Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I think the claim is that Rory's guitar was exactly the same as George's (maple neck resonet), so I dont think we can tell much by looking at the old pix... right?

http://meatexz.com/cheesyguitars/resonet_gracioso.html

As we see, the later rosewood neck guitar doesn't have the same "resonet" logo above the high frets. I think its pretty clear that George only ever played one like the guitar on the left. But did he bust his up on the 1st Hamburg tour and then borrow an identical fresh one from Rory?

My vote is yes, sounds true to me.

Any way you slice it, George has said that the Futurama "was a dog to play".

Kent, just check out the Jurgen Vollmer photos from spring of '61 at The Top Ten Club. George is playing his Graziozo Resonet with maple neck. The Rory Futurama story is quite simply, ********.

Yea, I guess we've busted Rory for showing a bogus guitar. I agree that there are only pix of George playing an early model maple necked... never a rosewood.

But could the basic story still be true? Maybe Rory did lend George an EXACT copy like legend has it .... but is now trying to cash in on the story with a bogus guitar?

We definitely need to get to the bottom of this.... we are, after all, professionals. Is anyone still in contact with Rory?

Yes clearly the Jurgen Vollmer pix from the Top Ten Club show the maple model.



I think one of these must be true:

A) the whole story is bogus and George only ever played one Resonet.

B) Rory did lend George a guitar exactly the same as George's original and is now falsely claiming that a different guitar (rosewood model) is that guitar.

.... I'm no Inspector Clouseau, but I dont see any other options.

Personally, I think it was just the maple-necked one. That's the only one discussed in Beatles-Gear and it's the one that was given away in a drawing, as one of George's guitars. The current owner, the editor of the publication that was giving it away, said that he wanted to keep it, offered the winner some cash, and still has the guitar now (as of Beatles-Gear's publishing). If George did play a second one, it's probably like that Gretsch Jet Firebird that he's pictured with in Beatles-Gear and that it was a one-off occasion that he needed a loner for. There is such a passion for knowing all of their guitars from beginning to end that I would think that provenance to the story could be easily provided if it was there. Since it isn't, I'm inclined to think that the story about the second Futurama is just that, a story.

Good point ... but if it's "just a story", then it is also a deliberate lie on Rory Best's part.

George with 325 from HELP! --it look good on him!

Some interesting pix in this YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJiQZ44mwb0

The Hessy's receipt from 1960 for George's Graziozo shows the serial number. The guitar in London is George's old Graziozo as the serial number matches. There was only one George Graziozo Futurama.