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

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GAGNON LG1-CG Acoustic copy of Gibson - Optimistic builder or Typo?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

$37,500........

Allow that to sink in for a moment.

I think that this is a very nice guitar. It looks well crafted and probably plays quite nicely. I'm sure that the luthier worked very hard and that many hours were spent working on this guitar.

But $37,500?

My French is pretty weak so I'll allow google translator to do the honours:

 Guitar 'Gagnon' acoustic Vintage style finish # 2014 series Lg1cg05 'EBONY BRIDGE', similar to the famous 'Gibson LG1' manufactured by CG guitars, Quebec, Canada. small body all solid wood, mahogany, Adirondac) the sound is super good .Tendre to play, slightly pock scratch or almost new .Négociable

It's a good thing that the price is negotiable. I wonder how much wiggle room there is.


R.W. Haller

Update: The seller has changed the price to $350,00. The odd placement of the comma leads me to believe that perhaps we're dealing with a "lost in translation" scenario. Possibly they are not very computer literate and are trying to sell for $350. In which case that would be a pretty good deal.
I was also finally able to access his website and it looks like the prices are fairly reasonable there. So we will call the original $37,500 ( exactly as it was written  ) a typo
RW

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

Idol semi-hollowbody electric guitar, huge body, crazy design

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Last month we looked at a vintage Japanese-made Idol electric guitar; it was guitar brand name that I was previously unfamiliar with, but now here's another one also being offered for sale on eBay. This time it's an Idol semi-hollowbody electric guitar. Again it has the rather exaggerated body shape; in fact the body on this particular model looks to be huge.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay with what I would call a highly optimistic Buy It Now price of US $1,249. Bear in mind that the last Idol guitar we looked only fetched US $115. If you like the looks of this semi and can live without the vibrato you'd probably be better off buying a Pure Salem Electric End, which surely must be inspired by this guitar but at $825 is a lot cheaper and will have modern-day quality and playability.

Pure Salem Electric End

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.

Bizarro so-called resonator guitar being offered for sale on eBay

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The eBay listing for this Highway Key supposed "resonator guitar" starts as follows:

You are bidding [No, I'm not, I'm just looking] on a one of a kind, custom made acoustic/electric resonator from Highway Key Guitars. This model is # 29 in a limited series. Vintage blonde Sprucetop classical body. Comfortable red stained neck and back.Unique steel "cakepan" floating resonator pan houses hotrodded single coil pickup wired to vol/tone & 1/4in jack covertly placed on back. Blacked out reso pan and knobs compliment the custom headstock. This is a Blonde Bombshell!

Excuse me, but a true resonator guitar features a spun steel cone which has the BRIDGE of the guitar floating at its centre point. I can't believe that the same sound can be achieved by someone cutting a large hole in the top of a cheap acoustic guitar and shoving a cake tin into it. If this thing pictured here has any kind of mojo or idiosyncratic sound (most likely some subjectively "interesting" rattling noises), it must be purely accidental.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It now price of $269.

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.

Höfner Alpha - one of their less celebrated guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The name Höfner conjures up images in the mind's eye of such classic German-made guitars as the Höfner "Beatle" violin bass, the Höfner Verithin, and the Höfner President, amongst others. I doubt that the first model ever to spring to mind would be the Höfner Alpha. Take one look at this guitar and you know instantly that it's from the 1980s. However it's a lot more attractive than many of its contemporaries in the era of haair metal. The design could be said to be an unholy alliance between the Gibson Explorer and the Fender Telecaster, with perhaps a few Stratocaster appointments thrown in for good measure! I confess that I quite like it - in fact, I suspect that the shape may well be quite ergonomic.

I'm guessing this is a very rare and/or much sought after model because the seller (located in Siberia) is asking a whopping $1,799.99 for the Buy It Now price.

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.

Rare 1960s prototype Guyatone Telstar with huge body and 24-fret neck

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a 1960s Japanese-made guitar that is more unusual than most. It's a prototype Guyatone Telstar, has a very oddly shaped - and rather over-large - body with a "zolatone" finish (looks rather like Ovation's textured finish), and a 24-fret neck. This latter feature is very unusual for a guitar of this vintage - the Ovation Breadwinner which dates to the early 1970s is widely regarded as the first production model guitar with a 24-fret neck, although I believe there may have been other contenders to this particular crown. You'll note that despite the 24 frets, the top of the neck isn't particularly accessible with this body shape. Note also the bizarre almost exclamation mark-shaped position markers.

Thanks to Antony M who saw this guitar on eBay and posted it on the Guitarz FaceBook page.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $6,500. It may be a rare guitar, possibly even a one-off, but I still feel that price tag is a tad optimistic.

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.

When Relics Go Bad: Epiphone Dot Studio

guitarz.blogspot.com:

It's the long-awaited return of the occasional Guitarz series, When Relics Go Bad. I personally think that the whole concept of guitars that have been artificially aged is quite ridiculous. Whatever your opinions on the concept, it can't be argued that there are those who excel at the process of creating aged-looking used and abused guitars, and there are those - usually the enthusiastic amateur DIYer - who really should leave well alone.

Take for example this poor unsuspecting Epiphone Dot Studio semi-hollowbody. WHAT was the owner thinking? How would a guitar end up looking like this complete mess even after many years service as a gigged instrument. Unless of course, it is supposed to be the re-creation of a guitar belonging to legendary psychobilly band King Kurt whose live shows were notorious for flour, eggs, paint and all manner of missiles being thrown at the stage.

Thanks to Matt for bringing this abomination to my attention. The eBay seller is asking a Buy It Now price of $375 for this guitar. It might play well, but in this state a price like that is most definitely optimistic. Dreadful

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.

Ultra-rare one-off 1980s Mosrite Axe Bass which may or may not have been made for Gene Simmons

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The eBay seller of this one-off 1980s Mosrite Axe Bass claims that it must be the rarest of the rare amongst Mosrites, but when that company is known for its various one-off guitar creations, such a claim is hard to substantiate. I guess it's more a case of how desirable a particular guitar is, and I'm guessing the seller is assuming that the Gene Simmons/Kiss connections (even if Simmons never even set eyes on the bass - was it made FOR him or just inspired by him?) would make serious Mosrite collectors reach for their chequebooks.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $25,000.

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.

Ghastly heart-shaped guitar covered in illuminated skulls: please feel free to point and laugh

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've said it before and I will say it again: I really seriously HATE skulls on guitars. It's just such a appallingly naff cliché that I can't imagine anyone wanting such a thing unless they are part of a comedy metal band. Not only has this heart-shaped guitar got skulls all over it, but also their eye sockets light up with red LEDs. Spooky, eh?

I mean, really, WHO is it supposed to appeal to? Even most 12-year old have better taste.

Also, check out that action. OUCH! The pink strings don't help, only serving to draw attention to it.

This horror is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $549.99. (Oh look, the auction number ends in 666... it must be a sign or a prophecy or something!)

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.

An Epiphone neck attached to... What on Earth is THAT supposed to be?

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Do you think someone actually consciously DESIGNED this guitar body?

My guess is that it's the result of randomly cutting out shapes from a piece of wood with a jigsaw. It does have a vague heraldic look to it, but I'm sure that is through accident rather than design.

Currently listed on eBay UK with a quite astonishingly optimistic Buy It Now price of £500.

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.

SG-type guitar from Argentina

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I wonder if vintage South American-made guitars could be the new collectables in the same way that "Behind the Iron Curtain" soviet-era guitars from Russia and Eastern Europe are becoming quite sought after in certain quarters. Here we see a vintage Argentinian-made guitar that has been quite clearly modelled after the Gibson SG. Note that, as on certain other SG-derived copies, the body shape here is symmetrical, but of course on a "proper" SG the body horns are slightly offset with a bias towards the bass-side. I think the eBay seller hits the nail on the head with the following observations:

Did you know Argentina produced lots of superb electric stringed instruments in the 60's? Honestly, we didn't. Argentina suffered in the end of the 20th century a string of political and economic problems before recently recovering, but it was until the 70's one of the world's most advanced nations, with a cultural creativity that had nothing to envy to Europe. Given its geographic isolation, the country could develop a guitar industry all of its own.

These are the most European guitars ever made outside of Europe. They look like coming from a parallel but similar universe. Besides economy models there are highly elaborate artefacts, extremely well made in every detail. Some of them have shellfish-shaped peg buttons that are among the coolest things ever seen on an electric instrument. Who wouldn't want a guitar like that to grace his collection?

Currently listed on EBay in Italy with a possibly unfortunately optimistic Buy It Now price of €850.

G L Wilson

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

Unicorn guitar from Screaming Leaming

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Screaming Leaming has created guitars for the likes of KISS, WASP, Rick Derringer, Black Sabbath, Megadeth, Van Halen and others; we previously looked at another of his 6-string creations here.

This Unicorn guitar, again carrying the Gearhead brandname, is the kind of thing that several years ago I'd scour eBay for in order to get a few cheap laughs on the blog. It has that unusual distinction of being quite dreadful and quite wonderful at the same time. The seller claims that it is an "exceptional guitar" which "plays super nice", but I do have to wonder what condition it was in before it had a "$250.00 action job done to it".

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $3550 (ouch!) and a Buy It Now price of $3790 (more ouch!).

For my other favourite horsey guitar, be sure to check out the Dobbincaster!

G L Wilson

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

Ibanez Strat-ish 1970s electric guitar, but is it a "lawsuit" guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Another term that gets bandied about in the guitars section on eBay is "lawsuit", used when describing early Japanese "copy" guitars.

Despite the seller labelling this 70s-era Ibanez as a "lawsuit" guitar, I'd have thought it would have been extremely churlish for Fender to have filed a lawsuit because of this particular model; I appreciate that it is very Fender Stratocaster-like in silhouette but the similarities end there. Surely no-one with any knowledge of guitars would confuse this Ibanez for a Fender?

The guitar features two P90-style pickups, controls and output jack on a separate Mustang-like plate, a vaguely tune-o-matic styled bridge and a top mounted vibrato (arm sadly missing on this example) - a kind of el cheapo Bigsby if you will - behind the bridge. The neck, although it has a Fender-like 70s large headstock, is bound and features block inlay position markers. Looking at the photos I wonder too if the scale length might be nearer to 24" than a Fender-esque 25.5".

This is potentially a great guitar, depending on its current condition, set-up and playability but I can't help thinking that the eBay seller's starting bid of £750 and Buy It Now price of £1250 are optimistic. Perhaps this is the Holy Grail to some Ibanez/vintage guitar collectors, but I doubt it's going to sell with those prices. As to whether it could be considered a "lawsuit" model or not, I personally don't think that it qualifies but if you know differently please explain how and why in the comments below.

G L Wilson

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

Another Fender design butchered: the "Melted Smurf" Telecaster

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I just cannot imagine what was going through the mind of the perpetrator of this eccentric piece of customisation. Fender fans may take some solace in the fact that it is not a genuine Fender Telecaster, although allegedly some of the parts are Fender-made (that could just be the control knobs for all I can tell).

Currently being offered for sale on eBay UK with a highly optimistic Buy It Now price of £390.

Thanks to Dan who brought this abomination to my attention on Twitter.

G L Wilson

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

Shergold Marathon 6-string bass from 1978

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Yesterday we looked at a vintage guitar made by an almost forgotten American manufacturer, and today I want to show you a guitar from an almost forgotten British manufacturer.

We've looked at Shergold guitars before here on Guitarz, plus related brands Hayman, Ned Callan and Shaftsbury. Of course there's a Burns connection too, as Shergold was founded in 1967 by Jack Golder and Norman Houlder who were both former Burns London employees; also in the mid 1970s Shergold would go on to produce guitar bodies and necks for the re-launched Burns UK brand with guitars such as the Flyte.

Shergold were always a forward-looking company, keen on innovation. They are famous for their "detachable" doubleneck guitars (as famously used by Mike Rutherford of Genesis), plus guitars with modular electronics which can be swapped and changed dependent on the sound desired. They were also the ONLY manufacturer (that I am aware of) who were producing a 6-string bass back in the 1970s. This was after Fender had given up on the Fender Bass VI and a LONG time before the advent of modern 5- and 6-string basses in the mid 1980s.

The Shergold Marathon 6-string bass pictured here is currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $4,500. I can't help but feel that this price is a little steep, but maybe that's because I remember when I was working in Summertown in Oxford, there was a music shop near the office that had a Shergold 6-string bass in white marked at £199 and it was in there for ages; obviously people weren't rushing to buy it. I thought it was cool, but it was still too expensive for me at the time. This would have been in the late 1980s. Only a few years earlier, Peter Hook of New Order had used a similar Shergold 6-string bass on "Blue Monday".

Stylewise, it is somewhere between the old-fashioned Bass VI (tuned as a standard guitar but an octave down) and the modern 6-string bass (which typically have a low B string and a high C). I believe the Shergold opted for the one-octave down from guitar tuning, but the neck and string spacing is wider than you'd find on a vintage Bass VI (Fender, Danelectro) - definitely more bass-like than guitar-like; even the tuners are large-buttoned dedicated "no doubt about it" bass tuners.

Whilst I'm sure the Shergold Marathon 6-string bass has gone up in value since the example I saw for sale in the late 1980s, I find it hard to believe that it's remotely in the area that this eBay seller is asking for. It's a very cool bass, but I think it's another one to file under "Optimistic sellers".

G L Wilson

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

1960s Silvertone "Phantom"-inspired guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We seem to be in a blue mood these last couple of days on Guitarz, and today's guitar is a 1960s Silvertone-branded "Phantom" which according to the seller is correctly designated as a EV3T. It's obviously inspired by the 1960s Vox guitars - as is further evidenced by the headstock shape - but the body shape is symmetrical as opposed to the offset lozenge of the Vox Phantom. If anything, it's somewhere between a Phantom and Vox's Mark series teardrop-shaped guitars.

As with anything stamped "Silvertone", you can guarantee this is another manufacturer's guitar, re-badged. It has a Domino look to it, although I don't think I've seen a Domino of quite the same design. The neck bolt plate confirms that this guitar is "Made in Japan".

This guitar is currently listed on eBay with what I'd call a slightly optimistic Buy It Now price of $975.

G L Wilson

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

The "Elvis Toaster" Harmony guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Guitarz reader Richard saw this guitar in the UsedOttawa.com classified ads:

Vintage, small scale Harmony acoustic guitar, stripped down and fancied up with Elvis images. One of a kind strummer for the Elvis completist. Comes with new bone nut and saddle for added twang, Andy Warhol print on front, and the infamous burnt toast image on back.

It's definitely one to file under "Wacky finishes". With a price tag of $330 I think it's also one to file under "Optimistic sellers"!

G L Wilson

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

1960s Kawai solidbody electric in Daphne Blue

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Whilst on the whole I am a fan of Japanese guitars, that is not to say that everything with strings produced in Japan was of high quality. Some of the more budget instruments from the 1960s and 1970s were quite shocking. I fear that this 1960s Kawai might well fall into that category. Despite the attractive Fender-esque Daphne Blue finish (or an approximation thereof) it does look remarkably similar to some of the Kay-branded Teiscos that in the UK were stocked by shops such as Woolworths and which were quite gruesome when it came to playability. The seller claims that the guitar has a great action and tone, and that he used to use it in a professional band, so maybe this one was quite a player or maybe that's just eBay selling hype.

The guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £199.99 which, I think, is four times what it is worth. But who knows? Perhaps it IS an amazing tone machine.

G L Wilson

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

Vintage Japanese 1960s Greco Shrike with V-shaped pickups

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We've looked at a Greco Shrike before, but that example was missing one of its very distinctive V-shaped pickups. This example pictured above, currently listed on eBay UK with a whopping starting bid of £1,995 has both pickups but alas still is not fully intact as it is missing the vibrato arm.

G L Wilson

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

Celtic Moon - giant balalaika-like triangular acoustic guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Someone has rather inexpertly attached an Epiphone neck to a large triangular wooden box - using screws straight through the fingerboard into, I guess, a block inside the corner of the box - to produce this so-called Celtic Moon guitar. The resultant guitar is enormous, as can be seen when pictured next to a Crafter D6 dreadnaught-sized acoustic. The guitar is decorated with a Celtic knot on the reverse and a Green Man on the front with the mouth forming the soundhole. (Incidentally, the Green Man is not a Celtic image, as such, it's more a part of European folklore; however some draw parallels between the Green Man and the Celtic deity Lud a.k.a. Nodens).

Looking for all the world like a giant Russian balalaika (although not as large as the contrabass balalaika), the seller says that this guitar "... has a comfortable low action with no 'buzzing' and has a full and mellow tone, holding its state of tune over an extended period."

Perhaps it might appeal to some folkie types, but I feel that its size may be a bit restrictive, and maybe the seller is being optimistic asking £299 as a Buy It Now price.

G L Wilson

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