic 60's, in Honeyburst in 2002. I had the pickups changed, to Seymour Duncan Anico Pro's, with the neck reversed for that Peter Green sound. It sounded great. Played alright for me....but people loved that guitar and it's sound more than I did. I was known, in one store, as 'the guy with THAT Les Paul'.
I sold them as I was planning to emigrate to America.....
...and that sadly never happened..
But, I miss those guitars...especially that Tele....
G x