Readers' Guitars
Real Fenders, Gibsons, Squiers and everything in between — owned and cared for by the people who write in. Fancy seeing yours here?
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Fender Custom Shop Shadows 50th Anniversary Stratocaster (1959 Custom Red) · 2009
Mine is one of the numbered run of Shadows 50th Anniversary Strats Howard at Oasis Music commissioned from Fender's Custom Shop — hand-built recreations of the 1959 Strat Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch made famous. I bought it new from Howard in 2009, and it's done its share of Apache (and a bit of Wonderful Land) through a Watkins Copycat, though it's been largely unplayed since. Here it is with the Vox amp I also picked up from Howard, second hand. The photo was taken by my son in 2009.
— John B
Hofner (model TBC) · 1968
Pure nostalgia for me — this is me around 1968 with a Hofner, a bass amp I borrowed for the occasion and (don't forget) the blue fuzz box. I could bore you with a tape-deck recording of my two friends and me playing our version of Clapton's Hideaway, but that would be egocentric and nostalgic in equal measure.
— John B
Gibson Flying V — Jimi Hendrix's Isle of Wight guitar · Isle of Wight, 1970
Years ago I got a personal tour of The Vault beneath the original Hard Rock Cafe in London, courtesy of Vault Master Jimmy. I got to hold and play a lot of guitars down there — this one is Jimi Hendrix's Flying V, the one he played at the Isle of Wight. A Gibson, of course, but how could I not share it?
— Jim R.
Ibanez JPM100 P3 (John Petrucci signature) · 1997-1999
Toured by John Petrucci of Dream Theater from 1997 to 1999, and handed over to Gert in person backstage at the IJsselhallen in Zwolle, November 1999, filmed by Petrucci for his wife Rena. Gert has kept it, documented and cherished, for a quarter of a century, emails and photographs included.
— Gert N.
American Standard Stratocaster (metallic purple) · 1998
In action at Lydney Town Hall, June 2023. David has played Strats on and off since 1963, when a Candy Red example cost £173 and took two years of an apprentice wage to pay off. This one, a rare 1998-only Midnight Purple finish, has been his alone since bought new in March 1999.
— David B
Guild Bluesbird · 2002
I was only at Mars Music to help a coworker buy an acoustic. Staff brought this out while we were in line: a Corona Guild Bluesbird with a $3,000 MSRP tag, liquidation at $900, and an extra discount I didn't know about. It cost me $536 and outplays everything else I own.
— Jim R.
American Series Telecaster (sunburst) · 2005
2005 American Series Tele in sunburst, sharing the Lydney Town Hall stage in June 2023. Bought new with the original case and receipt, it's the guitar David reaches for when a setlist needs that Tele signature sound.
— David B
Epiphone EA-250 (cherry red) · 1971
1971 cherry red EA-250, built for Epiphone by Matsumoku in Japan, brought out for the same Lydney Town Hall gig in June 2023. It carries a keepsake history, passed along from the collection of a late friend.
— David B
Squier Series 24 M-77 (Cherry Sunburst) · 2004
Here's my Squier Series 24 M-77 in Cherry Sunburst, built by Cort in Indonesia in 2004. It's the top trim of the single cutaway M-Series, with a carved flame maple top and block inlays, and it's chambered under that top. The previous owner modded the headstock into a Zemaitis style homage, which is part of why I love digging into its history.
— Ary W.
Yamaha FG-110 · 1974
Here's my FG-110 with the rest of the family, as I get used to the new one and how it feels to play, and the comparative sounds of all three. I just bought the 110 in an eBay auction for £144, and it then needed £160 for a full neck reset and new bracing, a lovely plain old guitar restored to new life. As for strumming and fingerstyle, I enjoy them all in their own way.
— Steve R.
American Deluxe HSS Stratocaster (DH-1 + 2 noiseless, roller nut) · 2001
I had a 1967 Strat that I played until I traded it for a drum set in 1973. Didn't own a guitar again until the 'itch to play' hit me in 2004, and I found this one in Dallas, Texas. Won't let this one go for sure!
— Ron C