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Is This a Wow? Sunburst Aztec Gold?


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Posted

that guitar is/was available locally in jersey. tempted but the buckle rash and price didn't seem equitable. but still a visual stunner!

Posted

What Kiz said.

Posted

I called mine amber, or alternately around here, "yaller" (past tense of "call" sadly being the key part of the statement)

P2110033.jpg

It is a beautiful finish for these. Mine was a bit later in 80 and had the checkerboard logo (and thanks to BCR Greg, the checkerboard case). An unassuming, absolute monster of a guitar.

Posted

What's the formal name of this finish? Aztec Gold?

Looks like Transparent Yellow, but might be Natural plus some smoke.

Posted

It is -it actually looks AMAZING. :wub:

Posted

I called mine amber, or alternately around here, "yaller" (past tense of "call" sadly being the key part of the statement)

P2110033.jpg

It is a beautiful finish for these. Mine was a bit later in 80 and had the checkerboard logo (and thanks to BCR Greg, the checkerboard case). An unassuming, absolute monster of a guitar.

That top ..."unassuming"?

Posted

I have a near-mint 1981 just like it. It will never be for sale. I just think it's one of the finest 31 year old vintage guitars you could ever own. I have an '81 Vector with the same neck. I wouldn't pass this up because of price. Trust me.

Posted
That top ..."unassuming"?

tumblr_m5zpcrxG5y1roo2eho1_500.gif

But, on the other hand, with that veneer it really was more like a Rhodesian Ridgeback dressed as a Sharpei puppy.

Posted

I called mine amber, or alternately around here, "yaller" (past tense of "call" sadly being the key part of the statement)

P2110033.jpg

It is a beautiful finish for these. Mine was a bit later in 80 and had the checkerboard logo (and thanks to BCR Greg, the checkerboard case). An unassuming, absolute monster of a guitar.

Can you describe "monster of a guitar", please?

Posted

Can you describe "monster of a guitar", please?

Gladly. Back when I bought it, I was playing every Wednesday night in a church youth service that had a hodge podge of musicians in and out on any given evening. I typically played my Strat (what else?), but often enough I brought in whatever I had purchased recently. Our singer typically played acoustic or keyboard and there was usually someone else singing backup, playing another guitar, keys, whatever. We'd (or I'd) get complements like, "nice service" or "band sounded good tonight," stuff like that.

The first time I brought that Special to service we played the first song and a die-hard acoustic guy playing with us turns to me and says, "what is that thing?" When I told him he didn't really understand what a Hamer was, so I asked, "why do you ask?" He said, "that's the first electric guitar I've ever heard where I liked the sound. It's just so round and full, like an acoustic( :huh:). After that, I consistently got comments from guitar guys about what great presence the guitar had in the mix - without being turned up loud.

On Sunday services I always played my Gibby Howard Roberts through a Tech 21 Trademark 60. I constantly got comments like, "I can't hear the guitar," and "can't they turn you up?" I played the Special one night (experiments are best performed in the night service) and many people not especially musically inclined or typically even interested came up to me and said, "I could hear you tonight, sounded great" - I hadn't changed a single setting on the amp. This was playing clean, accompanying a grand piano and an organ.

That Special was a monster of a guitar because it seemed to emphasize certain key frequencies that allowed it to be heard through any mix - very thick, but never muddy. It had stock DiMarzio PAFs (though I kept the darker-sounding of the pair, the zebra, in the bridge, cream in the neck, up until I posted it for sale), so it wasn't some hot-pickup thing. It was just a massive sounding guitar clean, edge-of-breakup or heavily distorted. Fantastically fun to play.

Posted

That was a great description. Thank you.

You're welcome, and sorry to have waxed so nostalgic. I'd hope the one-sentence take-away from all that would be: people who were not guitar players or even musicians consistently noticed something different (and good) about the sound of that guitar (and in spite of me being the one playing it).

I don't know if all of the Specials are like that, but I suspect many of them are.

I will also ad that mine, with a brand new custom checkerboard TKL case, yet not in quite so pristine condition, sold for less than half the BIN price of the one posted.

Posted

I will also ad that mine, with a brand new custom checkerboard TKL case, yet not in quite so pristine condition, sold for less than half the BIN price of the one posted.

When did you sell it? Why wasn't I paying attention!

*sobs quietly*

Posted

That was a great description. Thank you.

You're welcome, and sorry to have waxed so nostalgic. I'd hope the one-sentence take-away from all that would be: people who were not guitar players or even musicians consistently noticed something different (and good) about the sound of that guitar (and in spite of me being the one playing it).

I don't know if all of the Specials are like that, but I suspect many of them are.

I will also ad that mine, with a brand new custom checkerboard TKL case, yet not in quite so pristine condition, sold for less than half the BIN price of the one posted.

Thanks for the heads up, I feel it's too high as well but "an educated consumer is our best customer" - Sy Simms

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