Fender Bass V - the original 5 string bass

Here's one of the lesser known Fenders, the Fender Bass V, sister model to the better-known Bass VI. As far as I am aware (feel free to correct me if I am wrong) this was the first production model 5-string bass. This particular example dates from 1970.

It's a funny looking little bass with its elongated body and short neck. Unlike the later 5-strings that emerged from various manufacturers from the late 80s onwards, the extra string isn't a low B, it's a high C. The Bass VI didn't actually offer an extended range to that offered by Fender's existing Precision and Jazz Basses, it simply offered an alternative way of playing, possibly more suited to those of a smaller stature who might find those other Fender Basses more unwieldy. Instead of playing up and down the neck as much, you could play across it instead.

The auction for this one ends later tonight. It's going to go for a few thousand dollars, that's for certain. These basses weren't a resounding success sales-wise and as such this is a very rare Fender.

Edit: Sold for $3,795.

Jimmie Driftwood and his fantastic rustic guitar

Check out this video in which the late Jimmie Driftwood shows off his guitar. According to his Wikipedia entry, "Driftwood learned to play guitar at a young age on his grandfather's homemade instrument. Driftwood used the unique guitar throughout his career and noted that its neck was made from a fence rail, its sides from an old ox yoke, and the head and bottom from the headboard of his grandmother's bed. This homemade instrument produced a pleasant distinctive resonant sound."

Thanks to Karl for bringing this unique guitar to my attention.

When Relics Go Bad

The creator of this sorry-looking Telecaster ("I got the parts for it and put it together") claims that it plays better than a $3,500 Fender Custom Shop Relic Telecaster. I'm sure the Fender wouldn't look as much of a dog's dinner as this mess.

This is the problem with DIY "relic" guitars. The creator usually goes too far. This just doesn't look like genuine wear and tear. It looks like exactly what it is - a guitar that someone has deliberately knocked about and taken a sander to.

The seller also informs us that "The guitar's neck was sanded down and has a relic coloring from actual sweat." How, I wonder, did he collect the sweat? Did he carry a bottle and a tube around with him and somehow syphon the sweat into the bottle when working out? Actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know.

For a much more tastefully-realised relic job on a Telecaster, keep checking Cary's Electric Guitar Review.

Hippie "Jesus Loves You" Guitar

I thought at first that this acoustic with home-made body might have been inspired by Bo Diddley's rectangular guitars, but it's far more likely that a basic box was just the simplest and easiest shape to construct.

Obviously the flowers and the "Jesus Loves You" artwork is not going to appeal to everyone's taste, but the guitar is not without its rustic charm.

Musicvox Spaceranger

Here's a shame... until reading the listing for this Musicvox Spaceranger on eBay, I hadn't realised that these guitars were no longer being made. I guess the company went under. They still have a website and the beginings of a blog that never got off the ground, the first and only entry being from 2006. Obviously their bizarre looking guitars were never going to be to everyone's taste, but I liked their quirkiness and eccentricity. Perhaps these guitars will become future collectables? I'd like to think so.

Espana "Winged" Guitar

I've never seen anything quite like this Espana SL-107 winged guitar, although it is reminiscent of some of the wilder harp guitar designs without the additional strings.

It is quite a perplexing instrument. What, I wonder, was the point of those wings? Do they add anything to the tonality of the instrument?

Mosrite Doubleneck on eBay

Now here's something you DON'T see very often on eBay. It's a rare - very possible one-off - Mosrite doubleneck 12-string guitar/mandolin circa 1970. It looks to be in very nice condition too. The starting bid is at $2,000 - I'll be interested to see what this fetches.

Silvertone amp in guitar

The Silvertone brand were famous for their amp in case models back in the 60s (actually re-badge Danelectro guitars) and here they went one further with this re-badged Teisco guitar which has the amp and speaker in the guitar body itself. Dating from late 60s/early 70s, this may well have been one of the first guitars to sport this feature. Does anyone know of any earlier examples?

Speaking of Teisco guitars, does anyone know what became of the Teisco Twangers website, a very useful resource, which seems to have unceremoniously vanished from the world wide web. I hope someone has mirrored it somewhere, or at least backed it up.

Whose Guitar Is This?... Neil Diamond

The answer to Friday's Quick Quiz is that the guitar pictured is Neil Diamond's signature series Epiphone SQ-180.

Thursday night I took my parents to see Neil Diamond at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, as a 70th birthday present for my father. I grew up listening to Neil Diamond. My father was always playing his records. He espeically liked the start of the "Hot August Night" album and would play it over and over. He confessed to me after the show that he had been worried that Diamond wouldn't be able to cut it any more in a live situation seeing as he is no spring chicken at 67 years old, but he (my father, that is) was very pleasantly proved wrong. Diamond and his band performed for a solid two and a quarter hours and played all the hits and crowd pleasers with gusto (I Am I Said, Play Me, Crunchy Granola, Cherry Cherry, Solitary Man, Sweet Caroline, Song Sung Blue, I'm A Believer, Cracklin' Rosie, etc...). The man can still belt out a tune and what amazed us was that right up until the encore he kept his jacket on; he didn't even break out into a sweat. He's one cool customer, that's for sure.

In the middle of the set he announced he wanted to play a few songs from his current album, and played "Don't Go There", a spellbinding rendition of the title track "Home Before Dark", followed by a Latin-flavoured version of "Pretty Amazing Grace" and then it was back to the hits again. I don't think anyone could have gone away disappointed.

Scary Snake Guitar

I can't decide whether this hand-carved Snake Guitar is cool or hideous. It's certainly not in the same league of ghastliness as the abomination I linked to on Wednesday; in fact I think you have to applaud the inventiveness of the maker. Still, I doubt anyone will be willing to shell out $2,500 for it.

I'm also reminded of those extended cutaways that went up and under the strings that Aria (I think) featured on their guitars a decade or so ago. Whatever happened to them, I wonder? I've not seen one since. [EDIT: I was thinking of the Alvarez Dana Scoop... Oh well, I got the initial letter of the brand name correct at least].