I don't recall exactly what I was buying (or selling), but what I do remember is that he kept putting guitars in my hands to check out, many of which weren't even for sale - we were just geeking out and he was happy to share.
I recall two guitars from that day that really moved me: one was a 1982 AVRI Fullerton 50's Strat that must have been played for hours in damp & smokey bars nightly for years - it was far more beat than most actual 50's Strats I've ever seen. The second one was a 1955 Gibson ES-295 that had been refinished in Sonic Blue:
I should mention that at this time, light blue guitars were kind of "my thing". I was especially really into Rickenbackers - there is the famous photo of country singer Jim Reeves and his band with an all Boue Boy lineup, and they were just coming off their "Blue Boy" Color of the Year. I loved everything Sonic Blue too, probably because of the Strats that the Beatles played. And I loved big guitars. So to say that this guitar made an impression on me is an understatement. I wanted it badly - and it wasn't for sale.
This one photo I had of that guitar was my desktop wallpaper for quite a long time. I would send the owner an email once or twice a year - "still have that blue 295? is it for sale yet?". For years, the answer was "yes i have it, no it's not for sale". I lost track of him for a year or two. Then, I saw an ad on Los Angeles craigslist (we had been living in NYC) that was unmistakably him. I emailed him to confirm, say hello, and of course, asked about the blue ES-295. This time, the answer was different: "i sold the blue es 295 about 6 months ago out here".
Life went on. I added it to my "ones that got away" drawer of my memory bank.
A few weeks ago, my buddy brought over his newly acquired all-original '56 ES-295. I instantly fell in love with it and knew I absolutely had to have one, though they were priced well out of my range. I started peeking around at reissues, looking for refins & non-original examples, looking for ES-175s to convert to ES-295s, until last week, out of the blue, this post popped up on my Instagram feed:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNyiOTuhPRh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... vstheworld
Yes - it was the very same light blue ES-295. And it was in right here in LA.
I contacted the owner (whom some of you here will be familiar with), told him my story, and asked him to please consider me if he were to ever sell. As it turns out, I didn't have to wait very long - he was interested in selling. We came to a price that made us both happy and I picked it up yesterday. To say that I am over the moon is an understatement. It is a really special guitar to behold. Of course, it sounds and plays beautifully.
I will allow the photos to speak for themselves - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
