Greg, a founder of Vintage Giveaways, has been playing guitar for more than five decades. Self-taught, he learned music the old-fashioned way — by jamming with mates, sharing techniques and songs and tirelessly replaying songs on vinyl records to work out how to play them by ear, long before YouTube or online tutorials existed.

His first instruments were a new Maton F10 acoustic in 1968 costing $50 (thanks Mum) and a 1963 Maton Flamingo electric bought off a mate for $30 in 1969 (thanks Dave) and from those beginnings grew a lifelong aspiration to own quality gear.

Greg’s first amplifier was a home made kit amp which he bought second hand for $20 in 1969, installed into an old wood radio shell with a single 20 watt 12” speaker.  It sounded terrible but had some volume, which at that stage of life was pretty important.  The next upgrade was in 1970, a 60-watt Playmaster kit amp, built by a schoolmate and paired with a handmade 2×12 speaker cabinet built by another friend’s father. He covered it in Tolex himself and while it looked a bit rough, it sounded far better than expected and was a good match with my mates 60 watt Playmaster Bass Amp. Eventually, all this was replaced with proper Marshall, Fender, and Peavey gear but the lesson was learned, quality gear really makes all the difference, if only it had been available at the beginning.

That philosophy sits at the core of Vintage Giveaways today: quality gear gives you instrument playability, top shelf tone and better inspiration with the result that you enjoy playing more.

Over the years, his go to guitars included a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom Cherry Sunburst with rare factory “Fretless Wonder” frets, a 1978 Gibson SG Tobacco Burst that captured the classic Angus Young tone and a red 1964 Gretsch Jet Firebird purchased in Sicily that eventually found its way to an AC/DC tribute guitarist in Melbourne.  These were all played through various 100 watt Marshalls starting with a 1978 2203 Master Volume, and numerous others.

Milestone birthdays added a self designed 2002 Fender Stratocaster Custom Shop copying the Hendrix Strat but with Vintage Noiseless Pickups that took 14 months to get built and delivered, paired with an all original 1966 Pro Reverb, followed later by a James Goodall Royal Hawaiian — a guitar that reignited his passion for acoustic playing.

Growing up in the 1970s, Greg’s influences were bands such as AC/DC, Lobby Lloyd & The Colored Balls, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Status Quo, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, The Eagles and The Beatles.

Like many musicians, Greg eventually had to choose between music and a business career. He spent 20 years building a successful software company, which left little time for playing. After exiting the company, he returned to guitar with renewed enthusiasm — playing more often, expanding his collection and encouraging several of his six children to take up music as well.

Today, his preferred setup includes 3 classic 100 watt Marshall rigs run together with a Morley ABC Pro for a fuller multi guitar sound — the kind of tone that only comes from quality Marshall amplifiers played really loud.

Vintage gear has been a lifelong passion. Through Vintage Giveaways, Greg aims to give others the opportunity to experience the kind of instruments that inspired him growing up — professional-grade gear that once felt completely out of reach, but which can change how any musician plays, sounds, and feels about their music.

Harley - Promoter Bio

Harley, co-founder of Vintage Giveaways first became interested in music at a young age.  Heavily influenced by his GAS affected father, who has been a guitarist his whole life.

Harley was raised on acres, around lots of vintage guitars and amplifiers.  At home, while growing up, he had access to a three car garage built like Fort Knox with steel bars on the doors and windows and infra red video surveillance, converted into a studio, full of Fender & Gibson guitars, Marshall Full Stacks, Fender BlackFace, Ampeg SVT 2 Pro with an 8x10 Fridge, Electronic drum kit, where turning it up was not a problem.  The BHSC mayor and his wife lived on the property next door and over the years they both learnt a good range of AC/DC & Black Sabbath songs.   

At the age of 8 Harley got his first guitar, a Korean Epiphone Les Paul Custom in Cherry Sunburst with a 30 watt Marshall practice amp, looked just like his old mans Gibson.  At 12 Harley got his first proper Pearl drum kit that his twin sister took a shine to.  At 12, his father took him to a Zakk Wylde BLS concert at the Enmore in Sydney and a long haired fella approached him in the foyer, the youngest kid in the place, and started chatting to him, he said to him, I wish my father had been like yours, taking me to rock concerts.  Turned out to be the keyboard player from Zakks band.  

Needless to say, Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoades and Zakk Wylde and AC/DC have been a big influence on him, they were mandatory listening in the car when being driven to school in Parramatta as a teen. 

Harley finally got his own first real Gibson Les Paul Custom a mint Black 1978 25th Anniversary, Mark Knopfler Fender Strat, Gibson J45. He has a large range of other guitars and amps these days with their own dedicated office, Gibson Les Paul Customs, Fender Stratocasters, Epiphone ZW’s, multiple acoustics, a Zakk Wylde Marshall stack, Randy Rhoades Marshall stack and quite a few others. 

Vintage Giveaways exists to give aspiring musicians the chance to own genuine rock-and-roll gear: professional-grade equipment from legendary brands such as Gibson, Fender, and Marshall.

Greg believes that great players are shaped by great tools. High-quality gear doesn’t just improve tone — it builds confidence, removes frustration, and inspires musicians to keep playing. Nothing stalls progress faster than fighting tuning issues, a difficult unplayable neck, unreliable electronics, or lifeless sound from poor amplification equipment.

Vintage Giveaways are not just providing the chance to own beautiful high quality vintage or reissue guitars, we are also pairing them with great vintage amplifiers so you have the whole package from day 1, should you be fortunate enough to win a rig. At times, we may provide new gear as prizes that will come with manufacturers warranty. If there is Manufacturers Warranty associated with any Prize, it will explicitly say so in the Prize Description of the gear.

Through ongoing trade promotions, Vintage Giveaways wants to help musicians access equipment that fuels creativity, elevates the playing experience, and carries the legacy of rock music into the hands of the next generation. We hope you will support us in our endeavours and be the lucky recipient of our prizes.