Interesting guitar...but maybe more questions than answers from me.

[cmatthes]

https://reverb.com/item/53169337-worthington-explorer-1979-sunburst-gibson-neck-only-1-handmade-exquisite-collectible-8-1-lbs?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=Criteo-US-Conversions-2021Q4&utm_content=300x600

Clearly, influenced by the "Holy Grail" of Hamers - '70s Standards - but...why?

The guitar was built for a guy who lived several miles from the Hamer shop, yet he had a Hamer copy built by somebody else?  I can't imagine it would have been cheaper or better, but who the hell knows?

I wish the seller luck, but if it sells, I wish the eventual buyer even more luck trying to recoup it.

[kizanski]

"$4,999... $2,500 price drop."

Keeeep going.....

[Hamerica]

Could it have started as a case plug ? 

Hamerica 

[Dave Scepter]

3 minutes ago, Hamerica said:

Could it have started as a case plug ? 

Hamerica 

20 case plugs?

[cmatthes]

16 minutes ago, Hamerica said:

Could it have started as a case plug ? 

Hamerica 

Not back then.

[Marvelicious]

1 hour ago, cmatthes said:

Clearly, influenced by the "Holy Grail" of Hamers - '70s Standards - but...why?

The guitar was built for a guy who lived several miles from the Hamer shop, yet he had a Hamer copy built by somebody else?  I can't imagine it would have been cheaper or better, but who the hell knows?

Seems obvious: someone slept with someone else's girlfriend. 

[Stike]

I hope the current seller didn't pay what the prior owner was asking.

I know the previous owner and have played it. It's very nice, not worth 5K let alone 10 but it's nice.

[JustKid]

“No more than 20 of these WORTHINGTON GUITARS were built and only 10 were sold.”

Hm...20 built, 10 sold...Doesn't sound like a good sale pitch to me. I'd edit this line out and raised the price back to original.

[Steve Haynie]

The person who had that guitar built may have been a friend trying to support a friend who was trying to get a company started. 

[tomteriffic]

3 hours ago, JustKid said:

“No more than 20 of these WORTHINGTON GUITARS were built and only 10 were sold.”

Hm...20 built, 10 sold...Doesn't sound like a good sale pitch to me. I'd edit this line out and raised the price back to original.

I suspect the numbers may be inaccurate.  I knew the builder (Rich Worthington) and his primary retailer (Ed Selig, Silver Strings Music).  If that production number is accurate, I've played fully half of them.  One, a parlor size acoustic was just meh, the dreadnought that followed was outstanding. The doublecut LP type he built for Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon) was just alive.  A nearly complete Explorer type he handed me in his shop...no opinion.  As I recall, he was priced pretty high, but I was a lowly, broke intern at the time.  So my perception may have been skewed.  As of late, Rich has been building student classicals for a music foundation in St. Louis, which would put that number way over 20, but I suspect that those don't count.

Worthington Gary Richrath double-cut LP type

[Stike]

1 hour ago, tomteriffic said:

I suspect the numbers may be inaccurate.  I knew the builder (Rich Worthington) and his primary retailer (Ed Selig, Silver Strings Music).  If that production number is accurate, I've played fully half of them.  One, a parlor size acoustic was just meh, the dreadnought that followed was outstanding. The doublecut LP type he built for Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon) was just alive.  A nearly complete Explorer type he handed me in his shop...no opinion.  As I recall, he was priced pretty high, but I was a lowly, broke intern at the time.  So my perception may have been skewed.  As of late, Rich has been building student classicals for a music foundation in St. Louis, which would put that number way over 20, but I suspect that those don't count.

Worthington Gary Richrath double-cut LP type

Yeah, it sounds ok...

https://youtu.be/GVFgEBq0EKM

 

I didn't know anything about Worthington when I briefly played the one in the OP but it was obvious it was well made. 

 

[Eli]

Any relation?

 

 

[mirrorimij]

Very Tom Holmes like in my opinion.  Seems like a few guys were doing similar things around that time.

[tomteriffic]

2 hours ago, Eli said:

Any relation?

 

 

AIEEEE!!  🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️  Get behind me Satan!  When I lived in LA, I'd come home after a gig in the wee hours and turn on the tube to unwind.  No matter the channel, what I got was 12 minutes of bad movie and 48 minutes of Cal Worthington every hour.

 

[Biz Prof]

On 7/14/2022 at 1:44 AM, tomteriffic said:

AIEEEE!!  🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️  Get behind me Satan!  When I lived in LA, I'd come home after a gig in the wee hours and turn on the tube to unwind.  No matter the channel, what I got was 12 minutes of bad movie and 48 minutes of Cal Worthington every hour.

 

The cowboy hat really makes the guy believable. 

Right.

[tbonesullivan]

On 7/13/2022 at 12:36 PM, tomteriffic said:

I suspect the numbers may be inaccurate.  I knew the builder (Rich Worthington) and his primary retailer (Ed Selig, Silver Strings Music).  If that production number is accurate, I've played fully half of them.  One, a parlor size acoustic was just meh, the dreadnought that followed was outstanding. The doublecut LP type he built for Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon) was just alive.  A nearly complete Explorer type he handed me in his shop...no opinion.  As I recall, he was priced pretty high, but I was a lowly, broke intern at the time.  So my perception may have been skewed.  As of late, Rich has been building student classicals for a music foundation in St. Louis, which would put that number way over 20, but I suspect that those don't count.

Worthington Gary Richrath double-cut LP type

See, after reading this, I actually think the guitar is pretty awesome. Too bad that seller doesn't seem to know nearly as much about the back story of Worthington guitars.