Jim Pryts is a guitar player, photographer, and poet living in The Dalles, Oregon. He used to live in The Napa Valley, and was a professional photographer there.
My brother Ray was the first guitar player in our family. It was during the mid 50's, and Elvis Presley shook and swiveled his way into the hearts of teenage girls all across America. Upon most teenage boys, however, he had a wholly different effect. All at once hundreds of thousands of American Mom's and Dad's began to hear the constant whine of pleading from their young sons . . . predicated by their immediate desire to own a guitar. Guitar manufacturers across the country didn't miss a beat, and before long, there was a seemingly endless supply of affordable instruments, both acoustic and electric. Some of them were quite good, and even today are valued by collectors. The companies who led the pack were Kay, Harmony, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Western Auto (believe it or not) the latter three marketing many different models for Kay and Harmony under their own company brands. The high dollar brands kind of flew over the radar of most of these instant rock n roll guitarists simply because of price. My brother got a bottom of the line Sears Silvertone, and in his eyes, it glowed.

None of this was lost on me. Although I was 5 years in age behind my brother, and therefore not part of the Elvis crowd, I was a sonic sponge and in the background, careful to avoid being ousted from the circle of my older brother's friends, soaked up everything Elvis Presley, Fabian Forte, Bobby Darin, The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly & the Crickets, Frankie Avalon, The Browns, The Kingston Trio, Donnie Brooks, Pat Boone, Bill Haley and the Comets, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and countless other artist's sounds that emanated in a constant broadcast from a 45rpm record player at radio station PRYTS, in the room I shared with my brother.

I remember my first musical instrument, a small drum set that my parents gave me for Christmas one year. I beat that thing to death, and actually got pretty good, but still looked with envy on my brother when he strapped his guitar around his neck, and instantly took on the persona of Elvis Presley. In fact, I think my first right of passage, and incidentally, the first mathematical equation that meant anything to me was my realization that guitar = sex. At least in context with the new music that was saturating our minds, for most of the early stars of rock n roll played guitar, at least minimally, and as the years progressed, the lead guitar player in a rock n roll band was a god who could do no wrong. He was cool. He was hip. He was the prime source of the sound that we all loved. I started whining for a guitar.

It was for Christmas of 1956, that "it" appeared. It was all plastic, had Hawaiian silk screened hula girls on the headstock, and a strange contraption permanently attached to the neck that allowed me to press a series of plastic buttons to produce a musical chord of sorts. I graciously accepted my Christmas gift from my parents, and immediately realized that I wasn't being taken seriously. My brother was the one to point out the deficiencies of my new sex machine, but I was a polite boy, and I dutifully pretended to like it. Secretly, though, I would sneak my brother's Silvertone out of it's genuine chipboard case when he was gone, and strum the Black Diamond brand strings reverently. I continued to dream, and 5 years later on the eve of  my brother's leaving for Navy boot camp, he called me into our room. He told me that he was leaving his guitar in my care, and after threatening my life if any harm should befall it, taught me 3 basic chords. The next morning at 4am, I watched his 1952 Chevy 2 door's red tail lights recede in the darkness. I turned around, picked up that guitar, and played Daisy, Daisy poorly. That was the first song that I learned on the guitar.

Well to make this way too long story a bit shorter, I'll get to the point. One recent morning while sitting in church, my mind wandered. I found myself thinking of the many guitars I have owned since my plastic fantastic hula model, and I resolved to try to find photos of all of them to post on my domain. I have been somewhat successful. Most, I regret, are long gone, having been traded or sold, and in place of photos of those guitars,I have gleaned from the internet photos of the same models of my past axes. So, here they are in chronological order, and with a word or two about each.

All My Guitars - Past and Present

 
         

        

#1 Me & my first axe . . .my Hula-tar circa 1956 - Ray gloats in the background with his Wards Airline (Harmony) 8286 all Birch acoustic.

#2 In 63 I got my own Silvertone arch top acoustic. It was made by Kay

 #3 My first electric  - a Silvertone S1478 dual  pickup made by Harmony - I also got a Silvertone amp -for Christmas

  

#4 Another Harmony made Silvertone, but cooler! The S1446 sported Gibson pickups and a Bigsby Tailpiece. I traded the solid body, and the amp for it.

#5  62 Gretsch Double Anniversary  - what a sweetie!

#6  64 Blue Fender Esquire ( added pickup and rounded contours ) - traded my Double Anniversary for it

#7 Me and my Harmony Stella 12 string in 1968. . . . hard to play - don't remember what happened to this guitar.

#8 Yamaha FG140 my first Martin copy, and incidentally, one of the first Japanese imports to blatantly copy the Martin dreadnaught. #9  Yamaha FG160 my 2nd Martin copy

#10  Yamaha FG180 my 3rd Martin copy

#11  1974 Martin D-28 - my first Martin

#12 No Photo - stolen from me at a bar

 

 

 

 

#13  my 123 year old 1888 Martin 2 1/2 17 - cost me $15 at a garage sale

#14 My 70's Ibanez lawsuit model - this was an ornate guitar with lots of pearl inlay - and played better  than my Gibson Les Paul Custom

 

#15  78 Ibanez Road Star. I found this one in my nephews toy box - Thanks Joe!

#16 A 60's Kay acoustic - given to me by my brother in law

#17 72 Gibson Les Paul Custom - did a restoration. It was ripped up, and screwed with by a 70's rocker

#18 Yamaha classical - bought for $45 at a garage sale. Sold at a garage sale for $45  years later.

 

 

 

#19 1994 Larivee  - great sounding guitar - can't keep it in tune

#20 67 pre- Baldwin Gretsch Country Gentleman - what can I say?

 #21 Me and my 94 American Shop Fender Stratocaster - my last solid body electric - it's a good solid performer.

   

 

My Visit to Nazareth, and the Martin guitar factory
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#22 01 Martin JC16RGTE - stereo blend acoustic/electric -a great guitar

#23 Breedlove SJ20 Custom shop- beautiful craftsmanship - great bottom end - back and sides of Myrtlewood.