currypowder

Thanks. It really is a good one. The only reason I let it go is I have another Crews 52 Tele. Pardon my ever decreasing memory, but did you get it from me, or did it pass through someone else's hands. I can't remember who I sold or traded to.

I wonder if that Crews tele came from me. I sold one a couple of years back. It was a natural finish with a fat soft V neck and K&T pickups. An absolute killer tele.

Several of my buddies and I will be there. Will definitely drop by to see Willie and Jeff. Always great to meet HFC members in person.

Trogly's take on the influx of Reverb scammers And an update from him and Reverb

Bump for a price reduction

In all my years shipping hundreds of guitars, I have had less than 5 that had any shipping damage, all fairly minor except one neck break on a rather inexpensive guitar. The claims were between $100 and $500. On all of those incidents, I was eventually able to get reimbursement from the carrier, but it wasn't easy. Lots of back and forth with pictures, inspections, descriptions etc. But the amounts were low. I'm fairly certain that if I filed a multi thousand $ claim with any of the carriers, they would tell me to jump in a lake and there would be very little to do about it. To think that they are going to gladly just write a check for significant shipping damage, whether the value was claimed or not, is delusional. Instead, I have a policy with Heritage that covers my entire collection, including shipping. They are well aware that I am a private collector who buys and sells quite a bit. I would have the policy even if I didn't ship quite often, so it's really not an additional cost. I have had to make a claim with them on a guitar that was damaged in international shipping, and I just needed to provide proof of value loss and price of repair, and they cut me a check. Even though my activities are not a formal business, I feel that, as the shipper, it's my responsibility to get guitars to the buyers safe and sound and make sure that I'm fully covered, and not by whatever the carriers call insurance. Now maybe the person who posted the FedEx insurance info (name redacted for good reason) as a dealer would need to get some other kind of insurance than Heritage since it's more for individuals, not business.

SOLD $1,450 NOW $1,250 Shipped Here we have a fantastic 2012 HES-180, part of the Hibiki series. Built to be more vintage accurate, this would have been towards the top of the ES lineup in 2012. As I've gone through almost every guitar type know to man, I've come to the conclusion that 335s just aren't my thing. While I like the semi-hollow nature and tone, I prefer it to be in a smaller body like the FGN MSA or Les Paul ES. But make no mistake, this is a top quality 335 for a lot less $$. I would describe the condition as good to very good with a couple of cosmetic issues, a couple of small dings around one of the f holes and near the rear strap button. There is also a scrape near the top and side of the headstock (on the EAD side). The Fifty Nine pickups are a nice upgrade from the typical Tokai Mk2 pickups and were only available on the Hibiki models. They’re low output PAF pickups with resistance of 7.30 (neck) and 7.25 (bridge). Frets show no visible wear. Weight is 8 pounds Neck measurements are: Width - 1.65" to 2.05" nut to 12th fret Depth - 0.84" to 1.00" 1st to 12th fret Here is the description of the model from the Hibiki site: The HES180 is a model that further enhances Tokai's acclaimed ES series with a more vintage feel. To achieve a more vintage sound, the neck pickup position was profiled from a 1950s pickup. It features "The Fifty Nine," a pickup newly developed for the HLS series. "The Fifty Nine" was created by selecting the best PAF pickup from a wide selection and thoroughly "tuning" it to achieve the best possible sound. The finish is an incredibly thin urethane finish, just one-third thinner than conventional finishes. This maximizes the resonance that is so important in a semi-acoustic guitar. The neck, which provides the fullness essential to the ES sound, features a one-piece mahogany neck with a Madagascar rosewood fingerboard. A Delrin nut and Jescar frets provide excellent response and brightness. Body: Maple Arched Top / Maple Side & Back Neck: Mahogany One Piece Finger Board: Madagascar Rosewood Frets: Jescar PU: The Fifty Nine (Made in Japan) x 2 Bridge: LS-VB Bridge / LS-VT Tailpiece Finish: Ultra-thin urethane Nut: Delrin Adjust Rod Cover: Original Includes original branded hard case. More pics available upon request.

My thoughts exactly.

$750 Shipped Vintage Japanese Greco Precision Bass. I bought this several years ago to have something to just mess around with and have available for jamming. I’m not much of a bass player. But when used by others who know their way around a bass, it always sounded good and was complimented. It’s in really good shape for a nearly 50 year old bass. The frets show no wear and electronics work as they should. Includes a well worn leather-ish gig bag and some extras that came with it when I imported it from Japan (see pics). More pics available upon request. No trades.

Since the tariffs started and de-minimus exemption ended, I have almost completely ceased my importing activities from Japan. The added 15% is the main reason, but I'm also unable to use EMS as a shipping service, my proxy forces me to use FedEx, UPS or DHL, all of which have become more expensive (around $250 for a guitar). Given how unbelievably soft he used guitar market is, it makes no financial sense to import any guitars unless I am fairly certain of keeping it for a good long while. I did recently buy a pair of pickups from Japan and ended up paying 15% tariff and a small UPS fee (about $10). Given the size of the package was also small, the shipping wasn't too bad either at $50. None of this was a surprise to me and I had factored it all in to my decision to purchase them. And the mechanism to pay the tariff/fee was simple, UPS sent me an e-mail with an invoice and I paid it online. Overall, took 2 days to get to me from Japan.

Bump for final price drop, $2,265 (Regular PayPal) or $2,200 (PayPal Friends and Family) Shipped.

Technically, this is correct. However, in my experience, you’ll pay the tariffs/duty to US customs or the shipping company acting as Customs agent, then need to dispute the charge and attempt to get reimbursed. I had some success getting duties reversed on US made guitars coming to me from Japan over a decade ago. In today’s environment, it may be more difficult to be successful.

It was a run for the Japan market. Basically a Special FM with body binding and quilt top. I’ve had a couple pass through my hands. Nice guitars. Any potential buyers should keep in mind that there will be an additional 15% tariff to import into the US.

Thanks Chris. I agree, while I love my orange 6120, there’s something about the over the top bling of a WF that just oozes cool. I have another WF and the only reason I’m keeping that one is I prefer the thumbnail neck inlays to the hump inlays on this one. Not that I dislike the humps, just a preference.

Bump

Thank you @Dave Scepter

This seems to be an ongoing issue around here. To me, the text is clear, black on a white background. But I guess depending on individual settings, members may see something different. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can correct, I’ll all ears.

SOLD $2,350 Shipped. I’d prefer PPFF, but won’t bemoan anyone who needs to pay regular PP. Now $2,265 (Regular Paypal) or $2,200 (Paypal Friends and Family) Shipped. Trades of other electric guitars considered. While I'm not looking for anything in particular, I'd be interested in a Black/Silver Falcon Double Cut. This is an interesting White Falcon as it seems to be mainly modeled after a '55 with hump inlays and vertical Gretsch headstock logo. But while most '55 models have Dynasonic pickups, this one has Filtertrons. This guitar is in very good shape, I can find no obvious flaws or dings. However, it originally had a Cadillac tailpiece, but that has been replaced with a gold Bigsby with string-through bar making string changes much easier than a normal bigsby. This left a couple of small holes visible on either side of the bridge on the bottom (see pics). Original Cadillac tailpiece is not included. The pickups are the original Filtertrons that came on the guitar, they have not been swapped. It plays very well with tone exactly what you would expect from a big hollow body and Filtertrons. The controls are a 3 way pickup selector, master volume, individual pickup volume and master tone. The neck is a typical MIJ Gretsch medium U shape with measurement of 0.82" to 0.92" 1st to 10th fret. Weight is 8.1 pounds. Includes original branded hard case. More pics here - White Falcon

Given this dude, that may have been the better option. I, fortunately, always steered way clear of Brent, still do.

I try, but sometimes I forget, or list measurements in a way that someone doesn't appreciate. In fact, one time I listed some neck dimensions in a way that a looker didn't like. You would have thought that I came to his house, busted his door, screwed his wife and pissed on his dog. Just an absolute tool of a pompous know it all. No need to get into details, just quite a bit over the top reaction for a minor discrepancy.

I think you need a nice traditional Tokai 335. 😃

There’s a Newport Pro on Facebook, no affiliation. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H3NzsCAch/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It's back for today! https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?icid=210190

Bizen is a Japanese boutique brand started by the guy who ran the Zemaitis Custom Shop. Their LP type guitars have fat, soft V necks that are to die for. Top shelf woods and components. This Korina Jr. also sports a Brazilian RW fretboard.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?icid=210190