My first lust was for a Ludwig Vistalite drum kit when I was 15. My parents bought it for me and I was off an running. At 18, I was working and bought myself a Fender P-bass because I'd lusted after bass guitars for years. The P-bass was not my original choice but after comparing it to the ones I wanted (I wanted them cuz they looked cool) there was no doubt the P-bass was the better buy. That was 1977 and I still own and use that bass.

Today, I just bought my 5th acoustic guitar--a Playmate from China. It's a Dean guitar and it looks nice and handles very well so far. It retailed for $185 but had a bit of finish damage from transport so the guy sold it to me for $110 along with a hardshell case that he threw in for $75. So I took the whole package for $185 and, as far as I can see, that was a shameless steal on my part.

I figure even if it turns out not to be a great deal, it's still cheap and will serve as a nice knock-about but from what I see, it's a perfectly good guitar with a very nice tone and very good action.