Riaan wrote
I somehow imagined all those now sought after amps and guitars to have been so affordable back then but clearly they weren't...in fact it would seem that they're comparatively cheaper now? I can't imagine the average non-pro guitarist buying a guitar that cost three times his monthly salary! For some reason I believed everyone and his dog owned Fenders and Gibsons in those days...and to this day I've been wondering what happened to all those guitars...clearly there couldn't have been that many around then!
How did you guys learn all the popular songs of the time back then - just by ear or did you order the sheet music? Obviously no tabs on the 'net or Youtube back then...not even television!
And R8 for petrol...I think a phone call between PE and CT costs more nowadays! Come to think of it, I still remember paying 5 cents for my first packet of Simba chips in school in 1972... ?
Vox, Fender and Gibson were always VERY expensive.However they were affordable if a group played regularly ie.6-8 times per month. Credit was somehow freely available for musical instruments (Bothners,Darters etc.) and sometimes Dad had to put the deposit down !
To learn the songs (words and chords) we used a record player and vinyl 7-singles or LP's and one would play certain parts of the record over and over until you had the chords,riffs and harmonies nailed. One would also learn from others.
Not that many Fender guitars and Gibsons and Vox were around. However there were more Fender amps than Vox. It is estimated that less than 300 AC30's came into SA during the years '63-'67 (The JMI era AC30's).
For example, I knew of only 4 guys in PE in '66 who owned Fender strats. Gretsch and Riccies were unknown to us-- until the Beatles arrived !
And remember, Les Pauls (and just a handfull so to speak) were available (worldwide) until 1960 when they were discontinued. From '61 up to '68 only a few Gibson SG Standards and even fewer SG Customs were available in SA.
What happened to all these '50's and 60's guitars and amps....? well ,quite a lot was sold in the '80's and 90's by SA collectors to collectors abroad.
