Wednesday 31 July 2013

1966/67 Kalamazoo KB1 entry-level bass guitar made by Gibson

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Blake writes:
I came across this on a local craig's list post in Michigan. I thought you might be interested. Keep up the good work!

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/msg/3964178634.html
Thanks for that, Blake. I'll just borrow some text from the listing that is quite informative about these instruments:
The Kalamazoo bass, or KB (sometimes referred to as KB1), arrived in 1966, as a companion model to two Kalamazoo KG guitars that had been launched a year earlier.

Modern styling in solid-body 4-string bass that offers full, true bass tones in a sleek, rugged economically priced instrument. With one pickup of extremely powerful design and full volume and tone control, the Kalamazoo Bass creates the full driving bass sound that sells a combo.

The vintage Kalamazoo-brand bass guitars are perhaps not that well known outside the United States, due to their short production time (just a few years in the mid 1960s) and the lack of endorsement by well known musicians; however being made by Gibson, in the USA, out of genuine Gibson parts meant that they were better instruments than many in the same price range. Good condition examples can change hands for reasonable sums amongst vintage guitar enthusiasts, and players alike.

There were two body shapes - later models are SG shaped (have a closer look at a 1967 KB bass), but the majority are more like a Fender Mustang (see a 1966 KB bass). They have a bolt-on maple neck; something that Gibson (up until this point) didn't do, rosewood fingerboard, and were short scale. There were two subtley different headstock shapes, the first again suggests Fender, though a bit rounded off - the second has the characteristic 'beak' and is almost identical to that of the non-reverse Thunderbird (see images below). The Kalamazoo logo is engraved on the headstock. This bass used some standard Gibson components; a typical EB series humbucker right up at the neck, as used in the EB0, EB2, EB3, Melody Maker bass and Epiphone Newport This pickup in this position, has more affect on the sound than anything else. This bass does sound quite a lot like an EB0. Tuning keys are the Japanese-made closed keys that were also used on the Melody Maker bass and a few EB0s. The bar bridge had been in use on all bass models, but around 1966/67 this was replaced by the two-point intonatable bridge. From this point, the KB bass was the only one using these bridges - likewise the only one using the old-style (and position) chrome handrest. The scratchplate is almost identical (except some minor screw hole differences) to the Melody Maker bass, but the fingerrest is not rosewood as on all Gibsons, but actually plastic. The body material is not specified in Kalamazoo literature, but is supposedly a wood-laminate of one or more unspecified species, produced by a toilet-seat manufacturer in Wisconsin. There were three colours: Flame Red, Glacier White, and Las Vegas Blue. These were not the expensive nitrocellulose finishes applied to Gibsons, but again catalogue descriptions are not specific, perhaps some form of polyurethane?

Kalamazoo, rather than Epiphone was Gibsons Budget brand. A common misconception about Epiphone is that its 1960s guitars and basses were cheaper imitations of the Gibson lines. This is simply not true. From the late 1950s until 1969 Gibson and Epiphone instruments were made side by side at the Kalamazoo factory in Michigan, using the same woods, techniques and components. The purpose of the Epiphone range was to continue to provide Epiphones high-end instruments; those that had been Gibsons competition, and to circumvent certain supply agreements (Gibsons protective territorial policy). There was actually a waiting list to become a Gibson dealer, and to avoid upsetting existing dealers, Gibson was able to offer its (almost identical) Epiphone models to newcomers.
Currently being offered for sale on Craigslist in Michigan for $650.

G L Wilson

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Tuesday 30 July 2013

Westone Corsair Classic - a Sid Poole-designed beauty

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I really like the design of this Westone Corsair Classic, it looks almost as if a Fender Stratocaster has been given the Gibson Junior treatment. Or perhaps a slightly offset version of Fender's Lead series guitars.

Of course this is one of the Sid Poole designed Prestige-series Westones built in the UK by the makers of the Status Graphite bass. It's virtually identical to the Westone Cutlass which differs only in pickup configuration.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a wholly reasonable Buy It Now price of £400. Alas, the seller specifies collection in person, which is quite a bummer if the prospective buyer is not within easy travelling distance of Swindon in Wiltshire, and is also peculiar given that the guitar comes in a hard case which looks like it'd easily provide adequate protection against the rigours of being sent by courier.

G L Wilson

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Sunday 28 July 2013

Can you identify the mysterious Outlook guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Guitarz reader Julian writes:
Ok, so curiosity has gotten the better of me here. For a few days I saw the guitar on the Hotmail login page and wondered what it was but didn't attempt to find out, but now I can no longer hold in that desire. So I was wondering whether you or any of the viewers of the blog might be able identify the guitar (photo attached)?

Many thanks, and keep up the great work on the ever interesting blog!
Thanks for that, Julian. That guitar does look strangely familiar; I have the sneaking suspicion that we may even have featured it on the blog at some point, but short of trawling our entire archives nothing is jogging the old memory, I'm afraid.

Do any of our other readers have any clues as to what this mystery guitar might be?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Morbidoni Diamond Wildcat


Diamond was an US export brand of Italian guitar company Morbidoni, one of many companies based in Castelfidardo in central Italia near the Adriatic sea, once the world capital of accordion making, that turned to guitar making in the 1960s (we heard this story already, it happened also in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands...) 

The Wildcat model is less known and less well designed than the Ranger, but it still has big square plastic switches, and that's what we love in Italian vintage guitars!

Bertram D

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Friday 26 July 2013

Born Custom Guitars OG-Drop solidbody electric guitar with Pistachio top

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Of course, here at Guitarz we don't just focus on weird and wonderful guitar finds on the auction sites. We're guitar aficionados and besides all the weird and wonderful guitars, vintage instruments, beautiful - or even occasionally horrendous - guitars, we are very keen to celebrate contemporary guitar design, and we have a particular fondness for the "little guy", i.e. the small guitar companies out there who are keeping the spirit of experimentation and guitar design alive. The guitar pictured here is a case in point, an experimentation in the use of an alternative and rather unusual tonewood. I'll allow Campbell Davis of Born Custom Guitars to explain:
We (Born Custom Guitars) are a new and small company located in Colorado. We're all big fans (all three of us!) of your blog, and we wanted to share a guitar that we recently completed that we feel is pretty unique. As a company, we love traditional tone woods, but we also really like experimenting with and promoting alternative tone woods. In either case, we use only salvaged, reclaimed, or sustainably sourced woods.

The guitar seen in the attached photos and video is our "OG-Drop" model. This particular guitar sports a Port Orford Cedar body and neck, Granadillo fretboard, and a Pistachio top…that's right, Pistachio! Pistachio trees are grown commercially for their nuts, but are only commercially productive for 50-80 years. After that point, they are usually chipped/scrapped, despite the fact that they can often live up to 200 years. The Pistachio top on this guitar was salvaged from a farm in California before it was scrapped. Pistachio is very heavy, hard, and dense and pairs very well with the lightweight and airy Port Orford Cedar (POC). The POC neck and body originate from a southern Oregon forest that was almost completely destroyed by a 500,000 acre fire a little more than a decade ago. The fire left many dead but harvestable trees. POC is really lightweight but incredibly straight grained and stable and we've found it to be an excellent alternative for Maple necks.
Thanks to the guys at Born Custom Guitars for showing us this beauty. I personally think it looks quite stunning, and as the video demonstrates it sounds sweet too!

G L Wilson

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Thursday 25 July 2013

From Germany of the 1970s - the Hoyer 50603

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This 1970s German-made Hoyer 50603 has a body shape strangely reminiscent of certain Guild guitars (e.g. this one), and is one of those designs that I look at and say to myself, "Is it ugly? Is it attractive? I can't decide!"

The guitar features a pair of DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers (as was fashionable at the time) with a volume and tone control for each and a pair of switches, one of which will be the pickup selector, but as for the other... Anyone out there know? Coil top or phase inversion, maybe?

This guitar is currently located in Berlin, and is listed on eBay.de with a Buy It Now price of €799.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Wednesday 24 July 2013

One-off handmade guitar with a Love and Rockets theme

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Far be it for me to decry the handiwork of those who are talented enough to build their own guitars from scratch - I'm quite sure I couldn't do it - but even having said that, I have to comment that this strangely-shaped hand-built Love and Rockets-themed guitar is quite an oddity. The set neck construction, inlay work, and high quality of the finish are all evidence that this guitar was built by someone comfortable with working with wood (apparently one Stephen Sidney Johnson, brother of the eBay seller). However, the design of the guitar is quite curious in places, particularly the almost buttock-like rear-end and one of the very weirdest headstock shapes I have ever seen - rocket-shaped, I presume. The neck is also bizarre in that it appears to be parallel along its length in these photos. It also has no volume and tone controls - just a jack output from the lone humbucker. Whether this guitar is homage to Love and Rockets the comic or the band (or even some other reference that I am unaware of), I do not know.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of £4,000, which, sadly, I think may be optimistic. I am sure that this may have been a real labour of love for its creator, but I cannot imagine it selling for anything remotely approaching this sum.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Tuesday 23 July 2013

"The Handle" (rough) copy guitar on a Dutch auction site

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Now here's quite a curious guitar currently listed on a Dutch auction site priced at €250,00. Of course, the holey shape makes much more sense when you realise that the entire design has been copied from the fantastic XOX Audio Tools "The Handle" which is a guitar I have been coveting now for several years. Bear in mind, of course, that the XOX Handle is a cutting edge technologically advanced guitar made from carbon fibre with a hollow tube body, whereas this guitar on the Dutch site is merely a cheap approximation of the same shape made in Taiwan. Oh, and it has Wilkinson pickups too and dolphin inlays on the fingerboard (quite what the relevance is, I do not know). The body finish is unusual, I'm guessing it's supposed to suggest that the body is made from marble but even without seeing this guitar in the flesh I can 99.9% guarantee that it's made entirely from wood. If the body were made from stone, you think the seller might mention it. And can you imagine how heavy such a guitar would be, even with the holes in the body?

Thanks to Eric for bringing this guitar to my attention.

G L Wilson

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Monday 22 July 2013

A gumby-shaped DIY furry guitar currently listed on eBay UK

guitarz.blogspot.com:
I'm trying to work out quite what the original body shape is beneath all that fur fabric on this self-made fluffy guitar currently listed on eBay UK. Despite the Telecaster hardware, the shape now appears to be "gumby"-like.

I'm not really sure who it's supposed to appeal to. Perhaps a glam-rock covers party band? Or a Wombles or Banana Splits tribute band maybe?

Currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £220.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Sunday 21 July 2013

RP Custom Guitars Roach-o-caster acrylic-bodied guitar complete with entombed cockroach

guitarz.blogspot.com:
I think the photos of this acrylic-bodied "Roach-o-caster" electric guitar from RP Custom Guitars of Los Angeles say it all. We've looked at a number of see-thru acrylic-bodied guitars before, but the big difference with the Roach-o-caster is that it comes with its own entombed insect cast inside the acrylic body. I don't know about you, but I can't say that I'm too comfortable with the morality or ethics of putting dead bodies of living creatures into a musical instrument, even if it is something as frequently reviled as a cockroach (although I am told that they make very nice pets). The question is, was it already dead when it was put in? I certainly hope so. Even then, there's something quite ghoulish about it.

This guitar, currently located in Berlin, is now listed on eBay.de with a But It Now price of €899.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Friday 19 July 2013

Supposedly ultra-rare Burns Flyte guitar in red finish... original or refinish?

guitarz.blogspot.com:
I hope that regular readers will forgive me for returning yet again to one of my favourite guitars. Of course we all have our favourites; mine include the Ovation Breadwinner, the Yamaha SG-2 and SG-3, and - the guitar we are looking at here - the Burns Flyte.

In 1965 Jim Burns sold the original Burns guitar line, that is Burns London Ltd, to the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company of Cincinnati who soon re-branded the guitars with the Baldwin name before discontinuing the line in 1970. Jim Burns bounced back in 1974 with Burns UK, and one of this company's most recognisable guitars was the futuristic looking Burns Flyte, styled after the British/French supersonic airliner Concorde and originally to have been named the same.

I've seen Flytes in silver and natural finishes before, but never before a red example like this Flyte currently listed on eBay in Germany. The lack of a Burns logo or Flyte legend do make me wonder if this red Flyte may be a refinish job, but the eBay seller seems to be implying that it is original when making the statement:
one of a kind, 1975 handmade in England for guitar trade show
...which isn't to say that it hasn't been re-finished. I should imagine that it would be important for any guitar made for a tradeshow to have the company logo on it at least.

Whilst I'm in a questioning frame of mind, I often see quoted that the Burns Flyte was played by Marc Bolan of T Rex and Dave Hill of Slade; we know that Bolan did indeed play a Flyte - there is plenty of photographic evidence - however, I have never seen a photo or footage of Slade with such a guitar. I remember going through a rather exhaustive (now defunct) website detailing all the guitars used by Slade and never saw the Flyte listed there either. Do any of our readers know if Dave Hill or ANY of the members of Slade ever played a Flyte?

Anyway, the red Burns Flyte pictured above is currently listed on eBay Germany with a Buy It Now price of €1444.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Thursday 18 July 2013

Soviet-era Russian-made vintage Odessa electric guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Design-wise I really like this vintage Russian Odessa electric guitar. (Unfortunately the design is all I can comment on, because without actually buying it I have no way of telling how it sounds or what it plays like.) The outline owes more than a little to Fender's Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars, whilst the angular pickguard allows for a touch of originality. As for the finish, that has to be one of the severest sunburst finishes I've ever seen having no gradual fade between the constituent colours. Note that the sunburst finish is also applied to the headstock.

The pickup switching looks to be quite comprehensive, although it's hard to tell here whether these switches are all original - I'm thinking that the innermost 5-way toggle may be a later add-on even though the seller claims that "All parts are original". If all parts are original including those exposed coil zebra humbuckers, then I'd say that the guitar has a very 1980s vibe to it.

I'm pretty sure the rather individual tuners are original though - note the cover for all six gears on the back of the headstock.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $299. Item located in Ukraine.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Jansen Victor (Black Swan?) electric guitar from New Zealand circa 1960-61

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Here's an email I received earlier today from Steve:
Hi Gavin, I was doing some research on Jansen electric guitars because my Father owns one and saw your post on Jansen Invaders - then I spent too much time reading random interesting posts on other guitars - you have a great blog.

Anyway - I thought this might interest some of your readers:

Dad passed away recently from a rare cancer, and while cleaning out his garage I came across the old Jansen again. I remember stripping the electrics from it for him about 25 years ago so he could have it repainted so I know he's owned it at least that long - of its previous history though, I don't know anything unfortunately.

I found it in the garage in the condition you see it in now - the paint job was a shocker and it is all lifting off again. But it looks to pre-date the Invader series of guitars (My friend has a 12-string Invader which I used to play it when I was younger).

Anyway, I have a lot of his stuff to work through, and I really only play acoustic myself. I'm also not really skilled enough to restore this to the condition it really should be in so I have decided to put it up for sale, and hopefully someone who has the time, patience and skill can do it justice.

Anyway, thanks for a great blog - I'm looking forward to reading more of it

Cheers

Steve D
New Zealand
Hi Steve, thanks for sharing your photos of your father's Jansen with us. On the Jansen Guitars fan page on FaceBook there are plenty of photos of various Jansens including a Jansen White Swan II from 1961 which looks very much like your guitar. Actually, the name given on the FaceBook fan page is "Jansen White Swan II (Victor)", so maybe Victor is the actual model name and "White Swan" may refer to the the finish on that particular example. They also have photos of a similar guitar in a blue finish (Victor "Blue Swan") with comments that it is from 1960 and is the first of the Jansen range. Perhaps you should get in touch with these guys for some further info. It looks like you may have quite a rare guitar there!

EDIT: Please note that the guitar is no longer for sale. Steve has decided to keep it, restore it and play it in remembrance of his father. I think he's made the right decision. [19 July 2013]

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Monday 15 July 2013

Python-shaped guitar for snake lovers

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Whilst this python guitar isn't something that appeals to me personally, even I have to admit that the creators, Xentric guitars, have done a first class finishing job on it. As to how it actually plays, I couldn't comment. And at least the snake theme isn't such an appalling cliché in hobnailed boots as a guitar with skulls all over it.

As you can see it's very smooth and shiny... possibly a little too glossy?

It's a pity about the generic Strat-type neck. It would have been nice if the headstock design could have continued the snake motif in some way. Also, as such a lot of work has obviously been put into this guitar, it amazes me that the string ends haven't been clipped up at the tuners. They've gone to the bother of fitting coloured strings, so I'd have thought that presentation was an issue.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $999.95.

Why've I got that Motörhead song "Love Me Like A Reptile" going through my head?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Sunday 14 July 2013

Jef shows us his self-built Thinline

guitarz.blogspot.com:


Here's an email I received this morning:
My name is Jef, I live in south west of France, near Toulouse. Here are some pictures of a guitar that I made with many parts recovered: neck, pickups, Japanese (Teisco?) I think. The "hand-made"body (sort of "thinline") is made of plywood (I assume!), the neck being in poor condition, so I began my first refrettage and a first attempt, it's not so bad ...

There's also a cheap "badass wraparound" find on ebay, and copies of Kluson tuners...

She's not very easy to play, but it's my guitar!

Thanks for your great blog...and sorry for my bad english....

Jef
Thanks for sharing with us. We always like to see readers' original guitars. That's quite a classic look you've got there. It has a vintage Kay/Danelectro vibe but with the modern twist of an upsidedown headstock.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Saturday 13 July 2013

1960s vintage Hungarian-made Moni Bassus bass guitar with tremolo!

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This 1960s vintage Moni Bassus bass guitar is an exceedingly interesting piece - I swear I performed a silent movie style double take when I first saw it on eBay last night. The seller tells us that:
The bass is from 1960s years, manufactured in the late communist Hungary, made by the Instrument Factory of Szeged /Szegedi Hangszergyár/.

This bass is truly rare, even in Hungary there are only a few, and those by real collectors, because this bass and the very similar Moni Solo guitar were made only in the 60s years, and since then many of them were destroyed. Some are on the opinion that the Moni guitars aren't that good quality, but I don't think that's true. Indeed, these guitars don't reach the quality of the Gibson and Fender guitars of the same age, but these are very unique sounding instruments that should have their place in people's collections, who appreciate the old guitars that were made in low quantity.

The bass looks like a solid body, but in reality it's a hollow, you can see it in the photos where the inside of the guitar is visible. The original label is inside the guitar, too, it's the number 74 bass, so it means it was one of the first basses made.
However, the seller manages to somehow neglect to mention the one major thing that makes this bass so interesting (well, to me at least). That is, it has a tremolo arm! Outside of the Fender Bass VI and its imitators such as the Teisco TB-64, I am not aware of any conventional (i.e. FOUR-string) bass guitar to feature a tremolo before Kahler introduced a bass trem system in the 1980s. If any Guitarz readers know of any other examples, please let us know via the comments below!



Here we see a close-up of the tremolo - it all looks very hand-made.

As the seller points out, what looks like a solidbody instrument is actually quite hollow. Note also the unusual layout of the tuners on the headstock - the way they are spaced it looks like there's room for two more nearer the top of the headstock. Perhaps the same neck blank was used on six string guitars. (I'm not certain of the scale length, but it does look quite short).

The design does seem to ape certain Italian-made Eko instruments of the same era, what with the rear cutaway and the MOTO pickguard.

This bass is currently being auctioned on eBay with a starting price of $169.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Friday 12 July 2013

So... the LaBaye 2x4 longscale bass - is it really as rare as we thought?

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Well, that was a pretty weird coincidence... Earlier today I posted about the supposedly super-rare LaBaye 2x4 longscale bass, then today I check eBay and - Lo! and behold! There's another one for sale on there! This example, in natural finish, has a Buy It Now price of $2,500 which is $2,000 less than the first example we looked at. In this instance the seller claims that there were only 45 examples made, which although a low quantity is considerably more than the lone two examples that we have previously been led to believe were built. Having said that, the seller of THIS 2x4 bass does not say if those 45 were all long scale (31" apparently) or if that figure includes the more commonly seen short scale basses. However, IF the latter were true, and there were only TWO of these basses made in longscale format, how weird would that be if BOTH of them were listed on eBay within days of one another?

Does anyone out there have a more complete and accurate picture of what the truth was regarding how many LaBaye 2x4s were made?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Proof that it really exists! The LaBaye 2x4 LONGSCALE bass...

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Now here's a bass that was only ever rumoured to exist; it's a longscale version of the now legendary LaBaye 2x4 bass. I'm so excited to have found proof that it actually does exist. Legend has it that one "one or two" were made, most of the 2x4 basses being very short scale.

We've previously looked at the LaBaye shortscale bass here and the six string guitar here and here.

The LaBaye 2x4 guitars and basses were a relation of the Wurlitzer-branded guitars, built in the same Holman-Woodell factory in Neodesha, Kansas in 1967, .

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $4,500.

EDIT: Re-listed with a Buy It Now price of $3,500 (14 July 2013)

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Thursday 11 July 2013

Vintage 1970s Strange Buzzard Custom Caveman Bass Guitar Project Alembic ? Prop?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

 A Strange Buzzard (???) Custom Caveman Bass? A two octave tree trunk?
This fits in pretty well with some of the other recent posts and it's always nice to develop a stream of thought (if not consciousness)...


Or, it could be just a failed attempt at a off-the-wall instrument and now a piece of junk.
Anyway, it caught my eye and it's certainly worth a few minutes of our time if only just to contemplate the possibilities.

The seller says:
Wow check out this monster??? No idea what this is. Looks like some abandoned bass guitar project from somebodies nightmare. The neck is not just full scale its XXLL jumbo large scale. Whatever that means. This thing is really strange and weird. Might be some homemade project. No idea if this will actually hold a tune or break when i put strings on it. Selling as project, prop, art piece, as is parts junk pile!
Hello there, getting a lot of emails asking the same questions. Will try to answer here.>>> no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Don't see a truss rod. 12th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows.  Fret board is attached. No indication of why hardware is stripped.  
The potential buyers are asking questions so we'll show them too:
Q:
What's the scale length? Or just the distance from the nut to the 12th fret? And the Nut width. Is the neck clearly straight or twisted? Do you think it maybe has a fixed truss rod or bar in the neck?? is the fretboard securly attached? Is there no indication of why it was stripped of the hardware? Thanks, it's an interesting piece for a project perhaps...
A:
Hello there no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Dont see a truss rod. 12 th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows. Fret board is attached. No indication of why hardware is stripped.
Q:
OK, so this is a pretty weird bass...I am interested & would like to bid...BUT, first, a couple questions: - Does it have an adjustable truss rod? - Has this beast ever been strung-up & used before (what past history can you offer)? - What is the condition of the frets? - What is the measurement from the nut to bridge saddles (scale)? many thanks Chuck South Haven Guitars
A:
Hello there no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Dont see a truss rod. 12 th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows.


One thing it shows is, people don't always read the description so it's worth (if you're selling) spelling it it out clearly. Really clearly. Splitting your copy up into small, easily digestible, chunks is not a bad idea. Otherwise, patience is a virtue.
So, what do we think? Is this a monster bass, an ill fated experiment or an unfinished innovation? There a few amateurish areas - pickup routing obviously - but some others show some skill.
there have been some offers, so others see some potential in this wee beastie.

David, overstretched in Barcelona


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Please read our photo and content policy.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Eko 8 and 12-string solidbody electric mandos from Italy

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Currently being auctioned on eBay UK are an Eko solidbody 8-string mandolin and an Eko solidbody 12-string mandolin. The latter is essentially an octave 12-string guitar (I used to have one myself), almost certainly influenced by the now legendary Vox Mando Guitar, and usually tuned a whole octave above (modern) 12-string guitar tuning.

I'll let you know what these Eko mandos fetch on eBay when the auctions end.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

American Showster - where guitar and biker culture collide

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Bike culture frequently manifests itself in the guitar world with hot rod finishes, pin stripes, etc, but never more so than on a guitar such as this 1997 American Showster. To the uninitiated it may look like a reverse body teardrop-shaped guitar, but the body shape is - of course - styled after the gas tank of a chopper. It even comes complete with the fuel cap. The guitar is equipped with two Golden Lace Sensor pickups in the neck and center positions and a Red Lace Sensor in the bridge position, with the pickups arranged Strat style with a reverse angled bridge pickup. It also has a Floyd Rose trem and locking nut.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,495.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Sunday 7 July 2013

Galanti Jetstar - an understated Italian beauty from 1966

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Here we have some 1960s vintage Italian gorgeousness in the shape of this Galanti Jetstar. It's actually rather restrained for an Italian guitar of this era, having just the two pickups and a very sober finish without a spot of glitter or pearlised plastic to be seen.

Incidentally, back in October 2010 we looked at a Goya Panther and mentioned that: "It has [...] been suggested that Italian guitar maker Galanti made the Goya Panther models. The Goya Panther and the Galanti guitars look nearly identical." Well, checking back to that earlier blog post I'd say that these guitars were definitely closely related.

The Galanti Jetstar pictured here is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $995.

G L Wilson

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Saturday 6 July 2013

A banjo guitar made from trash

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Check out the above video amd then see how this banjo guitar was actually made here. Don't worry if you can't read Hungarian, there are plenty of photographs to illustrate the whole process. I particularly like the novel approach to the frets, and the tuning system is something else too!

Thanks to Zirig Árpád for the heads up! And if you've ever wondered what fuzz banjo might sound like:



G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Friday 5 July 2013

S.D. Curlee Liberty Bell bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:


To me, the name S.D. Curlee evokes three piece through-necks, DiMarzios, Badass bridges and wood finishes like my Mum's coffee table. This Curlee bass from 1976 does not disappoint. I remember seeing the ads for them at the time and, although they've never really appealed to me, I never forgot them. This is the kind of guitar I associated with big, hairy armed, denim clad rockers who, for some reason, wore midriff revealing girly tops and hairstyles like Roger Daltrey or Jimmy Page. Probably because that's the kinds of band I used to see a lot at that time, Strider, Strife, Stray, Savoy Brown, Bob Story, lots of bands whose names began with "S" (star?), and Rory Gallagher, The Enid, Caravan, Colloseum II... Yes, I was weird. Anyway, what I mean to say is, these are men's guitars, designed for hard rocking, tough talking, shit kicking, mean, SOBs. Sorry, came over all American then. Must be the Curlee effect.


This odd shaped bass is a little out there but not all that over the top really. It's supposed to be in the shape of the Liberty Bell. Like the Airline Map is supposed to be in the (art deco styled) shape of the US of A.

The seller says:
Made in the famous Matsumoku guitar factory. Amazing vintage Bass; all original electronics and pickups--works great, and have not been modified. Controls are volume/tone/tone and a pickup selector switch. Has 2 made in USA DiMarzio split coil pickups, and even still has the Dimarzio sticker on the back! Minimal fretwear, and the fret edges are nice and smooth. Brass nut. 32" scale with 1 5/8 inch nut. Weighs approximately 8.5 pounds. This bass sounds AWESOME! Has a huge tone, and can really thump!

And a couple of paragraphs from the S.D. Curlee website
Enter Denny Rauen. He was a young guy working for a construction company that ran the building SD Curlee was in, a player and ceramic artist with a natural ability for how things work. The workshop was battling a spindle sander they couldn't get working... "If I fix that sander, will you hire me?" He got it working in about 5 minutes, was hired, and within a year and a half he was in charge of the workshop. Denny tweaked the basic Dritz design, retooled everything, designed more jigs and systems and got it into smoother production. 
He designed the "Liberty" bass in 1976 to get some attention. (That's the Curlee bass that looks like an old telephone. Keep in mind this was the '70s and a bass shaped like a melting liberty bell wasn't all that far out.) They took some hand made versions to a NAMM show and... surprise, there was Hondo with dozens of them from a Japanese factory. Randy Curlee had licensed the design to Hondo. The flipside of this, though, is he was one of the (if not the) first to license and purchase overseas copies of a company's own designs for a lower line - a business model now followed by most big guitar companies and many independents.
I don't know if that corroborates the sellers claim of it being Matsumoku made or not. I couldn't find any reference to Hondo having guitars made by them. I'm sure someone out there knows. US made SD Curlees seem to have carved logos whereas this has a decal. so might mean something. I wonder if the Hondo made guitars were branded Hondo or S.D. Curlee...

David in sweaty Barcelona

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

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