New guy here

[brokenfusion]

Howdy fellas.
The first HM i played was actually Greg Howes. I used to take lessons from him in his house and he had several of them around. One of the coolest things he had there was the actual guitar from the High Gear album cover with the shifter and gauges on it. I believe that was an HM too. High Gear was just out at that time to give you a time frame.The guitar played great but I was not into the pink at all so I kind of wrote them off. It was a joy to sit there and watch him rip on it.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago I see one in a music shop and take it for a spin. Holy Hell i fell in love with the neck. I would have bought it but it was black with a rosewood board, and I would really like a maple board. So......
Wheres the best place to find one? There don't seem to be many on Ebay or Craigslist. Many people don't know the difference between a stratocaster and an HM so searching clasifieds can be tough. Any help would be awesome. Thanks!

[heem6]

Hey Man, welcome to the board!

Great Greg Howe story!

It's just slow for HM's on eBay at the moment. There's usually 1 or 2 on eBay at a time. Seriously I would just wait a week or two and I'm sure some will pop up.They usually go for $400 - $500, in good condition. Sometimes a little higher if their in really nice shape. I would also recommend holding out until you find one you feel really good about. Unfortunately a lot of guitars got beat up pretty badly in the 80's. The rosewood necks seem to be much more common than the maple, but they maples are out there, just not as often.

P.S. I've found a couple parts HM's by checking out the classifieds on boards like Seymour Duncan and the Kramer Forum.

Welcome aboard and keep us posted on the hunt!

[brokenfusion]

Well I went back and bought that guitar. It was in very nice condition and the price was fair. I am not crazy about black but it was in nice shape . I am considering changing the color ( I paint cars for a living so its not a big deal) Its black with a rosewood board and black hardware so it looks a little to plain to me. Is this something that is frowned upon? I would like maybe white or that pastel blue color. Any opinions on that? Thanks.

[heem6]

My first HM was black also. Here's before and afters: (sorry the first picture is so big)!




My personal opinion is - after 20 years it's considered a restoration project and anything (except purple and pink polka dots) is reasonable. lol