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Post subject: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:14 am
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Roadie
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So, have any of you folks ever given the gift of music?

My story:
My father in law, a ridiculously cool guy of almost 65, had always been a guitarist, mostly a finger picker and slide player. His guitar collection consisted of just two guitars: a Hofner archtop and a Fender 00 - both acoustic.

He and my mother in law used to come visit for a few days at a time, and while I was at work one day he picked up my telecaster and started noodling. And, according to my mother-in-law, kept noodling. All day. Loudly.

As they were leaving for their six hour drive home, I followed them to the door and gave him a squier strat and a Fender frontman which had been sitting about unplayed. "Thanks, but I won't play it" he said. My mother in law (a brilliant and kind woman, who has sadly now passed away) threw me quite the look!

Anyhow, I said he should take it and, if he didn't play it, I would bring it home the next time I visited them.

That was about five years ago and it sure was the start of something! I haven't got the guitar back. He has now electrified the hofner and the acoustic, has added two resos, an active bass, another strat, an electric lap steel (some of which are on 'long term loan' from my own collection) and regularly plays a couple of CBGs which I've built him. He plays in a 50s to 80s covers band, tearing up lots of Stones type stuff, plays with some of the same folk in a three piece, does open mikes on his own, goes to a bunch of jam sessions, a folk club and a jazz club.

Music seems to be a great release for him since he lost his wife. I've given a lot of gifts to a lot of people in my life, but this was without a doubt the single best thing I've ever given anybody!

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:56 am
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That is a very nice thing you did for your father-in-law. Good karma to you Bros.
Yes, I gave a Precision bass guitar to my drummer last x-mas.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:16 am
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A couple of acoustic guitars to old friends just getting into guitar, a gig bag with shoulder straps so a student of mine could carry her guitar to her lesson while riding her bicycle, an older Gibson SG bass guitar to an auction for charity, several good quality tuners to friends whom I had seen struggling while trying to tune up with lousy cheap tuners, a small number of stomp boxes here and there to friends who had no idea how to choose a pedal and a Fender tube amp to an old friend who was stuck in a rut with modelling amps and swore they sounded as good. I also gave forum member Tim Drake a set of sealed Fender Schaller tuning machines for his Tele when he was just getting started.

Oh, and tubes. Lots of tubes.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:47 am
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Lost count of the random acoustics I have given to people - I seem to always keep a cheap acoustic around purely for the purpose of giving away there days. Not sure how that got started, but hey. :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:37 pm
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Gave my youngest son his pick of most of my guitars when he thought he wanted to play guitar...and then he opted for drums...nearly broke my heart! So got him a nice set of drums and over the past two and half years he has become quite good, he has found a good friend and bassist, so they work well as a rhythm section. He even likes to drag me into thier jams sessions and we have a nice classic rock and blues set worked out and we both enjoy our time with it.

T2

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:58 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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I have given electric guitar and amp to:

girlfriend (also gave her a violin and rubboard)
dad
my 2 kids (also piano, violins, flutes, drum kit, etc)
friend and his wife as wedding present (2 squiers, his and hers plus amp)
kid who works in office.

I became known for giving guitars as gifts

But I stopped because too many were unappreciative of it. actually all of them. but I havn't given up on kids

so now I'm not wasting that money anymore and I buy guitars for myself.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:30 pm
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A friend asked me to put together a Strat out of parts for him. It ended up thrown away in a move...and I never got it to him.

I ended up giving him my Fender JP90/with case...out of guilt. That was a good bass, too.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:19 pm
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not yet, but one of these days!

my kids didn't want to play music. i have 2 small grandchildren, and if they show the desire to play, i will buy them some starter stuff, and when my time is up they will get the good gear.

should they not desire to play, i will probably donate it to a school where maybe a needy youth could put it to good use


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:15 pm
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Through my local music store I find out about kids who want to learn to play but for some reason or other there aren't the finances in the family to follow through. If they have expressed a longing for a particular instrument I'll buy it and enclose an encouraging note to them from 'Mr. Anonymous', then the store calls them to come pick up a surprise. I have bought guitars, basses, amps this way, and it's fun to be a hidden Santa. The kids send me thank-you notes in return and drop them off at the store. And I look for school music nights when they might be playing to check up on their progress! 8)


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:17 am
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Solid Body Love Songs wrote:
Good karma to you Bros.
Yes, I gave a Precision bass guitar to my drummer last x-mas.
thanks fella - is the drummer still a drummer?

BMW-KTM wrote:
A couple of acoustic guitars to old friends just getting into guitar, a gig bag with shoulder straps so a student of mine could carry her guitar to her lesson while riding her bicycle, an older Gibson SG bass guitar to an auction for charity, several good quality tuners to friends whom I had seen struggling while trying to tune up with lousy cheap tuners, a small number of stomp boxes here and there to friends who had no idea how to choose a pedal and a Fender tube amp to an old friend who was stuck in a rut with modelling amps and swore they sounded as good. I also gave forum member Tim Drake a set of sealed Fender Schaller tuning machines for his Tele when he was just getting started.

Oh, and tubes. Lots of tubes.
Wow! Now that's giving! I like the idea of giving to a charity auction in particular. I'd love to give on of my CBGs for something like that - you have given me an idea!

Vulpinity wrote:
Lost count of the random acoustics I have given to people - I seem to always keep a cheap acoustic around purely for the purpose of giving away there days. Not sure how that got started, but hey. :lol:
heh! It certainly an unusal habit, but it is definitely a good one!

T2Stratman wrote:
Gave my youngest son his pick of most of my guitars when he thought he wanted to play guitar...and then he opted for drums...nearly broke my heart! So got him a nice set of drums and over the past two and half years he has become quite good, he has found a good friend and bassist, so they work well as a rhythm section. He even likes to drag me into thier jams sessions and we have a nice classic rock and blues set worked out and we both enjoy our time with it.

T2

Kids can be so disappointing! I jam with my father in law when I can - I get the bonus that he is waaaay better than me, so I learn from him too.

Her Wanna wrote:
I became known for giving guitars as gifts

But I stopped because too many were unappreciative of it. actually all of them. but I havn't given up on kids

so now I'm not wasting that money anymore and I buy guitars for myself.

It's a little sad to hear that some of the gifts have fallen on stoney ground, but then we all know there are thousands of guitars languishing unplayed and forgotten in dark places all over the world, so perhaps its no surprise that they don't all spark a fire. :cry: good to hear you'll still help young 'uns along the path!

Dalembic wrote:
A friend asked me to put together a Strat out of parts for him. It ended up thrown away in a move...and I never got it to him.

I ended up giving him my Fender JP90/with case...out of guilt. That was a good bass, too.
:shock: he's still a friend I hope?

phreddybee wrote:
not yet, but one of these days!

my kids didn't want to play music. i have 2 small grandchildren, and if they show the desire to play, i will buy them some starter stuff, and when my time is up they will get the good gear.

should they not desire to play, i will probably donate it to a school where maybe a needy youth could put it to good use

I like that idea too - my cousin, who plays brass (mainly trombone) recently went to Uganda, on a musical giving trip. They gave the kids (and some older folk) a lot of instruments. Music really can bring enjoyment to people's lives - I only wish I'd discovered that myself while I was still at school. I had clarinet lessons, and pretty much hated them!

cnsky54 wrote:
Through my local music store I find out about kids who want to learn to play but for some reason or other there aren't the finances in the family to follow through. If they have expressed a longing for a particular instrument I'll buy it and enclose an encouraging note to them from 'Mr. Anonymous', then the store calls them to come pick up a surprise. I have bought guitars, basses, amps this way, and it's fun to be a hidden Santa. The kids send me thank-you notes in return and drop them off at the store. And I look for school music nights when they might be playing to check up on their progress! 8)

Philanthropy and humility in one! On behalf of those kids, please keep doing this when you can! It's awesome.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:06 am
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I haven't seen him since. The JP90 was the cheapest bass I had at the time. The Strat was one of those 80's plywood made in Korea Martin Slinger(or some 80's name like that). It almost deserved to be thrown out.

That JP90 woulda been a great fretless.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:51 am
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not yet. but maybe in future.

cheers :D

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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 6:26 am
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Roadie
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yeah. i gave a les paul to a friend who had his custom shop strat and a pedal board that i had previously given him stolen. it wasnt the same but its what i had at the time and better than nothing. that was ten years ago. i also gave my niece a danelectro dc2 and a small vox amp.

about 5 years ago my oldest grandson i gave an epiphone sg . turns out the truss rod was no good so i took it back for parts and gave him an ibanez sg type guitar that i had changed out pickups on .. he liked that better and then an alvarez accoustic and a old vox pathfinder amp i used to have the other grand son got a 5 piece drum set with 3 cymbols and hi hat . the older grand daughter got an 88 key casio electric piano and the youngest grand daughter got two violins and a harmonica.

last year i gave a friend of mines son first a fender telecaster.. he was just starting out with a cheap classical that was really a piece of junk but thats all the parents could afford.. dads backis perminantly messed up so the bucks arent coming in.. anyhow he had told me before that he wanted a strat some day..

anyhow i had the telecaster i wasnt using so i decided since he was such a ggood kid that i was gonna give it to him.. so i went there and just handed it over and sat on the couch.. he opened the case and was speachless..

a couple of months later he helped me move c few heavy things .. so i gave him a epiphone wildkat . a danelectro dc3 a fender starcaster ( same as a strat ) and an ibanez aft73 that i had put gretsch buckers in..
and a hundred bucks cash for strings etc..

thats it..


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:33 am
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Aspiring Musician
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I gave away an Affinity to our friend who is an accomplished musician, schooled in Vienna. She asked me if she could borrow one of my amps to troubleshoot her Roland keyboard. I gave her the inexpensive amp and a few days later gave her the guitar. She can play most stringed instruments and has taught her two children to enjoy playing guitar along with piano. She had to give up on teaching her husband who was excited about an electric guitar but is about as musically talented as me.
Another note: a gift doesn't always work. I bought a 1998 MIA Strat w/tweed case, and tweed Bronco amp from a young guy who received it as a gift from his grandfather back then. He never touched them, and last winter sold them to me for a song.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars as gifts: have you ever given?
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:41 am
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Roadie
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i see that alot. specially with kids that have that game with the fake guitars .. they try to transition to the real thing and then realise .... its work..


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