OGD

Tannin

Is "old guitar day" the opposite of "new guitar day".

This is my old Yamaha FG-512. I bought it from a mate in about 1989. He was the guitarist in the band I was playing bass in. I think he bought it new a few years prior to that. I forget the price, it might have been $600.



I played it alongside my best guitar at that time, a Maton six string, model unknown, and a variety of other things including a Regal resonator, my old Eston 12-string (aka Eko Ranger) and of course my beautiful 1959 Fender Telecaster bass. (Not actually mine, it was on long-as-you-like loan from a very generous friend.)

So not counting the bass, it was my second guitar. A year or two later, the band broke up and I gave the bass back to my friend. A bit after that my house was broken into and they took all the guitars except (for reasons unknowable) for a Strat copy of little value, and the Yamaha 12-string. (Why take the Eston, worth maybe $200, and leave the Yammy worth triple that? Beats me.)

Anyway, this was also about the time I lost my urge to play music. A year or two playing weddings and functions saw to that. Plus I was 30-something and maybe growing up a bit. And I had thrown myself into a new business, which very soon grew to take up every waking moment. (You think playing in front of a big crowd is exciting? Try running a fast-growing business.)

So with one thing and another, I never replaced the Maton or the Regal and I just played the 12-string. As time went by I gradually played it less and less. by the 2010s I was lucky to be picking it up twice a year.

Then in my middle fifties I retired. A few more years went by before - for no special reason - I started playing again. The old Yamaha 12-string was the only guitar I had, so that was the one I played. By this time it was pretty rooted, but it was good enough to rekindle the fire. After a few months of playing it every day, I went down the street and bought a lovely Maton 6-string. That was pretty much the end of the old FG-512; I seldom played it after that.  I bought a few more nice guitars and gave the 12-string to a mate in Ballarat. I think he found it a bit too difficult to tune and he didn't keep it. 

So this week just gone I brought it back here to Tasmania, polished it up a bit, and (not without a touch of regret) gave it to our favourite local op shop. ("Opportunity shop". I think the UK phrase for the same thing is "charity shop".) They can't be expected to be guitar experts and I didn't want them ripping themselves off by giving it away for $40, nor sticking some poor ignorant bastard $250 for a guitar not worth half that, so I recommended that they ask $100 for it, including the worn but serviceable hard case.

The FG was made in Japan around about 1985 and is all-laminate with a bound mahogany neck and what looks like ebony fingerboard and bridge. It was always a right bastard to tune, and singlehandedly brought about my lifelong hate for slotted headstocks. But once tuned, the tone was as good as anyone could expect and I got many years of faithful service out it. 

Slowly, over the years, the belly started to bulge and that characteristic dip in front of the bridge appeared. But I do mean slowly - all things considered it stood up remarkably well, and even now it remains perfectly playable if you don't venture too far up towards the dusty end of the neck.

In its day (and in my day, when I was a 12-string player) it banged out a bloody good tune. 

Mellish

@Tannin ; you may be able to answer this since the band come from Oz. It may or may not prove difficult but let's see... 

Any idea what brand of guitar Keith Potger (lead guitarist of The Seekers) uses? Maton? Cole Clark? Always wondered  

Tannin

Maton, Mellish. They both played Matons. Umm ... If I remember correctly, one often played an SRS-70 12-string. Cole Clark only started in 2001 or so. 

Mellish

^^^ many thanks, Tony

EDIT: that was Keith Potger who sometimes played a 12  

BillDL

I would bet that the guitar will be snapped up by a collector of 80s acoustic guitars or somebody on a lower budget looking for a good quality 12 string.  I gave up trying to play a 12 string many years ago simply because of them being a pain in the arse to tune and having to temper the tuning on most of the thick/thin pairs to get better intonation.  I've always had a soft spot for older Yamaha acoustics though, and I would probably be the very person that would snap that guitar up from the charity shop if I lived there.  Nice background story to accompany it.  I enjoy reading about other peoples' lives and experiences.

Tannin

@Mellish I just looked at the 2013 farewell tour video linked in the tributes thread. Two Matons, but both Custom Shop jobbies for sure. That magnificent fiddleback Blackwood on the 6-string is rare and not something they build production guitars with. Also, the full-gloss finishes - most (but not  all) factory Matons come in a satin nitro finish. But if Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley can't afford a custom build, who can?

guitarjack66

Mellish said:

@Tannin ; you may be able to answer this since the band come from Oz. It may or may not prove difficult but let's see... 

Any idea what brand of guitar Keith Potger (lead guitarist of The Seekers) uses? Maton? Cole Clark? Always wondered  

As you mentioned The Seekers I just thought I'd mention the unfortunate death of Judith Durham at the beginning of August. What a wonderful voice she had. Youtube and Spotify are great places to appreciate such things for me.

Tannin

I agree, a wonderful voice, and she knew how to use it. There is a thread here: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/232569/judith-durham-rip

Mellish

The Seekers came along in my early guitar years.

I'd figure out the chords A World Of Our Own, and their songs (plus Dylan and Donovan) made up my earliest gigs.

Yes Judith Durham's death was music's loss

Tannin

Donovan! Now there is a name we don't hear so often anymore. For a while there Donovan was huge. 

Mellish

@Tannin ; Donovan Philip Leitch IIRC, born in Scotland.

Yes, Colours, Catch The Wind, Ballad Of A Crystal Man were among his hits, although the latter tbh came out on an LP rather than a single. 

He had a beloved J-45 that was stolen. And the song Mellow Yellow, well that refers to...erm...dried banana skins  

BillDL

I assume "dried banana skins" refers to smoking them?  As a kid I heard that they made you high, but it didn't work for any of us.  One of us puked up and the rest of us were left coughing like hags. We also learned that nutmeg was a drug, but we just ended up with bad heartburn and sore throats.

Mellish

@BillDL ; ; yes mate, got it in one. It was popular with 60s hippies