Is Ebay Still Safe?

Ok... Harmony and Silvertone guys & gals.... (er... that would be YOU Rob).... if you don't want to buy from Hollywood Vintage Room...where do you get the Silvertone? Well... they did have a Silvertone (in black) last time I stopped by there... but the price is higher (because they check everything and you are basically buying from someone as honest as your local Pastor)... so WHERE to buy a vintage guitar... other than the higher-end stuff (that I just got swizzled on by a pirate). Is EBay still safe...? YES and NO (don't you love those answers?). As I said, I bought a 'totally original 1986 PRS with sweet switch'... that ended up being a 'totally home job that could short out with radio shack 15cent switch'....not that radio shack doesn't make nice parts!). The feedback on this schnook was high numbers, and all 100% good. He communicated well...and shipped on time too. If you shop on EBay (and I do)... they (EBay) are basically the MAYOR/ CONSTABLE of pirate-town... trying to keep everyone honest... you can guess the rest... so if you venture there... take your pistols... and don't fall asleep. Honestly though... I think Rob knows this... if the guitar you are buying is $320, and you intend on playing the heck out of it... you go into town knowing you might get a little taken. If the transaction is guaranteed through EBay (buyer protection).. THAT REALLY HELPS... to the tune of either $200 or $2000 dollars... (read their rules on that)... so that could make it all ok for the moment, if you are wary. So... my final word is... YES... trade on EBay... BUT... the seller must have enough BUYER PROTECTION offered to cover the purchase price, also they must have 100 percent positive feedback (or a reason why it isn't that makes da*n good sense... but due to bad feedback... there might not be any buyer protection now). They should also have 100 or more feedbacks for a Harmony purchase/ Silvertone/ less than $500 value purchase.. and more than 250 feedbacks for a purchase of up to $3000. THESE ARE THE HARD-AND-FAST rules I USE myself. If you are buying an EVH Frankenstrat, for $15,950.00... you WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH COVERAGE.. so ONLY buy if you can pick up in PERSON.

HONEST DEALERS

MY LIST OF HONEST DEALERS...ALL HAVE MY 10/10 RATING (I WILL ADD TO THIS AS REQUIRED):
THE MUSIC ZOO of LIttle Neck, NY
THE MUSIC GALLERY of Highland Park, IL
HOLLYWOOD VINTAGE ROOM, Hollywood, CA
THE GUITAR HANGAR of Brookfield, CT

more 'Wall of Honor' dealers soon...

Casablanca & Port Royal

Remember the movie Casablanca? Remember how anything goes, and all the naive people lose. How about the pirate city of Mos Eisley, on the planet Tatooine... where Jabba the Hutt lives... ever tried making a deal with someone like Jabba? (I want to speak fluent Jabba....like...'Cheesa. Peacha. Chr’Wanki Chewbacca’ – which apparently translates... ’At last we have the mighty Chewbacca'... in other words... I wish I could speak fluent hustler.) One more... how about Port Royal... in Jamaica... the pirate city...that sank to the bottom of the ocean in an earthquake... the 'original sin city'. Well.. some might remember those scenes... and a nice guy goes into the scene in one piece, and generally comes back out the window a few minutes later... minus his watch, his money and his shoes. Welcome to Vintage Guitar traders of america. No... I am not harsh... and not angry... just warning those who still have their watches....the number of stories I have heard (and witnessed)... including one where a 50's Telecaster was refinished... offered to me for sale as 'refinished'... only to turn up the following year as 'totally original'... and fully priced as such. Please watch out for the Jabba's...in the world of old guitars... there are more of them... than the good, honest guys (like Han Solo?).. there are also more Signor Farrari's (in Casablanca).. than there are 'Ricks'... those willing to deal in whatever they can, and con the unwary...yes... of course there are good, honest sellers out there, but any time you have a valuable, rare item on the market, expect pirates......(my Broadcaster story next)....

Rob...

My good friend Rob (and Harmony and also Silvertone lover) makes a great point: "But if i only buy new guitars, i can't buy a 65 Alamo Fiesta to go with my Alamo Futura Reverb amp...check it...

Sorry t hear about the Esquire--that sucks.
How many guitars do you have? Amps?
I'm at about 14 guitars and 7-8 amps here"

R

(I am down to 8 guitars...and one acoustic...so..er....that makes 9...and...one amp...Louis Electric KR12...with variac.) Thanks Rob..(.does an original 1985 San Dimas Randy Rhoads Jackson count as old?)....

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

Here is information to save you a lot of pain and trouble... first of all... my Country Music Friend always told me to ONLY buy new guitars (He's had a grammy... but not me...). I (up until now) did not listen. My money-in-the-bank guitar... which I got from 'Dealer X' 10 months ago, is not original. It is a '50's Esquire. The seller told me it was totally original. Period. I then took it (not being dumb) to 'Dealer Y' here in California. 'Dealer Y' is a respected guitar store here in California, that someone would trust. (It is NOT Guitar Center... they are great). 'Dealer Y' told me (after checking it out) that it was all original, and when I asked them again... er.. yep... they said it was all original... nothing unusual. Well... sent it to be sold last week... and it IS all original... but over a period of years... ... it also has two holes (NOT original) in the neck pickup route (there was a modification there at one point). Also... I am told that the pots/ capacitor/ switch date to one year. The body and neck date to about 18 months earlier. Apparently... (makes sense)... there is no way for the electronics to be made a year and a half after the body and neck (unless Leo used the neck and body for a paper weight on his desk). There is SOME allowances here (as all Fender experts know... things could be...say.. 7 months off)..Also... the patent stamp on the bridge is wrong (and should be a later one). I have heard of people who apparently can Ebay parts, and assemble original-looking old guitars and make them appear totally original...even to someone supposedly an expert.... WELL THEY CAN. What is the price difference... I don't even want to tell you... between a totally original 50's Esquire, and a 'parts guitar'. I truly thought I had it all covered... even going to a well respected store here, before accepting the guitar. Advice to the wise... only deal with people you KNOW ARE HONEST. I will be staying clear of 'Dealer X' and 'Dealer Y' (dealer Y needs glasses)... sorry I can't tell you their names... for obvious reasons. Caveat Emptor...like Mr Brady said on the Brady Bunch, when Greg Brady goes to buy his first car. ... Next Post... my original 1950 Broadcaster... that I was told was a 'parts' guitar (by an expert)... that ended up being real... and in a book to prove it (Mr Nacho Banos' book)...albeit refinished.

USA Charvel Custom Shop

I bought the USA Charvel Custom Shop San Dimas™ Relic... with Nitrocellulose Fiesta Red Paint, 21 fret neck, retro-floyd rose... all aged by Chip Ellis. It was a fairly pricy purchase at $3195.00. Here's the scoop... let me start of by saying two things... this is one of the first of these (I believe) to come off the line.. if not, certainly the first I have seen around (it's a custom job by Charvel, for the Music Zoo).. also...as an aside... Gibson is notorious for sending out Les Pauls (apparently) that still require a proper set-up, and fret attention too (rough frets)... Charvel is apparently no different. I did the usual dumb thing (after not owning a Charvel in years...) ... I started tuning my high E string...it was out of tune on my tuner... my tuner kept saying 'F...F.....F....F...' no matter which way I moved the tuner ....unlike the Randy Rhoads I just got (story later) where the guy left the nut-lock undone (like some people do, including me...)... this nut lock was screwed down... and yep..locked.... and you guessed it... 'ping'... the string popped between the nut and the tuner. I looked at all the various 'aged' screws on that wonderful retro floyd rose, and didn't remember which screw to loosen first. So I took it right down to Kenny at performance guitar for a lesson on the care and feeding of a floyd rose bridge (more later on that... I LOVE floyd rose bridges). Overall review on this guitar: Aging/ Color/ Finish....10/10... really cherry color and great eye-appeal. The floyd rose has been artificially aged, and now actually requires some lubrication, before it locks up for real. The minor string distance adjustments on the floyd rose are OFF (fully adjustable bridge that it is... Kenny showed me a ruler, where there was an 'F' he had put... to indicate the correct string length adjustment for a Floyd Rose bridge). Apparently, they are hard to set up unless you have lived and breathed them for years (like Kenny at Performance has... setting up and building guitars for the best of the '80's... and beyond).... In addition... some of the frets are popping up (why... I don't know). Also, the floyd rose is actually a truly retro floyd rose(yeah!)... where the trem arm doesn't pop-release from the bridge... so it stays in all the time. This is fine... but Kenny tells me that (for his metal guys in the 80's) a cut-out in the case is required, to avoid unnecessary pressure on the bar while the guitar is in the case. The bar needs to be positioned at the 2 o'clock position, and then the case shut (over the volume knob roughly) to align with the new cutout. Cost was fairly high, but not as high as a Fender Relic by a well known Masterbuilder. Overall ... I would say a really nice guitar, worth buying if you have the money, but then take it right down for a professional set-up with a good luthier. (Most manufacturers tell you that they leave the set up for the buyer/ stores to do anyway). In a few days, this guitar will be ready for any metal gig... anywhere.

Dear FCSG&M

Dear B*llocks,

I was looking at your all-fancy-like mock faux custom guitars and think you have have your head up your posterior. I do like what you say about Charvel. My Charvel was dropped off a truck on White Street in NYC.... I found it in a dumpster. I hand wired it myself, using a soldering iron and some glue. The pickup was loose so I got it to stay in with staples. I was with a punk band in the 80's and we played at the Mudd Club. My guitar sounds great, and cost me nothing. I don't understand you poncy pants who think a guitar has to be 'reliced' and cost a lot to be good. Get real and call me.

Nick

Dear Nick,

You are right. EVH made his Frankenstrat the same way... and now people are buying copies of it for $16,000. I fully respect a guitar need not be reliced or expensive to be great, and will try to include more ideas along this vein in the future.

Thanks...

FCSG&M

Famous Models

So if I buy and enjoy playing another famous musician's guitar... does that mean I'm a loser? A lot of well-known musicians will not admit entertaining thoughts of playing ANOTHER guitarists model... it does help when that other guitarist is a dead one though. Chet Atkins died in 2001... meanwhile, George Harrison in the early days of the Beatles ('63- '64) played a Chet Atkins 'Tennessean' guitar, during the British Invasion...it obviously didn't matter to him. If a guitar sounds so great you can't put it down...then the name 'don't matter'....though it might be tough to be Ronnie Wood... playing a Keith Richard's Tele....

Holy Cow...

John made a 'Holy Cow' comment re: San Dimas Relic Nitrocellulose Fiesta Red 21 Fret, Retro-fit Floyd Rose, Non-Recessed Backplate Guitar, aged by Chip Ellis at Charvel... to the effect that at $3195 that is a pricey guitar.... considering one can get a neat Harmony, Silvertone or Eastwood for much less. True. I still think it is a much better bargain than buying a run-of-the-mill Relic Fender from your local guitar store for the same money. I love the simplicity about the San Dimas, the aging... and also the Floyd Rose. No need to spend that kind of money John... REAL San Dimas Charvels are going around $900... and are slated to be the popular guitar of the next decade... the way Eric Clapton somehow knew to buy up old Fenders in the 60's... for $100 a pop. The new Charvels and Jacksons will only (for my mind)... drive interest to the older ones too....

Nash Firecaster is Here

So how does a person explain a guitar that arrives, with a label that lists the following options: "Char-broiled Alder Body, Hibachi Maple Neck". Mr Nash has truly outdone himself with this one... she plays like pure Keith (Keef)... clean crisp tele punch, just like Keith uses on "Brown Sugar". Anyone could play this guitar for half their career, and need no other. I don't know if it's because of the fire... but this guitar fits right into your hands like something you found behind the beer crates from the old days, in some old Blues Bar. The neck is just right... not too clubby. The frets look to me like med. jumbo, but I am sure Bill Nash will correct me if they aren't. The body was done by nature (Bill's fire in '06), and the neck is pure perfection... by Bill himself. I'll be saying more as I try it through different amps/ effects...meanwhile... Bill's comment in an EMail to me is also worth quoting: 'Enjoy ...and remember, it can also be used as a fireplace poker...'.