If you’re interested to know the recent installment of the V87 story, here’s the short version.
Last fall I purchased a guitar from the Tatado collection in Japan. The seller and I had a pleasant exchange and I sent him a reference to my website of vintage guitars, which he seemed to enjoy. About a month after that, I received an unsolicited email from the Japanese owner of V87 asking if I would be willing to trade a few of the vintage guitars on my website (not Ricks) for his V87. (I am guessing this was a referral from the Tatado seller.) I balked a bit at this surprise offer, trying to figure -- did I really want this very rare V87 325 Longbody Capri, what was it really worth, etc. I contacted a Tokyo dealer, Adam Tober of Expat Guitars, and asked if he would serve as intermediary for a possible deal for the V87 trade. Adam got in touch with the V87 owner, who agreed to Adam’s involvement and delivered the guitar to Adam, who took a number of photos to help me decide. In the process we also found out more about the history of V87. After reviewing the photos of V87 and considering the guitars the seller wanted in trade, I decided to pass on the trade proposal. Then V87 was put on ebay for big dollars, but ultimately no sale. I told Adam that I would reconsider a trade deal for V87. He said that was unlikely as I had passed the first time. A few weeks later Adam said the seller wanted to reopen our trade discussion. After a bit of adjusting as to the guitars I would trade, we made a deal. I shipped my non-Rick trades to Japan and received V87 in return.
Here is V87 with two of my other 1958 Ricks, a 360 and 330. It looks happy to be back in the USA after its vacation in Japan and is just a beauty to look at. It does play well (with that Kaufmann arm out of the way) and I have been playing it, though I am not a short-scale fan. This guitar has obviously been stored correctly, the hardware is pristine and the finish looks great with some minor age checking and some dings from handling.
Enjoy!
