One good cheap one was a free one...an old small bodied Stella with a red sunburst finish that someone gave me. A great blues guitar.

Another great cheap one was a 1890s Brazilian rosewood parlour guitar bought for £20 in a house sale. It is not playable fretted as the action is too high and the intonation is not accurate but I did not want to alter it from its orginal state. But I still use this as my main slide guitar aftermany years.

Another good cheap one was another free one... a no-name all mahogany (incl. top) jumbo found on a tip in London. The side was badly damaged and caved in and much of the guitar was unglued. I rebuilt the side from laminated mahogany veneer and basically rebuilt the whole thing. It sounded great when finished and I sold it for about £50 (back in 1982).

I have two relatively expensive (but not by some standards) instruments, both luthier-made mandolas. All my other expensive instruments, including high-end guitars and mandolins have been traded in for much cheaper and, paradoxically, better-sounding instruments which I gig with every week.

RS