The ONE that got away?

[LucSulla]

 

I'll never have one of those again. Not even sure why I sold it.

[kizanski]

1959 Stratocaster
Slab board, original everything except paint and frets.
THE BEST Strat I have ever touched, so OF COURSE I sold it!

 

1958 Esquire
Again, original everything except paint and frets.
MONSTER pickup, fat neck with Malmsteen-esque wear divots in the fret board. 
It played and sounded like Jesus' Tele.

 

1995 Daytona
The prototypical $350 Hamer but played and sounded pretty close to the $12,000 '59 Strat above.
I believe it lives with another HFCer to this day.

 

1987 PRS 
I don't have any good photos of it (obviously) but it was a glorious, quilted flamey blue. Feather light with a perfect neck.
I sold it to a "friend" who wouldn't sell it back to me.
He's dead now.  (Unrelated point, but I'm just saying).

 

2002 Baker BJ Elite Korina
Screw you, @The Shark

 

2005 Melancon Classic Artist
Played beautifully, looked beautiful, light, with a loud acoustic voice.
Sold it and saw it years later for sale and I was ready to pounce on it. In the ad details, the seller mentioned having the neck shaved down!
I almost cried.

 

1999 Gibson Firebird I
Light, loud, and RED!
I HAD to sell ti because the buyer offered me too much money for it!

 

2000 Gibson Les Paul R8
One of the best Les Pauls I've played.
Screw you again, @The Shark

 

Gene Baker "Keebler" '59 Les Paul Replica
THE BEST Les Paul I ever played.

You know you're flailing in a hobby when THIS is no longer floating your boat.

[alantig]

1 minute ago, kizanski said:

1987 PRS 
I don't have any good photos of it (obviously) but it was a glorious, quilted flamey blue. Feather light with a perfect neck.
I sold it to a "friend" who wouldn't sell it back to me.
He's dead now.  (Unrelated point, but I'm just saying).

 

Just saying it's unrelated doesn't make it a believable alibi.

[kizanski]

3 minutes ago, alantig said:

Just saying it's unrelated doesn't make it a believable alibi.

Yeah, and a flute with no holes is not a flute. And a donut with no hole, is a Danish.

[lang]

What was I thinking!  @bsteff666 

At least it's in a good home!

[cmatthes]

These are a few I wouldn't mind having back now:

 

But THE one that got away?  This, from a pic I snapped at the DC Guitar Show in 1990 when I tried to buy it, but I got snaked.  I had watched Sam pull this one out and put it on the coveted counter display stand at his little shop on Burke St. half a decade earlier, and always lusted after it.  Ah well... 

[Dave Scepter]

2 hours ago, BTMN said:

1979 4 digit Vector. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Agreed!🤣

[Dave Scepter]

31 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

 

Love these two!👍

[bry4321]

Well ever since I've walked I've heard men talk
About the one that got away
I've heard old men call
I've seen young men crawl
For the one that got away
And in their darkest hours
You can hear them say
I'd give all I got
For just one more shot
At the one that got away
 

*63 Telecaster 😢

[mathman]

You can sell guitars?  Don't think I've ever tried that....

[hamersandstrats]

Several:

 

Shell pink ESP 400 Series (sold on this board around 2001-2)

The Standard Custom that I had Jol Dantig sign 

1998 or so ES-335 from the Gibson Custom Shop

My 2004 R8-also sold on this board 

What was I thinking?

 

[Camstone]

[BubbaVO]

I’m good.  Between the Shishkovs  (Ultimate  & SC3) and a T-51 that I’m keeping, I really can’t complain anymore about what I’ve sold. 
 

 

 

Although I do miss a certain Daytona with a trem.   But that itch can be readily scratched nowadays.

Edited August 17, 2025 by BubbaVO
Clarity

[kizanski]

On 8/16/2025 at 11:49 AM, hamersandstrats said:

Standard Custom that I had Jol Dantig sign 

What was I thinking?

Exactly.  

[cmatthes]

4 hours ago, kizanski said:

Exactly.  

Too obvious.

[diablo175]

I've been racking my brains to come up with a contribution to this thread.  I can't think of a single guitar that I can point to as one I'm really regretting letting go of. 

Sure, there are some I wouldn't mind having back for two reasons: nostalgia being the most potent of those motivations. 

The other is bit more involved. In short, I'd like to have a number of them back to see how I get on with them now. I think we all grow as players over the decades and I like to delude myself into believing that I've evolved to a degree as a player as well. My inability to truly bond with a guitar back in the day could have been rooted in my then less-developed technique and theory. I'd like to test that theory. 

Edited August 19, 2025 by diablo175

[Brooks]

On 8/14/2025 at 10:12 PM, RobB said:

Can't think of one I regret selling.

 

Yeah, if I sold them they weren't holding my interest anymore.