Wandre Davoli Cobra 2 ... sadly one for the collectors only at this price

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I think it's high time we had another look at another guitar from our favourite eccentric vintage Italian guitar manufacturer, namely Wandre. This Wandre Davoli Cobra 2 is one of their later models and is nowhere near as barking mad as many of their earlier designs. In fact, the offset body design is somewhat reminiscent of Fender's Jaguar and Jazzmaster models. But checkout that headstock design; that's got to be a contender for our Top 10 of crazy headstocks.

Here's what the eBay seller has to say about this guitar (translated from Italian, I believe):

Perfectly Working! Imagine Wandrè’s discouragement in contemplating the Cobra model, so traditional and inspired to other people’s designs. A restyling was necessary... Wandrè did not follow the Vox and Eko fashion of generally giving to guitars animal names (condor, lynx, cougar etc.)

Wandrè believed the name Cobra meant to draw inspiration and energy from the animal itself. That’s why in the second version a bizarre headstock imitating a snake’s hood with glasses and a snake scale finish for the pick-guard and for the headstock itself. Ready to leap and bite. The swan song of a production with no more raison d’etre in the market. An intoxicating bass version also available.

Note that the guitar still features Wandre's trademark metal neck construction. Notice how the headstock is attached to the neck by means of a bracket.

Wandre guitars now fetch silly money among collectors. Which is a shame because it means they are often languishing in collections rather than being used and played by working musicians.

This example is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of €3,200.00.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Wandrè Davoli Tigre bass

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It's been too long since we last showed a Wandrè on Guitarz: here is a very cool light blue Davoli Tigre bass. It's one of the later designs of Wandrè, and is not as radical as his earlier models, but it's elegant and inventive nevertheless. I love these wavy lines! 

It still has an aluminium neck, even tough it's not as exposed as they have been, and the headstock is typical Wandrè, as are the pickups.  The big pickguard is as strange as you'd hope and combines beautifully with the instrument outline - that is the work of a genuine artist. 

There was also a Tigre guitar, that really needs to be reissued in my opinion! Anybody?

Bertram D

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

Getting a sense of déjà vu... Eddy Grant's guitar in The Equals

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Here's another "What's that guitar?" question. "You'll know which guitar when you see the video," says Guitarz reader James.

We've actually answered this question before, although the video that time wasn't quite as entertaining. If you want to know the answer, check this Guitarz blog post from 2008.

G L Wilson

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

Wandre of the month: the Polyphon

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Another (not too) crazy Wandre guitar, the Polyphon has a design based on the Brigitte Bardot hollow-body model (lots of curves), an aluminium neck with 6 in-line tuners headstock and all the other unique Wandre gear - pickups, suspended bridge, tremelo... This one doesn't have big square switches like other Polyphons but more regular knobs, but there were always many variations in Wandre's series.

It also sports both the Davoli brand and the Krundaal K-logo - Davoli Krundaal was the amplifier brand of Athos Davoli who made the electronics and pickups of Wandre's guitars, it was used also for  the Bikini guitars with embedded amps, then it turned into the Davoli guitar brand, so it probably tells that it's an early model from an undecided time... An ultimate internet database on Wandre guitars is still missing! 

Bertram D

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

Vintage & Rare guitar of the week: Wandre Brigitte Bardot model in rare multicolour finish

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Here at Guitarz we last looked at a Wandre Brigitte Bardot guitar almost two years ago, but for me this multicoloured example from 1958/59 is even more striking. It's a typically (considering it's a Wandre) idiosyncratic instrument: basically an acoustic archtop hollobody bizarrely juxtaposed with a metal neck, and with pickups and bridge mounted in a floating pickguard whilst volume and tone controls sit in their own little box that looks like it could have been made from a tobacco tin. This side view (below) illustrates quite nicely the unusual construction:

Why Brigitte Bardot? Well, it seems Wandre just liked naming their guitars after glamourous fashion models of the day. I think it was something to do with the curvy body.

This particular beauty is currently for sale, via our friends at Vintage & Rare, priced at €4950.

G L Wilson 

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

Vintage & Rare guitar of the week: Wandre Rockbasso - 1960s Italian sculptural minimalism

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This vintage Italian Wandre Rockbasso is a perfect example of a guitar that is both sculptural and minimalistic.

It's a short-scale bass with a single pickup at the neck and a single volume control behind the tailpiece at the base of the instrument. This particular Wandre model allows you to see how the backbone of Wandre's steel neck passes straight through the body of the instrument all the way down to the tail-end. I'm guessing that in this instance it is also carrying the wiring from the pickup.

Someone has rather inexpertly removed the frets, which unfortunately may devalue the instrument slightly. I say "inexpertly" because no effort has been made to fill in the empty fret slots and refinish the fingerboard. It all seems such a waste of effort, because to get the best advantage of the fretless sound, a shortscale bass with a single pickup mounted at the neck does not present the best candidate for conversion. It also contributes to rather spoil this classic vintage bass. On the plus side, because the fret slots haven't been filled in and lacquered over, it should make refretting a much easier task if someone decides to restore this bass.

This bass is currently being offered for sale by Palm Guitars in The Netherlands via Vintage & Rare, price available on application.

If you thought you'd seen something similar previously on Guitarz, we looked at the 6-string guitar version, the Wandre Rock 6, back in May 2008.

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

Vintage & Rare guitar of the week: Wandre Selene from 1960s Italy

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We at Guitarz are big fans of Wandre Guitars, probably the most eccentric of all 1960s Italian-made guitars, and believe me, they had some stiff competition.

However, Wandre guitars really took the prize for whimsical guitar design, often looking as if they had been cobbled together from various odds and ends from a junk yard.

Rather than try to get more descriptive, I'm going to let the pictures of this spectacularly idiosyncratic Wandre Selene do the talking. Seeing as we can't actually try this guitar out for ourselves, what more is there to say?

This guitar is currently being offered for sale via Vintage & Rare and is priced at €4000.

G L Wilson

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

Stunning Wandrè Davoli Scarabeo

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Can't help it, if there's a Wandrè available around, I have to show it here! And the Scarabeo is not the less amazing creation of wild Italian luthier Antonio "Wandrè" Pioli! Actually it's also one of the rarest, so I have no more info about it, but looking at it is enough, isn't it?

Bertram

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

Wandre Doris: an eccentric 1960s Italian original

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Wandre Guitars were designed by Wandre Pioli (1926-2004) and built in his factory in Cavriago from 1959 to 1969. The Wandre Doris is a beautifully eccentric example, featuring Wandre's aluminium neck covered in polystyrene coating. Note the 6-in-a-line timber and aluminium slotted headstock and note also how the neck is almost parallel along its length, which is common on Italian guitars of this vintage. The moulded pickguard is resplendent in 3-dimensions and incorporates pushbutton pickup selectors and and angled output jack. These guitars were from a day and age when you didn't see the same old generic components on each and every instrument. The tremolo is quite a wonderful affair looking as if it's been assembled from motorcycle parts.

The Doris model has been re-issued by Eastwood Guitars (and kudos to them for reviving all those retro designs) but you wouldn't really mistake it for the real thing unless seen from a distance.

This original 1960s Wandre Doris is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $5,500.

G L Wilson

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

Wandré Davoli 603 BB Artist

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Can't resist showing another Brigitte Bardot model  by Wandré Davoli (you can't have forgotten this one, can you?) but it's no so often that you find such fine pictures of such a well preserved model - and we are complete fans of Wandré's crazy guitars here. 

Like usually when it comes to rare Italian vintage guitars, all the information I would write would be copied on the excellent Fetish Guitars website, so I prefer to let you have a look there yourselves... And here come a few more photos.

Bertram

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

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1960s Wandre Davoli Psichedelic Sound

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A quick look at this guitar could make you think that this is just some 1960s German or Japanese take on the ES-335, but a second look reveals that it's more than that, a genuine Davoli Wandre with an alu neck and other weird details like a plastic fretboard...  Not the craziest model so, but a Wandre is a Wandre and we like them, it doesn't have to be all strange looking for that!

Bertram


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Wandre Brigitte Bardot model

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Continuing from yesterday's discussion about Wandre and Davoli, this Brigitte Bardot model is exactly what we expect to see from Wandre guitars, from the crude-looking metal head mounted onto the metal broomstick neck, to the floating pickguard with integral pickups and the electrics curiously mounted inside their own little metal box.

And no, from my understanding, it's not an early case of a rather bizarre artist endorsement. I know Ms Bardot had a busy career in modelling, acting and animal activism, but her guitar-playing talents are unknown. This guitar was named after her because of its sexy curves.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Davoli Athena bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:
The Davoli Athena bass is quite a striking looking instrument with some elegant carving, although not quite a German carve (an Italian carve perhaps?), going on around the sides and top edge that give it a look reminiscent of an antique violin. The faux soundhole containing a rotating plate holding the pickups is also a novel idea and must have - if this is a 1960s bass, and I'm pretty certain that it is - pre-dated Rick Turner's use of the same idea on his Model 1 guitar (as played by Fleetwood Mac's Lyndsey Buckingham).

So, what do we know of Davoli? (I originally typed that as Davoli to rhymes with a popular Italian pasta dish. I must be hungry.) Well, Athos Davoli was a friend and associate of Antonio "Wandre" Pioli, and was responsible for the electrics and pickups found on Wandre guitars. Indeed, the names Wandre and Davoli are inextricably linked. Davoli started his own electronics workshop in 1957, and produced a range of amplifiers and PA systems under the Davoli Krundaal banner in the early 1960s before teaming up with Wandre.

The seller of this bass suggests that it was created by Wandre, although it is very different - almost conservative - compared to the majority of his guitars. Most noticeably, it does not have a metal neck with bolted on headstock. This isn't to say that there was no Wandre connection, but I feel it's interesting that this bass is referred to specifically as a "Davoli".

If anyone knows the full story or has any further info, then please do share!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

a Wandre Oval on the front page of today's French newspaper Libération

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To our American readers: don't look at the picture on the right, there is an exposed nipple!

Here at the Guitar Blog he highly appreciate Wandre guitars, so any opportunity to show one is to be taken. 

Today I was surprised to see a Wandre Oval - one of the most radical model of this hyper creative luthier - in the hands of a half-topless model recalling Delacroix's famous 'Liberty leading the people', illustrating an article about French artists' protest against the lowering of public subsidies (you have to know that there are no private funding for arts in France, no foundations or so, so everybody is dependent on State).

I have no idea why some photographer chose a late 50s Italian guitar to express today's French art, unless it just means that nothing better has been done since...

bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Buddy Miller shows us his Wandre Davoli guitar

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We've often talked about Wandre guitars on this blog. Here's Buddy Lee telling the story of how he found his and why he likes it so much.

Thanks to Andy Stone for bringing this video to my attention.

G L Wilson

Wandre Roby Gold - for collectors only, apparently

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Isn't it crazy that certain guitars, which 10 or 20 years ago would have been considered junk, these days command such ridiculously high prices? In the past most "collectors" wouldn't have looked twice at some of these kooky old pieces. Some of them, it turns out, are in fact good players with a fantastic tone that can't be replicated using modern gear. Others might still play like a dog, but their eccentric design (by modern day standards) makes them desireable, if only to hang on the wall.

This Wandre Roby Gold from 1963 is quite a stunning-looking piece of vintage Italiana. The plastic control module set into the lower bout of the body is a particularly eccentric touch. Wandres are known for their peculiarities of design such as metal necks with bolted on headstocks and unusual body materials such as fibreglass. This example is quite conservative compared to some models.

However, it hasn't gone un-noticed that artists like Buddy Miller and T-Bone Burnett were playing Wandre guitars and getting an amazing sound, and the price of these instruments has sky-rocketed.

The seller of this particular guitar is asking $14,500 for it! He says that:

This auction is reserved for COLLECTORS ONLY simply because they will truly
appreciate its unique position in the ART and MUSIC MARKETPLACES.

What is he talking about? Would players not appreciate a guitar like this more than someone who simply has enough cash to fling about and buy something like this on a whim? Who are these "collectors" he is referring to? I myself have a "collection" but something at this price is way out of my league.


G L Wilson

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Wandre Meazzi Hollywood - vintage Italian guitar with built-in amp

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Most of us have seen the Wandre Davoli Bikini guitar which has an amp and speaker pod attached to the body of the guitar. The Wandre Meazzi Hollywood (as pictured above), however, is a more conservative looking affair (for a Wandre, that is) and much more practical for playing purposes too than its ungainly sibling.

Unusually for a Wandre it appears to have a wooden neck instead of aluminium with bolted-on headstock. The pickup and pickguard are classic 1960s Italiana, crafted from thick plastic. Actually, if I'm not very much mistaken, the whole of the guitar's top looks to be moulded plastic. I also really like the exaggerated hourglass shape of this guitar.

I expect this was a budget model when compared to the Bikini, but it looks a lot more compact and practical. You wouldn't feel quite so silly with the Meazzi Hollywood strapped on.

G L Wilson

NB: There are a lot of blogs STEALING content and bandwidth. If you read this anywhere else but on guitarz.blogspot.com then you are reading a blog that STEALS content. Please support original bloggers!

Krundaal Davoli Bikini

Now here's a guitar with the cheese factor simply oozing out of it! It's a Krundaal Davoli Bikini guitar and, as you can probably guess if you know your weird guitars, was made in Italy. You'll also know that despite the Krundaal name, it's really a Wandre guitar under a different banner. Just check off those cheese points: metal neck, control plate with push buttons, coloured fretboard inlays, and of course that amp and speaker pod!

This auction finishes today and bidding is already over $2,000. I'll be checking back later to see what the final price is.

I need to show you a few more photos of this beastie before the auction ends and the photos are lost forever:






Thanks to Jeff for pointing this one out! (I don't know how I missed it).

UPDATE (10 June): Sold for $5,900.00.

What is that guitar that Eddy Grant is playing?

Over the years I have many times seen the clip of The Equals playing "Baby Come Back" on Top of the Pops in 1968. And many times I have wondered to myself, "What is that weird guitar Eddy Grant is playing?"


Last night on Later with Jools Holland, Eddy Grant was briefly interviewed and once again the Top of the Pops clip of "Baby Come Back" was trotted out. This time I realised what the guitar was, as I recognised the headstock design from another post about weird guitars that I'd made on this very blog. A quick check on Fetish Guitars (where else?) and here it is, the Wandre Rock 6! Another bonkers 1960s-era design from those wacky Italians.

The Wandre Davoli Guitar

For all you lovers of cheesy guitars, there are a couple of examples of what may be the crudest cheesiest guitar ever known - the Wandre Davoli - on eBay right now, here and here.

How much more basic can an electric guitar be? Hollow body, pickup(s) and electrics surface-mounted on a floating scratchplate, steel rod for a neck with fingerboard attached and a whacking big piece of metal bolted on for a headstock.




To learn some more about these beauties, check out this site and also Fetish Guitars which, although much of the text is in italian, has a gallery of some really freaky-looking Wandre guitars, including what must be some of the first ever upright electric basses.