What's the cheapest keeper guitar you have?

[Eywadude]

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering: what is the cheapest keeper guitar you own? Whether bought new, used, traded or found. And not just "a keeper for now," but a TRUE keeper you'll never sell or otherwise part with. Before we get started, though, I'll define "cheap" as anything $300 or under (or similar equivalent in your currency).

While I have some guitars in waiting that were acquired very cheaply and/or were even found (which I believe I have shared in other posts in the "Let's See All Them Axes" thread), they are still in project form, so until finished and potentially confirmed as being true keepers, I won't count those.

So, for my own submission, I'll start off with my Squier '51 (pictured below) that I bought new in 2004 for $219. As I have stated in the past, it's arguably my most favourite guitar I have ever owned. Over the 21+ years I have owned it, it has been a great friend, and every time I pick it up it never ceases to put a big grin on my face.

So, what cheap keepers do you have? It can be either electric or acoustic. And awwww, heck. Since I'm feeling generous, I'll even extend this question to all you low-down (frequency) bass players, too. Feel free to share pics and stories as well! Let's see those keeper cheapies, freebies, garage sale and flea market finds!

Cheers.

EDITED IN:

It seems my initial question could cause some confusion, so allow me to set some criteria for the thread. The main criteria would be:

- By a "cheap" guitar, I meant cheaply-built guitars in general. Guitars that originally would have sold as a more budget instrument, and at a more budget price - i.e. guitars that are inherently more on the budget end of the spectrum that you either bought, traded for, built yourself, resurected, or found. Whether new or used.

- It must be a guitar or bass that you would never sell or otherwise part with.

- The $300 maximum price of acquisition should be within the realm of reason. Let's say $300 or less that you spent on acquiring it within the last 30 years (of the date of your post). Beyond that, inflation begins to take it too far away from the intended spirit of the thread. I'm sure grandpa bought an original 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard for under $300 brand new back in the day that you inherited, but sorry, that doesn't count. lol

- The $300 price of acquisition should try to include any parts you may have put into it. I'm okay with a little wiggle room here within reason, but like, no $50 guitar you then put $1,000+ into it. lol The spirit of the thread is to keep it roughly around the $300-ish mark.

- Found guitars are part of the criteria, but guitars that are given to you, or inherited, are not. In the case of found guitars, it must be something that was coincidental in your finding it.

I'm sure there could be other criteria, but let's not get too far into the weeds here. lol Just generally more budget-minded guitars and bases that fall into the criteria above.

Thanks for your consideration. I'll be looking forward to seeing whatcha' got!

 

[tubelectron]

I was just wondering: what is the cheapest keeper guitar you own? Whether bought new, used, traded or found. And not just "a keeper for now," but a TRUE keeper you'll never sell or otherwise get rid of. Before we get started, though, I'll define "cheap" as anything $300 or under (or similar equivalent in your currency).

Anyway, what cheap keepers do you have? It can be either electric or acoustic.

The problem is that I have several ones @Eywadude ! Let's play again the Before/After game...


The Danelectro Orange Blossom special :

The Gretsch Silver Zepp :

The Epihpone Les Paul Special Daphne Blue :

Oh, you may have note that these are Lefties...

T

 

[Eywadude]

The problem is that I have several ones @Eywadude ! Let's play again the Before/After game...


The Danelectro Orange Blossom special :

The Gretsch Silver Zepp :

The Epihpone Les Paul Special Daphne Blue :

Oh, you may have note that these are Lefties...

T

Niiiiiice! That's a good start to the thread! I like the Dano' redo. I have a somewhat similar project I need to get around to doing one day. It's a "Planet" (Teisco) WG-4L guitar body I found in the trash outside of a guitar shop one time. It used to be part of their store's sign, and it sat outside in the elements for decades.

I'm still very undecided about which pickups to put in it (I'm leaning toward something quirky, or an odd combination of pickups), but I plan on putting a spare Squier '51 neck I have on it (unfortunately, the original can't be saved), and I also plan on adapting a Squier '51 pickguard to it, and keeping it with its weathered finish.





Keep those cheapies comin', boys!...

 

[enricosonic]

Back in the '90s I bought this 1960 Kay "Value Leader", a name that doesn't exactly inspire confidence... truth be told I think most of them were crap. But not this one. It was about $250 if I recall. Great, fat, smoky jazz tone. That fingerboard wear should prove its playability.

The only change I made was to discard the non-adjustable wooden bridge and put a tune-o-matic type in there. I posted it in the other thread but it fits here too.

Edit: I did also swap out the cheap tuners with some Kluson deluxe machines with keystone buttons to fit the era.

I too have a Danelectro around here and a Squier Jazzmaster, both were a little spendier at around $450.

 

[Eywadude]

Back in the '90s I bought this 1960 Kay "Value Leader", a name that doesn't exactly inspire confidence... truth be told I think most of them were crap. But not this one. It was about $250 if I recall. Great, fat, smoky jazz tone. That fingerboard wear should prove its playability.

The only change I made was to discard the non-adjustable wooden bridge and put a tune-o-matic type in there. I posted it in the other thread but it fits here too.

I too have a Danelectro around here and a Squier Jazzmaster, both were a little spendier at around $450.

Oh, man. I have a soft spot for catalogue guitars. I know a lot of them weren't the best, but admittedly, I've always wanted one of those. The three-pickup one in particular. Sadly, current prices for them have gone insane. Much the way it has for a lot of 50s and 60s Kay and Harmony guitars. But for playability and intonation sake, replacing the original bridge is a good move. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BillyTheKid]

I'm still confused on how you define 'cheap'. Are you talking cheaply built guitars ( like Kay or Harmony or imports ) or guitars you got cheaply ?

I have 24 working guitars. Most cost me very little. I worked for several guitar companies. Probably have 10 or so brand new American made guitars that cost me nothing.

In 1976 I bought a 4 year old Les Paul for $265. Does that count as cheap ?

 

[tubelectron]

Thanks @Eywadude !

I'm sure that you can draw from your "Planet" (Teisco) WG-4L derelict a very interesting one-of-a-kind project ! Did you first checked if the Squier 51 neck you have reasonably matches the scale of that guitar ? The tremolo operates like on a Mosrite Ventures : you should be able to find a correct spring, or make a mod to adapt some Bigsby aftermarket variant spring. Also, you can easily find pickguard materials and carve the suitable pickguard you want...

That's what I did on my 2nd hand leftovers Harley-Benton guitars, that I bought from 50 to 70 Euros completely unplayable as is :

T

 

[enricosonic]

This was about $400 once I added the TV Jones Super'Tron neck pickup. It kinda fits the vibe of this thread. Sadly I've parted ways with all my other "catalogue" guitars.

 

[slater529]

I can't remember how much I spent putting this together, but it's by far my cheapest guitar... 2015 Fender '50s Roadworn Strat body, WD Music Neck, Gotoh vintage-style tuning machines, and D. Allen True '62 pickups.

 

[Eywadude]

I'm still confused on how you define 'cheap'. Are you talking cheaply built guitars ( like Kay or Harmony or imports ) or guitars you got cheaply ?

I have 24 working guitars. Most cost me very little. I worked for several guitar companies. Probably have 10 or so brand new American made guitars that cost me nothing.

In 1976 I bought a 4 year old Les Paul for $265. Does that count as cheap ?

Ah, my bad. I edited in some criteria on my original post, so feel free to have a look. I'd like to see what you've got!

Cheers.

 

[BillyTheKid]

Cool. Budget guitars that we want to keep. Got it ! Thanks.

Silvertone 1448 with amp in the case.

I told this story before, but it's still a good one.
I found this one at a small store in Greenport Long Island in the early 1990's.
It was a store that sold doll houses and misc. related stuff. My wife went in there to have a second hold pierced in her ears ( they did that too ) . I was wandering around the back of the shop, there was a pile of junk that the owner had tried to yardsale and didn't sell. The guitar was near mint...still had sawblade marks on the fingerboard and little metal burrs where the nut had been stamped. It had one bad tube in the amp that my dad fixed. I paid $10 for the instrument and case. It came with the original cord and strap.

 

[1tumbleweed]

Not an acoustic to be seen (or even mentioned)? My $50 Cort feels dissed.

 

[BillyTheKid]

The Harmony Stella I learned on. Mom spent about $25 brand new.
I found the case at the dump decades later.
The neck just fell out over time and had to be glued back in. Still plays. Good cheap sound for the blues.

 

[Eywadude]

Thanks @Eywadude !

I'm sure that you can draw from your "Planet" (Teisco) WG-4L derelict a very interesting one-of-a-kind project ! Did you first checked if the Squier 51 neck you have reasonably matches the scale of that guitar ? The tremolo operates like on a Mosrite Ventures : you should be able to find a correct spring, or make a mod to adapt some Bigsby aftermarket variant spring. Also, you can easily find pickguard materials and carve the suitable pickguard you want...

That's what I did on my 2nd hand leftovers Harley-Benton guitars, that I bought from 50 to 70 Euros completely unplayable as is :

T

Yeah, that "Planet"/Teisco will be a fun project once I get around to building it. Although, once I do, it may or may not fully qualify under the criteria of this thread (I updated my original post). I just happened to mention it here as a project I'll eventually work on. But being that it will retain its original (and very weathered) finish, I want it to be very junky/funky looking once I'm finished the build. Sort of like an odd, unloved guitar someone put together with spare parts that you'd see sitting in the dusty corner of a junk shop or a pawn shop somewhere.

The scale length of the Squier neck doesn't match as it is. The bridge location will have to be moved forward, and a small portion of the rear pickup routing will have to be filled in to accommodate the relocation. Luckily, the neck will fit into the neck pocket very nicely with some very minor modification.

As for the Squier '51 pickguard, I am going to adapt it with some re-countouring around the area of the horns, and I also intend on cutting and re-shaping the metal control plate to fit into the factory contours of the pickguard in the area that it would normally cover. It may be hard for you to envision without seeing it in person, but I have it all planned out, and it will suit the weird look I want for that guitar.

 

[Eywadude]

Cool. Budget guitars that we want to keep. Got it ! Thanks.

Silvertone 1448 with amp in the case.

I told this story before, but it's still a good one.
I found this one at a small store in Greenport Long Island in the early 1990's.
It was a store that sold doll houses and misc. related stuff. My wife went in there to have a second hold pierced in her ears ( they did that too ) . I was wandering around the back of the shop, there was a pile of junk that the owner had tried to yardsale and didn't sell. The guitar was near mint...still had sawblade marks on the fingerboard and little metal burrs where the nut had been stamped. It had one bad tube in the amp that my dad fixed. I paid $10 for the instrument and case. It came with the original cord and strap.

View attachment 3651166

Bargain! I always wanted to check out one of those. I used to own a 1956 Danelectro U-2 that had been re-sprayed with red pearl pant and it had a blue sparkle pickguard. I think I got it for $225 around 20 years ago, but I've long since sold it. Dang...come to think of it, I don't even think I have any pictures of it! I think I sold it just before I got my first digital camera in 2004, and I don't think I was taking any pics with the crappy film camera I had at the time, so I don't think I ever documented that one.

 

[Eywadude]

Sorry for the multiple posts, everyone. I'm in between here and making dinner, and I'm just trying to catch up with posts coming in. lol

Not an acoustic to be seen (or even mentioned)? My $50 Cort feels dissed.

Feel free to post a pic of it if you like!

The Harmony Stella I learned on. Mom spent about $25 brand new.
I found the case at the dump decades later.
The neck just fell out over time and had to be glued back in. Still plays. Good cheap sound for the blues.


View attachment 3651175View attachment 3651174

I learned on an all-mahogany Harmony H165 that was played (momentarily anyway) by a locally well-known guitarist before my dad bought it. Although, that one will be inherited, so I won't include that one here. Yet another guitar I've never taken pictures of, though! I need to get my ass in gear! lol

 

[enricosonic]

The Harmony Stella I learned on. Mom spent about $25 brand new.
I found the case at the dump decades later.
The neck just fell out over time and had to be glued back in. Still plays. Good cheap sound for the blues.


View attachment 3651175View attachment 3651174

I had one very similar to this as a kid. Horrible high action that I didn't know how to improve. I will say it made me a stronger player, once I got my hands on something with lower action I ran up and down the neck with relative ease.

In the early '90s I bought this 1971 Yamaha FG-300 for $279 from a pawn shop that had a layaway plan. Another guitar that now is fetching silly prices, so does it belong here? Really love this one, great big balanced tone.

 

[Eywadude]

I had one very similar to this as a kid. Horrible high action that I didn't know how to improve. I will say it made me a stronger player, once I got my hands on something with lower action I ran up and down the neck with relative ease.

In the early '90s I bought this 1971 Yamaha FG-300 for $279 from a pawn shop that had a layaway plan. Another guitar that now is fetching silly prices, so does it belong here? Really love this one, great big balanced tone.

Yeah, I'll let that squeak by. Vintage Yamaha prices have gone up for sure. Although, everything, and I mean just about everything vintage has gone through the roof over the last 15-20 years. Puts me out of the current marketplace.

 

[enricosonic]

Yeah, I'll let that squeak by. Vintage Yamaha prices have gone up for sure. Although, everything, and I mean just about everything vintage has gone through the roof over the last 15-20 years. Puts me out of the current marketplace.

Oh man... I do know. I could kick (or cut on) myself to think of the Airlines, Danelectros and Supros that I sold on. I did so because they were largely crap for the most part as players.

I did not foresee the investment potential in vintage crap.

 

[Eywadude]

Oh man... I do know. I could kick (or cut on) myself to think of the Airlines, Danelectros and Supros that I sold on. I did so because they were largely crap for the most part as players.

I did not foresee the investment potential in vintage crap.

It's okay, I let go of my '56 Danelectro U-2 for that reason. It was just a ho-hum sounding and playing instrument. I've let several go like that. It's usually best in the end. I can't stand a guitar just sitting around not being played. "One man's trash..."