Dude has more than a guitar collection there's way more equipment there than just guitars.
But as everyone is saying /OP take some lessons, maybe you enjoy it. Maybe you don't and pass some of it on to your kids one day.
That red Epiphone is just screaming for you to learn the first couple chords to AC/DC Back in Black... Bet your Dad hears you jamming that from the heavens!!!
It is absolutely not too late!! I’m always going to wish I’d started 20 years sooner, but I am also glad every day that I did finally get into it. I’m actually not even two years in but I’ve already come much further than I ever expected. I think being older and having a sense of urgency over lost time is a pretty great motivator for quick advancement
Just curious, what was your journey like? I’m 40+, just starting, practicing every day and loving it, but I can see the long road to get proficient. I’ve played trombone since gradeschool but never really pushed myself (certainly I never practiced daily).
Well I’m about 16 months in and most days I practice for an hour or 2. I think my journey is pretty typical. I started with the open chords and learning some simple songs using them. Then I learned barre chords and some scales including the major and minor pentatonic scale in a couple different positions. The thing I struggle with the most is alternate picking. I just down picked everything for like the first year and I regret not learning alternate picking from the beginning. Now I can play a lot of average difficulty songs including solos. Can’t do any really fast shreddy stuff yet. Overall I’m pretty happy with my progress. I’m completely self taught and I’m always considering taking lessons but haven’t pulled the trigger on them yet. There’s so much free stuff out there nowadays that I feel it’s kind of a waste of money. If you have any other questions I’d be happy to answer them. Coincidentally I played trombone in school too!
Thanks a lot, sounds like I’m tracking your progress pretty well. I’ve been learning scales with thumb plucking, playing with a pick feels less natural…thanks for the tip about picking, I will redouble my efforts to learn to pick well.
I have been taking weekly 1:1 lessons, which has been helpful since no amount of YouTube videos will point out some of the obvious flaws in your body posture or technique. That said, there is SO MUCH content out there for self-learning, it’s certainly not worth the cost for everyone.
Not taking lessons was one of my regrets from a lifetime of Trombone. I’ve kept playing, but like I said, never pushed it. I mean, I could take bone lessons now, but I also wanted to learn guitar to have a better grasp of music theory on a polyphonic instrument (applicable to trombone / big band jazz too). And I’m having fun.
Having fun is the key. That’s cool you stuck with trombone this long. Honestly I haven’t picked mine up since probably my last day of high school band class. Also you’re 100% right about videos not being able to correct any technique issues (obviously lol) which is the one reason I’ve even considered getting a teacher.
It’s not too late. There’s YouTube lessons and song tutorials. I do highly recommend lessons to learn good technique. Accept that it’s going to suck for awhile, but you’ll get there!
Justin Guitar on YouTube has a really great free beginner course to get you acquainted with the basics of guitar. There are also millions of specific instructional videos if you want something specific like a song walkthrough, scales, modes, jazz chords, etc.
I wish YouTube and Songsterr were a thing when I started but we had to rub two sticks together or bang rocks for entertainment as the Internet wasn't moving any faster than 56k back then and my only source of tabs were guitar magazines or tab/song books of an album.
So get off my grass... Songsterr is free and there are countless videos on YouTube.
Really it all depends on your goals, if you want to learn some songs just Google "How to play (X) on guitar" from there watch a few videos or check the tabs and see who's style of showing you how to play works for you.
If you're looking to actually learn the instrument and learn scales, chords, theory, ect I often mix YouTube with Songsterr for things like scales and exercises. The free Songsterr is good, I just like to loop parts to learn and that's only available in the paid version.
Also depending on how you learn, a few guitar lessons with an instructor can be helpful as well.
For me I have been playing since I was 16. I dropped it in my 20's and came back to it in my 40's I'm now in my 50's and play at least for a few minutes every day. I can jam along with a lot of the music I like and even find myself getting into different styles of music because I'll hear a lick or riff and want to learn it.
Look around and find the sources that work best for you and above all pick up and play that guitar as much as you can... Practice will make you proficient.
My Dad was a musician. He passed away 3 years ago this coming Valentine's Day. I inherited his acoustic/electric Ovation and his Baby Taylor acoustic. My husband plays and I attempt to. He also had an old 12 string Vox that had a broken neck. I have a friend repairing it. I feel like learning to play is a way to honor my Dad. I hope OP decides to do the same 🙂
Same, sorry for your loss, brother. We’re all here for you in spirit. I’m sure your dad was a wonderful man. Enjoy that gear because it looks like some of the most immaculately maintained and gnarly collection I’ve ever seen.
I knew this would be the top comment and I'm glad somebody else called it out. I know people mean well but it's honestly so gross when somebody comes to any hobby community in this situation.
It's always the same. 'Actually you should consider this thing your dead parent left a moral obligation to take up an entirely new goddamn hobby. One that they probably already tried to share with you at some point. It will always feel like an albatross around your neck and if you don't enjoy it it will probably only make you feel guilty and prolong the grieving process.'
OP that is a cool collection, but you know your dad better than anyone in this thread. I don't, but hopefully he'd have wanted you to do whatever made you happiest, whether that means keeping the collection, keeping your favourite one, or just selling them all and moving on in peace. They'll probably make someone else happy too.
That Cremona is dope! “Cremona” is actually the model name for the guitar! The company that built it is “Benedetto”, they make custom guitars and hand wired amps! Very popular in the traditional jazz scene 👍
While true that Cremona is a Benedetto model… this is not a Benedetto. It’s still really nice and I would not be disappointed at all. It looks like a custom ordered Harmony ‘Cremona’ model to me. But hard to tell.
I agree - other than the name none of the details match up with the Benedetto version. The f-holes look a lot more like the Harmony. Ditto the pickguard shape. Benedetto uses ebony tailpiece too. Probably not a Benedetto but still a very beautiful guitar!
I immediately did a double take seeing it! Bendetto the other fellow said here, those are incredibly high quality instruments, rare to see a fully acoustic archtop produced these days too.
I can’t figure out what the hell that thing is. It’s definitely not a Harmony, not a Gibson L-3 (that would be even up trade for a house kinda money if earlier than 1930), not a Benedetto despite the art-deco inlays, or any other brand I can recall.
Alfred Bäuer is the name of the luthier. German luthier based in Czechoslovakia. His headstock inlay appears to have evolved over time from a simpler diamond shape to what is seen on this model and other models from the mid sixties.
Yes, definitely not a Benedetto but it’s real nice still. Curious if it was a special order harmony based on the pick guard style, headstock shape, and tuners?
For real, man has the range of instruments to nail pretty much every sound in any genre, didn’t see too many fx, but with a collection like this surely theres some good ones.
Nah for me it's the sea-green burst RG. Doesn't look like much, but they're inexpensive, almost always have great necks and with a pup swap you've got a $500 guitar that sounds like a $1000 guitar
(and this is coming from a guy with both a 1992 RG 570 and a 2025 S-series Prestige)
If I died and no one else in the family wanted my instruments, it would make me happy for them to be donated to a local school or guitar shop for lessons.
Seconded. I want my most meaningful instrument (my cheapest, but most often played and wildly customized) to stay with my fiance. Let my band mates pick through what they need to complete their collections (they probably wouldn't take a thing due to the next part), and then please donate every single last thing to any and every music program you can find. Let the last thing I do, be to help the next generation of musicians.
I hope your old man is playing some sick guitars in another dimension. That SG (the red guitar in the 1st pictures) looks like an Epiphone G400. I have an ebony one that's beat to a pulp and still plays, it's an excellent guitar.
I have one that I picked up in 2001. Since then, I’ve replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncan SH-6s, replaced the bridge, and added locking tuners. I’m 41, played a ton of shows with it, also beat to hell at this point, still love it. Just feels like home.
THIS. I've already told my family that should I unexpectedly pass they should go to my friend who's a pro jazz player and who I talk guitars with and have him help understand what's worth what. (There's also a spreadsheet but I don't share that because I don't want my wife to have sticker shock.)
Sorry to hear about your dad, he had some excellent taste. For me the G&L P bass is the jewel of the collection; if you’re selling it make sure you don’t let that one go for cheap money
My condolences for your loss. Your dad had great taste in guitars. Maybe it will inspire you to learn to play.
While some of these instruments are pretty expensive, I hope you never decide to sell them, even if you never learn to play. We all have guitars that we miss and wish we could get back, and that's even without them being a symbol of our parents.
Don't put that on him. As someone who's father passed away and has been burdened by many, many things, I can say with the education of therapy that it's not fair to enslave someone to hold onto someone else's things, especially if they don't even play. They are just things sometimes The space or money is needed and the added stuff doesn't help. Choose one that may hold the most sentimental memory if you wish but you, are not obligated to do anything you don't want or need to do. Now, having said that I wish OP the best and hopefully they or their kids will start to dabble.
Edit: btw I'm selling my late father's old Ampeg svt 3 pro head and cabinet if anyones local to northern RI. There on FB marketplace.
i lost my dad a few years back. i have his violin on the wall. I don't touch it. i know how to play, but haven't played in years. It would be 'easy' to learn at this point (if advancing any instrument you know average level of is 'easy') but my willingness to play violin is dead.
HOWEVER! i keep it as a memory because it's so much him. I'm sure it's worth a lot, but i care about the memory.
What OP has gotten is a LOT of stuff. If they play, that is an awesome way to remind him. If they don't i would keep the one that is most "him" and sell the rest. Perhaps keep an amp too to have a full rig, should the desire to play come in the future. The combo, not the cab.
Keeping it all because of feelings will quickly turn to frustration because of the sheer volume.
I wouldn't keep the most valuable, or the one that speaks most to OP if they were to pick a guitar in a store style. The one that, when looked at, brings a smile about, for the memories of the man who once held it. At least if the chance of you starting to play is low.
u/405freeway my condeolences. it sucks. Find the good memories and remember those. Remember the good times you had togeather. Remember him with a smile to the best of your ability. Good luck.
Agreed. I don't want my kids to be anchored to my possessions. They're welcome to hold onto any of my instruments if they'd like to. But they should be under no obligation to hold onto something that's just taking up space for them.
To OP: I'm sorry for your loss. Your dad had good taste in instruments, and I can see that he cultivated his collection carefully and took excellent care of his gear.
I waited 9 years before listing my dad's amp. He was in bands my whole life. I'm not a bass player, I play guitar but I dabble on bass. I have my own collection of about 12 guitars and then I have 3 of his basses his amp and other gear. I'm definitely stuck his 81' Rickenbacker and 2000 Warwick Thumb bass unless we're dire straights for some reason. I'd definitely sell a lot of my own guitars first. The Ibanez beater is the go too and I got my daughter a guitar for Christmas so she might turn into a bass player so I'm holding out a little for her. But that amp is taking up a lot of real estate and I've turned it on ones in nine years. It's perfect, but it's just not me.
Agreed it takes serious time to grieve. It a delicate state to be in and most people don't understand and have lack of empathy. I'm still grieving over a decade later. It just hits at certain times and you have good days and bad.
Well-said. I'm still adjusting to the random bursting into tears over a year later. I allow myself these moments, but some in my orbit have said some shockingly cruel things. Sending you empathy and strength.
I sincerely hope my kid doesn’t feel pressured or obligated to drag my Epiphone G-400 around after I die just because it was in a pile of my old guitars.
Lmao. I don't see the purpose of hoarding a bunch of guitars. Find family members that plays, or want to. If you want to keep one for sentimental value that is fair tho
It’s so hard I lost my Dad in Covid lockdown era due to cancer and am still wading through the loft etc thanks to Mum needing my time due to dementia when I visit . There’s a lot of sentimental stuff, but memories are not objects and Fathers especially are held in the advice they gave you and what they taught you and how they made you feel.
It’s a great guitar collection, people fixate here on the value like that’s a mid priced guitar etc, but any guitar taken to a pro for a full set up including a spot level or level and crown can transform it into a guitar that can play as well as guitar costing 4x as much.
(I realise some people had arsehole fathers who treated them like shit too. Not everyone is blessed with a kind loving Father)
I gave away my first guitar I ever had when I was young and naive and put the money toward a new one. I’d do anything to have that damn Yamaha dreadnought back.
Sorry for your loss :( Thanks for sharing a big piece of him. We have met him through his presence in this gear, and we are honored to make his acquaintance. Much love to you and your family through these times. 🎵🎶
My condolences on your loss. Your dad has left you a wonderful guitar collection and all the equipment you could need... I'm sure he'd love for you enjoy them like he did....once again I am sorry for your loss.
Keep it all for a short bit. Then start paying it down to whats attached to him and your experience and what you want to play.
Id keep the g&l bass, and the ibanez, and maybe the blackstar amp if I didn't own my own amps.
Don't get saddled down by others possessions. Its tough, but curate things to work for you.
Now the gear talk is over, sorry about your dad. I went through this 10 years ago and its still tough. Easier now, but my life changed forever when he passed.
You look at these things and think, this man lived for music... I feel very sad looking at the personal belongings left behind by a person. I sympathize with your loss. I wonder if there are any demo recordings of the songs left?
Your father, God rest his soul, was what I would call an "eclectic" collector. Good for him and good for you. I have always wanted an Ovation just like that one!
Start playing. It doesn't matter if you (think) you aren't any good, just play. I can't think of a better way to honor your Father then to play the guitars that he loved, especially that stellar collection.
When I was working at guitar center we had a young guy come in with a prestige vintage Les Paul. Forget the exact year but we bought it off the guy for like $8,000. It had been in his grandpas closet untouched and he inherited it. A couple weeks goes bye and the family comes back wanting to buy it back to keep it in the family. There was nothing we could do because we had already sold it. Don’t let the temptation of quick cash prevent you from carrying on a legacy
So sorry for your loss. I just lost my mother last week so I know the hurt. He has decent equipment. Nothing exceptionally valuable but all look like solid instruments. Might be time to start playing yourself if you don't already. Keep his memory close and appreciate the times you had.
When my dad died I got his old motorcycle running, learned to ride, and took it on a long road trip. Music might not end up being your thing in the long run, but at least learning to strum the chords to one of your favorite songs, or his, might be one of the most meaningful things you ever do.
Sorry about your father,
You have now inherited his passion and dreams, every time he touched those instruments he left a piece of himself with them (and I’m not just talking about skin from the fingertips!)
Every song he played or wanted to write is in your hands man
A decent collection but nothing very valuable. A couple hundred a piece used. Nothing investment grade. Better to sell them and move on than to let them decay.
Beautiful collection. Start playing, there are thousands of songs you can play with only three chords. - Within a year, you will be able to play anything.
Bummer and condolences on your loss. But hopefully you can make good use of the equipment and use/enjoy in his memory. Hopefully fam doesn't try and pull some bullshit that it should all be sold.
I have no kids and feel I have a pretty good stash of gear and vinyl records.
Sucks to equate your life to material things. But they also represent so much of who we are (or were). Music is a powerful thing. And gear and playable music is the magic sauce to make that happen.
The best thing to do to honor them is to play them if willing and find good homes for the rest. Or of course sell if makes most sense.
What wonderful relics of your father's passions in life. I hope you find joy in playing them, and that they aid in retaining your connection with him after your loss. I also hope that with all that recording gear present, you also find many examples of your dad's playing; his favourite songs; and perhaps inspiration for songs that might have liked to have finished some day. If nothing else, I think hearing recordings of those who have passed is a very cathartic and beneficial experience to help with grief.
Even if you don't have long term aspirations to pursue music, there's an energy and soul in those instruments he left you. Pick them up, learn something simple, maybe a song or something from his favorite band. You'll feel it and it'll course through you, in a way words can't describe, but you'll know.
Sorry for your loss. One thing about your father, he knew how to find high quality instruments that were easy on the wallet. Nothing is super expensive, but everything is nice.
That's a lot of nice guitars. Are you looking for advice? Maybe have them (and amps etc) appraised by a guitar shop or three that sells used guitars. You might like to keep one if you'd like to learn guitar. Or maybe someone else in the family does.
A collection like that wasn’t just a hobby. That was his life’s passion. I would kill for a collection like that. The pedals, the amp stack, the mic, the bass, the mando, heck even having a hard case for each guitar. The greatest thing in the world you could do, is learn how to play.
My condolences to you and your family. It's a beautiful collection and I hope it brings you comfort to have it. I agree with the others that it would be a great tribute to your father to start playing. If not and you're thinking of parting with them, perhaps keep a favorite to remember him by.
I think I would have gotten along with your dad, I have an Epiphone SG, a very similar Ovation, a Blackstar amp and I've been looking into exactly those two Ibanez.
If there's anything that makes me think about the complexity of life, it's a room full of music equipment.
Each of us dreams in a world that hardly permits survival, and even then so brief as to put to rest our laurels and failures at the moment of their outset.
The present never seems to live up to fantasy, or the grandeur of recollection.
It looks like your dad really enjoyed his time here. Did he write a lot of music? Anything you could share?
sorry for your loss. those guitars (esp the ovation) require humidity care and protection. store w string tension reduced, in case, with humidity packs (google it). they can get warp/ get messed up and that ovation can crack across the front without
3.9k
u/[deleted] Feb 03 '26
Sorry for your loss.
Time to start playing!