Burns Baldwin Vibraslim Bass

I haven't really got an "angle" for this post, only to say that I've always had a soft spot for short-scale basses, think that hollow-bodied basses are cool, and that this Burns Baldwin Vibraslim looks to be just the type of bass I'd like to own, although I don't like it that much that I'm going to shell out the asked for £900 Buy It Now price.

Dallas Tuxedo

Here's an early British-made rarity, the Dallas Tuxedo. The seller explains:

From the late 1950s the Dallas Tuxedo was the first British made solidbody guitar to hit the market. Sophisticated design with through neck construction. Solid mahogany. This is the two pickup model with Rangemaster tremolo. Original case and leather strap. This guitar was found in an attic in Wallasey, just over the Mersey River from Liverpool, and not far from the Tower Ballroom. A guitar just like this was found in the attic of John Lennon's home in Woolton, Liverpool. He is purported to have owned and played it. Probably purchased from the same music store as this one!

So, a tenuous Lennon connection. I wonder what it'll sell for?

Burns Flyte Bass

The Burns Flyte has long since been one of my favourite designs, but I know that as players they weren't to everyone's taste. There were a guitar and a bass model and were specially designed by Jim Burns to minimise feedback, something which some people perhaps wouldn't have wanted minimised!

This Burns Flyte Bass is on eBay right now - they don't turn up for sale very often - and has a Buy It Now price of £899. Oh, how things change! I remember not so many years ago you couldn't GIVE these guitars away, and recall a conversation with a London music shop owner about such guitars ending up being thrown into a skip.

I have to add that I prefer the silver finish to the natural finish on the bass featured here. Silver looks much more Sci-Fi and given the shape seems more appropriate. The old silver Flytes often end up fading to a dull gold colour over the years.

I know that Burns have re-issued these guitars in more recent times, but they just don't have the same vibe. They are no longer made in the UK (a sign of the times), and the shape has been modified with a lower cutaway on the body which completely spoils the lines of the design in my opinion.

See also: The Burns Mirage

Strange "Sawn-Off"-looking guitar

This rather odd guitar was on eBay recently. It has the appearance of an instrument that someone has taken a saw to, but the seller implies that it was built this way by a luthier.

The pickups are quite unusual in design, both being housed in a U-shaped piece of metalwork. I wonder if this assembly was taken off another guitar. Any ideas, anyone?

Ibanez Jazz Bass/Strat-a-like doubleneck

Fender have never made a production model doubleneck guitar (yes, there have been Custom Shop doublenecks), but that never stopped some of the Japanese manufacturers from the 1970s from having a go at combining two Fender designs into one.

Here we see an Ibanez Jazz Bass/Strat doubleneck, which could never be mistaken for a real Fender (if there was such a model to compare it to), but looks to be a very nicely made guitar. It's a nice touch having the two output jacks as you probably wouldn't want to put the separate halves of this guitar into the same amp.

It does look quite bulky though. I hate to think how much this would weigh and how backbreaking it would be.

It's probably one for the Ibanez collectors.

Gibson EB650

I've not got a great deal to say about this Gibson EB650 bass except that I've always liked hollow-bodied basses and think that this rare beastie is quite magnificient.

1960s Welson "Jazz Guitar"

According to the eBay listing this guitar was...

...found at the Coventry Theatre in 1964 shortly after a gig there by a group called the Tremeloes.

The name Welson appears in big letters with the words "Super Jazz" underneath on a plastic plate. The headstock is Stratocaster shaped with a maple with ebony fretboard.

It has a "Jazz Tones" slider switch and a separate control knob marked B, M, and T.
There's also a Jazz/Super Jazz slide switch, master Volume and Tone controls and an unusual master On/Off switch. The strings go through a top loading vintage spring whammy system.

I can't help wondering if The Tremoloes might want it back.

Things that bug me in the guitar listings on eBay

#2: People who have no idea about the item they are selling and who can't be bothered doing a little basic research

Take for example the seller's description on this "Vintage Astoria electric guitar rare four string":

This is a very neat vintage four string Astoria electric guitar that is embossed made in Japan. I cannot find a serial number or model number anywhere. The tighteners at the end are very large compared to others I have seen and this seems rare because it is only four strings versus six. The neck on this guitar is in mint condition and the light maple wood is very modern. The body is in decent shape, though the enamel covering on the black part is scratched up pretty bad. The funky marble looking part is perfect. There is also one area pictured where the enamel is off completely. I don't know if it is enamel covering or a plastic of some sort, but it may be possible to just have that part redone and it would be mint again. The size and shape of this guitar is interesting too, as it seems much larger and heavier than regular electric guitars.

Yes, I know it's very easy to mock who are not interested in the same things as we are and therefore lacking in key knowledge, but if you are selling something like this it might just help your auction if you found out about the existence of bass guitars.

Note also how the words "vintage" and "rare" are bandied about with reckless abandon and without any authority.

Stonehenge guitar

Banish all thoughts of the Stonehenge scene in Spinal Tap. This guitar has nothing to do with that.

I recall seeing pictures of these Stonehenge guitars back in the 80s when they were first launched - also there's photo of one in Tony Bacon's Ultimate Guitar Book.

This example is a Stonehenge III by Alfredo Bugari - I hadn't realised they got beyond models I and II as they never really took off or made a big impression to the legions of guitarists worldwide.

As you can see in the pic, the body is a simple tubular metal frame with a minimal wooden insert carrying the DiMarzio pickups and electrics. Quite what the advantage is of having a minimalistic body that is mostly air, I do not know. I can't imagine it would be a sustain monster, but am willing to be proved wrong if you know better.

This is another one to add to the list of bonkers guitars from Italy.

Epiphone SOBE Les Paul

From a very desirable Epiphone to... ermmm... this thing.

It's an Epiphone SOBE Les Paul, whatever that is.

Whatever, the graphics are obviously Van Halen inspired.

Does anyone know what "SOBE" is?

I tried looking it up on Google but after two pages I was overcome with apathy.

Anyway, to sum up in one word: ghastly.