Sun May 06, 2012 10:34 am
Sun May 06, 2012 1:00 pm
Sun May 06, 2012 8:36 pm
Mon May 07, 2012 5:08 am
Mon May 07, 2012 8:58 pm
zapcosongs wrote: It had been done, generally speaking, before - and more than once.
Mon May 07, 2012 9:30 pm
KenC wrote:zapcosongs wrote: It had been done, generally speaking, before - and more than once.
I must not have come across the way I intended. I didn't mean to suggest that the Bluesboy was the first HB equipped tele-style guitar. I'm just saying that if this guitar was around in 1993, then it wouldn't have been the prototype for the limited or production runs of the Bluesboy. It sounds like it's definitely an early exploration of this configuration by G&L, and could be the first HB equipped ASAT Classic that was built. It would just be separated in time from the Bluesboy product line.
Ken
Wed May 09, 2012 7:02 am
Wed May 09, 2012 2:07 pm
Hi Craig
Gabe is far more of an authority than I on proto type G&L's and his friendship with Dale is much like what I had with George.
That said I have seen several over the years (I'm viewing the pics on an iPhone which never replaces in person) and the Schaller pickup looks period correct to me. I've not seen a cracked body like that (or what looks like a crack) which would reduce value $500 on it at retail. the case is not original of course. not sure on the wiring -- nor the neck from what I see.
I was under the impression that serial numbered guitars would be in the book so that concerns me.
But I have seen several variations of guitars that were given to musicians by Dale and came from his lab that when visiting Leo would say "go ahead and take it."
Regards,
Tim
Hello Craig/Tim,
This guitar was first brought to my attention many years ago...I had all but forgotten about it until February of this year when the seller (Harry Spila) was directed towards me to see if I could help identify it. He sent me a bunch of pictures and I reviewed them.
The guitar has all the typical features common to many pre-BBE prototypical instruments. The non center-joined 2-piece soft maple body in sanding sealer is very typical. The Schaller humbucker is period correct as G&L bought a huge inventory of them from Helmut Schaller for the Superstrat line and they continued to use them through the remainder of the pre-BBE era. The date on the pickup is Junuary 1985...that's what you always find, something in between 1984 and 1986 on pre-BBE guitars. On the surface it seems like it very well could be a prototype, however, the part about getting it from Dale in 1993 seems a bit more than sketchy. First, the serial number is not in the log book. Now there are other prototypes that managed to escape the log book, however, those were never meant to be sold and Dale was never charged for them...they were built by Leo & George and they slipped out of the factory unnoticed or were given to a musician/employee. If Dale had it in his possession, that means that G&L Musical Sales had to have it in the books because Dale would have had to have paid G&L Musical Instruments for it and he would never do that unless, it was invoiced and if it was invoiced, it would have to be in the book. So the serial number not being in the book is troubling in this case.
The next problem is the manner in which the pickup was installed. You can see that the body was routed later in the game and you can also see that the route was clearly performed after the body was in sanding sealer. You can also see evidence of the original neck pickup spring bores which would never have been drilled if the body was intended for a humbucker. You can also see that the route is not consistent with a factory routing template humbucker route of the pre-BBE era and you can tell that it was not performed on one of the pin routers at the factory. The hacking of the pickguard is totally non-factory like...they had a fully equipped metal shop and would have modified the pickguard properly when it was bare aluminum, then would have sent it out for the electrostatic enamel paint job.
More problems...
The tuning machines are not original factory installed Sperzels. The Sperzel tuners used on G&L's in the pre-BBE era were unique to G&L...they were specially built by Sperzel and are not the same as what were sold to the general aftermarket. I had him remove a tuner and sure enough, you could see the original pin locating hole consistent with a factory Schaller G&L tuner of that era.
There are other small things I could point out but in the end, it doesn't really matter. In short, it is a cool old pre-BBE parts guitar. I don't know who installed the humbucker or when it was installed but it definitely didn't happen at the factory. It isn't in the log book. Did Dale sell it to the previous owner? He has no recollection of the instrument or the sale and it is not in the log book. Prototype G&L's made in the factory have plenty of hand cobbled pieces and parts but the routing always seems to have been performed professionally and before the sanding sealer was shot. This routing and pickguard modification appear to my eyes to be performed by an amateur, after the fact.
That said, the guitar is still very cool and what I told the Harry was that at a minimum, it is worth the sum of what you could sell the parts for but if you could verify the heritage, it could be worth quite a bit more. I sent him photos of the original factory hang-tags which he thought he might have. If the guitar had one, that would, without question authenticate the heritage of it though I'd still be willing to bet the humbucker was added after the guitar left the factory. He never was able to locate a hang tag so my perspective is that it is a cool old guitar that probably plays great, sounds great and looks cool...but never started life with that humbucker in the neck and therefore, it is not the predecessor to Tim's BBE era "Bluesboy". That said, I'm quite positive that legitimate ASAT Classic's with neck humbuckers and bridge single coils were built. The combinations of pickup variations in test mule instruments are bewildering and the fleet of test players of the late 80's were getting funneled many variations on each theme on a regular basis.
A cool piece...would be a fun guitar to play (you can see it has a lot of miles on it already) but not what I'd call a legitimate factory prototype.
Best Regards,
Gabe Dellevigne
Wed May 09, 2012 2:18 pm
Wed May 09, 2012 2:33 pm
Wed May 09, 2012 3:08 pm
Wed May 09, 2012 5:54 pm
Wed May 09, 2012 6:05 pm
Wed May 09, 2012 7:11 pm
wired wrote:It sounds terrific and in my opinion better then current bluesboys.
Wed May 09, 2012 10:00 pm
zapcosongs wrote:LOL! You know, Tim has a Black Belt an could kick your (and my!) ass!!!
Regarding the Bluesboy, mine is not only a lifetime keeper, but the middle position on that guitar is my very favorite of all the guitars that I own - and I have a couple ;+). This is a testament to the magical pickup combination that Tim and Mr. Duncan found, which in my opinion, helps set the Bluesboy apart from other instruments of similar configuration. - ed
http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k156/edandiz/bluesboy1/?albumview=slideshow
Thu May 10, 2012 11:56 am
zapcosongs wrote:LOL! You know, Tim has a Black Belt an could kick your (and my!) ass!
Thu May 17, 2012 9:41 am
Thu May 17, 2012 1:17 pm
Miles Smiles wrote:Zooming into that picture shows clearly it's grain and not a crack.