Bartolini red glitter finish 1960's Italian-made "cheesy" guitar

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Guitars like this 1960s-era Italian-made Bartonlini may be perceived by many to be "cheesy", but I just love them. Maybe I'm easily impressed by the glitter and pearloid celluloid finishes, the rows of pushbutton switches, the perspex fingerboards, the unusual choice of FOUR pickups. Maybe I should be more concerned with what these guitars actually sound like. However, Hubert Sumlin, guitarist with Howlin' Wolf, was known to play a very similar Bartolini, and hey, if it was good enough for the likes of him...

Currently listed on eBay.de with a Buy It Now price of €1,499.

G L Wilson

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Ivy Thinline Stratocaster with P-90 pickups and Jaguar trem

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It seems that I'm still in a pink strat mood today! 

This Ivy thinline stratocaster in light pink finish shows me once again that strats feel much better with a Jaguar trem and P-90s! I never got the 3 single-coils thing... 

I know nothing about Ivy Guitars company but what I found on their website - that is very little: they build custom guitars, are located in Maryland and make very bizarre models... But this one is definitely cool!

Bertram D

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Fender Custom Shop Gold over Paisley Heavy Relic Stratocaster

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I've always been clear about the fact that I don't like strats and that I loathe so-called relic finishes. Once in a while though, it's good to have one's certainties shaken, and I really enjoy this Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster with its improbable gold over pink paisley relic paint job. 

Maybe it's because it reminds me of my first guitar, a lake placid blue Kawai Aquarius that I once poorly refinished with hand golden paisley, but it's more than that, if I ever had to play a strat or a relic'ed guitar, it would be this one!

Bertram D

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Another rarity from Semi Moseley of Mosrite fame - Moseley "The Sooner"

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I've lost count of the number of times I've seen a rare guitar from the Mosrite stable being sold as one of the rarest ever. Here, dating back to 1973, is another contender for that title, although "The Sooner" actually was branded under the Moseley name rather than Mosrite. Still it has a few Mosrite-style touches, including that duck bill-shaped headstock which also appeared on several of Mosrite's acoustics, and it even appears to feature a brass rail in the fingerboard, although on closer inspection this appears to be a strip of rosewood in the centre of a maple fingerboard. Stylistically, the slab-bodied design seem to owe something to the erstwhile Fender Telecaster.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1790.

G L Wilson

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Wunderschöne Framus "Studio" 5/51 Jazz-Gitarre von 1969

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Here's a cool archtop acoustic from 1960s Germany, namely a Framus Studio 5/51. It has a number of idiosyncratic features, such as the bolt-on neck (not uncommon on European-made acoustics of this era, see for instance the Italian-made Eko Ranger series and the Eros-branded copies of the same). More noticeably, and perhaps quite oddly, it features only a single f-hole, giving it a strangely asymmetrical appearance. The seller claims that "the model is known and loved for its super easy playability and clear, twangy tone." It certainly appears to be in very nice condition judging by these photographs.

Currently listed on eBay.de with a very reasonable-sounding Buy It Now price of €199.

G L Wilson

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Mathias shows us his minimalist Fender Bass VI to baritone conversion and minimalist Jazzmaster

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Mathias writes:

Longtime (years) reader here. I've put together a minimalist baritone take on the Fender VI, with good results. Tuned A E A D F# B, huge sound, like the bottom of a piano. I use it a lot solo for melodies and chords with a bass drone, it really extends the harmonic range of the guitar. That's a Seymour Duncan '59 straight to output. Custom pickguard by Pickguardian. Including a shot of my similarly minimalist Jazzmaster. I use these with my group Sportsman's Paradise in New York City.

Thanks for sharing, Mathias. As you probably know, I'm a big fan of the Bass VI (although I do like to keep it tuned one octave below regular guitar tuning - I can always use a capo for those "baritone" tunings - but, hey, each to their own). I do like your minimalistic approach though. I never did like guitars with too many control knobs on them (and I see your baritone has none); it's so much better to let your fingers and way in which you play dictate the tone rather than farting around with pickup selector switches, separate tone controls for each pickup, etc. I remember the time I tried one of those Line 6 Variax guitars. There's just TOO MUCH choice and you end auditioning different sounds for ages rather than getting on with the creative stuff. But again, that's just me, I'm sure other people will swear by them.

G L Wilson

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Trevor Gordon Hall plays the Kalimbatar

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Now this is really cool. This is Trevor Gordon Hall and he's playing this piece on his kalimbatar - which in essence is an acoustic guitar with a kalimba (thumb piano) surface mounted to it. The tone of the kalimba perfectly matches his guitar, but then it is sharing the guitar's soundbox. Check him out on Candyrat Records.

Gavin Wilson

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Zerberus Poledancer #001 - an unusual original design guitar from Germany

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Here's an intriguing design from German boutique guitar manufacturer Zerberus. Named the Poledancer, it's a full-scale length solidbodied electric guitar with a diminutive body which appears to have been involved in a nasty collision with a piece of aluminium tubing. Although it's not to my own persoanl tastes, I have to admit that it does look very distinctive and I'm sure there'll be guitarists out there who love it.

Currently listed on eBay with a rather hefty price tag of $4,783.73.

G L Wilson

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Kustom K200D Bass - very cool American-made semi-hollowbody bass circa 1968-69

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Last year we took a look at a gorgeous vintage Kustom K200 guitar, and here we see its bass counterpart, the Kustom K200D Bass, this example being currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,800.

It's a real pity that someone has sanded the finish from the back of the neck to get a modern "satin-feel" neck. I say if you want a modern neck, get a modern instrument and leave the vintage guitars and basses alone! (I don't see what's wrong with a finished neck anyway, but let's not get into an argument about personal preferences).

G L Wilson

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1966/67 vintage Yamaha SB-2 bass guitar in sunburst finish

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Here's a rare beastie currently being auctioned on eBay. It's a Yamaha SB-2 bass, and dating from 1966/67 this is a very nice example of the first ever bass guitar that Yamaha produced. Regular readers will know that I have a fondness for these early Yamaha solidbodies, and indeed this example in a very handsome sunburst finish looks like the long lost bass sibling of my own most highly prized possession, my Yamaha SG-3 guitar.

With a starting bid price of $650 it'll be interesting to see what this sells for.

G L Wilson

Relisted with a Buy It Now price of $595.

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