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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Ultra Rare1967 Bigsby Condor Prototype. One of only Only 3

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There's a lot that can be said about this 1967 Bigsby Condor Prototype. But, like the seller, I really don't know where to start. He has this information though, which is a bit more than I could muster up:

"1967 Bigsby Condor Prototype Experimental Guitar, only 3 made, was to be called the Condor, one was given to Barney Kessel, the other was given to Howard Roberts, this one sat in Milwaukee since then, Paul Bigsby may have worked on this-no way to know, the pots are 1967, Paul died in 1968, Hammond was contacted for the electronics, and the work was contracted out to Gibbs Electronics in Milton Wisconsin, Natural finish, Rosewood fretboard, the guitar weighs 11 lbs. - 0.9 oz., biggest volute & headstock on Earth !!, huge neck profile, the guitar has been sitting for almost 50 years, it has not been tested, everything is in very good condition, don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to get an extremely cool & unique collectors item, has the original fancy heavy duty hard case."

The first thing I noticed was the way the strings break at the bridge at a sideways angle. I've never seen another guitar do that. I wonder how effective it is.

Currently listed at $3295 U.S.

R.W. Haller

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Rare Burns Steer from the early 2000s. Possible prototype.

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Thanks to Bill Lovegrove on the facebook Burns Guitars and Amplifiers page for posting this Burns Steer. 

This rare and possible prototype guitar looks like the love child of a regular Steer and a Brian May signature Red Special. Burns was producing both models at the time so the intermingling was quite likely. 

Though the body, neck,  and headstock are those of a cutaway Steer, the floating tremolo, Burns Trisonic pickups, and switching are very much Brian May. I wonder if the pickups are wired in series as on the Brian May model.

Currently listed in South Africa. 

I wonder if the seller will ship to Canada.

R.W. Haller

© 2016, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Lindert Loco-Motive T Guitar

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This Lindert Loco-Motive is a decidedly individual take on guitar design and that's the kind of approach we admire here at Guitarz.

According to Linderts guitars (unofficial) fan site, Linderts were built in Chelan, Washington in the 1990s and were the brainchild of Charles Lindert.  Along with their plastic-like, textured bodies and their grillcloth or tweed inserts, their biggest features were the unique "Thumb's Up" headstock as shown in the photo below and the "Escape Velocity" neck, which was a combination of a C-shape at the lower frets that morphed into a V-shape contour that directed your hands around the neck as you went to the higher frets.

They have posted all the different models and lots of info and also describe the differences between the USA models (which this is) and the later Korean ones. Worth checking out.

We've posted about Lindert guitars a couple of times before. A baritone guitar here and a six string bass there, so this is a nice addition to the family.
This is what the seller says about his guitar..."This auction is for my Lindert Loco-Motive 'T' Guitar in near mint condition. I believe this guitar is also known as the VT148 Victor. 

1. It has a wider headstock than the Korean model.

1. The logo on the headstock would be parallel to the strings if Korean.

1. There are three screws below the bridge which would not be present on the Korean model. 

1. There are also three screws on the back which typifies American build.

1. The Korean models had a smooth finish.

I purchased this guitar new over 20 years ago and it has remained in it's bag since. I have probably taken it out of the bag four or five times to tune and play.

This model was made in Washington, USA and has the textured finish of brown and cream so loved by Charles Lindert. 

Other ways of telling it is USA made rather than the later Korean models are:

Other features of this guitar are the 22 fret neck, chicken feet control knobs and the semi-hollow body with, what looks like, Fender Tweed cloth inserts. Infact when I first bought this guitar I wondered if it had a built in amplifier and speaker but unfortunately not so!

This guitar plays extremely well and is becoming, like all Lindert guitars, desirable and collectable. 

The neck and string spacing are just wide enough to comfortably finger pick or play in a classical style.

Please note there is one small chip on the front top as shown in the eighth and last picture, other wise this guitar is in mint condition. 

I am not sure of the serial number however believe it is hand written on a label, together with the date of manufacture, on the heel of the neck.

The guitar comes with a soft case however will be supplied with a new hard case for shipping."

I haven't posted in long while but this whacky beauty deserves to be seen in all it's crazy glory. (The clue is, of course, in the name).

David in post-xmas-stupor Barcelona

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Rare Fender Deluxe Millenium Edition Telecaster

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This simple, sober Telecaster may not look like anything special but it was apparently one of only 30 made in the first week of the new millennium. I'm not sure if that was even really a "thing' or not but it does make for a great sales pitch.

That said, I'd definitely welcome this Tele into my collection as it's likely a real player with Fender noiseless pickups, maple fretboard with pearl inlays, and red wine finish.

R.W. Haller

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

1920s Epiphone Inspiration round tenor guitar.

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This seems like a rare bird. When the guitar started to overtake the banjo in jazz some companies took to installing tenor necks on their guitars. This gave us the common tenor guitars by Martin, Gibson, and others. But this Epiphone Inspiration took a different approach, essentially replacing tone ring and head with wood. Maybe they thought that it would be an easier sell to banjo players if the instrument still resembled what they were accustom to. 

Maybe they just liked how it looked. 

I know I do.

R.W. Haller

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

1977 Burns Artist. The very first one made.

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My heart is aflutter. Look at this wonderful Burns Artist from 1977. It has the serial number A1, which apparently means that it was the first one made for sale.

Apparently Jim Burns thought the Artist had a "more conventional style". I agree with the seller that he could not have been more incorrect, or perhaps modest. This stunner screams originality. Awesome curves, carves, and simple elegance makes this one for the top my covet list.

Currently listed at $7995.

R.W. Haller

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

1960s Baldwin/Burns GB 65. Beautiful precursor to the Virginian

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My main electric guitar is a Burns Steer so this beauty caught my eye. This Baldwin/Burns GB 65 is from the mid 1960s and apparently predates the Virginian. I love the lines on this semi-hollow single cutaway guitar. Two Rez-O-Matic single coils and a three way switch would likely be enough for my tonal needs at least half of the time. Note the simple yet elegant tailpiece as well, a good example of less is more.

Currently listed on eBay at $919 US

R.W. Haller





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