1970's Epiphone FT-135 - photo circa 1995
Similar to the Ibanez Musician, this was my first real six string. I bought this because it was a Japanese “blue label” Epiphone and it had a trapeze tailpiece which I thought made it looks like a rockabilly rocker.
I got it on an installment plan and made my weekly payments of $25 to Dillon’s Music World in Kalamazoo; the total, after interest, was $350 and it was worth every penny. This guitar stayed with me from 1992 through 2008 at which point it was beat and tattered and I traded her in. It may sound sacrilegious to turn in a guitar that has been with you and served as your primary song writing partner for 16 years, but the truth is it needed a lot of work; and that work would have cost a lot of money; and that money was a lot more than it was worth; and a lot more than I had; and a lot, and a lot, and a lot…
