Do you remember hearing the sound of a guitar for the first time? That sound resonated in my living room whenever my Uncle Bobby came by, and l don’t remember much, except that it always meant a great day. One day it would become my first guitar, but when it was Bobby’s, it was as big as me.

My parents may have intercepted my curious hands with a Mdon·t touch, just listen,” if it wasn·t 1or Bobby’s consistently kind and generous

nature. His huge warm smile was only upstaged and practically swallowed, by his gigantic strawberry-blonde afro of frizzy curly hair.

It was a 1969 Ovation Classic that he would always hum and strum something soft and sweet on, something we probably also heard on the

radio of his 1973 Datsun 280Z when he would pull up to the house. He was the coolest, most tun uncle a kid could have. my favorite of all

visitors, and that guitar laid the soundtrack of his short time in our lives.

Two truly groovy pies of my uncle and the Ovation recently surfaced via a long-lost friend’s Facebook page. It is now the only pie we have of

him with it.

Tragically, my Uncle Bobby passed away when he was only 25 years old. His ovation spent the next decade stowed away at my

grandmother’s house until one fine day when I was 15, and in desperate need of anything that would impress girls, it came to my rescue and

was mine. His guitar is the reason I taught myself how to play, the reason I ended up in business with vintage guitars, and the reason why I

feel that the stories shared in this business are as valuable as the historical details we use to value each instrument

The guitar has such a beautiful, rich tone that any bowl-backed acoustic ovation lover would appreciate. The years have added depth to that

and it has evolved into a soulful piece, ideal for any singer-songwriter inspired by Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, Glen Campbell, John Lennon,

Melissa Etheridge, etc.

I hear people often say the value of an Ovation Guitar lies more ln its tone quality, affordability and usability than In any financial return, but

my first guitar was an Ovation. My Uncle Bobby’s Ovation. A 1969 bowl-backed Classic that 1 got for free, but its tag says: Priceless.

What was your first? Did you sell it? Do you regret it? Tell me your story via the comments below. or if it’s a long one. email me your story with

some pics if you have.  I’d love to make a featured post about It. Thanks for reading!

Meet Mike from Vintage Guitar Gallery of Long Island

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