First Guitar

After moving to Atlanta in 1990 I bought a guitar from Maple Street Guitars. This is a wonderful guitar shop near public transportation (Marta). They carry both acoustic and electric guitars. The folks that work there are friendly and extremely knowledgeable. You’ll see postings about one or more of them appearing in music venues around town.

Maple Street carries Taylor guitars and I bought a Taylor 310. Taylor doesn’t make these anymore. It’s a terrific guitar though. Its Sapele back and sides and Sitka Spruce top. It wasn’t very expensive at the time and they are relatively inexpensive now if you want to pick up one used.

Sapele is part of the Meliaceae family - just like Honduran Mahogany. It has a similar type of sound and is less expensive (and probably more sustainable). )

I have this guitar hanging downstairs by my couch so I can pick it up whenever the mood strikes me. Here’s a couple of small samples.

One is a recording using Open-G tuning and a ceramic slide from The Rockslide. I got a couple of different slides from them while I was trying to figure out what worked best for me. They are really well crafted. I use this particular slide on my ring finger. And this is just random stuff I was fiddling around with.