May 11, 2006
My Guitar History
1969 Apr. First jam session. Dan playing bass! West Chester PA
The very first real professional electric guitar that I owned and bought new was a 1973 Gibson ES-150. I just did a search online about that model and discovered that MY FIRST GUITAR (looking a little worse for the wear) is available on eBay right now... unbelievable! It is currently residing in a store in Chicago. My old blonde Gibson!
Photo: circa ~1974. Bearded & bispecled Dan w/Gibson ES-150 and Acoustic solid state amp.
Photo: circa ~1974. Upright piano, Yamaha Classical (2), Gibson L6-S, Sitar, Gibson ES-150.
Photo circa 1973. "Unit Structure" Dan (w/ES-150), Keith & Chuck
My beloved ES-150 guitar left me about dozen years later when I traded up to a Gibson ES-175. The ES-175 is a classic jazz guitar which I eventually sold to a former student when I needed the money, hoping to buy it back later, however both he and the guitar were not to be found when I wanted it back.
Photo October 14, 1982 Babenhausen Germany - Dan (w/late 70's Fender Stratocaster)
Photo: circa ~1980. Polytone Mini Brute II, Mesa Boogie Mark II-B, Home-made Custom Stratocaster, Ovation acoustic, Gibson ES-175
My first Fender Stratocaster was a late 70's model with an ash body and natural finish, now a collectable, but it was sold when I built a custom Strat-type guitar. During the 80's I played this home-made Strat (not Fender) which featured a hand-carved neck commissioned from a top Atlanta luthier, EMG pickups, Alembic StratoBlaster Preamp and other special tweaks. I also regret parting with that instrument but it has passed through the hands of several great players and continues to be played by a professional musician here in Atlanta.
Late 80's & early 90's "Dan Coy Band" - Russ, Paul, Octavia, Bill and Dan (w/Ruthie's Ukelele). This band, with mostly this lineup, worked about 7 nights a week for almost 10 years and were voted "Best Jazz band in Atlanta" several years in a row.
For the next couple of years, around 1990, my main guitar was a white Charvel/Jackson Soloist Pro which is based on a Strat-type of guitar but with a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system and humbucker bridge pickup - good for more heavy/shred stuff. I also owned a purple Charvel/Jackson Soloist Pro with a Kahler tremolo system, at the same time, but it was just a backup guitar. Locking tremolo systems did not allow for quick string changes if a string ever broke, so a backup guitar was needed. These guitars were a pain to maintain and eventually went away.
For about a year I didn't play a solid body guitar and my primary guitar was a Gibson ES-347 TD produced in Kalamazoo on November 20th, 1991. A semi-hollow body design which was pretty good at both jazz and rock styles but great at neither. The ES-437 got "eBay-ed" several years ago along with a backup Epiphone Emperor Regent sunburst. You can hear me playing the ES-347 guitar on the song "BnG" at www.myspace.com/danielcoy.
1991 Gibson ES-347 TD
Missing the sound and versatility of the Strat, in 1994 I bought a new Fender American Stratocaster, which has served me well for about 12 years now. Customized with Sperzal locking tuners, jumbo frets and Vintage Noiseless pickups, this is a fine instrument.
1998 Dan Coy Trio "DC3" - Paul, Dan (w/Epiphone Emperor), & Dave (w/Fred)
1998 Dan Coy Trio "Nothing But The Truth" cover art w/1997 Epiphone Emperor Regent
Photo circa 2000. Dan Coy Trio "DC3" - Dan (w/Epiphone Emperor), Paul & Dave
For the jazz side of my musical personality I bought a new 1997 Epiphone Emperor Regent natural finish, which I recorded my first CD with and then retired that instrument about three years ago when I got a good deal on a new (reissue of a 1950's) D'angelico New Yorker, my current jazz guitar.
Yesterday I bought a modern recreation of a classic Strat. An American Flame Top '62 Stratocaster FMT. Features an Alder body w/flamed maple top, 2-color sunburst finish, Texas Special pickups, 5-way switch (not original on '62's) and vintage tuners and tremolo. This is a nice instrument with a great vintage sound and feel.
2006 May. Fender ('62 replica) American Flame Top Stratocaster
There were several other guitars that came and went over the years (Gibson L6-S, Gibson ES-330, Roland Synth Guitar, Casio/Aria MIDI guitar, Ibanez Explorer, Fender Telecaster, Ovation acoustic, Takamine acoustic, Yamaha classical, etc), but they never became intimate friends like the guitars mentioned above. My collection of amplifiers is another story and maybe I'll recall that later.
Posted by dancoy at May 11, 2006 12:58 PM