19 Reply by Sonicboom (edited by Sonicboom 2011-01-29 23:46:31)

  • Registered: 2010-07-09
  • Posts: 122

Re: My Once in a Lifetime Guitar Story

Missed the part about this happening in 2001.  That would mean the lady would have been in her early to mid 70s at that time, and both the internet/eBay were around.  Most 70+ yr. olds back then knew very little about email let alone eBay.

We all want to find that '59 LP under the bed, waiting to be discovered.  A Vietnamese co-worker once told me that her father has a guitar that had been sent to him by relatives in the States.  She didn't know what type it was (my luck it would have been a Hondo  lol), but he had gotten it in the 50s and it was still with family back in Viet Nam.  I offered to let her know the value if she ever found out what it was.  Of course, I fantasized about it being a strat or something like that, and I wondered what I would do.

I never found out, but I decided that even if it was something valuable, I would tell her rather than offer to buy it on the cheap.  Of course, I would have asked to see and play it, but then I would have done what HoosierRock did.  It comes down to the morals that you were taught and the ones that you still believe in/follow.

Guitars: '79 LP Custom, '01 Dickey Betts Goldie - 80 of 114, '00 Chandler Lectraslide
Amps: '00 Marshall 1987x, '70 Marshall 1959 SL, 4x12 JBL D120s
'64 Vibroverb - JBL D130, '66 Super Reverb - CTS Alnicos
'77 Peavey Deuce (great for melting stubborn ear wax)
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: My Once in a Lifetime Guitar Story

It was about Febuary of 2001 when the sell took place, and later that summer he went to some big guitar show (I think in Texas but not 100% sure)  I never met the woman and only heard the story from his point of view.  It was in very good shape the type of guitar that sits in a case all its life only to be opened and has very faint signs of check marking going on.  Virturally no fret where but on the first and second fret like the guy only played chords.  It was a great moment to be sitting there in his little shop with a tube amp going.  I was very green on guitar still but I knew when one played great.  I spent a lot of time in that store when I was young and he showed me how to solder and setup guitars.  I did a lot of free work for him in trade for experience and playing advice.  I think he took advantage of that old lady and I think there might have been plenty of times where he took me for money on things I would buy.  One can say she should have asked around but from the point of view Allen gave me she wanted to sell the guitar and asked him how much he would give her.  Knowing Allen he jokingly said $200 and ended up with a vintage Telecaster.  I haven't seen him in 9 years now but the bright side to that is I too discovered the Internet since then and just how much more I paid for things in local shops like Allens before finding a better place to buy from.   To my understanding the lady never knew she got screwed on the deal and felt like she maked a lot of money.  Allen didn't even have to come back with anything he said $200 and she said its yours!

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  • Registered: 2008-10-02
  • Posts: 373

Re: My Once in a Lifetime Guitar Story

In the early 90's when I was first learning to play guitar my friends uncle who played in a country band came home with a 73 Gibson Les Paul Custom sunburst and a Silver face Champ don't know the year. All for $300, it was the first Les Paul I ever played and I was in love with it. I am sure that someone got ripped off on that deal and I am also sure that gear ended up at a pawn shop somewhere, but I was far to young and new to guitar to know what I had in my hands.