Another look at the Electra X-610 MPC Outlaw Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Brady writes:

Hi, I think you should write about this [Electra X-610 MPC Outlaw Bass] on Guitarz.

I really like your blog. I have been educating myself on guitars, history and design for a while now but I know nothing about the Electra brand. I really like the odd shape of this bass. Also, what is the deal with the modules mentioned in the description?

Thanks,

Brady

Hi Brady, we looked at a bass just like this one in July of last year, but you are correct in that it is a fascinating instrument and I think that this late 1970s Japanese-made marvel is well worth a second look. Basically, the "Modular Powered Circuits" (the MPC in the name) are interchangable on-board effects that can be clipped into place in the two effects cavities at the rear of the instrument. By way of example as to what kind of effects were offered, the Outlaw we looked at last year had a Power Overdrive and a Phase Shifter.

Notice how the effect cavities are labelled 1: Input cavity and 2: Output cavity which illustrate the "chain" of effects in use, as putting one effect before another can have a very different result to chaining the same effects the other way around.

This auction for this bass finishes in under two days time, with bidding at $255 at the time of writing. For comparison, the example we looked at last year was priced at $999 although it did come complete with two effects modules which I'd imagine would be hard to track down and find these days.

G L Wilson

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

Vintage & Rare Guitar of the Week: 1965 Huettl Beat King II thinline

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here we have a vintage 1965 Huettl Beat King II thinline semi-hollowbody guitar from one of Germany's lesser known guitar makers. Some Huettl guitars were so basic that they didn't even have a trussrod, although what appears to be a trussrod cover on this Beat King suggests that this model is equipped with one.

The shape is reminiscent of a guitar from another German manufacturer, i.e. the Hofner Verithin, although without such a "very thin" body depth. The 6-in-a-line headstock, however, may be a nod towards Sweden's Hagstrom Viking, although that model wasn't really popularised until 1968 and Elvis Presley's Comeback Special. As to the blackburst finish, it reminds me of Fender's "Antigua" in negative!

Currently being offered for sale by Germany's Wutzdog Guitars via Vintage & Rare for €690.

G L Wilson

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

Yamaha AES 820's cool headstock

guitarz.blogspot.com

I have to admit that so far I've overlooked the Yamaha AES series to which this early 2000s Yamaha AES 820 belongs. OK, it has some typically Yamaha cool features, like a very special beveled German carve, a quite interesting stoptail, a certain elegance in the disposition of the knobs, but still it has something of a fat LP that made me look away each time I saw it - just not my type...

It's only today that I noticed its headstock and realized that it uses a tuner configuration that feels so obvious that I've been wondering for ever why it's not a standard feature, since it allows to keep the strings straights while connecting to 3x3 tuners. The headstock has a classic roughly rectangular shape, while the tuners form a triangle like on a Flying V headstock - and some tuners have longer stems to fit the shape: simple and I guess efficient. I will have to try this guitar one day - especially as I've learnt that there is a baritone version of it.  

Bertram D

PS. I always wonder why Yamaha has such a poor website, no online archives and so little exciting current models after their great history of electric guitar making...  

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

Aluminium-bodied Rogue guitar on Craig's List is a mystery

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Jack emailed us about this unusual "Rogue" guitar being offered for sale on Knoxville Craigslist.

The body is from an Abel Axe guitar, an aluminium-bodied guitar designed by Jeff Abel and built in small quantities in the 1990s. I wrote about the Abel Axe in the 500 Guitars book and there are a couple of very nice photos on pages 9 and 11. We also looked at an example here on Guitarz in October 2011. What's more, according to the Abel Axe website the guitar is being re-introduced.

Back to our Craigslist guitar, I notice the body appears to be bare aluminium whereas most Abel Axes had bright multi-coloured finishes. I'm wondering if this is a body that was unused from the factory and which someone has completed with hardware and a generic neck bearing the "Rogue" brandname (whoever they are).

This seller is asking $400 for this guitar, which doesn't seem unreasonable given the provenance of the body.

Additional: Please see the comments - several of you have pointed out that "Rogue" is a house brand of Musician's Friend. Just to remind you, Guitarz is based in Europe with Bertam being in Austria (I think... or is it France these days?), David in Spain, and me in Wales. We don't always know certain things that might be painfully obvious to those living in America. Anyway, apparently this model is a Rogue Aluminator which may or may not use a body made by Abel Axe. More info is available on this article by the Unique Guitar Blog (which manages to mis-spell the name "Abel" throughout).

G L Wilson

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

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!

Fantastic video clip of Les Paul and Mary Ford

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Tony writes:

Take a look at this clip of Les Paul and Mary Ford playing their Les Pauls. Les has a typical LP with P90s. Mary's bridge pickup is different, though. It doesn't look like a P90. Is it missing? I can't quite tell.

Thanks!

Tony Deafradio

Thanks for that. I can't tell either what the deal is with Mary's bridge pickup, but it's a great video clip all the same.

G L Wilson

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

Eat my short(s)-scale bass: Mosrite Celebrity III Model 221 Mark X

guitarz.blogspot.com:  

Most modern bass players wouldn't entertain the idea of a large-bodied hollowbody instrument with a short-scale length. I'd imagine it would produce quite a boomy tone. However, I can't help like this Mosrite Celebrity III Model 221 Mark X bass from 1969 (is that enough model designations already?). Apparently this was the rarest Mosrite colour (for some reason I often find green guitars appealing even though it's not a colour I am usually drawn to), and that there was only a single run of guitars finished in transparent green across several models in the range. Check out also the Bart Simpson machine heads!

With its close string-spacing and short-scale this Mosrite would probably be better suited to the guitarist who dabbles with bass occasionally, rather than a dedicated bassist. But then with a Buy It Now price of $3,495 it's most likely to be bought by a collector rather than a player.

G L Wilson

[Edit: I'd totally forgotten that we'd looked at one of these before. That particular example, in sunburst finish, was being offered for sale at $795, which makes the above pictured example a tad optimistically priced, I'd say. Even if it is a rarer finish. That's one helluva lot of money for a green finish. Note also, these are not just short-scale basses, but they are ULTRA short being just 24.5" in scale length.]

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

Can you identify this unknown archtop guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Ariel writes:

Hey, just discovered your site and I really admire it. I've had this beauty to call my own for around three months now. It has no labels, markings, or anything until I got a good look at it a few days ago and found a few numbers printed inside. I'm guessing it's what was left of the serial number. My closest guess is that it's some sort of Harmony. I added the pick gaurd with an attached pickup to it. Anyways, if you or anybody could figure out what kind of guitar I have, it would mean the world to me.

Any ideas? Those f-holes are certainly a distinctive shape and might provide some clues.

G L Wilson

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

Unidentified Höfner Verithin

guitarz.blogspot.com

Despite my efforts - I must have checked 100 guitar models on the inevitable vintagehofner.co.uk website - I couldn't identify this Höfner Verithin archtop guitar from the late 1960s. It has plenty of highly recognisable elements - the 3 Nova-Sonic 511 humbuckers, the oval control plate, the round single cutaway, the mother-of-toilet-seat contoured pickguard, the tremolo, the bicolor headstock - plus some less current, like the knobs mounted directly on the top instead of on an arched control plate (I guess that the flowers have been added later by an owner, they are really not höfnery), but I couldn't find the combination of all this in a identifiable model... It's frustrating but not surprising, Höfner released so many different models over the last 6 decades that it's not the first time this happens to me...

Bertram D

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

Vintage & Rare Guitar of the Week: 1960s Hagstrom 8-string bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This original 1960s Hagstrom 8-string bass in cherry red finish is currently being offered for sale via Vintage & Rare by New Kings Road Guitars in the UK who comment that as this model was the world's first 8-string bass, it's "probably Sweden's greatest contribution to popular music ... (YES, including A**A)."

The Hagstrom 8-string bass was probably most famously played by both Jimi Hendrix and his Experience bandmate Noel Redding (check here for further info).

This particular example is listed at £1995 / €2,500.

G L Wilson

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