Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
Moderator: jingle_jangle
Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
Just saw this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251084211251
...and wondered if maybe Roger could have made it at Fender. The German carve, gold guard and banjoline-ish features strike a chord.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251084211251
...and wondered if maybe Roger could have made it at Fender. The German carve, gold guard and banjoline-ish features strike a chord.
Great Ramp In My Opinion.
Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
Well, I'll agree on the weird part...
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
- jingle_jangle
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
I had the same vibe. Mahogany, German carve, strange pickup choice and Fender acoustic headstock all are possible clues.
Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
Cool Paul, glad I'm no seeing things! The seller says they are selling for the original owners family. Maybe they would have some idea who the employee was that built it?jingle_jangle wrote:I had the same vibe. Mahogany, German carve, strange pickup choice and Fender acoustic headstock all are possible clues.
Another clue is the dark strip in the neck. Doesn't appear to be a truss related skunk stripe as it's too skinny and goes through the headstock portion as well. Also, the double binding!
Great Ramp In My Opinion.
Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
I'd rock it.
All I wanna do is rock!
- sloop_john_b
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
A stand up electric plucked dulcimer?
Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
As far as I can tell the dates potentially fit -- my understanding is that Rossmeisl started working at Fender in 1963 and returned to Germany at some point in the 1970s before his death in 1979. I've seen one source saying he left the US in the early 1970s and another saying it was the late 1970s, and have no idea which is correct. But it's at least possible that he was still at Fender at some point in the 1970s, which is when the seller says this was made.
The resemblance between the body shapes of this and a 5002V58 is striking, and when you add the German carve I'd say you've got a pretty strong circumstantial case.
The resemblance between the body shapes of this and a 5002V58 is striking, and when you add the German carve I'd say you've got a pretty strong circumstantial case.
Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
This reminds me that in reading the Richard Smith book about Rickenbacker, there is very little in it about Roger Rossmeisl; when in fact it seems that he is responsible for most of Rickenbacker's designs:
http://www.vintageguitar.com/1939/rossmeisl-guitars/
'For the next eight years, Roger was largely responsible for the design of the majority of the Rickenbacker guitar product line.'
This is a strange omission, like leaving Leo Fender out of a Fender book.
http://www.vintageguitar.com/1939/rossmeisl-guitars/
'For the next eight years, Roger was largely responsible for the design of the majority of the Rickenbacker guitar product line.'
This is a strange omission, like leaving Leo Fender out of a Fender book.
Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo
Rickenbacker 4003s/5 White
Mesa Rectoverb Head
Mesa Standard Rectifier 4x12 cabinet
Mesa Rocket 44 Combo amp
Rickenbacker 4003s/5 White
Mesa Rectoverb Head
Mesa Standard Rectifier 4x12 cabinet
Mesa Rocket 44 Combo amp
- sangandongo
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
Actually, the skunk is truss related. The truss in this is not "Fender" because it has a bolt rather than a screw tip. Whilst the neck would have been small enough for a single Ric sized truss nut, this one is actually a bit larger and uses a Gibson sized truss adjustment nut. Not sure weather A Fender screw would have worked, but the hole is definitely wide enough.egosheep wrote:Cool Paul, glad I'm no seeing things! The seller says they are selling for the original owners family. Maybe they would have some idea who the employee was that built it?jingle_jangle wrote:I had the same vibe. Mahogany, German carve, strange pickup choice and Fender acoustic headstock all are possible clues.
Another clue is the dark strip in the neck. Doesn't appear to be a truss related skunk stripe as it's too skinny and goes through the headstock portion as well. Also, the double binding!
I wish I had more on Rossmeisl's work. The link to VG archive link is broken. There's ZERO marking inside the cavity areas, but there's no doubt that this was made by a proper C&C machine. I cannot get the back plate off, it's settled down into the nitro so well that I'm afraid it'll crack the finish. Someone with good forensic skill might even be able to prove something more substantial, like, from what type of machine - but that's just silly.
Here are some more detailed pictures. They're not great, used a phone. I left my DSLR camera at my girlfriend's bar, so I couldn't take the quality shots I wanted.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1077826298 ... 87gw96V7AE#
- sangandongo
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
And here is some of the the raw evidence I've compiled so far. Be sure to check out the photos.
http://dumb.org/instruments-and-amplifiers/banjoline/
http://dumb.org/instruments-and-amplifiers/banjoline/
- paologregorio
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
It was made by some heroin-using imitator(heroin was big in the 70s, right?); Rossmeisl would never carve anything in that ugly of a silhouette; it looks like a swollen gingerbread Christmas tree cookie. . .
There is no reason to ever be bored.
...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...
"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...
"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
- sangandongo
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
So we should ignore the silhouette of the Ric 5002?paologregorio wrote:It was made by some heroin-using imitator(heroin was big in the 70s, right?); Rossmeisl would never carve anything in that ugly of a silhouette; it looks like a swollen gingerbread Christmas tree cookie. . .
- paologregorio
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Re: Weird German carved Fender one-off... Rossmeisl connection?
I do; it's too small.sangandongo wrote:So we should ignore the silhouette of the Ric 5002?paologregorio wrote:It was made by some heroin-using imitator(heroin was big in the 70s, right?); Rossmeisl would never carve anything in that ugly of a silhouette; it looks like a swollen gingerbread Christmas tree cookie. . .
There is no reason to ever be bored.
...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...
"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...
"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."