Mike Folkerth

I received my first e-mail from Mike Folkerth, on May 28, 2013.  

Here is his story, as it appeared in that email ...

Well, after reading your story regarding your FG-360, I had to respond. I bought mine in an Anchorage, Alaska music store in 1974 and the serial number is 40314. Like yourself, I wasn’t all that flush back then and yet I wanted a quality guitar. At the time, I was playing a Kalamazoo Epiphone Cortez that I bought new in 1962 for $67.50! The smaller body Epiphone had that fine Gibson neck and tone, but lacked bass and volume.

I had a girlfriend at the time who was a singer and had near perfect pitch. She accompanied me to the music store and we did a blind tone test. With her back turned, I first strummed a D-28 Martin, and then the FG-360. We did this a couple of times and she finally said, “That one.” It was the Yamaha! It seems that I paid about $350.00 for it.

Fast forward 39 years and if that guitar could talk…well….let’s just leave what it could say to rest. I still play it and it’s been drug around the country, played in bars and honkytonks, around the campfires, in the living rooms and dens, and nearly anywhere else that one could imagine (and a few places that you can’t imagine).

Later on in life, I acquired an early 60s D-28, but never really thought it measured up to the Yamaha, so, it’s gone and not missed. Names can be deceiving.

Speaking of that, I also have a 1978 Alvarez (Japan) 5056 that is a knockout in both beauty and sound. Whatever it is that those Japanese makers do, they do it right. I’ll attach a picture of the Alvarez and the 360.

Do you know the Jerry Jeff Walker tune, “That Old Beat Up Guitar?” I associate with it when it comes to the old 360.

Best regards, Mike Folkerth

Note:  The top two pictures are of Mike's Yamaha FG-360.  The lower two are of the Alvarez.