La Boz - Japanese Burns Double Six copy

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We looked at a Baldwin Double Six 12-string last month, and at a glance the guitar pictured here would appear to be another example of a Burns or Baldwin 12-string electric (the horns look Bison-esque), but is in fact a Japanese-made copy bearing the La Boz brandname. Looking at the picture below, you'll notice that they even - very cheekily - copied the "Wild Dog" and "Split Sound" tone settings... I'm not sure how well that would have gone down in the Burns camp!

Thanks to Tom for bringing this guitar to my attention. It's currently being offered for sale on eBay with a starting price of $499.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

N.I.C.E. Telecaster with P90s

guitarz.blogspot.com

I'm a recent convert but I like more and more the good old Telecaster, not as a object of cult though, but as a the most basic guitar that calls for endless modifications, upgrades and experiments - as long as it respects its simplicity. I enjoy this version by Swiss luthier N.I.C.E. Guitars - called the Twangster - with its two chrome P90s and the middle chrome single coil - an interesting combination for the sound, on the top of its elegance. 

The shape of the pickguard is a nice variation on the original one with its curves and dynamic lines, and the art deco top of the switch adds a touch of chic that makes this guitar quite a looker. I'd be curious to hear the music its sounds might inspire!

www.niceguitars.ch

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Mystery guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hi Gavin,

Here's something for your erudite readers... what is this, and who made it?

This pic is a screen grab from "Salt and Pepper", a 1968 movie starring Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford. Sammy visits a groovy London club and showboats his version of Hollywood groovyness.

Here's the scene from YouTube - the guitar closeup is around 1:36(ish).

AND, just for reading this far, check out THIS link!

All bests, and THANKS!

Colin Griffiths
Vancouver

Edit: Bertram has pointed out that it looks to be a Maton, and that we looked at the Maton Big Ben Bass over a year ago - you'll notice the similarities! - G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Framus Atlantik 5/113 52 T

guitarz.blogspot.com

This 1960s Framus Atlantik 5/113 has all the cool characteristic features of the model - the slanted single-coil pickups, the batwing pickguard, the four knobs in line, the trem... - but also a nice custom psychedelic paint job... 

I wrote this here already about another guitar: the Germans were the best hippies! 

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

EGC alu and lucite guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

(c) AE|2011, http://photography.fuzz-wire.net

Kevin Burkett of the Electrical Guitar Company creates boutique-quality aluminium guitars and basses. This particular example is a one-off, inspired by the now legendary Dan Armstrong plexiglass guitar, and which marries a lucite body to an aluminium Travis Bean-style neck. Unlike the Dan Armstrong which had such a deep-set neck that there was only room to accommodate a single pickup, the EGC has two P90s. Indeed, from what I can make out in the photographs, the neck/body interface looks to be one of its most interesting features. It appears that the neck and the plate at the rear of the body are formed from a single billet of aluminium, allowing the end of the neck to be flush with the top-end of the body with no need for neck pocket or deepset tenon.

(c) AE|2011, http://photography.fuzz-wire.net

More here: http://digital.premierguitar.com/premierguitar/201003_1/#pg193

Thanks to Dirk Lubbe for bringing this beauty to my attention.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Rosetti Bass 7 by Egmond

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Rosetti was, and still is, a distributor of musical instruments in the United Kingdom. This 1960s Rosetti Bass 7 bears their name, but was in fact made by Egmond in The Netherlands and is quite typical for that brand. Note how it features a pickguard with integrated pickups and controls screwed to the top of the body, like something you would find on some archtop hollowbodies - only the body here is just a slab with no routing - all the electrics are in the pickguard. It's a crudely constructed instrument, but then these weren't high-end instruments, despite being the guitars and basses that many players started out on.

Really, today's up and coming players have it so very easy with good quality, affordable and playable instruments!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Eko Rock VI rocket-shaped surf beauty!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Following a recent re-issue by Eastwood Guitars, the Eko Rock VI is Eko's own re-issue of the Eko Rokes guitar from the 1960s. These rocket-shaped guitars, also available in bass and 12-string models, were created for and named after 1960s pop band The Rokes who were Italy's answer to The Beatles.

This particular guitar offered for sale here on eBay was used by The Fuzztones recently on tour in Italy. It has a Bigsby-esque vibrato and - rather unusually - a Tele-style single coil pickup and a humbucker both positioned together in the centre position. This does seem an odd arrangement, but according to the listing these pickups deliver "a warm punchy mid sixties sound which is brilliant for rhythm but on the other hand can be selected to give a cool surf early 60s lead sound similar to a vintage strat!"

The retro styling coupled with modern playability offers something a little bit different in the modern guitar world where we see the same designs re-interpreted ad nauseum. I like it!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Framus 5/51 acoustic single f-hole model from 1969

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a sweet little guitar from Germany: a Framus 5/51 archtop with - unusually for an acoustic guitar - just a single f-hole on the bass side. As is commone with old Framus guitars, the neck is made from multiple laminates, and is also a bolt-on - proof that it wasn't just the Italians (Eko, etc) who used this construction technique on their acoustics.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Eric Clapton 2010

Artist: Eric Clapton
Album: Clapton
Year: 2010
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. Travelin' Alone (3:56)
2. Rocking Chair (4:04)
3. River Runs Deep (5:52)
4. Judgement Day (3:13)
5. How Deep Is The Ocean (5:29)
6. My Very Good Friend The Milkman (3:20)
7. Can't Hold Out Much Longer (4:08)
8. That's No Way To Get Along (6:07)
9. Everything Will Be Alright (3:51)
10. Diamonds Made From Rain (4:22)
11. When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful (2:51)
12. Hard Times Blues (3:45)
13. Run Back To Your Side (5:17)
14. Autumn Leaves (5:40)

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Kramer Invader prototype, #1 of 1

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I started writing a piece about how I never "got" Kramer guitars, couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, etc, etc, but then noticed it was almost word for word the same as a blog post I'd written in 2009 about a certain Kramer Triax guitar. So, rather than make you all think you are experiencing déjà vu, let's take a look at the above-pictured crazy-looking axe.

It's a Kramer Invader and must surely be one that Kramer afficionados and collectors would dearly love to get their mitts on. Apparently it is a one-off prototype model "built in '82 or '83 for Floyd Rose himself". It's currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $7,500.

I believe that Roland's G-707 guitar synth controller (which may or may not have been made by Greco in Japan) was introduced in 1984, so would have just been pipped at the post by this prototype Kramer for a guitar with a bar connecting the body to headstock. (I'm sure there are earlier precedents; list examples in the comments if you like!) I think here, though, it is purely cosmetic, whereas on the Roland it was supposed to eliminate deadspots on the neck and thus improve synth tracking.

And I don't know about you, but I always get nervous when I see pictures of expensive guitars standing by the side of a swimming pool!

(Thanks to Greg Cadman for pointing this one out to us!)

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Epiphone USA map guitar reissue

guitarz.blogspot.com

This 2005 limited edition 'guitar-of-the-month' Epiphone USA map is a reissue of an early 1980s even more limited model. 

I wonder if this one was made in People's Republic of China, like all the fake GDR memorabilia they sell here in Berlin...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Marco Polo 4-pickup guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here is a supposedly rare Marco Polo guitar, made in Japan by Guyatone in the 1960s. It features four pickups (described as the seller as “very hot”), each having their own on/off selector switch mounted onto a substantial chrome pickguard. Other controls are a single slider switch for rhythm or solo that affects tone, and a single volume and single tone for all four pickups. The tremolo, which is still all present and correct, is said to work smoothly, leaving the guitar in tune after use. The adjustable neck has 21 frets on a rosewood fingerboard plus a zero fret, and has 8 position inlays. The guitar is obviously styled after offset waist guitars such as Fender’s Jazzmaster and Jaguar models. It is currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $595.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1968 Yamaha SGC2 in Day-Glo Orange

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Regular readers will know already that I am a big fan of early Yamaha electric guitars. I think they are absolutely fantastic and some models were way ahead of their time in terms of design and ergonomics. This almost luminescent orange Yamaha SGC2 is from 1968 and has a body shape that complements its sibling guitars in the SGV series, although I doubt it is quite so ergonomic. The tremolo looks to be a cruder affair than the Jazzmaster-type found on other early Yamahas; it looks as if it might be styled after the now legendary Bigsby vibrato.

As I type this, the guitar is on eBay with about 45 minutes left to go and has been attracting a fair number of bids. I so wish that I could bid, but that might not be such a good idea right about now. The price is currently at $570. Let's see what it fetches (and I spent a LOT more than that for my SG-2).

Oh, and it's my birthday tomorrow if anyone is feeling particularly generous!

Thanks to Shubert, who brought this guitar to my attention.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1997 Gibson ES 295 reissue with Bigsby, P90s, antique golden finish and little flowers (not to mention the florentine cutaway)

guitarz.blogspot.com

This Gibson ES 295 is supposed to be the guitar of many prestigious guitarists, including Scotty Moore who played for Elvis Presley, then in my head I see a fat pompadoured guy in white embroidered fringe suit singing Hawaiian ballads and I feel like running away.

Super cool guitar though!

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Eric Clapton And Jeff Beck - New York-Show 2 - 2010

Artist: Eric Clapton / Jeff Beck
Album: New York Second Night 2010
Year: 2010
Genre:  Rock, Guitar Virtuoso
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. Eternity's Breath (1:44)
2. Stratus (4:57)
3. Led Boots (4:39)
4. Corpus Christi Carol (2:51)
5. Bass Solo (1:50)
6. Hammerhead (4:17)
7. Mna Na Heireann (5:17)
8. Brush With The Blues (4:56)
9. Big Block (5:53)
10. A Day In The Life (5:12)
11. Nessum Dorma Aria (Puccini, Turandot) (4:22)
12. Driftin' (5:23)
13. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (3:45)
14. Running On Faith (5:33)
15. I've Got A Rock 'n Roll Heart (3:41)
16. Tell The Truth (6:17)
17. Key To The Highway (4:38)
18. I Shot The Sheriff (9:31)
19. Little Queen Of Spades (8:17)
20. Cocaine (6:31)
21. Shake Your Moneymaker (4:11)
22. Moon River (5:44)
23. You Need Love (4:48)
24. Outside Woman Blues (5:40)
25. Little Brown Bird (7:08)
26. Wee Wee Baby (5:13)
27. (I Want To Take You) Higher (4:07)
28. Encore (2:36)
29. Crossroads (4:57)

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Pointy... Pointier... Pointiest!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Thanks to "Mini Van Halen" for sending on this picture. I confess I know nothing about this extremely pointy Edwards guitar, other that the Edwards brand is part of the ESP empire. I suspect it's a one-off creation. It certainly looks as if you could do yourself a mischief on those sharp points; the headstock looks particularly lethal.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Vaccaro X-Ray V2 with an aluminium neck

guitarz.blogspot.com

You probably think that you've seen the characteristic V-shaped metallic headstock of this Vaccaro X-Ray V2 before - you're right, that's the Kramer one, from the time - back in the 1970s - they were making alu neck guitars. Mr Vaccaro is actually one of the founders of Kramer Guitars, and together with his son bought the patent for the necks and headstocks after Kramer crushed, and after upgrading them created the eponymous but short-lived company that released this guitar.

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Fender HMT Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Guitarz reader Ryan Coons saw this on Craigslist and commented, "I've seen my share of Fender basses, but nothing quite like this one."

It's a Made in Japan Fender HMT Bass circa 1989/90, has an F-hole in a Thinline-inspired P-Bass body, an active TBX tone control and a piezo pickup in the fixed acoustic-style bridge. Very unusually for a Fender, it doesn't sport their trademark headstock shape or familiar logo. The name "HMT" and the headstock shape would imply "Heavy Metal", but the f-fole and acoustic pickup/bridge do not quite fit in with this image.

I remember around this period at a music show in London seeing a similar Fender bass, but fretless and with the more usual P-Bass headstock and in natural finish. I guess that was a Japanese-built sibling of the bass we see here. That one I could understand. This one seems to have identity issues.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Duesenberg Starplayer TV in Ninja Turtle finish

guitarz.blogspot.com

Who can deny that Duesenberg makes some of the most splendid guitars out there?

This is the emerald green pearltop Duesenberg Starplayer, a guitar you can't avoid noticing with its outrageous finish combined with the most elegant design and gear - something we already enjoyed on the Outlaw - with a more sober but still over the edge black crocodile style look...

The Duesenberg tremelos - here it's a Tremola -  have a very good reputation - they feel like a good alternative to Bigsbys.

I feel like one day I should try to earn money if I ever want to have such a guitar - I should compose a hit song...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Godin LG EMG

guitarz.blogspot.com

I like how this sober standard design of Godin guitars is used for very different models - from MIDI nylon-strings guitars to this metal oriented Godin LG EMG with black graphite finish and EMG active humbuckers, via semi-hollow jazz guitars or strat-esque 3 single-coils/trem ones. And this design fits to all!

There is definitlely a Godin on my must-have guitar list...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Eric Johnson - Up Close - 2010

Artist: Eric Johnson
Album: Up Close
Year: 2010
Genre:  Guitar Virtuoso
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. You Book (4:15)
2. Awaken (1:04)
3. Fatdaddy (2:44)
4. Brilliant Room (3:53)
5. Texas (6:02)
6. Gem (4:10)
7. Traverse (1:18)
8. Autin (4:01)
9. Soul Surprise (6:11)
10. On the Way (3:09)
11. Arithmetic (4:32)
12. The Sea and the Mountain (1:50)
13. Vortexan (3:04)
14. A Change Has Come to Me (5:20)
15. Change (revisited) (1:39)

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Jonas Hellborg - The Word

Artist: Jonas Hellborg
Album: The Word
Year: 1991
Genre:  Jazz Rock, Jazz
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. Akasha
2. Zat Listen
3. Saut-E Sarmad
4. Two Rivers Listen
5. Be! And All Become
6. Poets
7. Black Rite
8. Cherokee Mist
9. Miklagaard
10. Path over Clouds

This is an intriguing and rather original set of music. Jonas Hellborg, whose conception of the acoustic bass guitar is much closer to a guitar than to a bass, teams up with drummer Tony Williams and the flexible Soldier String Quartet. The sparse sextet explores songs that (according to the liners) are influenced by Arab music, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams' Lifetime and Bartok. A variety of moods are explored and the unusual blend of instruments and styles grow in interest each time they are heard. It is a pity though that the playing time is less than 37 minutes. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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Ibanez Artstar AE-200

guitarz.blogspot.com

This Ibanez Artstar AE-200 is quite an intriguing guitar, about which I couldn't find much information - feel free to contribute if you know more... The acoustic/electric hybrid guitars are not exceptional nowadays but this one is from 1988! It has a piezo pickup under the bridge and a mini-humbucker in neck position, and you can balance the pickups from full bucky for a jazz tone to just acoustic with the piezo. I have no confirmation for this but the slits under the strings next to the bridge seem to be sound holes - strangely located then because we are more used to semi-hollow guitars with a central beam prolonging the neck... Definitely would like to know more - it's very interesting... 

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Memories of a 1959 Gibson EB0 Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Gary writes:

I just discovered your blog site about this Gibson bass tonight. My first bass I ever bought, Jan 1967, 44 years ago yesterday as I write this, was a 1959 EBO. I had no idea of the history of the EBO, I just bought it because it was $75 and the bass player of the Nomads, the hot band at my high school in Kansas City, Mo. had traded it in on an EB-2, I was just starting to play bass, and it was available. Had I had any idea of the history of the EBO I would still own it. Naturally, not knowing I traded it in for an EB-2 in 1972.

I loved that old EBO in spite of the fact that playing it was like driving a big truck without power steering. It was the only bass I'd ever really played at that time so I didn't know any better. I did fine with it but other players had a hell of a time with it. At a battle of the bands one night in 1971 the band that was up after us broke a string on his bass. True to the times he didn't carry spare strings so he asked to borrow my bass. In the end, our band won...his didn't. He was really angry with me because he said my bass was so hard to play he couldn't play well & that cost them the battle. Like I said I was used to it so it played fine for me.

I don't really know how it sounded. There weren't the bass amps availavble then that are around now. I had a 23 watt Silvertone head with a home made cabinet with 2-15" cheap speakers...who knew about good speakers. I would love to hear it thru my SWR SM-400 & Goliath cabinet I have today. Oh well.

I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it, it would have been a real collectors item. I have only ever seen one other one & that was back in the early 70's. Seeing the pictures on your blog brought on the pang in the heart that seeing an old girlfriend years later would bring.

Thanks for the blog page on it. It brought back a lot of memories I'm surprised I can still muster up.

Gary Snow

Hey Gary, thanks for writing to us with your reminiscences. As much as we love our guitars and basses here at Guitarz, a lot of what we write is gleaned via the internet rather than from personal experience. Unfortunately, it's not possible to try everything out! It's good to hear how some of these vintage instruments handled back in the day from someone who actually played them.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Another one from the "Be Careful not to Impale Yourself" school: B.C. Rich Ironbird

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Tyler writes:

I recently acquired another pointy 80s Japanese Monster. (Sounds a bit like something from Godzilla, eh?)

This is a model you've not yet covered: A 1983 B.C. Rich Ironbird, made in Japan in '83-'84. This isn't apparently the most popular shape (though used by the likes of Tony Iommi and Paul Stanley), but sure beats that ugly Widow! Mine's not really in the best shape (not by my hands), but plays great and sounds fantastic as well. I know B.C. Rich isn't known for necessarily ergonomic designs, and although this doesn't look it, it is very comfortable. Played in the classical seated position (which is the only way I do), it rests comfortably on your leg, being cut-out in a manner that it balances in the perfect position. Standing, it's a bit neck heavy but the long lower horn acts as a rather decent balance/armrest.

I was drawn to this by its Kahler trem (far superior to the Floyd Rose, in my opinion), which has proved a great asset to both my playing and alternate tuning purposes. The pickups are probably the stock B.C. Rich units, they are unmarked. I'll admit the pickups also attracted me on looks alone. I can't resist rails or hex-screw pole pieces. It joins my Electra Futura in the "outragoeus pointy guitar with a metallic finish" group of instruments.

I've got not much else to say, it's a great guitar and it comes in a simple yet attractive package.

~Tyler

Keep those stories and photos of your guitars coming in, folks! And as Bertram has already commented, lets see some more photos of you guys playing your guitars.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Innovex "Condor GMS" vintage guitar synth

guitarz.blogspot.com:

One of world's first guitar synthesizers was the Innovex "Condor GMS", released around 1970. Innovex was a joint venture company of Hammond and Ovation. Examples are rarely seen, but one such complete guitar and synth unit (pictured above) is now being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,000. Ovation fans will recognise the semi-hollowbody guitar as being the Ovation Tornado model, albeit with a box of tricks attached to the bridge containing, I guess, individual pickups for each of the strings and with an output cable to the synth unit.

The seller comments that:

It is very lofi, and in my opinion, completely awesome. It tracks terribly and warbles, and does everything I love. If you are accustomed to Line 6 stuff you will probably hate this. It functions properly, everything works.

One for the collector, perhaps, or the Lo-Fi recording enthusiast!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Badly refinished Jolana Superstar

guitarz.blogspot.com

The late 1970s Czechoslovakia made Jolana Superstar is supposed to have been inspired by the Peavey T60 but to me it looks more like a Yamaha SG - that would mean that after all, while Japanese companies were busy copying American guitars, their own models were copied too!

One can't help noticing the ultra-wide humbuckers, the massive bridge and the oddly placed switches; it's a pity that this one is such in bad condition because I saw some in a better state that are quite appealing guitars...

Bertram


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Non-standard Standard Strat by Squier

guitarz.blogspot.com:


I thought I'd keep the Fender theme going a bit if that's OK. I've been promising myself for years that I was going to buy a Fender. My shopping list is "pre CBS Strat" (which I came within a hairs breadth of attaining once - 59 body 60 neck, metallic green respray out of a can £100), Telecaster Esquire, Thinline with bound body, Jazzmaster with anodised gold scratchplate (which I came within an eBay's breadth of attaining last year £3000 and some change (1958, excellent-mint condition - almost unbelievable).

My sights have lowered significantly of late apart from the '94 aluminium body that I'd bid and paid for before the seller decided he couldn't send it to my unconfirmed address and backed down.

I've only ever sold one item through eBay so don't have much experience as a seller so maybe someone can help with me something. What is with this "unconfirmed address" thing? Sellers won't post to an unconfirmed address even though eBay says they are still protected. I'm not sure why eBay doesn't just drop the option as, in their FAQs, even they discourage sellers from stating it in their ads as it reduces the chances of selling. Also, surely it's us buyers who more at risk from "sellers" who don't deliver. After all, you receive our money before you ship so we are taking a much bigger chance.

Anyway, back to the guitar. I was checking out my local online classifieds (loquo.com) and found someone who was selling a 2005 Squier Standard Strat for €125 (£104). I went along, looked it over and bought it.

Maybe it was just my expectations but this seems to be anything but standard. I guess it's a copy of another, high-end, Fender. It's obvious this wasn't going to be a luthier's wet dream but it's not bad, by any means. The body is matt varnished, tinted mahogany (looking not too dissimilar to my Mum's coffee table), maple neck and rosewood fretboard (as I understand). Big old 70s headstock - nice. The fittings are Squier, enough said. The middle and neck pickups are very bassy and boomy and the tone controls don't seem make one iota of difference whatsoever to the tone. Anyone had the same experience? And, is there anything I can do to brighten them up without changing the pickups? The bridge humbucker is hard edged aggressive and has a bright, dry, shrieky tone. I love it.

I'm not a great trem user and this two point trem seems very delicate. It moves when I bend the strings! I'm going to add an extra spring or two and see if that helps. If not, I'll lock it in place with some blocks of wood. Any tips or comments on that appreciated.

I shall be using this experiment with so it may well begin to transform, Frankenstein-like over time. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Pass the soldering iron Igor!

Stop Press: Just seen a Squier Obey Telecaster for €150, hmmm Franken-Tele-Strat-stein-thing! Where is that saw? Seriously. Anyone have experience of these Teles?

David in Transylvania

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1966 Epiphone Olympic SB 722

guitarz.blogspot.com

There are those who consider Epiphone no more than a budget company selling cheap Gibson copies, and those who are thankful for the affordable quality instruments they provide, but you can also focus on their original models, of course the ones released before they where bought by Gibson in 1957, but also some that were released later (up to nowadays) like the 1966 Epiphone Olympic SB 722 you can see here.

It's part of the Kalamazoo (Gibson's original factory in Michigan) built solid bodies line produced between 1958 and 1969 - this one sharing its asymmetrical body shape with the Crestwood and the Wilshire, also the batwing 6-in-line headstock. This Olympic SB 722 has a single single-coil pick-up in bridge position and the optional trem. I personally don't like its design but it seems to be well sought after - this has been Epiphone's most successful model ever...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

You can never have too many necks

guitarz.blogspot.com:


I bet you thought was going to be about one of those Rick Nielson multi-neck Cheap Shot guitars eh? I should coco! This is something I haven't come across too often before. Fender is a company I don't readily associate with doubleneck guitars. In fact I don't think I've knowingly seen any before - not that I've been looking, I have to add. The only Fenderish doubleneck I've happened across recently is the handsome, though not actually from Fender per se, creation from the skilful hands of young Bertram (with a little help from one of his woodworking associates). We have a fondness for the Fender Bass VI here in Guitarzland so it's an even bigger delight to find one Siametically co-joined to another of our favourites - the Fender Jazzmaster.

It's on the Austrian eBay site and I don't speak German. Maybe Bertram can help out with some of the details. As far as I can make out, it's a newish - 2010 - model, one-off, masterbuilt by Dennis Galuska (who's probably famous - sorry Den, not terrible au fait with the world of Lutherie) for the Frankfurt Musicmesse 2010 (that's a bit unfortunate isn't it, Musicmesse? Not really encouraging, eh? Probably means fair, exhibition or show or something similar. Maybe we should let them know. Might improve attendance a bit).

By the way, the body is lightweight ash with maple necks and rosewood fingerboards with Nitrocellulose lacquer - NOS (I thought that meant New Old Stock. Probably something else in German).

Amazingly enough (to me at least) it seems Yngwie Malmsteen also played a Fender double-neck 12/6 (probably very fast and very proficiently). That sounded a bit sarcastic didn't it? At least he's not Steve Vai. No, I didn't mean it. OK, YM isn't really my cup of tea, I'll admit, but until this week I'd have said the same about Steve Vai. Until... I Youtubed some of his performances and was a little surprised. Maybe it's a big act, I don't know, but he seems a nice guy, a great showman, a big ham, doesn't take himself too seriously (for a rock star) and plays with a ferocious passion. I'm not gonna rush out and buy his back catalogue but I don't mind anyone knowing I now have one of his tracks on my iPod - the Crazy Horses/Edgar Winter tinged-one-riff-all-the-way-through "Bad Horsie". It's only Rock N Roll etc... Stupid faces and all.

Anyway, Happy New Year to all. Taken my own sweet time to get back into second gear this year, sorry all.

David in Barcelona where the weather isn't too bad although it's a bit soon for the beach.

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1983 Fender Telecaster Elite in Stratoburst finish

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's another 1980s guitar with a loud two-tone finish. It's a Fender Telecaster Elite model in supposedly rare "Stratoburst" from the end of Fender's CBS-owned period. The USA-made Elites were only made during 1983-84, and there was also a Japanese-made 22-fret neck edition offered in late 1984.

Other than its iconic silhouette, the Tele Elite has no other traditional Tele features. Pickups are active humbuckers with a TBX guitar expander and a MDX midrange booster allowing 12dB of gain. The controls are laid out in an almost Les Paul fashion (indeed, some Tele Elites also sported a very Les Paul-esque pickguard), and other features include Fender's BiFlex trussrod system and a Freeflyte hardtail bridge.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Tony MacAlpine - Master Of Paradise

Artist: Tony MacAlpine
Album: Master Of Paradise
Year: 1999
Genre:  Guitar Virtuoso
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. Maker Is King (4:55)
2. Years of Darkness (3:48)
3. Live to Die (5:23)
4. Circus (6:46)
5. Years of Darkness (4:14)
6. Master of Paradise (6:14)
7. Time (5:03)
8. Imagination (5:14)
9. Final Hour (4:29)
10. Bord d'Une Source (3:16)

It had been awhile since Tony MacAlpine released any new solo material when Master of Paradise came out, but the album isn't really that much of a departure from his prior work, except for the fact that for the first time, MacAlpine handles lead vocals in addition to guitar heroics. The results aren't always incredible, but MacAlpine generally gets the job done, solidly if unspectacularly. Still, that's a secondary weapon in his arsenal; the main focus is on his neo-classical, Yngwie Malmsteen-influenced guitar style, and deliver the fireworks he does. Fans of old-school hard rock guitar virtuosics should be quite pleased. 

Download#1
Download#2

Ibanez XV500 - so very very pointy!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Ibanez X-series XV500 in "Violet halfburst" is from the "be careful not to impale yourself" school of guitar design. It has Ibanez V5 pickups and an incomplete Ibanez "Pro Rock R" tremolo system. Some of the close-up shots on the eBay listing show a few battle scars - not unusual with an unwieldy shape like this. I don't suppose anyone reading will be surprised to learn that this guitar hails from the 1980s: May 1985, apparently. The seller describes the finish as being "flip-flop", but I think this might just be a reference to the two tone diagonal pink/violet colour scheme, rather than a colour-changing finish depending on from what angle you view the instrument.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Conrad and 20th century industrial design...

guitarz.blogspot.com

I'm afraid that this Conrad will never make music again, but maybe it can still toast bread, provide air conditioning,  vacuum clean... 

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Get your kicks ... with the Route 66 guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

An eBay seller (curiously, in the UK) has put this self-built Route 66 guitar up for grabs. The body is of sapele laminates, and has a Fender-style neck bolted on. Pickups are single coil-sized humbuckers, "Iron Gear Jailhouse Rails" by Axetec.

Yes, and I imagine you could play that song on it too!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

From New Zealand, a pair of Jansen Invaders - how collectable exactly are these?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

At first glance, this auction looks mightily suspect. Two 1972 Jansen Invader guitars - which would appear to be not very accurate Stratocaster knock-offs and rather knocked about at that - for HOW MUCH? $12,200.00? That's over $6,000 each! Is this another case of a highly optimistic eBay seller?

What do we know about these guitars? Well, they were obviously deemed of enough importance for an example to be included in the Museum of New Zealand. The museum website tells us that:

In the 1960s, many kiwi pop guitarists owned one of these – a Jansen electric guitar. Jansens were the first solid-body electric guitars to be mass-produced in this country, and they became firm favourites with our musicians.
[...]
Their Invader model, made in 1964 and based on the famous Fender Stratocaster, was a huge success. It was named after local hit band Ray Columbus and the Invaders. For several years in New Zealand, this was the guitar to have. It outsold not only the Stratocaster but all other imported brands.

Although Jansen guitars were often modelled on overseas examples, the company introduced many of their own innovations, especially in the design of the pick-up.
[...]
Already noted for their innovative pick-up design, Jansen staff put a lot of effort into studying ‘waveforms’. Perhaps the best Jansen pick-ups were designed by Paul Crowther, their organ designer, who later became drummer in the famous kiwi band Split Enz.

In the late 1970s competition from overseas, especially Japan, was heating up, and Jansen went out of production.
[...]
Today Jansens continue to be highly sought after both locally and internationally – as collectors’ items.

So, they might be collectors' items, but do they warrant the price tag we see here? Personally, I rather like the concept behind the design. It's obviously modelled after a Fender Stratocaster but has a couple of features seemingly lifted from the Jazzmaster including the bridge and tremolo, and the individual pickup selector switches (surely more logical than Fender's 5-way switch). As someone who likes Strats but has never liked nor gotten on with the traditional Fender Strat tremolo, the Invader does appeal. But at these prices, I'm not going to be trying out one any time soon.

A quick Google search does reveal that the vintage guitar prices seen here are not without precedent. It also reveals that there was a 12-string version too!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

A pair of Wurlitzer "Wild One" stereo guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com:

There are a couple of nice examples of Wurlitzer guitars on eBay right now. The above pictured guitar is a Wurlitzer Cougar. As the seller explains, Wurlitzer guitars were "...made in the U.S.A., Kansas in 1965/66 at the Holman-Woodell factory. The pickups are in stereo, but work as normal with a mono cord. Both pickups have a jazz/rock button (rolls off highs), and a separate volume/tone control. There is an A, B, and A+B switch to mix the pickups and a center detented volume control on the treble horn that allows the mixing of the two."

This guitar is currently on eBay with a starting price of $50, although there is a reserve.

Below we see a Wurlitzer Wildcat. In this instance the seller, aware that it's a rarity, has slapped a Buy It Now price of $2,499 on it. Possibly a little over-optimistically.

The Wildcat is essentially the same guitar as the Cougar, only with a different body shape. There was a third design in the "Wild One" series - the Wurlitzer Gemini - which is possibly better known and has been reissued in recent years by Eastwood Guitars.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Epiphone Riviera P93 - with THREE P90s

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Rob J writes:

Dear Guitarz Blog,

On Tuesday you posted about a hollowbody guitar with 3 p90 pickups and asked 'did you ever see a hollow body guitar with 3 p90s?', well there is one sitting in my front room!

I bought this guitar a year ago from a local guitar shop for £300. Google has revealed to me that it is an Epiphone Riviera P93, a thinline semi-hollowbody guitar with 3 p90 pickups, a threeway selector, 3 volume pots, a master tone pot and a bigsby tailpiece with a tune-o-matic bridge. The selector switch selects the neck and middle pickup in the top position, all three pickups in the middle position and the middle and bridge pickup in the bottom position. It was released sometime around 2007-8 so it is definitely a modern guitar!

just thought you might be interested in this guitar after Tuesday's post.

Keep up the good work,

your loyal reader,

Rob J

Oh dear, it looks like I'm going to have to watch Bertram coming out with wild things such as "did you ever see a hollow body guitar with 3 P90s?"

I just KNEW someone was going to challenge that - it was an open invitation! And as was already pointed out in the comments, there's also the Gibson ES-5, as played by T Bone Walker.

Thanks for showing us your guitar, Rob. It's a beauty!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Dad's guitar: Martin F-65 semi

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Greg writes:

Hi there,

I've been following your blog for a little under a year now and I really love it. Thank you for sharing so many treasures and for providing such great commentary.

I thought you might be interested in a guitar that I came across in my dad's possession over my holiday vacation back home (somehow I didn't realize my dad owned this gem). While it's by no means completely wild, it sure is unusual. It's an electric guitar that Martin made back in the '60s. Kind of unusual considering Martin is known exclusively for their high quality acoustics.

As I understand it, there were only something like 1,800 of them ever made. The model is a F-65. Sadly, I don't know the exact date it was built, but they were only created from 1962 to 1965. Talking with some fellow guitar enthusiasts at a local vintage guitar meetup, they explained that it was a case of Martin just not being able to sell the model due to their strong association with acoustics and not electrics. It's an incredible guitar workmanship-wise. This particular guitar was professional sanded down to a nice, natural wood, which I absolutely love. The pickguard was removed too, giving it something of a John Lennon Casino look. All models I've seen online and read about have a sunburst finish otherwise. The place where the tremolo bar would lock in has been blocked with a wooden dowel though. My dad picked this up back in 1980 from a vintage guitar shop in Kansas City and all of the cosmetics were as they are now. He's had some work done to it and I hope you'll forgive the overused expression, but it's an absolute dream to play. Sounds great too! I hope in his older age, he finds it in his heart to fork it over to me, hah!

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in this oddity. I'm sadly back in Seattle now so I can't really provide too many more details on the guitar without probing my dad for information. Hope you're having a great New Year! Take care.

Greg

Hey, thanks for sharing, Greg. We have looked at a couple of Martin's electric models previously, but it's good to hear from someone who has personal experience of one.

Keep 'em coming, folks!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Mitre Python ... info wanted

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an email about the above guitar:

Well, I bought this guitar in late 85, early 86 called the Mitre "Python". I remember a bass next to it called the "Mongoose". Both had active electronics. Mine were extremely funtional, coil splits, taps, etc. but it also had a built in overdrive that sounded pretty good. The only thing I didn't about the guitar was the paintjob. Low quality polish job, you could even slightly see a glue seam if you held it at the right angle to the light. I painted the guitar not long after owning it, and since I had it stripped, I did come relief carving on the upper back and front to make it more comfortable for my forearm. It was basically a slab. And I took out the electronics board, unsoldering everything without writing myself a schematic, so it went back together a passive guitar. I'd love to get a schematic, or someone who knows what he's doing to rewire it original. Other than that, it has Schaller pickups, and machine heads, Kahler tremelo, brass nut. I just finished repainting it for the third time, and here are the pics. notice 008 on neck, and body blank? I'm not sure if that means 8th guitar, or 8th python... I can't find out anything about them. I'd appreciate you keeping in touch and keeping me informed about anything you find out.

Thank you,
Vedo

Over to you, guys. Any more info would be greatly appreciated.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

The truth about the Tantra Suryah guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Here's a follow-up to last September's blog post about the Tantra Suryah guitar. The following email should explain all:

I saw this guitar on "guitarz" and since I'm trying to send you some words about it.

My name is Hervé Le Garsmeur, Iive in Britanny and was one of the founders of "Tantra guitars". At the very beginning Tantra was a rock band that decided to build its own guitars and P.A equipment. We ended by building a little factory in Bréhant-Loudéac (Morbihan). We worked very hard during 3 years (1 for settling down and designing the guitars an 2 to product them) and had to quit in 1984 (thanks George Orwell!) because being very young at that time (the youngest was 19 , the oldest 23) we had some difficulties to find a bank that would follow us. We sold a little les than a hundred insruments so they are very rare and I'm glad to see that some of them survived.

The model "Suryah" presented on "guitarz" is one of the first we ever made. Suryah means "the sun" and the first idea is an egg shape (very symbolic). Those "beasts" were made to last forever. I've got one of those at home and I play it daily since all these years and it's still a very reliable and sounding instrument. Body and neck are carved in the same piece of very old oak (yes!) reinforced by a central piece of amarante (very hard wood from Brazil). The fretboard is also in amarante that turned from purple to brown with time. The pickguard is in stainless steel (cut with a laser) and NOT ALUMINIUM.

Pickups are home made (Huge alnico 12 wrapped with 10 000 turns of thread) we wanted very large single coils. It explains the steel pickguard that shields perfectly the electronic devices. It's indeed a very quiet instrument when plugged.No truss rod in the neck, just a hollow square stainless steel bar all through very much like old Martins.

There's a true connection with singer Johnny Halliday as we made him a special model (axe shape) for his show "Le survivant" at "Le palais des sports" in Paris 1982. This guitar in by now on sale for about 10 000€. You can see it on internet if you type "Johnny Halliday guitare tantra". We also made electric harps for Alan Stivell and many other strange instruments.

Thanks for the information, Hervé. It's very much appreciated.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Steve Vai - Amirah - 2010 (VaiTunes#6)

Artist: Steve Vai
Album: Amirah (VaiTunes#6)
Year: 2010
Genre:  Guitar Instrumental, Guitar Virtuoso
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Size: ~8 Mb
Tracklist:
1. Amirah

Download#1
Download#2

1953 Guild X-375 Stratford

guitarz.blogspot.com

The Guild X-375 looks like a classic but it is quite a strange guitar: did you ever see a hollow body guitar with 3 P90s?

It was actually discontinued in the early 1960s when the times shifted from jazz to rock and loudness brought feedback issues, and such guitars were replaced by thinline semi-hollows... But now it became a very exciting vintage guitar. 

With the 3 pickups come 6 switches on a control plate à la Höfner - usually they are white and it looks better - proposing many pickups combinations, though why 6 are necessary I cannot tell!

Guild has been releasing a whole series of X models since the 1950s, and the X-375 (also called the Stratford for some reason) is the same as the X-350 but with a natural blonde finish (instead of sunburst), reserved to the best tops. And as usually, the Guild stoptail is a perfect piece of design! 

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

It couldn't be? Not another skull guitar? (Yawn...)

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Wahey! Here's another hideous guitar, in fact it's not just hideous, it's a total cliché. It's a nameless guitar of dubious provenance from a eBay seller of other such nameless guitars. Skulls? Could this be any more unoriginal? (What is it about skulls on guitars? Can someone please explain?)

I'm not sure what the "thing" on the upper horn is supposed to be? A lizard? A dog skull? I think the other "thing" on the lower horn is supposed to be a ghoul of sorts and there's a ghost on the headstock. How spooky!

The wooden-topped pickups are wonkily screwed on, and - call me cynical if you will - to me this would be a hint that the workmanship might be a bit suspect.

I'm actually surprised that this has a starting price of $385 - that seems a bit steep for such a nameless guitar. Note also that the listing title is "Electric Guitar, Unique sculpture: Skull" - that also triggers warning alarms in my head. By calling it a "sculpture" could that suggest that this creation isn't actually playable? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm just saying "Beware".

Personally I'd give it a wide berth.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

CAB - CAB 2

Artist: CAB (Tony MacAlpine, Bunny Brunel, Dennis Chambers, Brian Auger)
Album: CAB 2
Year: 2001
Genre:  Fusion, Guitar Virtuoso
Format: 320 kbps mp3
Password: http://guitar-maniacs.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
1. Sunday (5:13)
2. Decisions (9:13)
3. Madeline (8:30)
4. Dennis (5:15)
5. For Joe (7:12)
6. South Side (7:26)
7. Song For My Friend (4:42)
8. Temperamental (9:41)
9. Top Spin (8:07)
10. Wah Wah (7:01)

CAB 2 was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.With this 2001 release, virtuoso electric guitarist Tony MacAlpine, bassist extraordinaire Bunny Brunel, and power drummer Dennis Chambers extend concepts witnessed on their inaugural 2000 effort. However, legendary rock/fusion keyboardist Brian Auger lends his signature style sound and laudable skills to the band's already turbo-charged methodologies. Simply put, Auger provides additional textures while frequently tempering and counterbalancing the trio's often-fervent pace via his climactically driven electronic keyboard work and stylistic Hammond B-3 overtones. Otherwise, the group continues its generally torrid mode of execution by trading viscous fours, amid turbo-charged funk beats, rapidly executed unison choruses, and demanding time signatures. Consequently, the musicians also incorporate melodious interludes and nicely arranged movements into the grand scheme of things. On this 2000 release, the group offers quite a bit more than your average everyday or conventional high-octane chops session. Recommended! 

Download#1
Download#2

Gibson Explorer XPL

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I was quite surprised to learn that this angular pointy-looking thing was a genuine Gibson guitar, namely a Gibson Explorer XPL, rather than an Explorer-esque knock-off from some other manufacturer. It's from 1985 - what other decade could it have been from? - and features Dirty Fingers pickups described by Gibson as "the critical union between power and dirt".

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!