Wilkanowski Archtop Guitar from a Violin builder in 1937. Very Unique Acoustic Guitar

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I'm not sure what I can really say about this Wilkanowski Archtop Guitar from 1937. The pictures really tell most of the story. But if you want to know more the seller has a very lengthy and informative history of this guitar and it's builder with the listing.

R.W. Haller

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Raven short scale violin shaped bass made in Japan with scroll headstock.

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This is a tough one for me.
I really want this bass, and the seller is quite literally only a few streets away from where I am as I type this. But I currently own 3 basses ( a Westone Thunder, an Ibanez Roadster, and a Vantage V900B - 2 of which i should be selling ) and I really do not play bass. I can play but I only play for demo purposes and I never gig as a bassist ( all drummers heave a collective sigh of relief ).

This Matsumoku made Raven violin bass is, according to the seller, in near mint condition. The pictures seem support his claim, and everything about this bass says "buy me".

My resolve is weak, but my wallet is empty.

R.W. Haller


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Japanese-made Apollo violin bass with scroll headstock

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When it comes to violin-styled basses (and guitars come to that matter) I am usually quite ambivalent in my enthusiasm for them, but I think that this Apollo violin bass is just glorious. Something about the shape and the execution of the build is just right. I also really love the traditional scroll-style headstock.

The eBay seller gives some interesting background information:

The best information on these basses that we could find is this "Apollo was an import line of St. Louis Music from 1967 to 1972. Apollos were made in Japan by Kawai, which had taken control of Teisco in 1967 and adopted some of Teisco's designs. Matsumoko also supplied guitars to St. Louis Music, but those were under the Electra trade name. There were EKO violin basses, but I assume they are all copies of the original Hofner bass.

I think he's wrong about this being a "copy" of the Eko violin basses. They were hollow-bodied and quite a different shape from this Apollo; nowhere near as elegant. As for them all being "copies of the original Hofner bass", that's not quite correct as - of course - the Hofner violin bass was inspired by Gibson's original bass guitar, the EB-1.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $550. (I'm trying to resist temptation... I need to sell a few guitars, not acquire more!)

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Herbert Todt / Pergold violin bass

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This astonishing violin bass was created by luthier Herbert Todt for East-German company Pergold - that was probably a brand used by workers of bigger companies in Markneukirchen like Musima when they made higher end instruments in their personal workshops - for example this one has a carved solid archtop, not a plywood one, and laminated neck. 

And it has 'comma' soundholes, similar to but more specific than the ones of the Migma we saw a few days ago, and for which colorful names have been proposed by our readers...

Bertram D

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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1960s Orpheum violin-bodied guitar from Italy

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At first I mistook this guitar for a Russian-made Orpheus or Orfeus (they seemed to used the different spellings inter-changably), but of course it is a 1960s Italian-made Orpheum violin-bodied guitar with three pickups and a vibrato. Look at the position of the bridge practically in the centre of the body and the sheer distance between it and the point where the strings are anchored on the vibrato. Those who like modding guitars with pickups behind the bridge to capture those Sonic Youth-style overtones would love a guitar with that extra length of string, but it would be such a shame to modify a 1960s vintage Italian guitar such as this.

The seller insists that it is a player too:

Pickups sound amazing. Super warm and punchy. There are a ton of different tones that you can dial in, from warm and mellow "jazz tones" to super bright and jangly treble tones that would make any garage rockers dreams come true.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $895.

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.

K. Yairi YB-13 electro-acoustic bass

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The K. Yairi YB-13 gives us a completely different take on the electro-acoustic bass guitar, with more than a nod to the violin bass design of Gibson, Hofner, et al.

The Yairi name is well respected in Japanese luthiery, although you may have seen Yairi guitars variously badged with the names S. Yairi, H. Yairi, and K. Yairi. Basically what we are dealing with here is a family of luthiers: S. (Sadao) Yairi who built guitars in the 1960s and 1970s, his son H. (Hiroshi) Yairi and nephew K. (Kazuo) Yairi. To confuse matters further, Yairi guitars have been marketed under several other brand names including Yairi & Sons, Kohno, Shelly, and Wilson. Today, the K. Yairi factory also produce a line of top-level guitars for Alvarez.

On the bass we are looking at here, I am surprised - given the quality of instrument we are looking at - that the rear access to the electronics couldn't have been more elegant.

This bass is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,794.99.

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.

1920s vintage Oscar Schmidt Stella Sovereign violin-shaped acoustic guitar

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I'm afraid I know nothing about this Oscar Schmidt Stella Sovereign violin-shaped acoustic guitar, but I think the design is rather gorgeous. It's interesting that, despite being styled after a violin, the guitar appears to be a flat-top rather than the archtop you'd expect. This guitar is thought to be from the 1920s which makes it very nearly antique. It's in original condition and includes the original rope strap, although unfortunately the seller reports that the top has sunk a little beneath the bridge.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $1,599. (One for the collectors or else museum curators, perhaps?)

G L Wilson

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

Vintage 1960s Teisco Bizarre Guitar Amazingly Cool Violin Shape Rare Mod Rocker

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A rather breathtaking title for a nice little "phew" (sharp intake of breath or appreciative whistle as is your wont) guitar. A Teisco violin shaped guitar currently languishing in post-celebrationary haze over on Ebay.com. Now, we have featured these guitars TWICE before on Guitarz, here and here but I hope we can be forgiven for showing one again. These violin shaped guitars were only made for about a year (1968) and so are pretty uncommon (if not downright rare) and they were sold under at least two different badges, just to confuse things even more. This one is badged with the Teisco Crown logo (my own one is blessed with the Satellite brand). If one turned up with a Guyatone, Silvertone or Kawai logo, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.
This guitar was produced in red-burst and green-burst colourways and with varying scratchplate (pickguard) combinations of white, black and tortoiseshell (based on my own observations). This one has a typical Teisco tremolo that can be seen of lots of other models, a fairly standard bridge for Teisco, nicely yellowed nylon tuner bushings and absolutely typical Teisco pickups.
I'll include an excerpt from the sellers description as I think it does warrant the re-telling;

Ahh don’t you love these guitars?? Really nice green burst paint job here. Cool shape looks very mod and neat. Great for garage rock or you retro rockers out there. Also this guitar is perfect for people with smaller frames or you lady rockers out there. Its a little bit smaller than a normal guitar. The guitar is great cool shape. A few scratches here and there and the guitar could use some new strings. This guitar is very rare and difficult to find. It plays nice and sounds amazing!

So, those Guitarz readers of diminutive stature and/or of the diminutive sex, this guitar may well be the one you've been waiting for...
I will agree that they do play (very) nice(ly) - my own one has an excellent neck and an action that no one would be ashamed of - and, even if those pickups do only sport an output of 4-5K, they produce a decent rich sound that anyone, who was attracted to the vibe of these kinds of instruments, would be more than content with.
Anyone still feeling flush after the Xmas excess or who woke to find a nice little wad of crispy banknotes in their stocking from Santa on Christmas morning, this little treasure is yours for 850 US Smackeroonies (plus the usual).

Just to illustrate Marshall Will's remark in the comments, these guitars are pretty sleek. That keeps it light and comfortable to play. The only downside is that the lower "horns" can dig in your thigh when playing sitting down. But, this is a guitar for standing up and showing off with so no problem really, eh?

David in post-Christmas, pre-Tres Reyes Barcelona




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

1960s Kent violin-shaped electric mandolin

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Ever since Beatle Paul McCartney's endorsement of the Hofner 500/1 "violin bass", having first seen one for sale in Hamburg's Steinway Shop in 1961, the violin bass has been much copied by guitar makers in Europe and Japan. On this very blog we've looked at a plethora of different violin basses, violin guitars, and even a couple of violin 12-string guitars (just check through all these posts). However, this is the first time I've seen a violin mandolin!

This hollowbody electric mandolin carries the Kent brandname (apparently it's the Kent Model 836), so no doubt is Japanese in origin (very likely a re-badged Teisco), and looking very much like a scaled-down version of the Kent violin bass.

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $625. More Kent electric mandos here!

More Kent electric mandos here!

G L Wilson

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

Hofner Diamond Jubilee violin bass, limited edition of just 60 instruments

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I remember watching Paul McCartney playing his new patriotic Hofner violin bass at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert last month, and thinking to myself that this would be the next Hofner limited edition.

Sure enough, Hofner have now issued this Union Flag emblazoned bass as a limited edition of 60 units: that's one for every year of the Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Note that the limited edition is not exactly the same as McCartney's model. The red diagonal stripes of the flag are now more accurately proportioned, whilst the back and sides of the bass are finished in blue whereas McCartney's was natural maple. His doesn't have a pickguard either. I would hazard a guess that McCartney's bass is the only left-handed example too.

This bass is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of £1,995 - note also that this eBay seller will ship to the United States where the bass has not been made available via the usual sources.

I'm glad to see that Hofner were able to get the flag the right way around, unlike Gibson.

G L Wilson

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

1960s Japanese-made Conrad Violin Bass with f-holes and scroll headstock

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I think I prefer the design of this 1960s Japanese Conrad Violin Bass over that of the Höfner which it is so obviously inspired by (which in turn was inspired by the Gibson EB-0, but because of it being Paul McCartney's bass of choice it's the Höfner design that the legions of copies all emulate). The scroll headstock and the f-holes in the hollow body make it much more violin-like. It's a short-scale bass with a scale length of 30", although this particular example is not 100% original having Eastwood P90 style pickups installed (probably better than the originals) and non-original rosewood volume and tone knobs. Hey, at least the mods are tasteful. That's the golden rule - if you MUST modify a vintage guitar, do it tastefully.

Currently listed on eBay with a very reasonable Buy It Now price of $350.

See here for a 12-string companion to this model.

G L Wilson

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

11 on 11/11/11: #1 - Eko violin baritone guitar - possible Frankenstein job using 1960s body

OK, it's the 11th November 2011, that is 11/11/11, and as such today has been designated Nigel Tufnel Day. To celebrate this day of Maximum Elevenness, we here at Guitarz - for this day only - will be posting an unprecedented ELEVEN blog posts! So, keep tuned throughout the day for eleven weird and wonderful guitars!

Here we have what the seller describes as an "Eko Baritone Guitar 1960s Rare". To my eyes, something doesn't look quite right about it. Yeah, sure the body could well be an original 1960 Eko violin-style body and the pickups and other hardware look to be of the correct vintage. However, the short-scale bass neck, drilled for two extra tuners, is out of place here. You can see that it was originally intended for just four strings by the string angles over the headstock.

It's not uncommon to find these Frankenstein guitars put together from old Eko and Vox parts. Brandoni Guitars of London have made a whole business out of doing just that. Possibly this violin-style baritone is one of theirs. I am pretty sure that it is not a vintage guitar in its original condition.

Currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £170.

G L Wilson

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

Conrad "violin" 12-string electric hollowbody guitar

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We previously looked at quite a selection of Beatle-esque violin basses, violin guitars and even a violin 12-string guitar before. Here's another 12-string, a Conrad violin 12-string, which looks much more faithful to the Hofner design that inspired the myriad other copies (and yes, I am aware of the irony that the Hofner violin bass was itself inspired by Gibson's earliest bass guitar). This Conrad features the same slim outline as the Hofner; some violin guitars and basses are just too chunky, don't you think? It's Japanese-made (the seller even suggests it's Matsumoku-made, which is usually an indication of a quality Japanese instrument) also has a impressively lengthy scroll headstock, furthering the violin metaphor.

G L Wilson

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

Vintage MIJ Teisco Silvertone Bizarre Guitar! Awesome!

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This violin shaped Teisco guitar is pretty cool and definitely AWESOME!, if not exactly bizarre. And, although the seller doesn't say so, it does, definitely, deserve the description "rare". My research into this model a few years back revealed that it was made in 1968 for just one year then discontinued. Google for it and you'll find few references and even fewer pictures. The ones you'll most likely find are of my own (greenburst) one. In fact, I posted about mine on these very pages here about a year ago.

Back to this one and the seller effervescently claims:

This is a vintage 1960's teisco electric viola-guitar.

A truly collectable bizarre guitare!!!

Solid mahogany body, beautiful german carved top with sunburst finish and triple layered binding!!

Neck is one piece mahogany, with rosewood fretboard , frets show no wear, and has vintage style zero fret.

Original whammy bar too!

The guitar is in great overall condition, chrome is good too!, guitar has a few minor scuffs and scrapes, normal for a fifty year old guitar.

It is a cool little guitar, sounds quite beefy for 4-5K pickups when you push it, and distorts nicely too. If I didn't already have one, I'd be after this beaut!

David in sweaty Barcelona

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

Univox violin guitar (not bass) project with that Hofner/Beatles vibe going on

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OK, so this Univox Beatles-style violin guitar needs some work doing to it, but with a Buy It Now price of $249 it presents good value for someone wanting a project to work on. There are various violin-style six-strings available, but the Univox does have that Hofner vibe to it, even if it is not a wholly accurate copy (for instance, the Hofner wouldn't have had the f-holes).

EDIT: And yes, I am aware that The Beatles never used a violin-style six string guitar. I did say "vibe"!

G L Wilson

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

A Christmas mystery

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I thought I'd end the year on a Chrissy-massy note so I did a search on eBay for "Christmas guitar" to see what I could come up with...

Well, I came up with a Spanish Christmas Mystery™... Almost at the top of the search was this... Six postcards (just four shown here for space as the others just contained more violins, which we all know are boring).

Mystery number one: Why are they described as Christmas cards when they are obviously EASTER CARDS (Pascuas is Easter in Spanish)? Maybe to trap some ignorant Guiri? (in Spanish - a foreigner - Like "Gringo" in Mexican - Just found this... a laughable foreigner that stands out like a sore thumb in Spain... That's me) I just emailed the seller and he answered in perfect Spanish so I'm certain he knows exactly what it says on the cards.

Mystery number two - and this is much more interesting: What on earth is the instrument this angel is playing? It seems to be a four string ukelele or mandolin with a single sided, Fender style headstock! It's certainly fretted. It has a violin size and shape and in pic 3, she's holding it just like a guitar! I've asked to see a better resolution image but the chances are this is as much as we're gonna get. The pictures LOOK pretty old and I'd love to know what the hell this is!

David in Festive Barcelona - Happy Christmas everyone, especially Gavin, for letting me mess around with his very cool blog and Bertram for his singular perspective on music and/or art and all our readers for all their support and contributions - Matt, Dre, Greg, Mike, Albert, Wendell, John - still checking your blog - Arne and all the other regulars. To all a very GASSY new year. PS The Mel-O-bar is now out of customs and when (if) I get back from my winter sojourn in dear old snowed-in Blighty, it should be waiting for me in my office. The only thing then is to find a way to get it into the house with the minimum of fuss so the Missus doesn't notice the collection has grown again - two 1940s lap steel guitars, one very cool Aria acrylic "Jazzmaster" Legend and a Fender FR48 resonator after I said "no more". Did I mention the Peavey Vypyr 30 and Sanpera II controller - also still in the office? What a F***ING beast! A future classic without a doubt. I got it as a practice amp - I had read somewhere that someone said they hadn't got it past one. Past one? I haven't got it past 0.1! It is so, so, so, so loud! And, if that wasn't enough, the range of sounds you can get out of it... OMFG! PLUS... ... ... TOP class effects and sims - I wonder what Santa has for me this year... After this lot, it had better be something really bloody good!

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

Vintage 1960s Klira German hollowbody bass guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:


A similar shape to the 60s Kent violin bass shown back in 2009. One of the oddities of this Klira bass guitar is its "I'm a violin shape - no I'm not" lower cutaway. Can you call it a cutaway if it's more than the rest of the guitar? More of an add-on really. More than that, it's as if someone took a violin shape and regular guitar shape, cut them in half down the centre and glued two of the halves together (I wonder what happened to the other two halves). The other weird thing is the three plates screwed to front of the body. At least one has "custom" on it so justifying its existence. What the other two plates are for is up for debate. I think we'd all agree - nice sofa!

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

A story from Jim Hevesy

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Jim Hevesy writes:

I was at the petrol station yesterday after my son’s basketball game and this guy starts talking to me. Here is the conversation:

Guy: Hey man….are you a musician?
Me: (I’ve got music stickers on my truck) Yes I am
Guy: Awww Cool! What do you play?
Me: I play Bass, Guitar and a little Banjo
Guy: Aww man are you into bluegrass?
Me: I’ve played some bluegrass, I played in a symphony, I’ve played everything but rap
Guy: Aww that is cool. Hey I betcha don’t see one of these every day...

He then proceeds to open the back of his work truck and get out an old small guitar case. He opens it and here’s what he pulls out:

That’s right! A 1960s Hofner 459 6-string with wammy bar. He said he only paid $500 (375 euro) for it! It was strung up with round wounds and sounded great playing even with no amp and the -2C weather. I finished pumping my gas and we both got in our trucks and left. After I got in my car is when I realized I should have taken a picture with my phone because it was a beauty. My son said “Dad, did that guy used to be a hippy?” I said “no son, he still is a hippy!”

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

Saturn Violin Guitar by Kawai, Teisco or maybe Guyatone - you choose

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After Gavin's post of the Guyatone Saturn, this is my Kawai Saturn Violin shaped guitar which I picked up on eBay about four years ago for the princely sum of £149, which may have also been made by Guyatone. It seems it was made for just one year during 1968 then discontinued. I'm sure it's the same story for many "odd" guitars from this period. I've mentioned this before and it's hard to believe but the guitar industry was in decline at the end of the 60s and there were a lot of novelty instruments produced to try and catch the imagination of buyers. I guess, if they didn't sell, they were discontinued pretty sharply.

The logo is raised but is under the varnish - some kind of raised print, I guess - the one in the CrazyDave video (see below) has no logo so I supposed they were pretty slap-dash with some of the details and may have also made them under a different name for other distributers. Mine is in great condition and has hardly a mark on it. It's all original except I changed the pickups for some NOS ones from eBay. The originals were quite corroded and although they sounded fine, the NOS ones just look that bit better. Like many cheap pick ups from this time, they are quite microphonic but not distractingly so.

They only thing that's suffered over the years is the tremolo arm. The thread has stripped completely and now I use a slightly bigger nut to fill the old hole. Despite being a real cheapie, this guitar has a neck as straight as a die, a great action and even after some pretty strenuous wanging, it stays in tune.

The Presidents of The United States of America (the band not the wikileaks fearing politicians) used (ABUSED or TRASHED to be more accurate) one in their official video for their one and only hit "Lump" . After what they did to it, I guess there's one less Saturn in the world today. [Errrrmmm... David, you may want to read the comments - Chris Ballew of the Presidents said he loved that guitar and never abused it. - G L Wilson]

For a slightly more respectful video go and see CrazyDave play his. Not me, the other crazy Dave. Yeah Dave. Crazy man! Yeah!

There are scans of a 1968 catalogue from the Canadian company Eatons (as Gavin mentioned the other day) at http://www.vintaxe.com but you have to pay to see them. I did manage to get access to them a while ago (I guess there site was having problems) and was disappointed to find it didn't include my guitar. Actually I checked them this morning and they didn't include Gavin's find either. I put pics of the covers in the comments so you can get an idea of their overall cheesiness.




By the way, the second picture is the wall in my studio. I am rather fond of violin (or viola to be pedantic) shaped guitars. The Epiphone is new. Compared to the boxy-ness of the Univox it's a little dull but, with tape wound strings and using the neck pickup, it has a satisfying thump and a beefy ooomph that almost gets you into sub bass land. Which is why I wanted it. The Univox was a dog when I got it. I had to ditch the neck as it was seriously warped and the truss rod was broken and I've since replaced it with a NOS Hofner bass neck and extra light wound strings. A VERY different "twangier" sound than the Epiphone.

David in Barcelona

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

Univox Lectra Violin Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The seller of this 1960s Univox Lectra Violin Bass currently listed on eBay tells us that it is a:

"COPY OF THE HOFFNER THAT PAUL McCARTNEY PLAYED IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE BEATLES" (sic)

Looking at this solidbody violin bass, I'd say it was more likely a copy of the Gibson violin bass, and a more accurate copy than Hofner's version. I'm not normally a fan of violin basses and guitars but think this one is quite cool.

G L Wilson

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