ESP LTD Lion guitar - a beautiful and unashamed objet d'art

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I saw this picture on Facebook earlier today. It's a creation of the ESP Custom Shop in Japan. The Facebook post was accompanined by all the predictable "How on Earth do you play that?" comments, all of which are quite obviously missing the point. You don't play it, it's a work of art.

It's a similar situation to artist Yoshihiko Satoh's "Present Arms" art pieces (12-necked Stratocasters!); a lot of these photos have been doing the rounds again virally on Facebook et al, with most commenters simply not understanding that whilst these are technically functional pieces, you are not really supposed to play them. It's their inherent absurdity that makes them objets d'art.

Guitars as art? Why not? I'd hang 'em on my wall if I had the opportunity.

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.

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.

One of a kind Gibson Master Museum Doubleneck Orville Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The most iconic of all doubleneck guitars is surely the Gibson EDS-1275 as notoriously played by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. However, Gibson have produced many other doublenecked instruments over the years, some of which we have already looked at during the 12 year history of Guitarz (which is a round-about way of letting me slip into the text the fact that today is the 12th Anniversary of this blog, the world's first and longest running guitar blog!).

However the above picture doubleneck acoustic is a one-off creation, the Gibson Master Museum Doubleneck Orville and is from the estate of the Late Dr.Michael Brown. It was hand-built in 2003 by Ren Ferguson, who ran the Gibson Master shop for many years. Note how the 12-string neck is the lower of the two - I've often wondered why most other doubleneck 12+6 guitars have the 12-string at the top.

Currently listed on eBay with a quite staggering Buy It Now price of US $34,999. You'd think for that kind of money the guitar would be fitted with more elegant volume and tone controls.

Incidentally, I've got a bit of a thing for doubleneck guitars at the moment. If anyone would like to buy us a 12th Anniversary present, a doubleneck 6+4 (guitar and bass combo) would be received most gratefully!

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.

Fender Custom Shop Sub-Sonic Baritone Stratocaster

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Fender baritone guitars are rather thin on the ground with the company only offering the Telecaster Blacktop Baritone and a Jaguar baritone model (which I believe has now been discontinued) as production models*. Of course, with the Custom Shop operation you can have whatever you want, such as this Fender Sub-Sonic from 1999. It's essentially a baritone hardtail Stratocaster. Unfortunately, the seller doesn't give any specs so I can't quote you scale-length, tuning, etc.

Mind, a Fender Custom Shop guitar will cost you. This previously-owned example is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $2,195.

* I'm deliberately not including the Fender Bass VI in this category. A Bass VI is NOT a baritone.

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.

1985 Gibson SG400X - the SG that wanted to be a Superstrat

guitarz.blogspot.com:

You just know that this Custom Shop Gibson SG400X has to be a 1980s guitar when Gibson start messing with the tried and tested formula and produce a guitar that appears to be the offspring of an unholy alliance between an SG and a Superstrat. Check out the locking trem (I think it's a Kahler), the SSH pickup configuration and the droopy headstock that was de rigeur in the later 1980s (thankfully it's Gibson's own Explorer-style design and not a nasty pointy effort a la Jackson and Charvel).

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $1,450.

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.

All in all it's just another brick in the ... Telecaster

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This isn't just another bog standard "relic job". It's a Fender Custom Shop "Brick" Telecaster. I'll let the eBay seller explain:

This is one of three ever created and below is a description of the guitar and its builder, it comes with a certificate from Fender and has been played by Roger Waters who also signed it. It was build by Fender to celebrate Pink Floyd's "The Wall", they put a lot of thought into it and all three were made by hand so in reality each one is unique as there are slight changes to each one.

This Guitar was flown to New York to Roger Waters home where he signed it for me, he commented on the sound of the guitar on how unusual it was plus the attention to detail that Fender had put into the making of this guitar which he thought was unbelievable as he was very impressed.

This custom Telecaster was created by Fender Master Builder Paul Waller, who, throughout his 9 years of dedicated work at Fender, has created custom guitars for artists such as U2’s Adam Clayton and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood!

This incredible guitar is 1 of only 3 that Paul built for the 2004 NAMM show - one of which went straight into Paul’s own personal collection. The body and neck feature an entirely hand crafted 3D design, whilst the ebony (yes, ebony!) fingerboard continues the brick theme with a highly detailed inlay. To top it all off the guitar has been authentically aged, enhancing the overall character and understated charm of what is quite possibly one of Fender’s most interesting creations.

Currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £15,500.

Thanks to Ian W for alerting me to this guitar on eBay.

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.

Fender Custom Shop '72 prototype for Pawn Shop series

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Fender have got some pretty cool guitars in their Pawn Shop series, including variants on the Jaguar, the Mustang, the Bass VI, and design hybrids such as the Offset, the '51 and the '72.

However this particular Fender, currently being auctioned on eBay, may on first glance resemble the Pawn Shop '72 Thinline (which seems to have been discontinued in favour of the similar looking solidbody Pawn Shop '70s Stratocaster Deluxe), but look again and you'll see that it has a number of differences in its design.

It's a Thinline with f-hole, slab top and binding. It has a Telecaster "Ash Tray" bridge loaded with a Seymour Duncan Lil' 59 single-coil sized humbucker, and a big fat Fender Fullrange humbucker in the neck position. It also has a Tele neck - in this instance it's a quarter sawn maple neck showing an attractive flame and is topped off by a rosewood fingerboard.

Created by the Fender Custom Shop, this is allegedly a prototype for the Pawn Shop series. The evidence for this is evidenced by the Fender Research & Development logo on the reverse of the headstock.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting big of $1,000. (Auction ends tonight).

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.

Micro-Frets Signature one-off short-scale fretless bass from the early 1970s

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here at Guitarz, Micro-Frets is one of our favourite "forgotten" American guitar manufacturers. We've written plenty about this innovative company before (and their most innovative guitar must surely be the Orbiter) but we haven't previously looked at any of their bass guitars.

This particular example is a one-off Micro-Frets Signature short-scale fretless bass made for an employee of the company in the early 1970s. Note the compensated nut in the above photos, an original Micro-Frets innovation from long before Earvana "re-invented" it and claimed it as theirs.

Currently listed on eBay with a possibly optimistic Buy It Now price of $1,750.

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.

Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul guitars in unique tie-die finishes

guitarz.blogspot.com:

While Fender have over the years produced a number of "love 'em or hate 'em" finishes (Paisley, Blue Flower, Antigua, Splatter, Bowling Ball, etc), Gibson by comparison have been known more for their sober "tasteful" guitar finishes.

However with these Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Tie-Die limited editions from 1996, we witness a slice of Gibson history in which they delved into the Fender-dominated territory of questionable taste. Apparently only 103 such Les Pauls were created, each one being a unique design individually hand-signed and numbered by the luthier George St. Pierre. Above we see numbers 42, 47, 66 and 84 respectively.

Each of the above four is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,000. Note, guitars are currently located in Italy.

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.

Zerberus Poledancer #001 - an unusual original design guitar from Germany

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an intriguing design from German boutique guitar manufacturer Zerberus. Named the Poledancer, it's a full-scale length solidbodied electric guitar with a diminutive body which appears to have been involved in a nasty collision with a piece of aluminium tubing. Although it's not to my own persoanl tastes, I have to admit that it does look very distinctive and I'm sure there'll be guitarists out there who love it.

Currently listed on eBay with a rather hefty price tag of $4,783.73.

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.

Fender Custom Shop Telecaster Bass gets the Deluxe treatment

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Dennis Galuszka masterbuilt Fender Custom Shop re-interpretation of the Fender Telecaster Bass (a model itself derived from the original slab-bodied Precision Bass) is quite interesting. The pickguard and control layout has quite obviously been based on that of the Fender Telecaster Custom and Deluxe guitars; I guess because the bass sports a pair of humbuckers then technically it should be a Telecaster Bass Deluxe rather than a Custom, although if the Custom Shop had wanted to take the analogy further they should have given in a larger Precision-style headstock so as to mirror the Tele Deluxe guitar's CBS-era Strat-like head.

Currently listed on eBay Germany with a Buy It Now price of €3,990.

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.

The Spartan electric guitar with a big chunk taken out of the middle!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This guitar was recently listed on eBay UK, priced at £899 but it failed to sell on this occasion. It is named "The Spartan" and comes from Deadlight Designs who are an online custom guitar workshop based in Croydon, Surrey, UK.

Naturally I am reminded of the Alvarez Dana Scoop which also had a big bite taken out of the body right beneath the strings. Allegedly with the Alvarez guitar, the body design supposedly minimized unwanted harmonics; I wonder if that's the claim here with The Spartan too? I'm guessing on The Spartan that the rod connecting the lower extremities of the body carries the wiring for the neck pickup. I think it would be a tall order for it to travel around inside the body in the other direction!

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.

Whoah! Is that logo big enough? The ESP flag guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We've looked at various flag design guitars before, but here we have an ESP guitar that is based on its own brand's flag. The seller, meestursparkle, says that:

I picked this up from the ESP Craft House in Shibuya about 4 year ago. It had been hung near the ceiling unplayed.

I'd guess this was built as an example of ESP's custom work. It's probably one for ESP collectors only. I can't imagine anyone else needing to have the ESP logo quite so large on their guitar. Nevertheless, the design of a flag in flight, as it were, has been nicely realised.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $3980.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Vintage & Rare Guitar of the Week: Katar Popmaster Thinline Kustom 2012

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here at Guitarz we don't just celebrate only vintage guitars, we also take an interest in contemporary instruments. Katar Kustom Kuitars (their spelling!) are a boutique maker from Finland specializing in Custom Shop instruments. As well as guitars obviously styled after certain famous Fender and Gibson models, Katar also offer some original designs such as the Popmaster which is delightfully retro in its design having the vibe of some of those old Danelectro and Kay guitars, but obviously with much higher production values.

This particular guitar is being sold by Amplisonic Ltd of Finland via Vintage & Rare and is priced at €3800.

G L Wilson

 © 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

1967 Gibson EMS-1235 doubleneck tenor guitar and mandolin

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Of all the doublenecks ever produced, those made by Gibson must be the most easily recognized (no doubt helped in no small part by Jimmy Page), but they didn't just produce 12-string/6-sting and bass/6-string combinations.

Here we see a super rare Gibson EMS-1235 doubleneck that pairs together a 4-string tenor guitar with a mandolin. It would appear to be a custom order, handmade by master craftsman William Westman in 1967. Note the pickups which are full 6-string sized but only have 4 polepieces.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $12,995. Also, see here for another unusual Gibson doubleneck.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Gibson Les Paul Jnr 2012 Custom Shop in fluorescent limeburst finish

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Those of a nervous disposition, or recovering from a hangover, may want to reach for the sunglasses. I'm sure the rather OTT limeburst finish on this Limited Edition 2012 Custom Shop Les Paul Junior won't be to everyone's tastes. For myself, I'm more shocked that such a basic design of guitar is being offered here with a $2,990 Buy It Now price tag.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Burns of London Custom Shop prototype Jet Harris Barracuda Bass VI

guitarz.blogspot.com:


The eBay UK seller claims that this is:

"...the prototype for Jet Harris Barracuda six string bass. It was handmade at Burns London custom shop and is a one off. I bought it from Barry Gibson's personal collection. It is absolutely immaculate condition with case strap and spare strings..." 

We previously looked at the production version here. Note how this prototype has the Burns Rez-O-Tube bridge and vibrato, unlike the example we previously looked at, and which surely must be much more useful on a guitar of this type.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £1,500.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

The Fender Custom Shop gets weirder: Crash Strat, Pro Junior amp and canvas set

guitarz.blogspot.com:  

Here we have a Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, masterbuilt by by Todd Krause, with matching Pro Junior amp and a large art canvass all painted by renowned graffitti artist John "Crash" Matos. The canvass features white silhouettes where the Strat and the amp were supposedly sitting when the painting was made. Strats with artwork by John Matos have been favoured by Eric Clapton in particular, and are often referred to as Crashocasters.

Apparently this is one of two such sets made circa 2007, but because of the nature of the original artwork each set could be said to be unique. I'm guessing such items are aimed squarely at the collectors' market rather than at players, although of course this are fully functioning musical instruments. It does seem very far removed from Leo's original vision of "everyman" production line guitars, but I guess that's the nature of the "art".

I'm not sure how it is supposed to be displayed. Would you just have the whole shebang lying on the floor or would you have to somehow fix the guitar and amp to the wall behind the canvas?

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $12,999.95.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1950 Gibson ES-295 12-String refinished in glitter gold

guitarz.blogspot.com

This is not the first time we show on Guitarz a vintage guitar refinished in heavy glitter by US company Marty Bell - remember the moon silver Jaguar?

This venerable 12-string ES-295 by Gibson Custom Shop got a new youth (as a Las Vegas strip dancer it seems) with enough shiny gold to please the wife of a Serbian warlord back in the days.

The ES-295 - roughly a ES-175 with P90S and a flowery scratchplate - was the favorite model of Scotty More, the guitarist of Elvis Presley - that would explain its tasteful new look. I love it!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Gibson Custom Shop Copperhead SG inspired by a Stacey David 1967 Chevy pickup hotrod

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Forget gold tops, how about this stunning Gibson SG Copperhead from the Gibson Custom Shop. As another example of the link between cars and guitars, it was inspired by a hotrod built by Stacey David, who says:

The Copperhead SG was the second Guitar that I did with the Gibson Custom Shop. It was built to go with a 1967 Chevy c-10 pickup that I built using the very first, pre-production 572ci Chevy Crate engine. The guys at Gibson wanted to be a little more creative with this guitar so they carved the face of the body with a very cool, snake-like scale look. The name Copperhead was set in the neck with mother of pearl, a small badge that reads "572 ci" is mounted at the base of the neck, and the whole guitar is painted in the custom PPG Copperhead metallic paint that we developed for the project. [...] there was a limited number of 25 of these slated to be built, but I don’t know how many Gibson actually built.

staceydavid.com/guitars

This guitar is currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $1,000, although there is a reserve, but if you really have to snap it up now there's also a Buy It Now price of $10,250.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!