Guitars, basses and other noisemakers

Otto jr

Otto jr

I think I got six slabs for $700, maybe less. I had to sell three of them and I got $500 each. They sold quickly. I have three left and hopefully some day I'll get around to making the Explorers and Vees. The wood for the neck is easy to source, as is the Brazilian rosewood for the fretboard. I'm thinking of making two with the hockey stick headstock and one with the split headstock.

Hockey stick

explorer.jpg

8-4548Explorer-Skinnera.jpg


Split headstock

split haedstock.jpg
 
Otto jr

Otto jr

I think they made the original 40 Explorers as a novelty to give away to their biggest retailers across the country. I don't think anyone thought this would become a coveted iconic guitar. They had no faith in the Burst but they made around 1700 of those. These -- they made 40 total. I did hear that there was one laying around the Gibson factory for many years. It belonged to an employee who left it behind. Eventually someone realized how valuable they had become and snapped it up. Just rumor and mythology but I've heard that story many times. These guitars are the most faked of them all. Be very wary if someone tries to sell you one. People with originals used to sell a fake guitar with a real case. The case is very very rare so people thought if the case was correct then the guitar is good. Now a real case is almost a dead giveaway of a fake guitar.
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
Speaking of "old blanks," the Fender custom shop will now make you a Telecaster with a body that used to be a Hollywood bowl bench...

fender-HB.jpg


And it's only $12,000!

A couple of the articles I've read claim the bench wood is 100 years old, but the bench seats they tore out in 2014 (which I assume these are) were installed in 1981, so the wood is really 36 (or so) years old. The original 1922 seats were replaced in 1958. I doubt anyone has been storing the 1922 benches for 59 years, but who knows...
 
Otto jr

Otto jr

Anyone who would take that Boys town tag off an old deluxe is a damn fool. I bet it's still on there.

I love that Hollywood bowl guitar, but it looks like that seam could become a problem. How many did they make? Is it laminate or solid?
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
Otto jr said:
it looks like that seam could become a problem.
Click to expand...
Seems like the whole thing could become a problem because it's cedar. But aside from that, they didn't resurface the wood, so I think if you played it you'd have to keep a tweezers in the case to pull all the splinters out of your forearm. Seems like it's more for show than playing.

They didn't say how many, and I think I read that it's solid, but I can't find that article now. Once I saw $12,000 I stopped looking for more details. That's a lot of money for something rubbed by a thousand asses.
 
Otto jr

Otto jr

That's almost as bad as the Clapton "Beano" Burst custom shop aged re-issue of Clapton's sunburst that he owned for less than a year in 1966, was stolen, never recovered and he didn't even remember what it looked like or what year it was (58/59/60). The only thing he could remember was it had a thin neck, so people assumed it was a 1960 Sunburst. 1960's often have a slim neck compared to 58s and 59s. They made it like those other aged re-issues that have every ding and mark of other people's famous guitars that they actually had in hand to copy. So it's a mark for mark copy of a guitar that they didn't have in hand and nobody on earth remembers what it looked like. They sold for $6-10k new.
http://www.gibson.com/Products/Elec...Gibson-Custom/Eric-Clapton-1960-Les-Paul.aspx
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
I don't know why Gibson insists on doing those replicas of famous people's guitars. They did one for Bob Marley and it didn't even look like his Special. The color was so far off -- everything just felt "off." They missed the mark everywhere.

Well, I guess I know why they make those things: because people buy them. Collectors I guess. They keep them in their wine cellars. I don't think any working musicians are buying those things.
 
PhillyDave

PhillyDave

“The essential doesn't change.” Beckett
a 2 year old news piece but hey, a very cool shop. I can't afford a DiPinto guitar but have gotten a cool old Epiphone electric guitar and a Gibson 12-string acoustic there and traded in some old stuff.

 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
Didn't a Rosewood raid shut down Gibson Nashville for a long time?

Not to get you started or anything...

;)
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
Purple Stickpin said:
I may try some 12s to replace my 13s. It's time for an en masse string change anyway...
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When I buy strings I always buy a lot (and I don't change them very often), so I was disappointed to find out my favorite set (Fender 150TR) was discontinued several years ago when I tried to buy some today. Ha.

No one makes a 10-38 set now, and I was surprised to learn that people think it's an odd set. I've been using them for, oh, 40 years, so I guess I've just been out of step. I had to go to juststrings.com and order the individual strings (.010 .013 .015 .026 .032 .038).

But no wound G. I still can't go there.
 
PhillyDave

PhillyDave

“The essential doesn't change.” Beckett
I don't know much about guitars, technically but I know a little. So uh, why no wound G?

and I love leaving strings on as long as possible. Brand new ones need to be broken in and just sound off to my ear, too clean...something.
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
The wound G discussion was earlier in the thread.

I don't think most common string sets that your "typical" guitarist buys use a wound G. The top three strings are usually plain steel. I mean, I've never bought a generic set that had a wound G, not that I can recall. I leave those to the bass players. ;)

This my last set of the extinct strings. Look how sad and forlorn they are...

last-fender.jpg


It's enough to make a man weep.
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
This Marissa Paternoster Premiere Guitar "Rig Rundown" fills my heart with gladfulness.

"Tell us about your guitar."
"I don't know that much about it."

 
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