The Banning TeleBacker - If Rickenbacker built a Telecaster...

guitarz.blogspot.com:

...it would look like this, the TeleBacker, made in the USA by Banning Guitars custom shop.

The example in the photographs reproduced here is currently listed for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $1,899.99.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Bluesouth Clarksdale guitar in TV yellow: the sound of the American South

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I love the timeless vintage but all original good looks of this Bluesouth Clarksdale guitar. It's built like a Gibson with a glued-in neck joint, but the off-centred waist is surely a nod to the Fender camp.

To borrow from the eBay listing:

Ronnie Knight began Bluesouth Guitars in 1991 with the idea of building stringed musical instruments which celebrate the musical heritage of the American South. Blues, jazz, country, rock, and spiritual music were all created in the southern American states. This small area from Texas to the Carolinas, from Kentucky to Florida, has been the hotbed of the worlds musical culture in the twentieth century. Several small towns within the southeast have had a huge impact on today's popular music: Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Macon, Georgia; and Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The results of this project have been unique, light-bodied guitars with large, comfortable necks. Bluesouth contends that "fierce individualism" is the key ingredient in their guitar making operation. Starting in a small shop over a record store in early 1992, Bluesouth moved to a much larger industrial facility in the spring of 1995. The company offered seven models, including two electric basses. Bluesouth also built its own cases and pickups in house (company history courtesy Ronnie Knight, April 17, 1996).

Currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of US $800 (over half of the original list price).

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Mosrite Mini

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here at Guitarz we love Semie Moseley's creations; there is nothing too conservative about a Mosrite guitar, there's always something quirky about them.

This Mosrite Mini although discontinued isn't a vintage instrument, but it's a beautifully formed baby and is much in the spirit of the original Mosrite guitars; early Mosrite doublenecks often combined a regular 6-string neck with an octave "baby" 6-string or sometimes a mandolin neck.

Currently listed on eBay with a reduced rate Buy It Now price of US $550.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Something tasty for the Soutpaws: Hallmark Swept Wing in gold sparkle

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Now here is something a little bit different for the left-handed player who is sick and tired of the usual lack of choice for those of their persuasion: it's a Hallmark Swept Wing in eye-catching gold sparkle. The influence of Mosrite is obvious, and indeed Hallmark have a touch of Mosrite in their pedigree as ex-Mosrite staff were employed by the original Hallmark company. The guitar seen here is one of the more recent re-issues, this one dating from 2005, although the seller claims that it is in brand new condition, having never been played or used. It's a pity for a guitar like this to be languishing unplayed in a collection. Someone needs to buy it and give it a proper gigging life, let it be heard and seen!

Currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of $973 and a Buy It Now price of $1,267.

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.

Another acoustic guitar with a built-in speaker in its top

guitarz.blogspot.com:

A few days ago here on Guitarz we looked at a Kay acoustic guitar with built-in amp, speaker and effects. Well, here's something similar submitted by Jonny M. Garcia via our Facebook page but this time it's not a factory-fitted speaker, it's a Do It Yourself conversion by the owner who is now selling the guitar on Craig's List. This is what he says about it:

I modified an almost new AmericanLegacy acoustic guitar by mounting a speaker and amp (with overdrive) directly into the guitar! I quickened the action and now this bad ass mother sounds, plays and feels like a strat! A guitar body is really a speaker box and the speaker here picks up on resonant frequencies that feeds back on itself like Eddie Van Halen! It is truly a live wire! It uses 2- 9 volt batteries, and has a 3 band EQ onboard as well. The pickup is a transducer. The frets are in perfect shape. It comes with a hard case. Look closely at the pic to see the red "on" light next to the volume and overdrive controls. Take it to an acoustic jam anywhere and you can play rock leads on an acoustic that really sound like rock leads! I made one for myself nearly 30 years ago and it has been awesome and reliable, and people are amazed! I am a furniture artisan so my workmanship is good. Believe it or not, this is the second one I've made in all that time- this one's for sale!

I don't know where to start! "Plays and feels like a Strat"? "Eddie Van Halen"? "Overdrive control"? I do have to ask, WHY? If you want something that plays and feels like a Strat, why not use a Strat? As for using an acoustic to play rock leads, again I do not see the point. Just because something is possible, it doesn't necessarily follow that it should be done.

Also, I can't help thinking that cutting a hole in an acoutic's top and inserting a speaker is not going to do the natural acoustic sound of the guitar any favours at all. And what about the internal bracing? I can't believe he cut a hole without cutting through some of that.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!