Do you remember your first case of G.A.S.?

[Hodgo88]

There were a few nice guitar shops in Glasgow and during my teens I would tour them often. My real GAS began with the late 60's Fender Paisley Telecaster and also the Gibson Barney Kessel.
I still lust after the BK but I did eventually make myself a Paisley earlier this year............ View attachment 1051441

Gorgeous guitar! Your obsession with the BK reminded me of the year I got deep into prog and thought I needed a Howard Roberts Fusion

It was 1980. There was a 1976 Gibson SG that I wanted so bad it gave me heart palpitations to think about it. I had $75.00 of the $350.00 asking price. My mom made up the difference. Mom was making minimum wage at the time, $3.35/hr. Caused a huge fight between my folks. I had it for a year before I traded it for the worlds worst BC Rich Mockingbird copy because the Bird copy had a trem. This fretboard wood was so soft it virtually spit frets out. It could not be made to stay in tune. But it had a trem…

Sometimes, you just need a trem. I'm guessing this was Hendrix, Gilmour, or Van Halen inspired?

I had an early 90s RG550 I picked up for $275 as an upgrade to my Ibanez AX120. That was my trem guitar (you know, because Passion & Warfare). I honestly don't remember what happened to that guitar, I lost it or sold it sometime in my early 20s... that was a pretty foggy era

 

[Doomguy]

The only guitar I ever really freaked over was the Gibson SG... I mention Gibson because I didn't really grasp how amazing the SG was until I had my Epiphone SG. And when I knew that a Gibson was in the fold, it had to be black. I wanted one like the black Tony Iommi ones but without the cross inlays for... Reasons.

I ended up with a 2018 SG Standard and am still very happy with my choice.

 

[ZackyDog]

Yes! My first guitar was a Memphis Les Paul. I bought it new/store demo for about $125 USD in 1984. I plugged it in my stereo to amplify it.

 

[RobRiggs]

“Sometimes, you just need a trem. I'm guessing this was Hendrix, Gilmour, or Van Halen inspired?”

Guilty! All of the above

 

[Hodgo88]

The only guitar I ever really freaked over was the Gibson SG... I mention Gibson because I didn't really grasp how amazing the SG was until I had my Epiphone SG. And when I knew that a Gibson was in the fold, it had to be black. I wanted one like the black Tony Iommi ones but without the cross inlays for... Reasons.

I ended up with a 2018 SG Standard and am still very happy with my choice.

Excellent choice. Everybody needs an SG! (or a PRS Mira)

 

[arlum]

1974 Cherry SG. My first name-brand electric guitar. Had it less than a year, and traded it for the 1968 Telecaster in my avatar pic. <Edit> I changed the picture to a 1974 Standard.

View attachment 1051285

My first "I got to have it" guitar was a '71/'72 Gibson SG Deluxe with a bigsby vibrato. A few years later, because it was a drag having to carry a guitar and amplifier from one Naval base to another, I traded it in for an Alvarez 12 string acoustic.

 

[gimmeatele]

I certainly remember when I began and played bass, one bass, one amp, cab was always enough, when I took up 6 string I wanted anything I could add on, plug in, stomp on or any guitar!

 

[Call Me Al]

I started bass in 2000, acoustic guitar in 2007. Played many years blissfully ignorant to the possibilities of GAS, one axe of each was enough.

In 2017 I joined a cover band (on bass) with a $100 Peavey bass and a Rumble amp. my band leader says something like “one day you’ll get a real Fender bass and a good amp.” And I’m like “huh, there’s something wrong with my gear??” So that’s when I fell down the rabbit hole!

I tried stuff, and learned a lot. Some swaps paid off, some didn’t. When I picked up electric guitar in 2020, I tried not to fall into the same trappings. Sure, I got a SS and some tubes, a Tele and a Semihollow… but I think largely I’ve kept the beast at bay and been able to focus on making music.

Always share this one when GAS comes up, nicely sums up my current outlook on the subject:

I never really answered the question, what made me say “I got to have it!”…

For bass, peak gas was a P bass and Markbass. I built my parts precision bass with a Jazz neck and a Duncan pickup. Played Markbass for backline once and I was hooked. Great gear, that I still have and love:

For guitar, my second axe and amp were Ibanez Artcore Semihollow and a Vox AC4. Didn’t really need them, but couldn’t leave the guitar store without them. The Ibanez is probably my current #1 (Tele close second.) The vox I don’t play as much as I like, it’s loud and I mainly play unplugged or in headphones. But they’re both wonderful and glad I got them!

In hindsight, my GAS was fruitful because it led me to some great stuff, despite the mental energy it diverted from the woodshed.

 

[Blackmore Fan]

I remember at the age of 19 just *knowing* that I needed a Stratocaster. I was a huge Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore fan at that age, but it was *crystal clear* that I needed a Strat, not a Les Paul.

 

[Skydog1010]

SG's all dark cherry trans, and Fender blackface amps BM (both), SR, & TR

 

[Hodgo88]

I remember at the age of 19 just *knowing* that I needed a Stratocaster. I was a huge Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore fan at that age, but it was *crystal clear* that I needed a Strat, not a Les Paul.

You were right, you just didn't know it would have to be both

SG's all dark cherry trans, and Fender blackface amps BM (both), SR, & TR

And you had great taste early on

 

[Skydog1010]

You were right, you just didn't know it would have to be both

And you had great taste early on

I had a real job too.

 

[Hodgo88]

I had a real job too.

Makes sense, it'd be hard to score gear like that with an imaginary one.

 

[marshman]

I didn't really know what GAS was then, but I definitely feel like whatever Jimmy Page was playing was what I needed. These days I detest Cherry Sunburst, but I do have a plain-topped tobacco burst Les Paul (Classic) that fills that particular niche of my GAS. Extra amusingly, that LP now rocks a set of Pearly Gates Humbuckers, because I now covet BFG Tone more than Page tone. This year, anyway.

 

[TheFuzzDog]

1982 G&L SC2
(Not my pic - this is apparently St Vincent’s but it looks nearly identical to mine including the fretboard wear). The salesman scoffed at me when I bought it in 1985 and tried to sell em a new low end Strat instead. I wonder where he is today.

 

[beyer160]

I had a Led Zeppelin poster as a kid before I even thought about learning to play, and that sunburst Les Paul was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I still don't have one and don't need one (I have a black LP Studio), but I still want one.

I certainly remember when I began and played bass, one bass, one amp, cab was always enough, when I took up 6 string I wanted anything I could add on, plug in, stomp on or any guitar!

Are you me from another dimension? This is my experience exactly.

 

[Strat Jacket]

I saw my first 'real' acoustic in a mall music store in 1972 and decided to save up for it. It would have taken years with my part time $1.75/hr job but fortunately I got it for Christmas from my folks. I still have it. GAS has never eased up since.

 

[BrazHog]

When I didn't have money: none of them, because I knew I would never get any.

When I did have just enough money that the object of my GAS was just out of reach: Leo's Masterpiece. Eventually got one, can recommend.

 

[gimmeatele]

I had a Led Zeppelin poster as a kid before I even thought about learning to play, and that sunburst Les Paul was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I still don't have one and don't need one (I have a black LP Studio), but I still want one.



Are you me from another dimension? This is my experience exactly.

I think it was how it was back then, I don't remember anyone having more than one guitar and one amp, one or no pedals, easy days

 

[USian Pie]

I was pretty sure if I just had this guitar in red I could conquer the world.