The Shadows - "Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" + some lovely Burns guitars!

guitarz.blogspot.com: Ah, call me mischievious if you will, but you didn't seriously think I was going to let Bertram get away unchallenged with that comment about The Shadows in previous post, did you? I don't care if they are old fashioned, I think their tunes are well worth a spin. I quite like this piece from Australian TV in 1967 from when the band were endorsing Burns guitars. And if you don't like that, then there's always the dancing girls.

G L Wilson

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

2010 Burns Bison 62 Reissue

guitarz.blogspot.com

You have to admit that the Burns Bison 62 is one of the coolest guitars ever - it is on the top on my guitars-I-need-to have-and-play-on-stage-before-I-die list! Like many pioneering guitars of its time, its design proved timeless, however slightly eccentric - and since I have no idea of who the Shadows are and don't want to know, it has no 'surf' connotations to me - and probably most people.

And it's not only the looks, its tri-sonic pickups sounds perfect - and I'm a humbucker kind of guy -, I particularly enjoy the tone selector that makes more sense than tone pots - one switch and you have exactly what you need... I like how some historical brands resurrected and reissued their great guitars of the golden age (see also what Eko has in stock), though some are still missing!

Bertram D

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

1950's Mattel Walt Disney Davy Crockett plastic Ge-tar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Sometimes we like to take a look at vintage toy guitars as often they are as collectable as the real thing, and are also very interesting cultural artifacts.

This particular Walt Disney Davey Crockett guitar (or "ge-tar" as it's spelt on the box) is of course a piece of movie memorabilia so could possibly appeal to collectors of film ephemera as well as guitar and toy collectors. Made by Mattel, at first I was not sure if the eBay seller's dating of 1953 is correct seeing as Walt Disney's "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" was released in 1955. But then again, that film was comprised of three Disney television specials edited together, the first of which was originally broadcast in December 1954, so maybe these guitars could have been produced in advance?

The cynic in me wants to say it's hard to picture the King of the Wild Frontier playing a 4-string plastic "ge-tar" with his own picture on it which also conveniently functions as a music box using a wind-up handle on one side, but then I guess kids have better imaginations than us adults and wouldn't consider such issues. Still, it's a nice item, in good condition and with the original box, so it'll be interesting to see what this fetches in the eBay auction.

G L Wilson

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

One-off pre-production Musicvox MI-5 bass in seafoam green

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We're big fans of Musicvox guitars here on Guitarz; they're modern high quality highly-playable guitars with a certain retro quirkiness to them. The company was recently re-launched after a brief hiatus, and have introduced several new models including the MI-5 series. This particular Musicvox MI-5 Bass is actually a pre-production model (I guess that's the same as a prototype) and is a one-off featuring a seafoam green finish and alternate control layout to the production version. It's worth following Musicvox's eBay auctions as they have been selling a number of one-off future rarities.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $899.

G L Wilson

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

1980s Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire aluminium-bodied beauty

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a proper 1980s-era Japanese-made Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire with aluminium body, and definitely not to be confused with the later Korean-made wooden bodied versions. In fact the wooden-bodied Talbo is an oxymoron, since the very name "Talbo" is a portmanteau of "Tokai ALuminium BOdy". The seller describes this guitar as playing "like a Stratocaster on steroids" and you can be sure that given the body material this guitar is going to be seriously resonant.

Currently being auctioned on eBay UK with a starting price of £499.

G L Wilson

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

Electric Thailand dragon guitar (or maybe it's an electric pin)

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Although the eBay listing calls this 4-string instrument a "Thailand dragon guitar", it's obviously an electric version of a traditional folk instrument and I'm thinking it might be an electric pin. We looked at a less ornate version back in May 2009.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $699.

G L Wilson

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

Robin Raider with Mosrite-inspired body made in Japan by Tokai

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here we see a Robin Raider guitar from the now legendary Robin Guitars of Texas. This is an early Robin from the period 1982-1986 when their guitars were made in Japan. After 1986 production moved to the USA ... which makes a refreshing change from the way things are usually done as so many American guitar companies used to build in the USA and then transferred production to the Far East. Robin designs were often Fender-inspired so it's nice to see the nod to Mosrite guitars on this model.

In keeping with the Mosrite-theme it's one of those rare breed of right-handed guitars that look as if they should be left-handed! The illusion is further enhanced by the upside-down headstock.

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a very fair sounding Buy It Now price of $449. Sale ends very soon!

G L Wilson

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

GIG 10 Raptor bass prototype with quilted maple body & Matsumoku neck

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here at Guitarz we like to applaud small guitar companies everywhere who of course have to compete against the usual suspects in the guise of Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc and also against cheap Chinese imports. Having said that, I can't in all honesty say that I like the design of this prototype Gig 10 Raptor bass. Unfortunately, the design looks all too random in a "weird for the sake of it" way, and I say that despite being a fan of "holey" guitars. But never mind me, I'm sure there's a whole bunch of people that it'll appeal to, after all it does look like a bass that's been born to rock. If B.C. Rich had come up with this design, it could have been a classic already. This prototype from GIG 10 Guitar Productions of the Pacific Northwest, USA, features a refurbished Matsumoku-made neck circa 1985 married to a one-piece solid maple body with a highly figured quilted grain.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $499.

G L Wilson

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

1960s German-made Perlgold Musima/Migma bass in stunning pearloid

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This 1960s Perlgold bass is quite obviously from the same stable as Germany's Musima and Migma guitars - the shape and those pickups are quite distinctive. And isn't it great to see three pickups on a bass? Remember this instrument is from the era when four pickups on a guitar was commonplace. I don't really have a lot to say about this beauty of a bass, other than to urge you to enjoy the photos!

This item is located in Hungary and is currently being auctioned on eBay with a starting price of $209.

G L Wilson

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

Spot the Mexican in this line up of Fender American Roland Ready Strats

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Todd writes:

I collect and play Fender USA Roland Ready (RR) Strats because of their high build quality (comparable to other USA Strats of the period); they drive a great product line of devices made by one of the best instrument manufacturers; and of course, because they're pretty rare for a mainstream brand and well known model. I've even seen knowledgeable Fender collectors claim they are all forgeries and were never actually produced by Fender in the USA.

Some of the confusion stems from the fact that they are neither Fender VG Strats nor the Made in Mexico (MIM) RR Strats still made today: VG Strats have an abbreviated number of modeled sounds/tunings on board the guitar and therefore no 13-pin jack - whereas the Roland Ready models actually sport a 13 pin connector on the lower bout (facing the floor while played, in addition to the normal the 1/4 jack on the front) and have no on board sounds. All Roland Ready Strats are simply a sound source for Roland GR, GI and VG series devices, but MIM RR Strats don't offer the same features as the briefly produced USA versions.

Speaking purely technically, the USA RR Strats offered the same upgraded build quality as the normal USA Strats of those years - they play identically to USAs of the same vintage (with the exception of sacrificing one tone knob), The differences between MIMs are:

• A 22nd fret (vs. 21)
• Larger cast steel bridge saddles (like other USAs)
• Upgraded tuners (?)
• Two cast string retainers on the headstock (vs. one stamped)

The upgrades contribute to an overall feel of improved quality, with a noticeable improvement of sustain, in particular. All Roland Ready Strats can be used to drive: VG-8; VG-88; VG-99; GI-10; GI-20; GR-20; GR-33 and the GR-55 among others, which are very well made and sound great.

It's not clear why RR Strats were produced in the USA so briefly - their serial numbers appear to range only from N5 to N7 (1995 to 1997). Wikipedia does not mention RR Strats (neither the USA or MIM varieties; although VG Strats do get a brief nod), but it does offer the following information, which could explain the timing and brevity of the USA production:

"On February 11, 1994 the Fender manufacturing plant based in Ensenada, Mexico burned down. Fender President Bill Shultz decided to temporarily move production from the Mexico plant to the U.S. plant. These Fender guitars are fairly rare and can be identified by the unique serial number."

However, that doesn't fully explain the design changes listed above relative to the typical MIMs - perhaps Fender simply chose not to use the MIM design while manufacturing it in the USA? Any information regarding the "unique serial number" mention in the Wikipedia article would be greatly appreciated.

Todd

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