Guitars NOT Guns

[Mr.Bee]

In 1970 on my way to high school I passed by this store front every day.
In the window hung a gold electric Stratocaster guitar for $22 ($184 in 2025).
I had an after school job that paid me $5 a day.
I begged my mother for the money to buy this guitar, and you know what she said??

"If you want a guitar so bad, why don't you make one in high school?"

So I did. and I took notes on that guitar in the window.
I went to the local music store and bought the tuners, fret wire and pickups.
The first one failed, but I kept at it. I used scrap wood for the body
and even bought maple for the neck and received an 'A'.
My teacher asked what I would do next, I made an electric bass!

Where are they now?
I'm looking at them right now, 55 years later, hanging on the wall.
Still playable, actually more playable and comfortable than name brands!

My policy has always been 'GUITARS NOT GUNS'

Give a man a gun and he'll shoot something, but
Give a man a guitar and he'll make music the rest of his life.

[Mr.Bee]

1. I wanted to add

I was completely inexperienced.
I was just a dumb high school kid.
Everyone was playing guitar or in a band.
I didn't know the first thing about woodworking
or the mechanics of a musical instrument.
Every thing I learned from the school and other people,
especially those guys at the music store for their tips,
who later gave me a job when I finished high school.

[johnp3907]

2. Yeah, I chose guitars a long time ago!

Wish I had the skill to build one. I’m afraid to even buy one of those kits.

[Mr.Bee]

5. I have two (kits)

an SG and a Les Paul. Still have yet to work on them...

Imagine where this nation would be had we given our children Guitars instead of GUNs...

[DBoon]

21. We need a charity that does just that

[Shermann]

3. Sounds like the gold one was a knock-off

An American strat would have been around $250 new in 1970. That would have taken more than a week to earn but sure would be a treasure today!

[Mr.Bee]

4. Oh Of Course!

But how would I know that?? I was 16.

My three favorite shapes were the Les Paul, the Stratocaster and the Telecaster.
I couldn't make up my mind, so my teacher suggested why not merge elements of each?
I did that too. The bottom is round like the Les Paul, the top has the Stratocaster horns,
and the pickguard is Telecaster.

[Polybius]

6. Wouldn't it have been easier to just save for 5 days, since you made $5 a day?

[Mr.Bee]

25. Poor choice of words on my part

It was one day a week on Fridays, folding newspapers...

[Ponietz]

7. Shout out to Agnes Kitts wherever she may be

She gave me a classical when I was 15 and utterly lost.

[Iggo]

18. Similar, but I was 23, and her name was Noelle.

I’ve played almost every day since, for the past 40 years.

Never had a gun. Never wanted one.

[MacKasey]

8. Thank-you Mr. Bee for the excellent slogan!

[leftieNanner]

9. Nice story Bee!

I inherited my Dad's Martin acoustic. I don't play any more, so I gave it to my fabulous son in law. I'm happy it's being played again.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Love The Story

But, $22 bucks for a Fender Strat? In 1970?
They were $250 the year they came out; 1954.
American made versions today are $1,800 to $3,000.
You sure you're remembering that price right?

[Mr.Bee]

14. How would I know?

The only time I ever saw a Stratocaster was Jimi Hendrix or Pete Townshend.
Let's say it was a gold double cutaway.

[Maine-i-ac]

11. A photo would be most excellent, and another good example of guitars over guns.

I'd never click on a photo of a dude showing off a gun.

I refinished a beat-up electric bass in high school, in blue chrome and shellac, got new strings & tuned it up.
Still stank at playing though

[Mr.Bee]

17. My Electric Bass

I made my guitar with stratocaster horns, so i wanted a different look for the bass.
I always loved the look of the EB, so I modeled it after the Gibson EB in the music store.
When i finished I used it about five years,
when I changed the strings I tuned down to low 'A' (for No Quarter) E,A,D.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. ❤️

Thank you.

[Easterncedar]

13. Great story

Thanks

[H2O Man]

15. Nice!

I remember the role of music in the 1960s - '70s.

Despite a total lack of talent or ability, I've a had a few guitars in my day. When my 10-year old daughter asked me if she could try playing my guitar, I said sure. Within an hour she came downstairs and played a Bob Marley song for me. Thus, it became her guitar, and I've come to accept that it was not meant to be in my case.

[Mr.Bee]

24. Yessir, I remember

when somebody brought a guitar to a party it was a real treat!
It was like listening to live music. We would all gather around...
Nowadaze it's cringe- 'they're not really going to play that??'
It was a different time, no Twitter, no X, no TikTok.
We communicated through the songs.
The first time I heard 'Stairway To Heaven' was a friend
playing it on guitar at a party, before the record came out!

[some_of_us_are_sane]

16. Wonderful story, Mr. Bee!

And a GREAT SLOGAN!

I'd love to hear you play!

[madamesilverspurs]

19. Oh, the memories this conjures!

My first guitar (c1960) came from S&H green stamps, and I still think its strings were made from extruded razor blades. But I kept at it and saved all my babysitting earnings until I had enough to buy a lovely Yamaha classical in 1965. Broke my heart when, mid 1970s, one of my roommates had a party while I was at work, and one of the partiers managed to drop it and snap the head off. I've had several since then, but none has sounded as sweet. And, yes, the music we played and the songs we sang back then were very much "guitars, not guns".


.

[CaptainTruth]

20. OMG! I'm bookmarking for future comment! 40+ year guitar player here!

[Mr.Bee]

22. I don't always write about guitar

but I do try to write something meaningful every day.
This whole shooting thing made me think of the last decades I've advocated for
GUITARS NOT GUNS

[StarryNite]

23. I love this!

Thank you for sharing your inspiring story.

[Deuxcents]

26. Your post is so inspiring in many ways..first, your mom gave you the best gift..second, you took her advice

And all these years later, you have your treasures and the loving memories of your mom, who was right, of course 🌺 Thanks for your Guitars NOT Guns story, Mr Bee

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

27. Thanks for sharing your story Mr. Bee, At the present, I'm restoring a '60s Gretsch Tennessean.

[Mr.Bee]

28. Thank You for All Your Comments

I guess with age we think about things in the past are just taken for granted.
I have kept up with and continued improving my guitar throughout the years.
tech:
It has a neck humbucker with coil split.
It has a P90 in the middle,
It has a Telecaster Bridge and single-humbucker pickup with a coil split.
It has an embedded Piezo with volome blend for acoustic sounds.
All pickups can be turned off individually and all are on separate circuits,
essentially removing them - using one or all, or combination of any,
offering a hundred different tones.
It can be thin, hollow, heavy or acoustic.
(as best a solid-body can sound acoustic)
It is so versatile it's priceless!

[Clouds Passing]

29. My son was an awesome guitar player, classical speed metal was his favorite.

And how about “Guitars, not dope” too.

[BlueTsunami2018]

30. I think there's a distinct connection between the decline of guitar (Rock) music and this incel phenomenon.

The young guys who are so deep into this fascist bullshit grew up without guitar. The popular music of the past fifteen years or so is all that electronic, autotune, mumble rap. There weren’t any young guitar heroes to emulate. Ask any Rock Star from the 60’s to the 00’s why they picked up a guitar and nine times out of ten they’ll tell you “to get girls.”

These kids don’t play guitar, they don’t form garage bands which was a great way to socialize and they all complain they can’t get girls. They’re angry and frustrated and turn to these fucknut incel loser podcasters who tell them it’s the fault of “liberal” ideals and women themselves.

No guitar, no girls, super angry = fascism.

Might sound crazy but no crazier than any other theory.