Choose one

[TG]

When I was 8 or 9 in the late 1960s and was wanting to learn to play guitar I'd look longingly at the guitars in the big catalogs we used to get from Sears and Eatons and dream about getting a real electric guitar.
(After sneaking a peek at the models in the women's lingerie section, of course...)

I've just found some old catalogs online and found the electric guitar sections.
(And before you ask...I gave the lingerie sections a miss.)

Which of these from 1969 would you have hoped to get for your birthday when you were 10 years old?
I'd have wanted number 3, with number 4 as a backup if $48.95 was out of my parents' budget.

 

[edvard]

I used to have a #3, which was also sold as a "Woolworth Top 20". Mine was loaned to me when I was first learning by my grandfather, and he played it like it was nothing. Thin body, strings way off the fretboard, straight-line bridge piece, but some of the smoothest single-coils you'll ever hear. My mother still has it, I should pick it up someday and give it a once-over now that I know how to deal with such things.

Woolworth Top 20

See which musicians and artists use Woolworth Top 20, including Alex Turner, Robert Smith, Jamie Cook and others.

equipboard.com

 

[Mjark]

7. I still want it.

 

[twangking]

8

 

[elihu]

Number 6 is a red Silvertone with a Bigsby and three gold foil pickups. That's the one I choose.

 

[allesz]

Number 8 Is beautiful.
I bet the lingerie models aged worst than the guitar

 

[lowatter]

+1 on #7. It robs from Gibson, Gretsch and Mosrite.

 

[mindlobster]

10 - the bass! I used to love browsing through guitar catalogues, sometimes I wish I still had them all. Mine would be more late 70s/80s, though.

 

[bottlenecker]

When I was 8 or 9 in the late 1960s and was wanting to learn to play guitar I'd look longingly at the guitars in the big catalogs we used to get from Sears and Eatons and dream about getting a real electric guitar.
(After sneaking a peek at the models in the women's lingerie section, of course...)

I've just found some old catalogs online and found the electric guitar sections.
(And before you ask...I gave the lingerie sections a miss.)

Which of these from 1969 would you have hoped to get for your birthday when you were 10 years old?
I'd have wanted number 3, with number 4 as a backup if $48.95 was out of my parents' budget.

View attachment 986162

#6 is a rebranded Harmony H77. Three dearmond pickups and a real bigsby, on a doublecut version of a rocket, made in chicago. They sound really good. They're used by a few pros today.
Best guitar on the page by a lot.

 

[dougstrum]

#8 with a size 8 model would be nice~

 

[bgmacaw]

Number 6 is a red Silvertone with a Bigsby and three gold foil pickups. That's the one I choose.

Only about $1600 in today's inflated dollars. Look at what you can get today for that kind of money in a hollow body.

 

[stormsedge]

#6...because when I was ten years old, it was about the most expensive item on the page .

Note: I have a very similar Gretsch Streamliner (green)...it cost twice as much.

 

[bgmacaw]

I bought this hunk of acoustic junk from the 1970 Sears Catalog, using my summer yard work earnings and some birthday cash from my grandparents. I had to go acoustic since my Dad said, "Absolutely not!" to any electric guitar.

 

[uriah1]

Yep. I would look at the Pennys and Mongomery ward., even Western Auto I think
Only $4 a month. How could my mom say no.

 

[Si G X]

Yeah, I'm liking the vibes of number 8 too....

 

[trapdoor2]

I got a Kay 5-string banjo in 1969. I wanted a 4-string...but none of us knew the difference so I played whatever Dad brought home. It got hung on a nail because I couldn't figure out how to play it and was too stubborn stupid to take lessons.

I had no clue about guitars (or banjos) when I was 12 (I was taking piano lessons). I would have picked the least expensive. I always felt guilty when they bought me something too nice.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

When I was 8 or 9 in the late 1960s and was wanting to learn to play guitar I'd look longingly at the guitars in the big catalogs we used to get from Sears and Eatons and dream about getting a real electric guitar.
(After sneaking a peek at the models in the women's lingerie section, of course...)

I've just found some old catalogs online and found the electric guitar sections.
(And before you ask...I gave the lingerie sections a miss.)

Which of these from 1969 would you have hoped to get for your birthday when you were 10 years old?
I'd have wanted number 3, with number 4 as a backup if $48.95 was out of my parents' budget.

View attachment 986162

I did the same exact thing, same age, in the 1960's.
( but I took piano lessons, which I hated)
Looking thru a Sears or Wards catalog, all the toys, musical instruments, and sports stuff ( and the lingerie!) was awesome!

My dad was a Gov't lifer- so he had a good income (we did overseas tours every few years), just a tightwad.
I can't pick one; They all look fantastic to me. The more knobs and switches, the better! And a little amp, please??
I also wanted a drum set, a ping pong table, a BB gun, Man From Uncle spy gear, Slot car track and cars, and, say a Spalding glove and a telescope...
But nope!

 

[Recce]

Number 8 with a close callout to #10 for a bass like Paul’s.

 

[kuch]

One of my buddies got either #2 or #3 when we were maybe 11-12 years old. I think it was branded Silvertone. He still has it, or did a couple of years ago, I'll have to ask him. Don't know what year it was but he also had a Silvertone 2x12 piggyback amp. I remember it had a slot in the back of the speaker cab where the head fit. He told me that the amp is long gone. We had a garage/backyard band in those days.....

 

[Engine Swap]