Ultra Rare1967 Bigsby Condor Prototype. One of only Only 3

guitarz.blogspot.com:

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

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Ned Steinberger's one-off prototype L-Series headless bass

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I ought not have to write too much about Ned Steinberger's one-of-a-kind prototype L-Series bass as the pictures say it all really. Built in 1977 the bass is modelled from carbon fibre and although it is headless, Steinberger seems to have simply moved the headstock from the end of the neck and re-positioned it behind the bridge. It uses regular bass guitar tuners; obviously created before Steinberger went on to develop his own style of fine tuners. You can read more about this bass here.

And if you fancy actually buying this bass, it is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $99,995.

G L Wilson

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Mara eFin Prototype with Carbon Fibre Top and 1000 Year Old Neck

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One of the lines in the very long description for this incredible Mara eFin prototype guitar is: "A great eFin guitar, the opposite of NFG guitar". I don't believe that that is the origin of the name, but it's so deliciously pun-tastic I had to include it.

This prototype ergonomic guitar is topped with carbon fibre and the wood for the neck was a gift from a master First Nations carver and was somehow a part of a thousand year old totem pole in Stanley Park, B.C.

The design is a bit out of my usual desires and the one knob so close to the pickups would drive me crazy. I do like the pseudo-slotted headstock and would love to give this guitar a spin.

Currently listed on eBay for $2495 Canadian.

R.W. Haller



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Prototype Luthier Crafted Double Neck Acoustic Guitar

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Given Gavin's love of double necked guitars I would be remiss to not share this prototype acoustic here on Guitarz.

I like the general body shape and it looks like it may not be as cumbersome as other double neck acoustics. I cannot find much information about the guitar though. The label says its an AB-07. That could be a model or a make. It also says that it was made in Montreal. I can't read anything else on the label.

I'm not sure about the finish on this one though. It looks a bit dense on the back, neck, and the sides. The top looks ok though.

Currently listed for $500 Canadian

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.

Weird minimalistic headless guitar with case ... Can you identify?

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For your consideration is this strange minimalistic headless guitar with its own bespoke hard case, currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $695.00. The seller knows virtually nothing about it, the listing being as follows:

Hello! This guitar is in very good condition. I don't really know anything about it as far as history goes. It appears to be a one off prototype. There are no markings or serial numbers or anything like that. It sounds really nice and everything seems to work great. Free priority shipping. Thanks!

Which doesn't tell us a great deal. In the listing title the seller has queried "Steinberger? Gibson? Hohner?" but I think we can safely ignore those red herrings, they are just there to get people to look at the listing. It's of a bolt-on neck construction and my guess is it's Japanese or maybe early Korean. If I had to suggest a brand name for it, I'd consider Hondo who at least were known to dabble with the occasional bizarre design of this ilk.

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.

1991 Westone Dan Armstrong Signature Series "Shark" prototype - 1 of 5 made

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an intriguing prototype guitar, the result of a collaboration between Dan Armstrong and Westone Guitars. It's a Westone Dan Armstrong Signature Series "Shark" prototype from 1991.

The guitar features a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo, Dan Armstrong Mini humbucker and Dan Armstrong Monster triple-coiled pickups mounted on a body that is somewhere between a Stratocaster and a Mustang in design. For more information please see: www.danarmstrong.org/westone.html, www.vintagesilvertones.com/forsale_westone_dan_armstrong.html and www.westone.info/danarmstrong.html.

Currently listed on eBay with a very reasonable sounding Buy It Now price of US $499.

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.

1966 Fender Jazzmaster prototype

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From the eBay listing:

For sale is this vintage 1966 Fender Jazzmaster prototype electric guitar. The prototypical headstock on this unbelievably unique Jazzmaster was hand-carved and finished by Roger Rossmeisl under the supervision of Freddie Tavares, but was never implemented during subsequent production making it the only Fender Jazzmaster of it's kind. Interestingly, Mr. Tavares took a liking to the guitar, and kept it in his office in the Fullerton factory for years to come, even playing it at many holiday parites and other Fender-related events. The guitar wasn't officially finished until 1983 when Steve Grom (Fender and Gibson employee) chose to purchase it as part of Fender's "Employee Sale" program of 1983. At which point the original Lake Placid Blue nitrocellulose finish was replaced with an absolutely exotic Purple polyurethane, and the guitar was finally mated with an appropriate case. The instrument is 100% all original in incredibly pristine like new condition, and includes the singed documentation from Mr. Grom on (ironically) Gibson letterhead.

Currently listed with a Buy It Now price of US $18,999.99.

G L Wilson

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Taras Guitars VP-1 - Could this be the next big guitar innovation?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The first time I saw a photo of a VP-1 prototype from Taras Guitars I was quite perplexed. Surely the guitar was missing a bunch of strings seeing as it had such a wide fingerboard but just the six strings running down the centre. However, that first photo I saw was a close-up, and I didn't appreciate how the curvature of the fingerboard towards the nut.

A quick view of the Taras Guitars website explained the concept. The wide, surfboard-shaped fretboard means that "'New' notes and sounds can be found when the frets are extended and strings are bent AWAY". Indeed it's all to facilitate extreme string bending. For more information, check out the video.

G L Wilson

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Please read our photo and content policy.