So I’m still fairly new to the guitar world. As a kid in the 80s my Dad and my Grandpa played together all the time. Pretty much all old country music on acoustics. They taught me to play a few chords on Grandpas Gibson as a kid. I’ve loved guitar centered music ever since. Everything from country to classical, blues to metal, and everything in between. And Gibson was the name I always associated with my love of music. But I never perused music further than that. I knew how difficult it was for me to play those handful of open chords and just never thought I’d be good enough to play. Not to mention the plethora of other hobbies I’ve had in the decades since. Mountain biking and BMX racing, I raced RC cars at a simi professional level. ( yes there are professional RC car racers who make well into the 6 figures) Motorcycles, I’m a firearms collector and competitive shooter. And I’ve dabbled in some other things as well.
In early 2021, competition shooting was getting difficult for various reasons I won’t get into. And right about that time my 94 year old Grandpa, who now lived in Oklahoma, was placed on hospice. I was told he wanted his 1959 Gibson LG2 that he bought brand new to go to me. I was shocked. And that was the kick in the ass I needed to decide to learn to play at 42 years old. I started doing my research and decided buy an Epiphone ES335. I knew I wanted to learn on an electric. I called Grandpa and told him what I’d bought. He was so excited. He started giving me advice over the phone for about an hour.
Grandpa passed a few days later. But the obsession was sparked. I now have his beloved Gibson proudly in the collection that I’ve quickly built over the last 3 1/2 years. It needed a lot of cleanup and some cracks repaired. I found a local luthier who I’ve since become friends with. He did an amazing job of clean up and repair without ruining the character. That guitar was played every day for almost 60 years. Until Grandpa could barely hold onto it.
I’m just a “bedroom hack.” I don’t play for anyone usually. Just at home and with my Dad. Just like every hobby I’ve had, I’ve become obsessed with the gear, with the history, and with the mechanics. As soon as I learned about kit guitars and Partscasters I started building. I’ve learned to do all my own work and I’ve even started working on guitars for a friend who’s a professional musician as well as my nephew and his band mates. (He’s one HELL of a self taught musician.)
My wife and I recently bought a new house and I got to turn one of the rooms into my dream “studio.”
In early 2021, competition shooting was getting difficult for various reasons I won’t get into. And right about that time my 94 year old Grandpa, who now lived in Oklahoma, was placed on hospice. I was told he wanted his 1959 Gibson LG2 that he bought brand new to go to me. I was shocked. And that was the kick in the ass I needed to decide to learn to play at 42 years old. I started doing my research and decided buy an Epiphone ES335. I knew I wanted to learn on an electric. I called Grandpa and told him what I’d bought. He was so excited. He started giving me advice over the phone for about an hour.
Grandpa passed a few days later. But the obsession was sparked. I now have his beloved Gibson proudly in the collection that I’ve quickly built over the last 3 1/2 years. It needed a lot of cleanup and some cracks repaired. I found a local luthier who I’ve since become friends with. He did an amazing job of clean up and repair without ruining the character. That guitar was played every day for almost 60 years. Until Grandpa could barely hold onto it.
I’m just a “bedroom hack.” I don’t play for anyone usually. Just at home and with my Dad. Just like every hobby I’ve had, I’ve become obsessed with the gear, with the history, and with the mechanics. As soon as I learned about kit guitars and Partscasters I started building. I’ve learned to do all my own work and I’ve even started working on guitars for a friend who’s a professional musician as well as my nephew and his band mates. (He’s one HELL of a self taught musician.)
My wife and I recently bought a new house and I got to turn one of the rooms into my dream “studio.”
