The one that got away...sorta.

[DalyTek]

Anyone have any good stories about a guitar that let go of and forever regretted that decision?

Mine was an SG-1 model made by luthier John Stoneman in PA. I loved the way it played, but the body shape looked weird to me, so I sold it a little over 10 years ago, and immediately regretted doing so.
I spent the next 10 years searching for another Stoneman, putting in search alerts in all the various locations, but never got a single hit.
Then one day I got an email that one was posted. I checked it out, and not only was it the same model I used to have, but it was the EXACT guitar I owned!
So a little over a decade (and a significant price increase) later, she is back to me!

[pianoguyy]

I regret selling none.
There are a few I am sorry that I did not buy (like every Jackson that sat at Wray's in the 80s).
There are a few bus ride and hotel room hands of poker that I shouldn't have played. (Although, I won just as many guitars as I lost)
And there is that one Ovation that I left my buddy use... and then I lost track of them.
But, not a single sale has ever concerned me.


However -
There are a few guitars that I would like to revisit. Date, rather than marry.
Kind of a "knowing what I know today, how would I feel" situation. Sleeping with the ex.

For example, today, I have come to like Gibson.
Have the guitars changed, or have my tastes changed?
I hated every Gibson I owned in the 80s and 90s. So much so, that I got to the point that I quit even trying. But then, after 20 years of them being on my "Just Say No" list, just to get rid of a cursed guitar, I took a 2010 GLP in trade. I really liked it, and have since gone on to pick up a few more.
So, that raises the question - If I had the chance to play one of my old Gibson guitars (I am thinking of one particular Les Paul Studio), would I like it the way I like the new(er) ones. Or was it simply a design flaw during those years which would result in me still not liking it.

And the same can be said for one specific BCR, and one specific Carvin. Just to see how they would fit into the 2023 version of me. But, no, I would not want to re-own any of them.

[RatDog8o8]

There are two that, if I can afford it, I will find and add to the herd. Not the exact ones, but the same in approximate age and finish, etc.

The first will be a Silvertone Stratotone 1420. My first guitar. I've found them on eBay, and will probably have one soon...ish.

Silvertone Stratotone 1420 01.jpg Silvertone Stratotone 1420 02.jpg

The next, and one that I probably won't be able to afford, would be a mid-70s Gibson SG in Tobacco Sunburst. My first "real" guitar. Got it in Austin at a nearby pawn shop for about $400, but for some reason Mom took offense at it being in her house and wanted it gone (her house, her rules...). So I traded it for some other gear & hardware. Now they go on eBay for about $5000.

Thanks, Mom....

1974 Gibson SG Tobacco Sunburst.jpg

On the "maybe try to find" list would be a Gibson Melody Maker double-cutaway. I had one for a short time in the early 80s, having traded a 4-barrel carb for it. Dead serious, the kid wanted the carburetor really bad. This one I traded away of my own free will. Live & Learn, anyone?

Gibson Melody Maker.jpg

[catzodellamarina]

I think I have answered this one before.
I wish I had jumped on board for the Sub Camo small batch run we did here. In the 90's, I used to play an Ibanez Petrucci "Picasso" model every time I went into this music store. I should have put money on it but it was gone by the time I was interested. Also wish I would have bought an Ibanez Geiger when they came out, the real one, not the sticker version.