# For Guitar / Amp Fans.



## Roger (May 17, 2003)

Interesting local story, dont know if it has made the dailys yet.

A chap who lives about 2 miles from me, bought a Marshal amp from a small ad in the early 1970s. He paid over the odds for it at the time ( Â£71 I think).

Reason being...it was bought from The Jimmy Hendrix Experience.

The amp was stamped " J H Exp" and was in quite tatty shape, having been roughly repaired by the roadies in the back of a Transit after some of Jimmys " "excesses" on stage.

The present owner stuck it on Ebay where there was much interest generated. It was picked up by HTV West and shown on our local news.

I follwed the auction until it reached Â£4,600 when it was withdrawn.

In fridays local paper, the amp was currently at Marshalls for authentication where the current owner was wined and dined.

The last line in the local paper stated that offers from the US and Japan had been received of seven ( yes seven) figures!!!

Not bad for an outlay of Â£71.

Roger


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

I just hope "The Jimmy Hendrix Experience" isn't really where it came from and that they're not discovered to have been just some early tribute band to "The Jimi Hendrix Experience"
























But yes, seven figures! A nice little earner if ever there was one.


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## TimD (Feb 7, 2004)

Wow! Good story. Ironic that Jimi's middle name was Marshall!

Cheers,

Tim.


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2005)

I wonder if it is authentic, how can they tell?

Jimi Hendrix IMO is the greatest guitarist ever.

I used to go down to Jim Marshalls shop in Ealing many years ago, he was always a very approachable man.

Talking of good buys but on a lesser scale Roger, my youngest son bought a 1980's Fender Strat in VGC for Â£100 + premium from his auction house two weeks ago.

Missing the tremelo arm but a nice little buy IMO.


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

hi all

looks like your son dropped on his feet with his job neil,strats are very nice,comfortable guitars to play when set up correctly and arn't cheap to buy,i have a hofner president (1960)which is almost mint condition bought from the local bootsale for thirty quid,also a harmony sovereign (70's)bought from the same bootsale for the princely sum of fourteen quid,sounds beautiful as well (i believe harmony was the largest mass producers of guitars in america)the wife plays hell up with me as i currently have thirteen guitars and they take up a lot more space than my watches,about half of my guitars have been consigned to the the loft to pacify her indoors
















regards john.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

johnbaz said:


> hi all
> 
> looks like your son dropped on his feet with his job neil,strats are very nice,comfortable guitars to play when set up correctly and arn't cheap to buy,i have a hofner president (1960)which is almost mint condition bought from the local bootsale for thirty quid,also a harmony sovereign (70's)bought from the same bootsale for the princely sum of fourteen quid,sounds beautiful as well (i believe harmony was the largest mass producers of guitars in america)the wife plays hell up with me as i currently have thirteen guitars and they take up a lot more space than my watches,about half of my guitars have been consigned to the the loft to pacify her indoors
> 
> ...


Two great boot sale buys there John, I'm proud of you.









You are of course right, Harmony were the largest builders of guitars in the US.

I've had a lot of guitars over the years but just have a US Strat I bought new in 1989 now.

Never play at all now just completely lost interest after many years. Very strange.

My sons make up for it though, the middle one has a full size drum kit set up and the youngest jams along with him.

It's when they get to the Metallica stuff I have to shut all the doors.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

my brother just emailed me, he's just bought his 7th guitar (a 12 string acoustic Westbone I think he said), plus he has one of mine (a Tokai flyin Vee). I've got a Japanes '57 reissue Strat, which I actually took out of it's case and played on Tuesday, god my fingers are hurting! Must have been 6 months!

Also got a cheap acoustic for doing puff the magic dragon with the litl'un


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## Mrcrowley (Apr 23, 2003)

neil said:


> johnbaz said:
> 
> 
> > hi all
> ...


They play Metallica? Good show, though not on your ears............

My brother in law has a Strat. He paid about a grand second hand. So how much are they new? My Squire looks almost the same. But I know it's not the same thing. Hence why it only cost me Â£100.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

the world of guitars is just as fraught as the world of watches paul!

Depends on what quality, what maker, what vintage etc etc.

You can get very good modern US strats for around Â£500

a reasonable vintage US strat will fetch 1K plus, a very good one 5K - 10K. Then theres the Limited editions, re issues, Specials etc etc.

Strats quality sort of runs USA made, then Japanese then the others, Most squires were Mexican made I think. But a good Jap re issue or vintage will fetch more that an average USA current model.

Interesting article here the rest of the site is quite good as well.

http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000197.html


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> Talking of good buys but on a lesser scale Roger, my youngest son bought a 1980's Fender Strat in VGC for Â£100 + premium from his auction house two weeks ago


Neil,

Thats a good buy regardless of missing arm.

I bought my US Strat in 1992, and it cost me an arm + a leg!!!

I try to get 30 mins practice a day, but am still "poor" even though I've been learning since 1961 ( thanks Hank Marvin)

I am now lusting for a Telecaster!

Roger


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

hi again

neil, i gave the harmony to my eldest son cos he can make it sound a lot better than i can







he also took a shine to my blue art & lutherie,so that's living at his house also







my favourite acoustic is a mahogany simon & patrick with cedar top,he's not getting his mitts on that one









i







canadian acoustics,they're so bright (probably the cedar tops rather than spruce)

roger, i had three terms at college (guitar course) abot 120 lessons and i could play a whole lot better then than now























pg, i have a heavy padded gig bag for a vee in the loft,i was going to try and make a vee body from a big lump of mahogany and use the hardware +neck+lectrics from a hohner les paul copy,but i just never found the time,i would send you the gig bag but it would be a bugger to wrap and post
















regards john.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I've actually got a hard case for the Vee John, but thanks for the offer. The Vee is actually up for sale, can't seem to shift it, had a few bites but no one has made an offer, it's such a fantastic sound as well.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Talking of home made bodies, my brother made a telecaster style body and bought the pieces to bolt on, one hell of a job he did on it, I'll try and get some pics next time I'm round his.


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

that would be nice,thanx paul

john.


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2005)

pg tips said:


> I've actually got a hard case for the Vee John, but thanks for the offer. The Vee is actually up for sale, can't seem to shift it, had a few bites but no one has made an offer, it's such a fantastic sound as well.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The trouble with V's is that they are a bugger to play sitting down.









I almost forgot I've got an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe electro acoustic (the one with the carved leaves on the top with the multiple small sound holes) as well but it's been under the stairs so long I forgot about it.


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2005)

Roger said:


> > Talking of good buys but on a lesser scale Roger, my youngest son bought a 1980's Fender Strat in VGC for Â£100 + premium from his auction house two weeks ago
> 
> 
> Neil,
> ...


Tele's are great guitars Roger, something about their simplicity makes them so lovely to play. They were of course the first electric guitar from about 1947 if I remember correctly.

I don't know if you just have the Strat but getting a Tele opens up new vistas in playing, like a different world, different sounds, different feel.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> I don't know if you just have the Strat but getting a Tele opens up new vistas in playing


Neil

Just the Tele at the moment although I do have a 60's vintage Comodore semi-solid which sadly has a slightly warped neck...sentimental value really.

When I did get the dosh together for the Strat, I was torn in half in the shop.....Tele or Strat? Strat or Tele?...It was a dilema....but the Strat in Sunburst eventually won.

I would swap a good watch/watches for a genuine Tele.......I cannot think about a replica.

Roger


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

roger

i've got an old jap commodore semi as well (thin body) a beautiful looking guitar (sunburst) with pearloid surrounds to the pickups,selector switch and trussrod cover on the headstock and square markers on the fretboard-it's just a shame that it goes out of tune in seconds (the machines are totally crap







)

i also have an eros twelve string on which i broke a string and put it away and like neil i forgot all about it









neil,i bought a guitar from a chap on the bootsale for a fiver,i paid the chap and said i would pick it up later,on collecting it he told me that the guitar was given to his father years ago by a chap that played at the boys club which his father ran,somewhere around manchester (he told me the name of the place,but i've forgotten it) the blokes name was mike harding,relatively unknown at the time.the guy that sold me the guitar had no reason to lie as i had paid him earlier in the day,but he could have been a habitual liar i suppose









that guitar is an old russian dreadnought (poor quality) steel strung but has been modded to take nylon strings at some time.

i've just been and found the guitar it's a melodiia menges whatever that means









i've got some more in the loft but can't remember what.

regards john.


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Should have posted in this thread earlier.

I have not been playing that long and already have quite an collection
















Ibanez Destroyer,re-issue.My favourite guitar.IMO Ibanez makes guitars better than any of the US makers.Their quality is good all through the price range.

Ibanez 7 String RG1527

Les Paul Custom

I really want a twelve string next









Fender make decent axes,but I don't like them.I hate the sound of single coil pickups(surfer music







)I know they make a Humbucker Stat and tele but at that price I can buy a very nice Ibanez or Yamaha SG.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> IMO Ibanez makes guitars better than any of the US makers


What ?????

Cant believe I just read that

Most of the Ibanez that I have seen have been Fender-like copies aimed at the novice market


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Then you must be looking at some old Ibanez.

My 7 string cost me Â£750 and my destoyer Â£450.The cheap stuff under Â£200 is still better than anything twice the price.

Ibanez is the guitar to have









Their custom shop stuff is amazing.Go to Harmony central and look at the Ibanez reviews.I have played a lot of expensive stuff in shops and no way does anything US made compare to the Prestige range of Ibanez.

Stat and Gibson may have been the axe to have 10 years ago,but not anymore.I have a couple of friends that play.After playing my 7 string my one friend sold his Les Paul studio to buy the 6 string version of mine,the other keeps borrowing mine









Like watches really,people get hung up on the old brand names thinking they are still the best,but things move on


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I remember Ibanez as a 80's rock band guitar, KISS etc and for some reason girl rock bands









Just been looking at their site. Your right Alex things moved on a great leap!

I love this one!












> â€œIt took some time, several prototypes and perseverance from all corners, but the final results are excellentâ€"I love playing all of the various Ibanez PM models and am quite proud to be associated with them.â€ - Pat Metheny


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Have a look at the Paul Gilbert sig models,I want one







Nearly Â£1800









Steve Via and Joe Satriani only play Ibanzez and have sig models.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

yep just seen the Satriani sig's didn't know him and metheny played them, they are gods!


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

yep,the JS model is very nice.

I nearly bought the K7 Korn 7 string,very nice


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I've never even seen a 7 string for real, don't go in guitar shops anymore, they only laugh at me!

What are they like to play? do you forget the 7th string is there?


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Well,the ibanez is as easy to play as a 6 string.They are great for chugging riffs,power chords and real heavy stuff,you know proper guitar playing not wailing feedback and playing with your teeth






























I am not so good,but don't mind a play in a shop at all.

You should try an Ibanez


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Anyone used a Roland 303?










They are the lick


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

No









The lick


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2005)

Single coil pick ups.... surfer music, try telling that to Jimi Hendrix.









Although nothing wrong with surf music, Beach boys, Jan and Dean, Dick Dale excellent stuff.









Satriani and Vai just like noodling and their music only appeals to guitar freaks, they don't write songs.

You'll be saying you like Malmsteen next.









Virtuoso guitarists that lot may be but do they write and play songs that people will remember and still love 40 years later?

The sound is mostly in the player anyway, Clapton, Page and Beck could make anything sound great.

All the greatest music IMO was played on Fenders and Gibsons with a few Rickies thrown in, there is no moving on either a song is great or it isn't. Of course everybody has different tastes.

Possibly for that reason my two favourite bands at the moment are "The Libertines" (Les Paul Junior, Gibson 335) and "The Kings of Leon" (Selection of Gibsons)

BTW How is a 7 string guitar tuned? How do you play chords? Do they still have those locking necks and Floyd trems?


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

neil said:



> Satriani and Vai just like noodling and their music only appeals to guitar freaks, they don't write songs.
> 
> You'll be saying you like Malmsteen next.


Oi, steady on! Vai can go a bit OTT on occasion but he and Satriani certainly do write songs









I saw Malmsteen at the LA2 (before it was Mean Fiddler) a few years back. He wasn't bad at all but the best thing was his fan club - thousands of young Swedish girls as far as the eye could see


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> Then you must be looking at some old Ibanez.


I just today visited my supplier for some strings and he had no less than eight Ibanez models in the " get-you-started " section.

An Ibanez, practice amp, lead, strap and "play in a day" video all of them under Â£150.

When I talked to him about them, he told me he loved selling those package deals........" cos they will soon be back for something better", and he is an agent.

Roger


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Your right Roger, Fender do exactly the same with the squire, look in the Argos catalouge.



> Neil
> 
> Virtuoso guitarists that lot may be but do they write and play songs that people will remember and still love 40 years later?


Status Quo 3 power chords and 40 years of hits still banging away today and heard at every wedding reception in the land.

Really what you are saying Neil is you don't need talent or to be able to play to be popular, so in fact you could be playing an Encore. The listening public wouldn't know or care.


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Ibanez do sell budget guitars Rogers,but they also make a lot of high end stuff







You need to play one to believe it









I am not slating US makes.

I have a Gibson myself,very nice guitar but prefer my Ibanez,much nicer to play.

Neil,I am only kidding around,Hendrix was not half bad







Its all down to taste.I don't like Fenders.Rick make a nice axe,although they have this nasty habit of varnishing the fret board,and it makes them awakward to play IMO









Vai cannot hold a tune,but is a brilliant player,and yes he does only appeal to guitar players.

I am a very big Carlos Santana fan,love playing his early stuff,before he was endorsed by PRS he played a Yamaha SG2000,a superb axe,it was developed by Santana it has a brass plate under the bridge to give it more sustain.It will be my next purchase,found a nice used unplayed one the other day,dealer is holding it for me


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Neil,

7 string is tuned E A D G B E B.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2005)

AlexR said:


> Neil,
> 
> 7 string is tuned E A D G B E B.
> 
> ...


Thanks Alex very interesting.

I remember a Santana concert when I expected him to come out with his Les Paul and instead he used the SG2000. It sounded fantastic.

I don't remember any of his contemporaries playing one though

Mind you he has such great feel and tone you can tell him a mile off, signature of a great player.


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## AlexR (May 11, 2003)

Santana is IMO one the greats







He does play a LP paul,and also a Gibson SG.These days all he plays in Paul Reed Smith,very expensive axes.

I have an interview from 1980's,about the time he got the PRS deal,he states he loves playing the Yamaha,and hopes Paul Reed Smith does not find out









From what I have read the Yamaha is faultless,build quality is up there with high end Â£5000 PRS


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## saboter (Jan 26, 2006)

AlexR said:


> Santana is IMO one the greats
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I play custom made piece inspired by Santanas PRS ....







... looks likewise ... but sounds different of course







(and was more more more cheaper)


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## philjopa (May 18, 2005)

pg tips said:


> the world of guitars is just as fraught as the world of watches paul!
> 
> Depends on what quality, what maker, what vintage etc etc.
> 
> ...


Just seen this thread. Takes me back to when I used to have a black 1963 pre CBS strat with a rosewood neck. It cost me Â£300 when I was 18 (that's 28 years ago). Had it for about 5 years, absolutely superb to play and brilliant sound (2 100w valve tops + 2 4x12 cabs), especially in the 4th toggle switch position. I sold it on for about the same as I paid for it - 2 of the PU's had conked out, the trem had gone and all of the paint job was scratched to buggery. I needed the cash at the time. Should have kept it and restored it. Wonder what it'd be worth now - coulda probably funded a couple of nice watches?!


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