Vintage Vaquero "Polo Players" cowboy guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The eBay seller believes that this vintage (I dare not call it antique) Vaquero cowboy guitar decorated with stencilled polo player dates somewhere within the 1940s/1950s. Whilst I can't imagine that it would be one of the better sounding acoustic guitars on the planet, it's nice to see the patch where the finish has been worn away (adjacent to the second polo player), indicating the guitar has seen some quite heavy use in its time. It's also interesting to note the stencil-like f-holes which are positioned much further forward than I've seen on any guitar.

Currently being auctioned on eBay with a starting price of US $175.

G L Wilson

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Vintage 19667 LaBaye 2x4 XII - 12-string solidbody

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As if the LaBaye 2x4 guitar wasn't enough of a rarity, along comes a 12-string version!

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $2,100.

G L Wilson

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1962/63 Australian-made Maton FyrByrd on eBay UK - but get in quick if you want it...

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This early 1960s Maton FyrByrd is a guitar rarely seen outside of Australia, let alone being offered for sale on eBay UK. Sorry guys, I only saw this on eBay very late in the day, and this auction actually finishes in JUST OVER 3 HOURS TIME as I type this. Bidding is currently at £908 with reserve not yet having been reached. [EDIT: The winning bid was £1,010]. Maton is a very well respected - and quite collectible - guitar manufacturer.

I like the legends on some of the controls. Check out the pickup selectors (hey, it beats Gibson's ridiculous "Rhythm/Treble")...

...not to mention the Sound Barrier control knob!

G L Wilson

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Hand-built doubleneck guitar is a double-sixer

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Currently listed on eBay UK, this home-built doubleneck guitar recently caught my attention. Whilst it's hardly the most elegant or beautifully designed instrument, it is a guitar clearly built to fulfill a need and does look as if it might possess a certain mojo. The seller/builder says he used it in his band and tuned the six-string necks to open D and open G. Which makes perfect sense if you're playing blues riffs or slide guitar.

The auction ends on eBay in three hours time as I type this so I'll be checking back later to see what this beastie eventually sells for.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Hand-made coffin-shaped box acoustic guitar - playable or just folk art?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here at Guitarz we love bizarre home-made oddities. The seller of this particular hand-made coffin-shaped box guitar found at a house clearance sale has "no idea is this is a proper guitar to be played or a piece of folk art". It does indeed look rather crudely made, like some souvenir instruments you see for sale whilst holidaying abroad.

However it does appear to have all its faculties all present and correct... other than the very bizarre frets which do not go right across the neck. The outer strings seem to be just above the fret ends and so it certainly wouldn't be playable in normal "Spanish" fashion. However the height of the nut - and indeed the action - plus the square section neck and those frets which are surely there purely to act as markers would suggest to me that this guitar is meant to be played with a slide. Unfortunately that's about all I can say for it.

Currently listed on eBay UK with an optimistic Buy It Now price of £79.99.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Ibanez / Dega Bizarre Series "Biz Moon" freaky vintage Japanese guitar

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This is the kind of stuff that I really enjoy: freaky vintage guitars from Japan! This guitar has been the subject of much discussion today over on the Vintage Japanese Guitar Fanclub on Facebook. Its owner, Arjen, says it's an Ibanez but is unsure of the model. Others have insisted that it is a Dega.

From what I can work out from following the discussion is that these guitars were branded as both Ibanez and Dega, and were part of the appropriately names "Bizarre Series", with this model being known as the Biz Moon. It seems it would have been made circa 1966-67 and would have originally retailed for $115.95.

It really is quite a wonderful looking creation; I'd love to take to the stage with a guitar like this, if only to use it on just one song.

Thanks to Arjen and the guys of the Vintage Japanese Guitar Fanclub.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Clarke Spellbinder long-scale bass as personally owned by Stanley Clarke

guitarz.blogspot.com:

From the eBay listing:

The ONLY right handed long scale made..truly one of a kind !!!

Available is the coveted serial #4 long scale Clarke Spellbinder (a personal bass of Stanley Clarke ) only RH LS in existence!!!!

The 70's was a busy decade for Lieber Instruments. In 1979, Stanley Clarke became the proud owner of a custom Spider Grinder acoustic bass. At that time, Stanley was also playing Rick Turner's first graphite neck, through body, Alembic electric bass. Stanley loved the graphite neck, and felt that an all composite bass was the way to go. He commissioned Tom to design such a bass.

Stanley approved the design and Tom built a prototype guitar which required four patents to handle the innovations. Stanley loved the bass, and in a joint venture, Tom and Stanley formed the Spellbinder Corporation in 1980. Spellbinder produced a limited edition run of fifty spellbinder basses. One additional custom left-handed version was built at Stanley's request, as a personal gift from Stanley to Paul McCartney. The run was a success and, as planned, the Spellbinder molds were destroyed to insure the instrument's value.

 (sic throughout)

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $9,112.50.

Also listed on Reverb.com.

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.

Vintage 1960s True Tone round-bodied guitar (very unlikely UN-original)

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Despite having an original 1960s Truetone neck, this electric banjo-like round-bodied guitar is almost certainly a Frankenstein job pieced together from parts rather than a forgotten vintage gem. The modern Tele-style bridge with 6 individual saddles is a dead giveaway, and those plates on the front and back of the body look suspiciously as if they're hiding something - most like the joining together of the centre section of an old Truetone guitar with the new(-er) body wings. We can see from the photos that the neck section was originally from a glued-in neck guitar, and the joins are all too obvious. Nevertheless it's an interesting curiosity of a guitar in its own right and with a starting bid of US $19.99 it'll be interesting to see what a true pawn shop guitar like this might sell for.

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.

Vintage Japanese-made "Delta"-branded solidbody electric plank

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm not say it ever was, but I could well imagine this Japanese-made Delta guitar, probably dating to the 1960s, being marketed under the Silvertone banner; it does seem to have a Kay / Danelectro vibe to it. The seller points out that, "The plate on the back of the neck joint is cosmetic, since it is actually a set neck," but I wonder if it is indeed purely cosmetic. Assuming that the guitar does have a trussrod, I think it's possible that the faux neck plate is actually a truss rod cover. There is a precedent for this in 1960s Japanese guitars; the now legendary Yamaha SG-2 and SG-3 had the truss rod accessible from behind what appeared to be the neck place. In the case of those guitars, they WERE bolt-on necks and the neck bolts were also hidden beneath the plate.

Incidentally, does anyone out there know anything about the Delta brand? It's not one I recall having seen or read about before.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $399

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Luna performs Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" on the traditional Korean gayageum

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Milagro Concert Series JP+ Negra flamenco guitar by Neris Gonzalez

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Milagro concert series JP+ Negra flamenco guitar by Neris Gonzalez features a solid German Spruce top, solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, Ebony elevated fretboard, Spanish Cedar neck with carbon fibre reinforcements, Savarez strings, a sound port in the upper rim, built-in arm rest, an ergonomic cutaway to allow easier access to the higher frets but without compromising the size and shape of the body, lattice bracing, golden tuning machines, bone nut and saddle, 650-660mm scale, and fanned frets.

It's good to see a traditional instrument like this emrace modern innovations of luthiery.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $3,450. Hard case included!

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.

Leather-covered guitars by Serge Volken

guitarz.blogspot.com:

To keep introductions short, I work with leather since 30+ years and finally had the courage to customise some guitars. I used to be a professional leather worker, but luckily I regressed to amateur again to have more creative freedom. This allows me to select projects that are along the line of things I can stand for and can enjoy working on. My main job is still in leather, but more so with very old leather from archaeological sites. www.shoemuseum.ch

I don't have a webpage other than my Facebook page for my personal work

I'm still waiting for the occasion to customise a guitar with some of my organic textures but haven't found the occasion so far.

I am sending you some pictures of my latest unique baby I made for a friend of mine. The theme was his desire but I had total freedom to make the design myself. It took many sketches and quite some planning to create a design with a motion that takes contours and elements of the guitars body into consideration. I am just curious what some guitar experts could say about leather covered guitars. I am dead against covering acoustic guitars because I believe that the sound will suffer from it. E-guitars on the other hand are less prone to changes of sound, at least it's what I think, based on the theory, that the mikes depend more on the mass of the body than reverberation of a hollow body.

Feel free to post those pictures on your blog and lets see if I have sinned in the eyes of guitar aficionados ;)  So far I haven't dared to massacre a Fender or Les Paul. The one I'm posting is a LAG that has a curious feature: two hollowed openings. Having looked closely at different guitars I realised that the best ones for leather covers are those where the electronics are accessed from the back, leaving a maximum design space on the front. After all we wouldn't want to close permanently any access to the electronics on the inside, in case some repair or changes would be desired.

Cheers,

Serge aka Bigfoot

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Von Mir Pintail 6 and Boxtail - all original design guitars from the USA

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Von Mir Pintail 6

I was quite taken by the design of this Von Mir Pintail 6 guitar as listed recently on eBay UK; its slim hour-glass shape is almost reminiscent of certain lap steel designs. It's an original design that - for me - actually works nicely. This guitar was listed with a Buy It Now price of £499 but failed to sell. It's possible it may be re-listed at some point. I thought it was interesting that a little known American-made guitar had found its way into the United Kingdom.

Von Mir Boxtail

Von Mir Guitars were (are?) built in the USA by Steve Campos. Whether it is still a going concern, I don't know, but I don't believe very many were built. As well as the Pintail 6 there is also a Pintail Bass and another design with a bound body giving it an almost Les Paul aesthetic, the Von Mir Boxtail.

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.

1985 Gibson SG400X - the SG that wanted to be a Superstrat

guitarz.blogspot.com:

You just know that this Custom Shop Gibson SG400X has to be a 1980s guitar when Gibson start messing with the tried and tested formula and produce a guitar that appears to be the offspring of an unholy alliance between an SG and a Superstrat. Check out the locking trem (I think it's a Kahler), the SSH pickup configuration and the droopy headstock that was de rigeur in the later 1980s (thankfully it's Gibson's own Explorer-style design and not a nasty pointy effort a la Jackson and Charvel).

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $1,450.

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.

The Swanee Singer - Guaranteed not to split!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Our friend Eric Geevers writes:

I'm fixing this guitar for someone, but I can buy it at a fairly low price. Bit of a twist in the neck, but we'll see what happens. 'Germany', and it's said that it's pre-WWII. I can believe that! What do we say?

Does anyone have any more info on this guitar for Eric (and for the others of us who are also curious)?

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.

Further to yesterday's blog post... it's that guitar again

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Further to yesterday's blog post concerning the identity of a guitar being used by a guy in Chet Atkins' band, I'd like to thank all of you who left comments, both here and on our Facebook page, to the effect that the guitar was a Stratosphere.

A few of you even linked to an earlier post here on Guitarz in which we had already looked at a Stratosphere doubleneck guitar. What can I say? I guess I can't remember everything. (I did think it looked familiar, if that helps).

The one curious thing is that the body does rather look as if it had been designed for one of Stratosphere doubleneck guitars (of which they made several). Check out this video to see and hear this guitar in action - there's a nice close-up shot 48 seconds in.

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.

Just what is that mystery guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Casey writes:

Obviously this is a very young Chet Atkins, with a nice Gretsch, but what the heck is the dude holding in the background?

My guess would be that it is something built by Paul Bigsby - I recognize the style. However, that's a weird body shape even by Bigsby's standards. It looks almost like a doubleneck with the lower neck removed.

Can anyone out there reading make a better identification?

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.