Show Us Your CHEAP guitars!

[refin]

Anyone using(or own) stuff like Kent,Teisco,Norma,Truetone,Framus,ect?
I am always interested in the sick '60s mutants that somehow seem to have a great sound.Sears,Pennys,Western Auto were their favorite hangouts.
I have a few that I'll post pics of later---anyone else?

[Brad]

Like you, I'm alwasy interested in finding off the wall, cheap guitars. I have a 60's Kent Semi-Hollow that is very cool. Nitro sunburs finish, tripple bound with mother of pearl everywhere. Three single coils. Faux Bigsby. The thing is pristine and does the BB Lucille thing very well. Another cool one is a "Dempsy" It looks like an Epiphone Sorento. Hollow boyd, 2 humbuckers, natural finish. Wide, flat neck. The pickups aren't the best, but it plays nice and has a great acoustic tone. I've been wresting with selling it or dropping some new pcikups in it and upgrading the hardware. Another is a late 50's Silvertone/Dano U-1. I got this back in 78-79 for $25. Killer little guitar for slide. I ahve an old "Recording King" acoustic I picked up fro $7 in a thrift store. It needs a neck re-set or a JD Bridge Dr, but it has a wonderful tone and incredible power when you romp on it. Again, this one is set for slide due to the high action. I'll try to post some pics!

[refin]

Like you, I'm alwasy interested in finding off the wall, cheap guitars. I have a 60's Kent Semi-Hollow that is very cool. Nitro sunburs finish, tripple bound with mother of pearl everywhere. Three single coils. Faux Bigsby. The thing is pristine and does the BB Lucille thing very well. Another cool one is a "Dempsy" It looks like an Epiphone Sorento. Hollow boyd, 2 humbuckers, natural finish. Wide, flat neck. The pickups aren't the best, but it plays nice and has a great acoustic tone. I've been wresting with selling it or dropping some new pcikups in it and upgrading the hardware. Another is a late 50's Silvertone/Dano U-1. I got this back in 78-79 for $25. Killer little guitar for slide. I ahve an old "Recording King" acoustic I picked up fro $7 in a thrift store. It needs a neck re-set or a JD Bridge Dr, but it has a wonderful tone and incredible power when you romp on it. Again, this one is set for slide due to the high action. I'll try to post some pics!

Very cool! Nice workhorses!

[stephen]

Unfortunately I dont have any pics of it, but my all time favorite cheap guitar, was a Crown International LP copy. Made in Japan, and a bolt on neck. It had a carved top, two humbuckers, and done up like a black-beauty. She played real nice, and was one of the best "cheap guitars" I have ever owned. Wish i still had it.

[Teleguy]

My very first guitar was an electric Kay. Barely a musical instrument!

Then I played a J-45 Gibson exclusively for about 14 years.

While I was in the service I bought a Univox LP copy. It was pretty cool.
Then I saw a REAL Les Paul hangin' in a pawn shop one day and understood that the Univox was a COPY! 8-[

Later on, in the seventies, I found another Univox LP copy that was sunburst and had some flame! Wa-HOO! Had to have that.

I also once had a Ventura Barney Kessel copy that was in some ways better than the "real" (Gibson) Barney Kessel I had later. At least the neck seemed to be much friendlier. It was slightly smaller and comfy vs the Gibson version too.

Sorry, I don't have pics of any. They're all long gone.

My present el cheapo is a current model Gibson Melody Maker I scored new for $299 a few weeks ago.
Doesn't really qualify I guess, though I know I've paid more for Samicks!

[refin]

I've played the Ventura Barney Kessel----the Air Force bought some guitars for the rec center I used to play on base back in the '70s.
I'll take some pics of my ugly children this week.

[Will be done]

My first guitar was a cardboard and plywood harmony, no tone, no action, no fun! Destroyed it trying to refinish it. I am now the owner of a beautiful Michael Kelly LP copy, cheap yes, poorly made, no. There was also a framus in my life for a short time, a bombproof acoustic with an action that would surely make a man of anyone unlucky enough to play it.

[seagullplayer]

My current cheapest guitar is the one in my picture to the left.
It's a Seagull S6 Spruce. It sure don't sound or play cheap, but I picked it up for a real bargin!

[Teleguy]

Yeah, my Art&Luthiery solid cedar top is a great guitar too!

I traded to the tune of $185 for it (shop worn, but new).

[refin]

Okay----to get the ball rolling merrily along!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/refin/Teisco.jpg

I actually use this Teisco---it has a very straight neck and great sounding pups.
NOW-------BRING ON THE MUTANT PICS!!!!

[Barry]

Hey, do ukeleles count? :lol: I picked this up in Hawaii for a cool $10. It doesn't stay in tune and has an incredibly terrible sound!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97/bardani/msgimages/uke.jpg

By far the BEST uke I've ever purchased! (Actually, the ONLY one.)

[refin]

Hey, do ukeleles count? :lol: I picked this up in Hawaii for a cool $10. It doesn't stay in tune and has an incredibly terrible sound!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97/bardani/msgimages/uke.jpg

By far the BEST uke I've ever purchased! (Actually, the ONLY one.)

:ROFL
Right on!

[dudabrad]

How to you post pics? Sorry, I still an internet rookie.[/code]

[refin]

How to you post pics? Sorry, I still an internet rookie.[/code]

You have to have a hosting site,like photobucket,which is free.
Try www.photobucket.com

[dudabrad]

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/dudabrad/3371ed33.jpg

I picked this up at a garage sale for $10 Cdn (about $7 US). It has a vinyl covered body. It seems to be modelled after a Hofner (or maybe Teisco), but it has no brand name on it anywhere ... so maybe a Sears special??

The pickups are kind of noisy especially at high gain settings. Has some nice tones at clean settings. Only 19 frets. Weird thing above fret 12, I can pick notes, but if I slide up a fret I get nothing but a dead sound ... so there's something wrong with the action above the 12th fret. I know nothing about repair, so for now it's just a conversation piece. Someday, I may attempt fixing it. Right now my son plays it for fun.

[stephen]

dudabrad,

That looks like something 'Kent' woulda done: kinda cheezzy, yet kinda cool. The pick-ups remind me of aome I saw in a Kent once.

[dudabrad]

Yeah, Kent/Hagstrom all seem to have that "grid" thingy in the soundhole space... at least the ones I've seen.

[refin]

Dudabrad,
Too cool--that's what I'm talkin' about!

[dudabrad]

Thanks, refin. I posted that my pic on guitar.com ('cause I wanted to know what kind of guitar is was), and all they did was laugh at me and suggest wierd scientifc experiments. Can you believe that? :banghead :banghead :banghead

[refin]

Hey everyone....THIS is what I'm talkin' about!
http://www.teiscotwangers.com/

[Teleguy]

Ever get into Hound Dog Taylor?

He was a Chicago Bluesman on Alligator records that used cheap Teiscos and the like with old Silvertone amps.
Chilling slide work, and lotsa fun.

[refin]

Ever get into Hound Dog Taylor?

He was a Chicago Bluesman on Alligator records that used cheap Teiscos and the like with old Silvertone amps.
Chilling slide work, and lotsa fun.

Oh yeh-----no bass player either!
The Houserockers! \:D/

[kewlpack]

Ehm... all of my guitars are cheap... LOL.

[Crunchyriff]

If I show you my two cheap guitars, it will be expensive to view... ;)

Actually I have a tele-clone for $109 that is pretty good, and a very old Harmony 4-string (tenor guitar) that a co-worker gave me a few years ago- it's at least 40 years old if I'm not mistaken, and laminate-free from what I can tell for FREE.

[refin]

Okay......now this is just plain ridiculous.......
http://www.cheesyguitars.com/guitars.html

[5mtpockets]

http://www.knology.net/~tomandshirley/Guitars/Beaters/beaters.jpg

[refin]

http://www.knology.net/~tomandshirley/Guitars/Beaters/beaters.jpg

Very nice,what I'm looking for here!
Is that you,Piemeister? ;)

[stephen]

Ehm... all of my guitars are cheap... LOL.

Need to start a prayer chain for kewl and his, how sall we say, de-exagerating tendencies! :poke:

[refin]

Ehm... all of my guitars are cheap... LOL.

Need to start a prayer chain for kewl and his, how sall we say, de-exagerating tendencies! :poke:

Amen....preach it,bro!

[5mtpockets]

Hey Refin

Yeah, 'tis I....same wonderful fellow with a different moniker

:dunno

[LesStrat]

My Screennamesake:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/sda37/LESSTRAT96K.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/sda37/LESSTRATBODY88K.jpg



He started out as a Squier Strat. Now he's SO much more.

[stephen]

He started out as a Squier Strat. Now he's SO much more.

Are those Bardens in there? And those tuners dont look like the cheapo Pings that come with the Squier?