ANOTHER "GUITARS R US" ANOMALY...

[jingle_jangle]

You may recall the debate last year, over how many Greenburst late '60s Ricks were ex-factory, and how many were resprayed by "Guitars R Us" in Hollywood for resale in the dim, dark past.

Here's another oddity that passed through the same shop, and somehow received some unique mods (making it a one-of-a-kind collectible) that are purported to be ex-factory by the current sellers, who are prepared to issue a "Certificate of Authenticity" to the new owner.

The guitar in question is a '62 Fender Bass VI with a maple-capped neck with black block inlays. Everything on the guitar is true '62 except the neck and the polyurethane clearcoat refinish. Seller claims that this was done by the Fender factory back in '69, based upon what they were told by someone formerly affiliated with Guitars R Us.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0727629754

The coincidence of factory one-offs claimed by sellers is something to be pointed out. Opinions?

[Clint]

As I recall, the green guitar debate got quite heated, did it not?

[electrofaro]

Unless the seller can show paper proof it actually is a one off by official factory I'm rather sceptical.

[elreydlp]

The Southern California guitar and amp makers are notorious for making one-offs and oddballs that slip through the cracks. When I was collecting MusicMan amps, I was in contact with several ex-employees as well as Paul Bechtoldt-an expert on MusicMan and G & L. I came across a very small 2 X 10 closed-back speaker cab with 2 8-ohm 10" EV's wired in series. The construction and hardware were "right", but there was no record of it, and no one remembered ever seeing it. One day, I showed it to my buddy Steve Soest who not only remembered it-it was his! He had made it for himself when he worked there. I've also had several G & L "oddball" guitars pass through my hands.

[antipodean]

Checking the neck out, it looks legit - and kind of cool... even though I'm not a big fan of bound maple fretboards or black block inlays....

[johnhall]

The construction and hardware were "right", but there was no record of it, and no one remembered ever seeing it. One day, I showed it to my buddy Steve Soest who not only remembered it-it was his! He had made it for himself when he worked there.

Steve's certainly a straight-shooter but you really have to wonder why some "employee instruments" have no records and/or are unknown to the manufacturer.

[jingle_jangle]

The actual "collector value" of an item such as this, of course, is limited by the excitement it generates in the mind of a buyer. If a potential buyer can be convinced that instruments such as the ones in question are the genuine factory article, the instrument becomes a part of the history of the brand, and has higher perceived value than an ex-factory effort, regardless of how well it's done and how honestly it's presented. The exception would be a counterfeit item of great notoriety, the cachet of which would add value in the eyes of some potential buyers, and it only takes one party to pull the trigger.

In these cases, the only reliable provenance is written proof from the factory. Everything else is heresay.

[jingle_jangle]

Checking the neck out, it looks legit - and kind of cool... even though I'm not a big fan of bound maple fretboards or black block inlays....

Fender necks are very easy to duplicate; so are the bodies. The whole interchangeable bolt-together thing can be a nightmare in cases like this.

[elreydlp]

The construction and hardware were "right", but there was no record of it, and no one remembered ever seeing it. One day, I showed it to my buddy Steve Soest who not only remembered it-it was his! He had made it for himself when he worked there.

Steve's certainly a straight-shooter but you really have to wonder why some "employee instruments" have no records and/or are unknown to the manufacturer.

Steve's the best. I was fortunate to meet him early-on when I got into collecting. Saved me a lot of grief. I should have added that he said he paid for it.
In this case, it was near the end of MusicMan. I've heard several Fender "back door" stories as well, but none from Rickenbacker. Congratulations!

[antipodean]

Checking the neck out, it looks legit - and kind of cool... even though I'm not a big fan of bound maple fretboards or black block inlays....

Fender necks are very easy to duplicate; so are the bodies. The whole interchangeable bolt-together thing can be a nightmare in cases like this.

True, but my logic is that if you're going to fake something, you would probably fake a '62 rosewood slab board neck rather than a bizarre '69 one-off maple-cap job... Those late '60s decals with all the patent numbers are also things you don't see faked very often. If this is a fake it is a very good one, and someone has gone to an extraordinary amount of time and trouble to fake something very odd-ball, which is rather unusual.

Thinking it is authentic doesn't mean I think it's particularly valuable - it's a refinished loaded '62 bass vi body (and the refin is a standard colour) with a '69 neck. This is hardly the formula for a huge price tag....