Guitars that caught your eye as a kid.

DiscoStu

earwighoney said:

Marlin Sidewinder

On 100 week terms?

fandango

Back in the days of Sounds and NME, a school mate and I bought either Sounds or NME most weeks. Our eyes were always drawn to the instrument ads in the Classifieds, and I got fixated on an Aria Pro - such as we could dream. Now this is early 80's and in those days a second hand looked affordable and the name sounded really cool. Some pics suggested they were curvy (but not stratty), and as this was all pre-internet, pics (esp colour) weren't plentiful, hence amnesia.

Now I've had the chance to look them up, I'm far from convinced I was in my right mind.

I've discovered nearly all Arias were 'Pro' models and I'm at a loss to name the model that got me hooked. It coulda been something like this one currently on e-bay, but don't hold me to it: 
http://http//www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-Pro-II-Special-Edition-CS-400-Black-Gold-circa-1980-/292000328954?hash=item43fc936cfa:g:E2cAAOSw-0xYel9~

Gassage

Literally, this guitar; the Belew S and V strat;  Adrian Belew made me want to pick a guitar up. I almost bought it in 2014 but it's not for me. He sold it for 5k.

BloodEagle

Have still got one of these in a state of disrepair in the spare room 

maidenfan

Jackson Soloist with a Kahler, would still love one to this day...

TonyR

• Paul Weller's Rickenbacker 330 as featured on the cover of "All Mod Cons" - loved RICs ever since then 

• A cream Fender Esprit that I saw in a shop in Leeds. Never seen another one in over 30 years...

• Billy Duffy's Gretsch White Falcon and John Squire's Country Gent - similar to RICs, I love Gretsches.

• The Edge's Black Strat

Christophe

Ibanez Jem BFP, GMC and PMC in the window of Carlsbro in Hanley. I seem to recall they were around £1500 then!

hubobulous

Aside from the JS graphics models, there were 3 RGs with coloured neck inlays matching the body - blue, red and violet. I'd have had one of each.

fretfinder

A sunburst Les Paul, because Jimmy Page played one, and a sunburst SC Junior because Mick Ralphs was always playing one when I went to see Mott the Hoople several times when I was about 17.

not_the_dj

http://img.cdandlp.com/2015/07/imgL/117305475-2.jpg

vale

we only had crap music shops selling ubiquitous strats/teles/lp/sg & hideous fluorescent widdly metal guitars in my little town when i was a teen (mid90s). so the guitars i lusted after as a teen (all those guitars my heroes played) existed solely in music magazines/papers & seen at gigs, not in real life. weird & obscure 60s brit, european & jap things mostly.

the late great trish keenan played a burns nusonic & james & tim played glitter ekos & other cool & obscure 60s offsets. i was la-la about broadcast when they came out & it broke my heart when trish died.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QkSyTVqQ8qA/VIE_ZPdt_vI/AAAAAAAACxU/imvXN6JQ108/s1600/trishKeenan-LIVE1.jpg
siouxsie played (on occasion) a vox teardrop. one finger style maybe, but all the right notes in the right order (as the saying goes) & with incomparable style.
http://i48.tinypic.com/168v6vo.jpg
jim reid played (played/smashed/accessorised-with whatever) a phantom in a poster i had on my bedroom wall for a few years (& obvs ian curtis had one too). & william & douglas played gibsons/hofner semis.
https://68.media.tumblr.com/f68278503814e369e2acc184774f8f75/tumblr_o02z3ykL261ukzy5wo1_500.jpg

FelineGuitars

This was it for me.....

Dominic

I had a catalogue with a Watkins Rapier in it which I thought was the coolest thing ever
I also wanted the " superyob " played by Dave Hill of Slade which I thought was the bees-knees .
The closest I got was saving and buying a pair of 4inch platform boots from Shelleys Shoes in Camden Town

Schnozz

Sambostar said:

And the Wine Red Les Paul Studio hanging in the shop.

Yes! Yes! Yes!!! And so I bought one...

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/270127_10150242743453909_5529780_n.jpg?oh=b3d2c281a41fa603f5b0bc1fa595041d&oe=59330BC0

Bridgehouse

Ovation Balladeer...

I was young and impressionable...

richardhomer

A 'real' Strat for me - Mamelok's on Deansgate, Manchester.

They had a large turntable in the window on which various instruments rotated - including a natural, maple neck Strat, with black plastics. To an impressionable young boy, it looked like the most exotic object I'd ever seen....

EricTheWeary

FelineGuitars said:

This was it for me.....

A few years ago I started going to a jam night. There was a guy who was a regular who was a short, fat, middle aged black guy who would borrow a guitar and play Bob Marley songs. He came by bus hence didn't want to carry a guitar but said he would come by taxi one week and bring his own guitar - which turned out to be, rather unexpectedly, an Ibanez Paul Stanley. 

EricTheWeary

lasermonkey said:

The one that always springs to mind is the Azureglo Ric 4001 that I saw in a shop window around Charing Cross Road, probably in '84/'85. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen and I still want one to this day.

When I was about 15 there was some kind of rock band with six formers at our school who would play three songs at  events and the bassist had a red Ric 4001 bass. Could have been a copy for all I know but at the time I thought it was the coolest thing in existence. 

Bellycaster

My first fascination with a Guitar was this one.




However, when I first started playing Guitar as a kid, it was the Mid 80's, so I also loved the Charvel and Jackson Super Strats, like this one.




I like traditional Guitars now, I must be mellowing in old age.

Chris_J

earwighoney said:

Marlin Sidewinder

My first guitar!