I got my first guitar at age 15, which was 35 years ago. Does that make me an old-timer too? It was a $29 Fender student acoustic. What a piece of junk, barely ok to learn chords with. But I spent hours practicing chord changes and playing from a Beatles songbook that had chord diagrams. That, and practicing from my Mel Bay chord book got me to a place where my parents were convinced that I was actually serious about the guitar.
My first REAL guitar was a Guild D25 Mahogany. Got that for sweet 16. In 1976, my first husband sold it for $100 to put a windshield in his '66 Impala. The guy who bought it still has it and uses it to perform. (Now that I’ve bought myself a new guitar, I’m no longer “allowed" to tell that story, which was told with much emotion and full of expletives!)
25 years ago I bought a used 1968 Yamaha FG180 from the commune-dwelling daughter of certified hippies, who were the original owners. I still have it. I had repairs done on it back then, and replaced the tuning machines with Grovers. My second husband managed to discourage me from playing and I didn’t play for about 20 years. The poor Yamaha sat in a case that entire time, drying out. Last year some friends encouraged me to start playing again, and I also had the guitar repaired again. It sounds great but I found it just too big to be comfortable playing it. (Is my age showing yet?)
Last year I treated myself to a new guitar. I was specifically looking for a smaller guitar and ended up buying a Martin CXE Black electric/acoustic. It's one of their least expensive guitars but it has a great sound, even though it's made from a combination of wood composite and laminated wood neck. No endangered hardwoods were used in its manufacture. It’s very easy to play, sounds like a big guitar, and is much smaller then the Yamaha dreadnought. It’s a great guitar but it’s cheapness shows. The manufacturer’s mark isn’t stamped on the wood; it’s a sticker, which wanted to come off until I pressed it on more firmly. And the gold lettering on the head is just stickers and one of them came off after I parked a clamp-on capo there.
Access to music to play is key for anyone just starting out. I had limited resources for buying songbooks when I was a teenager. That was back in the Stone Age before the Internet. I’m so glad I started to play again and I must say that I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Chordie!