cmatthes

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Have a great day, Austin!

Does he do anything besides the Ren Faire Circuit? I haven't seen anything from him Stateside that I'd bother going to check out - just the Blackmore's (K)Night thing. As much as I've always enjoyed his playing, I don't think I could sit through that without a white Strat and lots of Whammy and Marshall abuse. I'd love to see a Rainbow reunion tour though... I don't get this whole thing, Ritchie...gotta be something about that blonde, but I can't quite put my finger on it! (Oh wait. Nevermind.)

That guy who's name you won't remember 12 months from now.

I saw him a few years ago at NAMM (2 years in a row). He was still good, but a little odd offstage. It was right after he became "born again".

That's a classic.

Yes - Johnny W. and Buddy still have pretty hectic gig schedules, so you may catch something this summer.

BB King is getting up there too. He has a pretty heavy tour schedule, so your odds of catching him are pretty decent. I got to see Les Paul with Chet Atkins 15 or so years ago for a small theatre tour. That was nothing short of awe-inspiring, and happened right when hair (MTV/pop/fluff) metal was dying and grunge was gaining a foothold. It was interesting (to me at least) that these two guys had been playing "their" music for well over 50 years each at that point and hadn't really been impacted by changing fads and styles so much.

Really nice guitar. A bit out of my price range for a non-original case though!

John is a member here. Although I haven't had any correpondence with him in several months, he has responded to me very quickly in the past. I suspect that he is probably very busy and not always on the internet like the rest of us here. I'd try him again. I understand that patience goes a long way there!

Oh yeah... I forgot to add option 3: Buy guitar, hopefully for @ $350, no more than $400, shipped. Don't care if it's playable or not, because you're going to now strip it and part it out on eBay. -Sell bridge for $50-$75, if you can find a buyer. -Assuming neck and bridge pickups are original to the guitar, sell the pair for $150-$200 (depending on condition, assumed functionality, etc.) - if the pots are original (and functioning), sell set w/toggle switch for @ $50 (+/-) - Sell tuners for $50-$75, depending on if they are of 70s/early 80s vintage. If not, cut expectations by 1/3 to 1/2. - Sell hulk of body, likely f-d up neck to some sucker on eBay for $150-$250, depending on if there's a full moon or not. - Sell back plate to a UK buyer for $70 + shipping (again, full moon required). - Sell case (assuming it hasn't had cats who smoke heavily living in it, and is in otherwise decent original shape) for $75, since it is missing the handle. If the price doesn't go any higher, you may be able to break even this way. There is even that "full moon" chance that you'll make $50-$100 on the deal too. Determine if your time is worth that little, and by all means, be my guest!

If it helps, think of it like this... You will have to put at least $350-$400 out to win and get this one delivered (assuming it doesn't go any/much higher than it is now). This is your base, or starting price. Your options are: 1. Keep it as-is and hope it is a great player. You'll live with the mods. 2. Restore it, top-to-bottom and hope it is a great player. You're willing to put out significant $$ to get it where you want it. Assuming you go with option #2, let's take some of the initial costs you'll have to consider (assuming you aren't doing these yourself): Replacing the bridge: -minimum of $150 for a repro Sustainblock, probably more. If you are able to track down an original, it'll cost you considerably more. -paying a luthier to plug the stop holes and do a finish blend/match, redrill the through-body holes and install the bridge (possibly set up too) - expect to pay $150 if your luthier works on the cheap, possibly double that for what a normal shop charges. Add at least $30 extra for a proper setup. - paying a luthier to plug the mini toggle holes, do a finish blend/match - you're probably looking at another $100-$150 minimum, as sunburst finishes are going to be tougher to blend/match than an opaque finish. - assuming you can live with the pickguard imprint, you do nothing there. If you want to get rid of that, you'll have to refinish the top, at a minimum. That'll be at least another $200, assuming that's all you want to do. - Since that guitar doesn't come with strings, and assuming that they aren't included in the set up charge, add $5-$10, for your brand of choice. (The seller has indicated that strings are NOT included) Let's be rational about this... Best case scenario, you're looking at outlaying close to $900 to $1,000, just to get it to presentable condition, and all the while you're HOPING that it is even playable. This assumes that your winning bid is close to where the auction is at this time (@$350). Since you'd be within striking distance of a fully-functional Sunburst at this point, and also consider that your investment in this particular guitar will NEVER be realized upon resale, does this look like an appealing project? I know where I'd stand on this one, but use your own judgment. You may get off lighter on this one, but my strong suspicion is that you'll easily sink $1,000 in a guitar you can't sell for anywhere near that. Just a thought...

Any guitar that is that heavily modded, questionable seller (pleads ignorance to escape liability) and the fact that the picture shows no strings on the guitar will keep me miles away from that one. EBay sellers trying to sell a guitar should at least put the strings on it. Not doing that leads me to believe that there are deeper issues than the mods alone.

"Revolver" "Electric" "Cheap Trick", "At Budokan", "Dream Police" "Girlfriend" "Amazing Disgrace" "1977" "Bandwagonesque" "Happy Days" "White Music" "The Head on the Door" "Puzzle" "Rosemary" "The Cars" "The Colour and the Shape" "Flippin' Out" "Appetite For Destruction" "Kinky Boot Beast" "Discipline" "Alive II" "Houses of the Holy" "It's A Shame About Ray" "International Pop Overthrow" "Nevermind" "Satellite Rides" "Deluxe" "Band On The Run" "Pretenders" or "Pretenders II" "Life's Rich Pageant" "Phaseshifter" "11" "Shout At The Devil" ""Louder Than Bombs" "Van Halen", "VHII", "Fair Warning" "Teenage Symphonies to God" "Back In Black"

I don't think so, Geoff - they seem to be the same to me.

I believe it was sometime around 1999 - it was after the move to New Hartford if I recall correctly. The original 4-digit run stopped by '85, and there were a small handful of custom orders done after that and before the "reissue" in 1995. I ordered one that arrived in '91 with a veneer top, but it was a slightly thicker veneer than on other 4-digit Standards I've owned. I also bought one of the first '95s off the line, and the top was the same as on my '91. In '99, Jol mentioned that the tops on Standards were being done differently - an actual 1/4" maple top was glued on to the mahogany back and then milled down to spec. I've been playing my '08 Standard a lot lately, so it's out on a stand - I'll check that out tonight and see if I can get a better idea of the final thickness on the current ones.

It's a tough call, because there is definitely a certain magic to the old 4-digits, but I prefer the Standards I've played/owned from the last few years. I think that Hamer is really on top of their game right now - seriously at their peak and climbing. I have owned three 4-digit Standards (#0137, #0150 and #0704), and still own one. As good as they are, I'm way more impressed with the overall formula on the new ones. Now if only they'd relocate that headstock logo to where it belongs...

I tried to warn you. I really, really did...

Wow, this recession is REALLY driving down prices!

Out of curiousity, what kind of puppies come with the guitars?

Unlike many who posted on that thread, I actually HAVE played a Gustavsson. In fact, I've played two of them. Really did nothing for me - I was expecting the angels to start singing or something. Nope. They are really nice guitars, but there is no way they are that much better than any other boutique-type guitar in that $3-$4k price range (Thorn, Huber, Schroeder, Baker, etc). The biggest factor (IMO) is the D.A.G. and TGP usual suspects shillster hype - that somehow adds $10k to the mystique, and a lot of sheep just hopped on board. I've also played several original '58-'60 'Bursts in my day. They are certainly not the same animal...

I guess I didn't mean "sponsor" in the actual sense. I think "shill" is the appropriate term... I totally agree though about the communication thing. If that's your business, even if you are too ill (always seems to happen with these little guys, oddly enough - hmmmm...) you MUST have somebody handling emails and phone messages. Even a canned response, periodically updated, is better than the black hole. That's what kills those businesses quicker than a chambered Gustavsson! :ph34r:

Interesting. Must be a sponsor.

It's not just TGP. I've read about chronic problems with SOS at pretty much every forum I visit. I was wondering when we'd have some experience with them here.

Yes - Hamer stopped using that decal when the supply ran out - probably @ mid-90s.