This New York Pro has been abused

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The seller of the guitar keeps it short and simple. 

"New York Pro, refinished, new strings, tuned, sounds awesome"

Let's dissect it a little:

It's a New York Pro -  Hard to dispute or confirm as the headstock is not shown, but it looks like it's likely low range Korean offering.

Refinished - Well if you count intentional damage as a refinished job, then I guess so. Seriously, it looks like Marcellus Wallace got all medieval on it with a blow torch and pair of pliers.

New Strings - Phew, and I thought I was going to have to buy my own. There's a few bucks saved.

Tuned - Think of the hours I'll save. I wonder if I'll be able to get the seller to do house calls and tune it again if it ever should need it.

Sounds Awesome - The sound of an instrument is a very subjective thing, but I think that the judgment of this seller cannot wholly be trusted.

I generally don't like to be mean spirited when posting here, and yes we've called out horrible relics, bad customizations, and general guitar abuse in the past, but I feel this seller may be trying to dupe a potential buyer though, and sadly there are folks out there who wouldn't know that they were getting ripped off. 

Am I wrong? This is not a good guitar, is it?

For $250 I could have bought 8 of these guitars.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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The day the Rush died. Alex Lifeson's Signature Aurora Guitar for sale in Toronto.

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I guess it was just a coincidence that I came across this posting today as the news of Neil Peart's retirement from music bounced around the internet. This isn't entirely shocking news but as a lifelong Rush fan ( though, admittedly much more fervent in the 70s in 80s before i discovered what the rest of the world had to offer ) I'm a little saddened.
It was Alex Lifeson and his unique approach to guitar that had me practicing riffs and solos over and over. Not before or since then have I tried to learn anyones music as precisely. I clearly wasn't that precise, but the foundation of my skills were cemented then, in those countless hours.

So, only the $15000 price tag could keep me from this otherwise rather underwhelming super-strat-esque Signature Aurora. I was at at least one of the shows where he played this guitar.

A Farewell To Kings, indeed.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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The Danelecto Bellzouki 12 string guitar from 1965

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This Danelectro Bellzouki was the brainchild of Vincent Bell, a session guitarist in the 1960s. Apparently when asked to play bouzouki for a gig he tuned one up 12 string style and faked his way through the show. This lead him to design an electric version of a bouzouki. 

Initially there were 2 sets of g-unison strings to help emulate the sound of the greek instrument but quickly evolved to a standard 12 string tuning. Interesting to note that the heavier gauge of the octave strings are on top as opposed to the bottom as on standard 12 strings. I've always thought this would be a better idea, but have never owned a 12 string long enough to try it out.

Other than the bouzouki shape this guitar is very Danelectro with the lipstick pickup, aluminum nut , and skate key tuners.

R.W. Haller

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Eastwood Mandocaster. Beautiful electric mandolin for Tele Tuesday.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm a big fan of Eastwood guitars. I've never played one I didn't like, they bring back old models in tribute ( to the dismay of some purists ), and they're Canadian ( yay, national pride and stuff!)

As a mandolin player and a Telecaster fan it's a crime that I have yet to own one of these. I've considered getting an electric mandolin before but it was the Epiphone firebird version. This Eastwood Mandocaster could be the answer to my electromando dreams.

Maybe Santa will hear my call.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Homemade Upright Washtub Bass.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

As a compliment to yesterdays post with the homemade upright bass-banjo I thought I'd share this take on the washtub bass.

The design and construction are simple yet ideal and I feel that its not the builder's first time making an instrument.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Homemade Upright Bass-Banjo. Awesomely unique instrument.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'd love to hear how this Bass-Banjo sounds. I think it's a great idea and I had one of those " how have I not thought of this" moments. This particular bass looks like it was made quite cheaply It makes me wonder if it's a viable concept to make a higher end version.

Has anyone seen something like this before?

R.W. Haller


© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1970s Greco telecaster-esque black beauty

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We've looked at a lot of Greco guitars here on Guitarz but I've never seen this particular Greco before. The telecaster similarities are quite obvious but it retains a style all its own with a funky tremolo, awesome pickups ( deArmond?), and more pronounced cutaway on the upper horn.

Listed for $495 US.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Suzuki Three S AD213S. My $30 Martin

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I picked up this Suzuki Three S when we decided to slightly renovate our living room. The wall mount guitar holders came down and I would be using a floor stand again. With 2 young kids and a blind dog in the house, the thought of my Lowden getting knocked over was not a pleasing one. So I looked for a guitar that i could fix up, play, and not care if it hit the floor every once in a while.

The problem with that now is that this $30 "beater" is now one of my favourite guitars. I had to reattach bridge, glue the fretboard and a brace, and cut a new nut. It's from 1980 according to my research and the solid spruce top has aged sweetly. I added a pickguard and put in a $30 pickup.

Also note the obligatory headstock cigarette burn. 

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11
Please read our photo and content policy.

No name Baritone Electric guitar with 4 pickups. What is this guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'd love to hear the pickup combinations on this no-name baritone guitar. I could probably spend hours playing with those rocker switches. I also love the volume and tone controls, they probably aren't very convenient, but who cares.

A bit of research leads me to believe that this is a Lindell or Tiesco VN-4. Anyone know this guitar?

Currently listed for $450 Canadian.

R.W. Haller

Amendment: It seems we looked at this guitar here on Guitarz back in 2009. And that the name Demian was an actual name and not just something I lost in translation.

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

The Phantom Acrylic Telecaster by Logical Guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm neither for or against acrylic guitars. I think that in the right form, they can look awesome. In fact I'm very open to non-wood guitars of all kinds. If anyone has ever played a Rainsong carbon fibre acoustic they'll likely agree with me.

There is a lot to like about The Phantom. It looks to be constructed well, has wilkinson pickups, and sports a bigsby style tremolo. Also, it's a Canadian made guitar. I probably could never get past the large missing portion of the upper body. It would probably make a convenient handle, but I'd be more worried that my girthy mid-section would occupy the missing space.

Not the most attractive onstage look.

R.W. Haller




© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1973 Hayman 3030. The Happy Birthday to R.W. edition

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Firstly, my apologies for a minimal amount of posts recently. Life has been pretty busy and though the actual posting of cool guitar pictures doesn't take long, the scouring of the web to find said guitars takes a while.
I do miss it. Both the posting and the scouring.

That said, not all is sad and busy in my world. I finally got a guitar I've been coveting for years. A Hayman 3030. I sold a bass and some smaller gear and got myself this awesome birthday gift.

The good:
1) This thing is in impeccable shape for something nearly my age. So very clean with just enough wear to show it's been properly used.
2) Almost everything is original and even has the oft-lost headstock disk.
3) It's super quiet. I've not had a chance to test it in a band environment, but at studio levels there is no noise at all.
4) I love the neck on this thing. It feels like home.
5) About 1/3 the cost of the last few 3030s I've seen for sale.

The Bad:
1)It's not all original.
2) The trademark pickguard with appliance style control plate is gone. The replacement is well made and in my opinion it looks pretty great.
3) The Re-An pickups are gone too. The replacements look similar to the humbucker on my Burns Steer, but more research leads me to believe that they could be late 1970 Dimarzio Super 2s. I'm not sure how to feel about this as I've never had Dimarzio pickups in any of my guitars. Time will tell.
4) The tuners have been replaced with Sperzel locking tuners. I know this may not be a bad thing but I'm the guy that wraps as much string on the post as he can. I've been that way for 30 years, going to take a lot to get past that.

The good very much outweighs the bad here. It's going to be a very happy birthday for this fella!

R.W. Haller

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Rayco ResNick Resophonic Banjo

guitarz.blogspot.com:

As a struggling Dobro and Banjo player the thought of adding a hybrid of the two to my arsenal is both appealing and daunting.
Perhaps this Rayco ResNick Resophonic Banjo designed by Ross Nickerson could be a replacement for the other two.

Less gear to carry is always a good thing, right?

Currently listed for $2200 Canadian.

R.W. Haller

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Please read our photo and content policy.