This was my first "real" guitar. Obviously, I bought it before I had any real knowledge of guitars. All the same, I think I got a pretty good axe for the money ($200 Canadian, back in 1980). It's an El Degas Les Paul copy, and it came with DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups. The guitar was used, but I believe the pickups were stock. A glance at the photos here shows that one of the pickups has since been replaced. And that's not all that's been changed.

Originally, the guitar came with tacky brass hardware. It weasn't long before I started making changes. The tuning machines were replaced with Gibson tuners. The tailpiece was banished to brass hell, and I bought a nifty Gibson Tune-o-matic bridge. I bought Schaller guitar tuners and the finishing touch came with four Gibson control knobs. I think I did all this within a year of buying the guitar. Too bad I didn't take any photos before I started my adjustments - I'm sure the former owner wouldn't recognize his axe!