1972 Fender Stratocaster, Sunburst (SN 372123)
I got my first electric guitar around the age of 13, it was a Teisco “Top 10” in red. My father swapped a nice mantlepiece style radio for it. I used this guitar in my first band. I still own it, although I haven’t seen it in many many years, as it’s been stored.
On January 10th 1973 I bought my first ‘real‘ guitar, a new Fender Stratocaster. I’d been doing a paper round and paying band gigs to get enough money to buy it, my Dad did kick in the last $100 or so. I’d been looking around the music shops in Perth trying out any Fender I could.
I always loved the Strats and loved Hank Marvin‘s (The Shadows) sound and style. You needed a Fender Stratocaster for that. I’d also noticed Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) got a great guitar sound playing one.
One thing I did work out very early on was that they’re not all the same. I didn’t know why but some were just better. When it came time to actually buy one I went to see ‘old’ Eric who had a repair shop in North Perth. He was the most experienced luthier about. We went to the CBS warehouse and picked out the guitar we liked the best. I did well, It’s a great guitar and I still have it all these years later.
