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Fender |
Stratocaster with Floyd
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Really nice USA Strat, this is one of our favorite players, it just seems to have what's needed.
It is equipped with a Floyd and humbucker at the bridge.
Nice!, Nice!, Nice!
Something certainly went right when they put this one together it sings!.
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| Fender |
Stratocaster Custom Splatter |
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This is a guitar that we did some work on a number of years ago - the guitar was finished by Fender but needed some restoration - its now perfect. |
| Fender |
Stratocaster SRV
(Greasy Groove Custom)
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This is a very nice Strat that we have, it has a SRV neck but I always felt dissapointed with the body color on an SRV so we dressed this one up with a beautiful honey burst and fitted one of our cream pearl pickguard's - it grabs attention from everyone. |
| Fender |
1962 Jaguar |
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Original 62 Jaguar with the rare and very early slab finger board. Dated April 1962 - this is a very early Jaguar and has a wonderful chunky neck.
All original wiring and electronics. |
| Fender |
1966 Jaguar |
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This is a pristine 1966 Jaguar (someone replaced the bridge pickup for a seymore duncan little 59) - the original came with it as did the original case bill of sale strap and fender catalogue. Its a gem! - We will have to put the original pickup back in her - the rest of the wiring pots and solder joints are 100% intact and original. |
| Fender |
2000 Telecaster |
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I always think that Telecasters need a dress up to look really great. We kept this pretty simple with a bridge change and fitted a Bigsby. the Bridge pickup has been changed for a Seymore Duncan.
Sounds wicked! |
| Fender |
Precision bass |
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Straight forward P Bass hanging on our wall for reference purposes - it will get a custom job one of these days. |
| Fender |
Jazz bass |
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Straight forward Jazz Bass hanging on our wall for reference purposes - it will get a custom job one of these days. |
| Fender |
Single P/U Stratocaster
(Greasy Groove Custom)
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80's Made in Japan single pickup Strat.
We,ve seen a few of these kicking around over the years and they make nice guitars. The original coors seem to be a bit off so its nice to get a chance to dress one of these up.
This one looks a complete Doll now that its got a great looking Cool pickguard and a dreamy black painty job. The necks on these Strats are often black already making them Ideal candidates for a dark image. We dressed one up in Goth gear for a customer a couple of months ago - he was delighted! |
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Gibson |
ES 175D (1963)
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Original and still in her prime. A really nice vintage Gibson Es 175D in sunburst. |
| Gibson |
ES-295 |
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These guitars have always been a favorite of mine. They are actually built on a 175 body with the classic gold finish. They got the number 295 based on the initial selling price of $295.
An altogether different sound and bite than a traditional ES175, due to the P90 pickups. |
| Gibson |
Les Paul Custom ('89) |
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Great Les Paul Custom in white. The white ones always look great because of the contrast with the ebony fingerboard. This baby has nicely yellowed off here and there giving it a nicely played look. |
| Gibson |
Les Paul Junior (1958)
Modified |
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This is a 58 Les Paul Junior that was routed out to add two DiMazio pickups - the work seems to have been done a long time ago. The finish is original and although it has been modified, it plays and drives like a dream. |
| Gibson |
1965 ES125T |
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I have always loved these thinline 125's, they seem to have so much life in them somehow. This one is in really nice shape, it came to us with a slightly loose neck but that was an easy fix that left no trace of ever being loose. |
| Gibson |
Flying V '67 Reissue |
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No collection is complete without a flying V. We dressed this one up with a carved birdseye maple pickguard inlaid with a red pearl dragon. |
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Gretsch
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Double Anniversary (1961) |
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Gretsch Guitars just seem to have the looks. This 6117 double anniversary is in pristine condition and plays like butter. It has the original Hilo-Tron's and sounds pretty nice. I've seen many Hilo-Tron Guitars and they can vary greatly in sound quality. The pickup has a bit of a weak reputation but can sound really rockin if driven hard into an amp. The TV Jones pickups (TV-Tron) that are available as a replacements have an altogether different quality, they are fabulous - I'd change them in a heart beat if I were to decide to gig this guitar regularly.
For me, its all about how useful a guitar is and sometimes you have to give a bit of Hot Rodding and it comes alive. That's what I like to do and that's why I love this business.
I think that these early double anniversary's are missed by a lot of people who figure that its better to buy a newer 6120. For me, I'd rather source a good old 6117 and give here a fresh look with custom pickguards. Spice up the looks and then increase the horsepower in the pickup area and all at once, you have a guitar that will flatten any modern day "wanna be" copy. I'm old school when it comes to guitars, It hurts to think that buying a new Gretsch these days is actually more like buying a Fender made Gretsch copy. |
| Gretsch |
1956 Country Club |
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The absolute best guitar I own. The Neck feels great and the whole feel of the guitar is just inspiring. The guitar plays like butter and sounds like everything I could have hoped for. This is the guitar that drives me the most crazy - I find it hard to pass it without picking it up and playing it yet I am so scared of damaging it that I feel like locking it away somewhere. Honestly though Anyone who has a guitar and doesn't play it needs to sell it to someone who can appreciate it. Guitars are meant to be played regardless of their age value or prestige. |
| Gretsch |
1968 Single Anniversary |
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Nice straight and original gretsch. This one will probably end up getting a make over by us in the near future.
I feel anger towards a little music store in New York when I get to this one. "RIVINGTON GUITARS" shipped a guitar like this to me with a broken neck and claimed it got broken during shipping - Believe me I have packed and unpacked and fixed to many guitars to know that the damage to this guitar occured prior to packing. Watch out for the many so called trustworthy guitar stores out there, they can all sell you something lessor than they claim to make a quick buck. If ever you are unsure, always have a luthier or knowledgeable person check something out for you. Send me an email if you want any advice - I'll do what I can with advice. |
| Gretsch |
6120w - (1989) |
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I have personally owned this guitar since new. I originally imported the guitar to the UK and it was one of the first newer issues to ever arrive there. These guitars are second to none - they ring out like a true Gretsch should. |
| Gretsch |
6120KS - (2002)
(Greasy Groove Custom)
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This is a Gretsch Keith Scott Guitar that we took and replaced the guard and covers with Leopard print designs. I think of all the designs we work with, I enjoy the animal print stuff the most.
This also came with Dynasonic pickups that I felt were a little disappointing sound wise. We routed out the pickup holes and fitted TV Jones Classics - now it's just great!. When we route a guitar like this we ensure that the final finish is in keeping with the excellence of the guitar. I can never understand why so many so called luthiers leave rough routing hidden underneath pickguards. |
| Gretsch |
Synchromatic
w Bolt on Maple Neck |
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This is a 2002 Gretsch sparkle jet that we came across - its stayed with us because its the only one we have seen with a bolt on maple neck - Bo Diddley signed this one for us so its now a keeper. |
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Hofner
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1959 Senator |
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One of the great senators made by hofner.
This one is actually a 596 model which suggests that this came straight from the Hofner plant and was not handled by the Selmer company. Selmer were a UK distributor who marketed the Hofner models by name instead of by the type number. this model is made from flame maple with an unusual headstock design. |
| Hofner |
President
Prototype built for and previously owned by Jimmy Bruno |
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As I scroll down this list I can't help feeling that I am saying how great every guitar is - I dwelled on that for a moment and realized that they ought to be simply because they are the cream of the crop from the constant stream of instruments that I have owned. I think that if you buy a guitar, it should be because its a great guitar, not just because of what it says on the headstock. This is a truly great instrument that I came accross at the Hofner stand at the 2006 MIAC show - How everyone managed to walk past and not be drawn by its charm surely "Gob Smacks" me. I played many Hofner guitars at their stand that day but there was one that simply felt alive and had that Buy me sort of Charm - this was it. It was later that I found out that it was one of two prototypes made for and owned by (Jazz Guitar Great) Jimmy Bruno. |
| Hofner |
Solid Electric |
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Upright bass |
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Framus
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Framus Bass |
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Framus - Always quirky - always something odd yet cool about these guitars. This bass sounds pretty good but I find the neck to be too narrow for me, it takes a little getting used to. These can be good guitars if you look at a lot and find the right one that was built on a good day at the factory. They are quirky but that's what collecting is all about. |
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Stewart
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Wondertone (1957) |
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SS Stewart Guitar - Model (Wondertone). To the best of our efforts we date this circa 1957. The finish is actually painted but looks like tiger maple even from a few feet away.
This one was slipped to me by an unscrupulous seller on ebay that never mentioned the loose neck in the auction blurb - Oh well!. Lucky for me I'm a luthier and its as solid as a rock now. |
Ibanez |
Roadstar |
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I hated this guitar it had to go! |
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Supro
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Epiphone
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Epi Special |
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| Epiphone |
Epiphone broadway 1964 |
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This cutaway archtop guitar features a thinner neck, two mini-humbucking pickups, and the tail piece. It was produced after the Gibson purchase of Epiphone when they continued to put out high quality under the Epiphone logo. |
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DanElectro
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U56 |
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These Dan Electros are a nice instrument. They are and always have been a little quirky in way of construction and for that reason tend to give unique sounds. |
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Minarik
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Inferno |
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The Interno - We just had to have one. Each flame lick is its own chamber and this one sounds awesome.
Great Rock guitar but has surprisingly great mellow sounds - sounds just huge when played clean. |
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Minarik
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Goddess |
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Extremely nice playing Guitar - I have become a fan of Minarik guitars and like what Bill and Mark are producing - the quality is excellent and its got its own all important vibe. |
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Washburn
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Prairie Song |
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| Burns |
2005 Hank Marvin |
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Always been a Hank Marvin fan since I heard my first shadows tune (Atlantis).
Hank has a simple but unique sound and has his own style that has inspired so many. This guitar is a dream to play. It leaves strats behind and its such a pitty that north America doesn'y understand what burs was all about. This one is great and the trem is a great reproduction of the original - These burns custom issues are fabulous guitars and are to be taken really seriously. |
| Austin |
62' ERA Tele |
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We have customized a few Austin guitars and we find them to be a nice instrument. This one has stuck with us just because it plays so well and sounds just great. It came equipped with Wilkinson hardware and pickups. |
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| Harmony |
610 Custom |
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I met Charlie Subecz (President of Harmony Guitars) at NAMM and we got talking about bigger hollowbody guitars - he put this in my hands.
These are so reasonably priced for what they are. The neck on this has a wonderful '50's feel and I love the fullness of sound - I had expected to have to change the pickups to get a great sound but quiet honestly these are as near perfect. My thing is Rockabilly and this just fits in great for my style. This one is my daily player now.
My Favourite guitar has to be my 56 Gretsch Country Club - I have never played anything better. It shocks me to say that out of everything listed here, this Harmony is my second choice for gigs. Without question its the best guitar I ever laid my hand on for less than $1000 |
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Harmony
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Archtop |
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| Ventures
Wison Brothers |
Ventures Strat Style |
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This just got put aside as a keeper when Bob Bogle and Don Wilson signed it for us. |
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OTHERS
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Hybrid
Greasy Groove Custom |
Custom Fretless Bass
(Greasy Groove Custom)
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This is a Bass that we Built here in our shop. We wanted to build a really nice fretless that had the look and feel of a pre bass. The maple neck is a real players neck and is beautifully finished with a ebony finger board. We went for nice grover tuners and kept the rest of the bass looking fairly stock.
The Body is solid Alder and the electronics are all fender. |
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Hammond
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M100 Organ |
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We also work on other instruments as well as guitars. This Hammond M100 needed some replacement switches and some TLC to bring her up to spec. It now sits in our studio. We have also dome cabinet work and modification work to other Hammonds. |
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Lowrey
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Special |
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???
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VARDES Accordian |
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We occasionally get to work on interesting projects. This accordion has had some of the Mother of Toilet Seat repaired and replaced by us. |
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PIGMI Accordian |
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Again - our material skills allowed us to replace a black key and do some inlay work repair on the instrument. |
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TruTone
Buescher Aristocrat
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Alto Sax |
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Conn
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Baratone Sax |
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We have replaced many of the Mother of pearl key inserts on brass instruments. |
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Hammond
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Accordian |
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