Gibson prototype guitars don't come up for sale too often, and when they do they typically attract a lot of interest from guitar dealers, players and collectors. Back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, all guitar development happened at Gibson's Kalamazoo plant (Michigan, USA). Guitars that didn't make it to production sometimes ended up in the hands of employees, were sometimes dismantled, but often ended "up in the tubes" - a storage area upstairs in the Kalamazoo plant - kept for reference. Guitars were sometimes sold on at trade shows, with the rest moved on when the Kalamazoo plant closed down in the early 1980s. The example above is an interesting guitar indeed, but before story begins, thanks must go to LaVonne Music, Minnesota for use of the pictures (and yes, it is currently for sale).
So what a guitar! A high end Gibson electric acoustic, with gold hardware throughout, bound front and back with stunning abalone and pearl inlays on an ebony fretboard and finished with Gibson's traditional sunburst nitrocellulose finish. Unusually, for a single cutaway, it has the 335-style maple center-block construction, but the most unusual feature of this instrument is it's unique dual-output circuit layout.
Gibson guitar development in the 50s and 60s CMI period was very much about wood. Experiments in construction and design lead to many of the iconic designs that are the classics of today. The Les Paul, Flying V, Explorer, ES-335TD, Firebird, etc. The story is well known. But whilst the 1950s and 60s saw the introduction of new shapes and body styles, the 1970s, or the Norlin period, were all about electronics. There were new body designs, of course, but nothing as original or enduring as the guitars mentioned previously.
Les Paul himself kicked off the decade with his low impedance recording models (the Les Paul Personal which evolved into the Les Paul Recording). These were based on many years of his own research into guitar and recording electronics. Then there was Bill Lawrence - another highly regarded guitarist who had spent decades playing with guitar design and electronics. The circuitry ideas he brought with him developed into the Gibson S-1, L-6S, and the Ripper and G-3 basses. Finally, Bob Moog, known for his development of the Moog synthesiser, developed the RD series of guitars, with their built-in compression, expansion and bright mode circuitry, first shipping in 1976. One final name to mention is Tim Shaw, though his work with Gibson is more typically associated with the very end of the decade: the Explorer 2, Flying V2 and Victory series.
Which brings us to the guitar offered for sale now. It was purchased from Gibson at a NAMM trade show in Chicago "in around 1980" by LaVonne Music, who own it to this day. It is easily date-able by the decal serial number to be from 1977. The tailpiece with it's ES Artist designation gives us a model name, unfortunately one Gibson did eventually use again, in 1979; on the active version of the ES-335, with Bob Moog's 'RD' electronics, the ES Artist.
Pete Wagener from LaVonne explains how Gibson sold him the guitar
Sometime in the early 80's Gibson invited their top 100 dealers to a special Meet and Greet at the Summer NAMM Show in Chicago. After the festivities they opened doors at the end of the room where they had table after table of 1 of a kinds, experimentals, things they started and hadn't finished, etc, and each one of them had essentially a shoebox with a slit cut in the top where you would write down your dealer number and a bid of what you were willing to pay for that instrument. The guitars that I remember getting through that process were a 1938 Specification Non-Cut Super 400 (in sunburst, they also had a blonde but I was outbid), an acoustic violin style bass (similar to the early EB0 solid bodies) that was never finished (no bridge, tailpiece nor tuners), and two ES Artists (which were experimental and technically not prototypes as they never went into production). I bid on them and got them both and at that time I was told by Gibson that they were the only two that had been made. The two that we received were identical in every specification.
The single cutaway thinline body style, with Florentine cutaway, is perhaps reminiscent of the ES-125TD, ES-175D, or even the Howard Roberts Fusion. But this guitar has numerous differences to all of these. The guitar has a long 25 1/2" scale, an all-maple body, with three-piece maple neck, center block and an ebony fretboard. And then there's the electronics... However, this guitar did evolve (eventually) into the Howard Roberts Fusion.
Older Gibson serial numbers have always been problematic as a source of dating information, however, when they moved to decal serial numbers, starting in 1975, a date code was embedded into the serial number. Typically the date code was applied separately from the serial number, and this can be shown here. The date code of 06 shown on the back of the headstock represents 1977. HOWEVER, this only tells us that the decal was applied in 1977; it gives no real information on when the guitar and electronics were assembled. In production guitars, especially those with significant shipping volumes, assembly, finishing and shipping will occur over a few months. For a prototype like this there is no way of knowing how long the development process took; when it started, or when it finished.
So who designed the electronics? And who built the guitar itself? The guitar was certainly built by Chuck Burge. Circa 1977, Chuck had just joined the new Gibson Research and Development team, alongside Bruce Bolen and Abe Wechter. They were effectively the equivalent of today's Gibson Custom Shop. In an interview (to be published) from 2008, Chuck told me a lot about this period at Gibson. He was employed as Gibson's resident artist. He designed guitars, but also inlays, motifs and hardware; he also built prototypes guitars, and batches of show models that would be demonstrated before production started en masse.
Chuck tells the story of this guitar:
Two years before I went to work for them, I was thinking why in the heck doesn't Gibson build something like a slightly larger Les Paul, arched top, f-holes, 335 construction, you know, straight Les Paul neck, 24 3/4 you know... and by the time I got in there, there were other companies already making knock offs of single cutaway type just like that. So I finally talked them into it, after I was there for a couple of years. And I built all the prototypes. And I built a narrow one like the 335, maybe slightly smaller neck. And then one that was maybe slightly bigger than 335 rim size, and then I built one that was 2 1/4" - you know whatever it ended up... that was the thickness. And we were going to call it the ES Artist, and I designed this big brass tailpiece and made a couple of them up. Early on in this thing, marketing called from Chicago and said "great - let's put a lot of gingerbread on it - let's put on F5L mandolin fingerboard inlays" so I did, I built prototypes like that. Couple weeks before the NAMM show marketing comes back and says "nah, it's too expensive, don't show it".
After this, the guitars went into storage at the Kalamazoo plant, but they were demonstrated to Howard Roberts a couple years later, and gradually evolved into the Fusion.
But what about the circuitry? It's harder to be certain about this. The pickups are not typical Gibson PAF style humbuckers. The covers are plain (no pole pieces), somewhat similar to pickups designed by Bill Lawrence in the preceding years. But Lawrence had largely finished work with Gibson by 1977. The passive design with mode switching certainly sounds more like Bill Lawrence's work than Bob Moog's, who was working on the RD series guitars at the same time.
This is clearly a very ornate guitar, with stunning gold hardware and beautifully made. Abalone and mother of pearl inlays giving it a supreme high end look. Burge went on to mix these materials (and some of the creeping vine motif) in his headstock inlay for the Les Paul 25/50.
Gibson artist Chuck Burge created numerous inlays for guitars in the mid-late 1970s. The above image shows some of his original templates he still had in his workshop in 2008. From left to right: Les Paul 25/50 headstock inlay mixing pearl and abalone with creeping vine motifs; Explorer 2 logo (below Gibson Chet Atkins signature motif; Gibson RD series 'flying f-hole'. Elements of both the 25/50 and Explorer 2 artwork can be seen in this guitar that predates both of them. The RD 'flying f-hole' also appeared on the 335-style guitar officially named ES Artist.
This is a somewhat unique guitar and an interesting part of Gibson history. The two 'identical' guitars purchased by LaVonne music appear to be the only examples that have surfaced. Could they have had a subtly different body thickness, and represent two of the original three prototype guitars built by Burge? Or were these a small batch of (unshown) show models he made after Gibson settled on a body depth? These questions will perhaps not be answered unless more examples come to light. And what about the ornamentation? Too much "gingerbread"? Or utterly cool? Would it have been a success had it been offered as a production model? If you can add anything to the story of this guitar, particularly who designed the circuitry; or if know the location of siblings with differing body depths, please comment.
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Scan of 1971 Selmer guitar catalogue showing the range of electric and acoustic guitars distributed by the company: guitars by Gibson, Yamaha, Selmer, Hofner and Suzuki. 1960s Selmer had always placed Hofner at the front end of their catalogues, no doubt these were the better sellers - but into the 1970s Hofner were slipping somewhat and only appear at the tail end of this publication, pride of place going to Gibson, and to a lesser extent Yamaha. In fact this is the last Selmer catalogue to include the many Hofner hollow bodies (Committee, President, Senator etc) that had defined the companies output for so many years - to be replaced in the 1972 catalogue by generic solid body 'copies' of Gibson and Fender models. A number of new Gibson models are included for the first time: the SG-100 and SG-200 six string guitars and the SB-300 and SB-400 basses.
Scan of 1968/1969 Selmer guitar catalogue (printed July 1968), showing the entire range of electric and acoustic guitars distributed by the company: guitars by Hofner, Gibson, Selmer and Giannini. Selmer were the exclusive United Kingdom distributors of Hofner and Gibson at the time, and this catalogue contains a total of 18 electric guitars, 7 bass guitars, 37 acoustics, and 2 Hawaiian guitars - all produced outside the UK and imported by Selmer, with UK prices included in guineas. This catalogue saw the (re-)introduction of the late sixties Gibson Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Standard (see page 69) and the short-lived Hofner Club 70. Other electric models include: HOFNER ELECTRICS: Committee, Verithin 66, Ambassador, President, Senator, Galaxie, HOFNER BASSES: Violin bass, Verithin bass, Senator bass, Professional bass GIBSON ELECTRICS: Barney Kessel, ES-330TD, ES-335TD, ES-345TD, ES-175D, ES-125CD, SG Standard, SG Junior, SG Special GIBSON BASSES: EB-0, EB-2, EB-3 - plus a LOT of acoustics branded Gibson, Hofner, Selmer and Giannini
Hofner Colorama was the name UK distributor Selmer gave to a series of solid and semi-solid guitars built by Hofner for distribution in the UK. The construction and specifications of the guitars varied over the period of production, but by 1961 it was a totally solid, double cutaway instrument, with a set neck, translucent cherry finish, six-in-a-row headstock, and Hofner Diamond logo pickups. Available as a single or dual pickup guitar, this sngle pickup version would have been sold in mainland Europe as the Hofner 161.
Commodore was a brand applied to a series of guitars produced in Japan at the well-respected Matsumoku plant from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s - and sold primarily (perhaps exclusively?) in the United Kingdom. The models bearing the Commodore name were all guitars available from different distributors with different branding. Although there may have been some minor changes in appointments (specifically headstock branding) most had the same basic bodies, hardware and construction. Equivalent models to the Commodore N25 (and this is by no means an exhaustive list) include the Aria 5102T, Conrad 5102T(?), Electra 2221, Lyle 5102T, Ventura V-1001, Univox Coily - and most famously the Epiphone 5102T / Epiphone EA-250.
The Hofner Colorama was the name given by Selmer to a series of solid (and semi-solid) body Hofner guitars distributed in the United Kingdom between 1958 and 1965. The Colorama name actually applied to some quite different guitars over the period, but in 1960 it was a very light, semi-solid, set necked guitar with one (Colorama I) or two (Colorama II, as seen here) Toaster pickups. Although an entry-level guitar, it was very well-built, and a fine playing guitar; certainly a step up (at least in terms of craftsmanship) from many of the Colorama guitars that would follow, and a good deal of the guitars available in Britain circa 1960.
By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.
Production of Bill Lawrence's Gibson Marauder began in 1974, with production peaking in 1978. But by 1980 the model was officially discontinued, though very small numbers slipped out as late as spring 1981. Over 7000 examples shipped between 1974 and 1979, and although no totals are available for 1980 and 1981, it is unlikely production reached three figures in either of these years. These final Marauders were all assembled at the Gibson Nashville plant, and had some nice features not available through the later years of production, such as a rosewood fretboard, and in this case, an opaque 'Devil Red' finish. It's a great looking and fine playing guitar!
When Epiphone production moved from Kalamazoo to the Matsumoku plant in Japan, a whole new range of electric, flattop and classic acoustic guitars was launched. Between late 1970 and 1972 the new models were launched and refined. This 'folder' catalog contains various inserts released over these years detailing four electric six-strings (ET-270, ET-275, ET-278, and thinline EA-250), three bass guitars (ET-280, ET-285, and thinline EA-260), three folk/steel acoustics, four jumbo flattop acoustics, two 12-string jumbos, four classic acoustics, and a banjo.
'Gibson Specials' was part of the June 1981 pre-owners manual series, but unlike the other folders contained a mish-mash of different guitars: limited editions, test marketing and close outs. "You will find the unusual, the brand-new, and the bargain within this folder". End of line 70s guitars like the Marauder, S-1, and L-6S Custom mixed in with brand new models the The V, The Explorer and the Flying V Bass.
Rose-Morris were selling Shaftesbury-branded Rickenbacker copy instruments from the late 1960s right through the 1970s. The 3263 bass was one of the first models, (alongside the 3261 six string and 3262 twelve string) available from late 1968 until about 1974. The earliest incarnation was a set neck bass, produced very briefly in Japan. But production quickly moved to Italy. This bolt-on neck example was built by Eko, in Recanati, using the same hardware and pickups as fitted to Eko, and Vox basses built around the same time. It's certainly a fine looking bass, and not a bad player either.
This very early, and pretty rare British-built guitar is branded Hohner London. Hohner were, of course, a German company, better known for their harmonicas and accordions, but they were keenly expanding into guitars at the birth of the 1960s. This model, along with the Hohner Amazon and (particularly) the Hohner Holborn, bear some similarity with Vox guitars of the same period; furniture manufacturer Stuart Darkins constructed bodies and necks for both brands, with Fenton Weill assembling them using their hardware and pickups. These guitars do have some hardware peculiarities, and they are not the most adjustable of instruments, but they actually play very nicely, being solidly built out of some very nice woods. Check out the video on this page.
The Vox Super Ace was a mid-priced British solid body electric guitar, produced by JMI at their factory in Dartford, Kent. It was broadly modelled on the Fender Stratocaster, and a sibling model to the dual-pickup Vox Ace. Both the Ace, and Super Ace (along with several other models), were redesigned in 1963 with a new body shape, headstock style, and pickup layout - only increasing the resemblance to the aforementioned Fender. The Super Ace had a 1963 price tag of £47 5S. It's a pretty nice playing guitar with some lovely sounds - check out the videos on this page, and in the Vintage Guitar and Bass supporting members area
The Vox New Escort was Vox's version of the Fender Telecaster, at a time when American guitars were out of reach for most British musicians. It was made by JMI in England, for the British market, and unlike the majority of other models, didn't have an Italian-made equivalent. But the New Escort wasn't a slavish Fender copy, adding Vox's stylish teardrop headstock to the tele-style body, with a stop tailpiece and two Vox V2 single coil pickups. And it's a pretty substantial, and nice playing guitar, with a very comfortable neck. Check out the images, specifications, and watch a video of it in action. There is also extra content in the vintageguitarandbass supporting members area.
Catalog scan. The 1969 Fender Lovin' Care catalog consisted of 48 pages of electric guitars, basses, amplifiers, steel guitars, acoustic guitars, banjos and keyboards. Like the previous catalog, this featured the company's guitars in a variety of interesting settings around California, from the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, to the Hollywood Bowl. Several instruments were making their first appearance amongst it's pages: the Telecaster bass, Montego and LTD jazz guitars, and the Redondo acoustic. It was the final catalog appearance, however, of the Electric XII, Bass V, Duo-Sonic, Coronado I and Coronado Bass I.
The Eko Ranger series of guitars was incredibly popular in the second half of the 1960s and through the 1970s, selling in very large numbers. The Ranger Folk was 1 1/4" smaller, and 1" shallower than the Ranger VI and XII - and with a narrower waist. Not a bad guitar; a little quiet, but pretty playable. These were great value in 1973, and because they sold so many, they are easy to find and excellent value today.
The Symphonic bass was built in the UK, by Vox parent company JMI. It was the Vox equivalent to the Fender Precision bass, and was one of the most expensive Vox guitars produced. It was actually a great playing bass, rather similar to the Precision in feel and sound, but was probably just too expensive compared to an actual Fender and consequently sold poorly. When Vox hit financial problems in 1968, unsold guitars and basses were passed on to Dallas Arbiter, who briefly sold the excess Symphonic bass stock as model 4537. This bass, although with a neck date of February 1966, was most likely one of the unsold Vox guitars sold on by Dallas Arbiter. Check out the bass, and the two video demos through 1960s Ampeg and WEM amplifiers.
The 1968 Shaftesbury 'Electric Guitars' catalog was just four pages long, and contained four guitar models: the six string Barney Kessel-style 3264; and three Rickenbacker-styled semi-acoustic models: the six-string 3261, the twelve string 3262 and the 3263 bass. Shaftesbury was the house-brand of major UK distributor Rose-Morris, and seems to have been launched as a response to the company's loss of it's distribution deal with Rickenbacker. The guitars were mid-priced, and built in (initially) Japan, and later Italy, by Eko
1970 Rose-Morris catalog, dated April 1970. It featured 6 electric guitars, 32 acoustic guitars, 3 basses and 1 steel guitar. It contains the following instruments, over 20 pages: Electric guitars: Shaftesbury 3261, 3262, 3264, 3265, 3400; Top Twenty 1970; Bass: Shaftesbury 3263, 3266; Top Twenty 1971; Acoustic guitars: Eko Rio Bravo, Rio Bravo 12, Ranchero, Ranchero 12, Colorado, Ranger, Ranger Folk, Ranger 12; Aria 1674, 1675, 1676, 1679, 1680, 1695, 'John Pearse' Jumbo, 'John Pearse' Folk; Rose-Morris 15-11, Kansas, Georgian, Florida; Suzuki 1663, 1664, 1665, 3054, 3055, 3060; Tatay 1713, 1714, 1715; Peerless 3052; Steel guitar: Aria 3425
The sixteen-page 1971 Rose-Morris catalog featured electric guitars by Rose-Morris' own brand, Shaftesbury, and budget brand Top Twenty; aswell as acoustics by Eko, Aria, and for the first time Ovation. The catalog contains the following instruments: Electric guitars: Shaftesbury 3261, 3264, 3265, 3400, 3402; Top Twenty 1970; Bass: Shaftesbury 3263, 3266; Top Twenty 1971; Acoustic guitars: Ovation: Balladeer, 12 String, Glen Campbell, Glen Campbell 12 string; Eko Rio Bravo, Rio Bravo 12, Ranger, Ranger Folk, Ranger 12, Colorado, Ranchero, Ranchero 12, Studio 'L'; Rose-Morris Florida; Aria 'John Pearse' Jumbo, 'John Pearse' Folk
A detailed look at an early 1970s Fender Precision bass guitar in custom black finish, with rosewood fretboard. 1972 list price, $307.50. The Fender Precision had been shipping since at least very early 1952 - with just one re-design circa 1957. This example, then, shows a model already two decades old, but barely changed since the '57 revamp. Fender got it right first time around, and although there are numerous minor cosmetic differences, the essence of this bass is effectively the same as it was in '52: a simple, single pickup instrument with a GREAT sound. Check out the demo video through an old Ampeg B15. It's no wonder this is the bass that everybody wants!
The Vox Stroller was the brand's entry level electric solid body guitar, fitted with just one pickup and a fixed tailpiece. Although aimed at student guitarists, it wasn't a terrible instrument, but did lack somewhat in adjustability, having no accessible truss rod and only a floating rosewood bridge. But this example is actually quite an improvement on earlier versions, with a standard 1/4" jack and a solid mahogany body. 1967 price £18 2s. JMI ceased UK guitar production in late '67, and combined with decreasing demand for the Stroller, this surely must be one of the last examples shipped.
A nice example of the Vox Clubman II bass, built by JMI in Dartford, Kent in 1963. This is a lightweight bass, short (30") scale and very easy to play. It is an early example, and as such has a thin black scratchplate and side mounted, coaxial output jack. JMI offered left handed examples of their solid body Vox guitars and basses at 10% premium. Production numbers are unclear, but left-handed examples rarely come up for sale
Not to be confused with the Gibson ES Artist launched by Gibson in 1979; this ES Artist was an early model designed by the Gibson research and development team in Kalamazoo in 1977, the instruments themselves constructed by Gibson artist Chuck Burge. It was planned for launch as a high end semi acoustic with 335-style construction (central maple block) and innovative circuitry - but was pulled at the last minute, being deemed too expensive. Apparently, several examples were produced with varying specifications, though exactly how many actually left the Kalamazoo plant is unclear. Certainly two guitars were sold to LaVonne Music by Gibson in around 1980. Read more about the development of this guitar, with details from Chuck Burge and the story of it's sale to LaVonne music
The Hofner Committee was a truly beautiful guitar produced in Germany, primarily for the UK market. It was a large bodied (initially 17 1/2") guitar with a carved spruce top, available as an acoustic or electric guitar. By the early sixties the carved top was replaced with a laminate, and although still a very fine guitar, the earlier carved top examples, with frondose headstock (like the example shown here) are far more highly prized amongst musicians and vintage guitar collectors.
The Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean, or model 6119 was Gretsch's best selling hollow body of the 1960s. This wonderfully faded example from 1965 was originally Dark Cherry Red, but has turned a mid-orange brown. The original color, however, can be seen underneath the pickup surrounds. 1965 specs: maple body, two-piece neck, Brazilian rosewood fretboard and Hi-Lo 'Tron single coil pickups. Nickel plated Gretsch Bigsby tailpiece.
The 1965 Gretsch catalog, or catalog #32, featured 10 hollow body electric guitars, including the newly launched Gretsch Viking; four solid body electrics, including the Astro Jet - making it's only catalog appearance; just one bass, the single pickup PX6070; nine acoustics and 12 tube amplifiers. Pride of place went to the Chet Atkins Country Gentleman that adorned both the front and back covers. 24 pages, six of which are in full color.
Loose frets are especially problematic in certain old guitars, but are generally very easy to fix. You'll be amazed at the difference you can make with just a few tools, a bit of knowledge, and a little time. Fixing loose frets can eliminate fret buzz, remove sharp fret ends, and greatly improve the tone of any guitar. If your luthier bill will be greater than the value of your guitar, definitely time to have a go yourself!
Hagstrom guitars were distributed in the mid-1960s United States by Merson of USA. This eight page 'worlds fastest playing neck' catalog, printed in two-colors contained six solid body electrics, three solid body basses, two electric acoustic guitars, two electric acoustic basses and five acoustics.
The President was produced by Hofner in Bubenreuth, Germany, specifically for Selmer, who distributed the brand in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other commonwealth nations. The President was a hollow body electric acoustic, available as a full body or thinline, and with blonde or brunette finish. It was a great playing guitar that sold fairly well in the second half of the 1950s, throughout the 1960s, and into the very early 1970s. The example shown here is a full-body depth guitar in blonde - and as a 1965 guitar, one of the last to feature the rounded Venetian cutaway. From late 1965 until 1972, the President sported a sharp Florentine cut. Naturally, such an electric acoustic suggests jazz and blues, but many of the original British Hofner President players were part of the rock 'n roll, skiffle and beat scenes of the late 50s and early 60s.
"The Choice of Professional and Student Musicians Everywhere" This eight page catalogue was included as an insert in the 1963 annual "school music" issue of Downbeat magazine (September 1963). As well as keyboards and pedal steels, this catalog contains seven guitars, three basses and ten amplifiers - from student guitars such as the Musicmaster and Duotone to professional models like the new Jaguar.
