Superb Bulgarian Vintage Orfeus Electric Guitar

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Luckily, I was able to save some pictures of this wonderful specimen before it was sold. This Orfeus checks a lot of boxes for me as it's odd, yellow, and has the kind of curves that could make a schoolboy blush.

R.W. Haller


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Rare Takamine Guitar and Bass combo from the 1980s

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Poor Takamine ( circa 1985 ).

After a long run of acoustic guitar success in the 1970s and early 1980s they found themselves losing a lot of ground once the mid 80s were in full bloom and hair bands ruled the land.

They had to do something.

I'm not defending Takamine for coming up with these Takamine Guitars and Basses , in fact there is a lot to like about them.
Even though it's not something that I'd usually appreciate, I find I'm a fan of the black with red combo ( See my most recent boot purchase ). I also do not totally hate the body shape on these. They're much more subtle than this Takamine, obviously from the same era.

The seller is looking for trades and I'm sure this would be a great addition to the right collection.

R.W. Haller


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Anjo Guitar from the 1980s. Pointy madness that could only be 1980s

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There's not much I can say about this 1980s Anjo electric guitar that the pictures don't already say. An obvious copy of a BC Rich, this pokey beast was likely made in Japan and would have the same level of craftsmanship that you'd find in a 1980s Japanese guitar.

Currently listed for $225 Canadian.

R.W. Haller

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Aria Pro II ST-1504FL Super Twin guitar/fretless bass doubleneck from 1982

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Now this is my kind of doubleneck. From 1982, it's an Aria Pro II ST-1504FL Super Twin with 6-string guitar neck and a fretless bass neck. It's Japanese-made, of course, almost certainly from the now legendary Matsumoku factory - note the trademark through-neck stylings so typical of both the period AND Matsumoku, and in this case it's a double through neck!

It ticks all the boxes for me as a bassist who prefers playing fretless and also dabbles a little in guitar. Also it has the necks the correct way around with the bass neck at the bottom and the guitar neck up top. (Correct way? I explain more about this here, and in case you haven't been following I did indeed get that custom doubleneck built).

However, with a Buy It Now price of a whopping US $4,299.00 for this Ari Pro II doubleneck, I think that I'm going to have to give it a miss.

G L Wilson

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Phoenix Phantom Headless Bass. 1980s Made In Japan

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I'd never heard of Phoenix guitars before. Clearly they were part of the Japanese invasion of the 1980s.

This Phoenix Phantom looks to be a solid example of the quality that was going into all the made in Japan guitars of the time. If you can get past the lack of a headstock you could possibly have a great vintage bass at a decent price. The single pickup is coil tapped for single or humbucker tones and the black on black colour scheme gives it an air of class.

Currently $250 Canadian.

Happy New Year!

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

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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

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Cort AS-1 thin bodied acoustic guitar with red binding and inlay

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There is a part of me, one clearly rooted in the 1980s I'm sure, that would love to have this Cort AS-1 acoustic guitar. I did a quick search and found very little information about this guitar other than a few reviews that go from poor to a comparison to a Chet Atkins signature guitar. I would suspect that it was manufactured in the early 1990s even though it screams 1987 to me and that it was likely made in Korea. 

The seller claims that this is a "rarest of the rare" guitar and it may very well be. But sometimes items are rare because they weren't good enough to make a lot of them. That said, the seller also claims that this was a $1400 guitar when purchased new, so it may be an example of higher quality from Cort. There is a huge diversity in the Cort guitars I've played, so I guess it's possible that this is one of the better ones.

Has anyone played one of these?

Currently listed at $299 Canadian.

R.W. Haller

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Raven short scale violin shaped bass made in Japan with scroll headstock.

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This is a tough one for me.
I really want this bass, and the seller is quite literally only a few streets away from where I am as I type this. But I currently own 3 basses ( a Westone Thunder, an Ibanez Roadster, and a Vantage V900B - 2 of which i should be selling ) and I really do not play bass. I can play but I only play for demo purposes and I never gig as a bassist ( all drummers heave a collective sigh of relief ).

This Matsumoku made Raven violin bass is, according to the seller, in near mint condition. The pictures seem support his claim, and everything about this bass says "buy me".

My resolve is weak, but my wallet is empty.

R.W. Haller


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G&L Interceptor fretless bass from 1984

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These days I feel more at home playing bass than guitar, and thus find myself more drawn to basses when perusing the racks in guitar shops, browsing the web, etc. I'm especially drawn to fretless basses; my first ever bass was a fretless (a Westone Thunder I-A) and I've owned several others over the years, most recently I've been playing a Hohner B2A fretless conversion. But I'm always looking out for that special ONE, so regularly check the eBay listings.

Recently this 30-year old G&L Interceptor fretless bass caught my eye. It's not a model that I've been aware of previously, and I'd imagine that most guitar and bass enthusiasts would have to agree that it is one of Leo Fender's more obscure bass designs. The body shape, I guess, belies its 1980s origins. It's rather blocky-looking with sharp, straight edges. A little bit like a Status bass maybe, but without the bevelled edges. I really like the headstock shape too, which is unusual for a G&L but still manages to incorporate their trademark "sting" (for want of a better word).

The bass is equipped with narrow field full range humbucking pickups and active electronics; the eBay seller insists that it has "an amazing bass boost which takes your breath away with its dub-level bottom end ... It would make a killer reggae or dub/indie PIL type bass, or any kind of contemporary rock or jazz, PERFECT for knocking the wind out of any audience." Sure sounds good to me, but then I do love dub reggae bass.

Currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of GBP £895.

G L Wilson

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1985 Tokai Paisley Telecaster copy

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I almost bought a 1980s MIJ Fender paisley Telecaster once. It was in a pawn shop in the early 1990s for $400 Canadian. It was a time before anyone could easily find out that the MIJ Fenders of that era were so incredible, and the price reflected that. I knew, but I was a student and had no money and all my credit was used up. I still regret it though. I think that was when I really started to covet the paisley Telecasters, with that missed opportunity.

What I did not know was that Tokai had done a copy of the paisley Telecaster. This 1985 Paisley Telecaster clearly shows its age. But I think that makes it all the better.

R.W. Haller

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