Every once in a while a guitar comes in to the shop that stops us in our tracks. Safe to say this was one of those moments. After many phone calls and correspondence with the family who inherited this guitar from their late Father, it finally arrived in store for appraisal. Upon opening the original Stone manufactured brown case we knew we had something special on our hands…
On first look, albeit a little dirty from years of storage I could see it had a beautifully figured top and that it had retained a lot of red in the sunburst finish which many will know is prone to fading due to the Analine dye used in this period. All six strings were present and fairly rusty, and the guitar was strung with a wound 3rd. There was some yellowing to the clear coat, the jack had almost pushed right through its original cream plate and the original tuner buttons had shrunk (both very common issues) but on the surface this was everything we’d have hoped to see on initial inspection, and more.
Discussions with the family revealed a rather wonderful history to this guitar. From what they can recall it was purchased new in 1959 from a shop called Barrie’s Music in Durban, South Africa. The original owner’s name was Henry Sylvester Andrews, or “Sunny” to people who knew him. A keen and accomplished musician and guitarist throughout his life Sunny would often visit his local music store to admire and demo the guitars on display. He was an ardent fan of Les Paul himself, and despite the store carrying a few Fender models at the time, it was this Les Paul Standard that really caught his eye during a visit to the store in 1959. Much time was spent thereafter gazing through the shop window at this guitar but it wasn’t until Sunny’s wife put down a deposit as a gift shortly after their wedding that year that Sunny could finally call the guitar his. He owned the guitar for the rest of his life, leaving it to his children when he sadly passed away in 2021.
Music was a huge part of Sunny’s life. Upon graduating he started his working career as a teacher of English and History. Shortly afterwards, having become aware of his musical abilities the school assigned Sunny to the music teacher role where he would take great pleasure introducing music to his pupils and imbuing a love of music to the children he taught. A few years later in 1977 he took up a position at a school for children with medical, sensory and physical special needs where he would regularly involve the children in concerts for assemblies, parent days, Christmas and Easter events with the help of his beloved Les Paul. Sunny loved music and despite being a quiet, shy character he loved performing in the Church choir and at local dance clubs as lead guitarist with his band Moonglows. It is safe to say, music was Sunny’s overwhelming passion and his Les Paul was his pride and joy.
His children recall their Father’s love for his guitar; how he treasured and took care of it over the years and how everyone in the family knew not to touch it when he wasn’t around… especially the kids! The guitar’s condition today is testament to its careful ownership over the years. Close inspection tells us Sunny never tampered, altered or modified anything on the guitar, and according to his family he wouldn’t even risk taking it to a guitar tech as he wouldn’t want it to be out of his sight and in someone else’s hands. As a result what we have here today is a completely untouched, unmolested and untampered example. I believe we were one of the first to look under the pickups and in the pot cavity given the look and feel of the screws as we were removing them as well as the dust build up and cobwebs within the cavities themselves. This is a perfect scenario for any Burst aficionado; to discover an uncirculated, untouched, one owner example with flame, colour and documented history.
The guitar only required a couple of minor tweeks to make it playable. Importantly these are non-invasive, fully reversible changes needed to preserve the original parts. The input jack has been replaced with a matching repro part (original retained in the case.) Similarly the tuners have been changed to a slightly more stable, period correct set with the originals labelled and retained in the case. Apart from this the guitar is entirely stock. The original PAF pickups are unopened/solder intact. All pots and wiring is entirely stock as are all components down to the screws and solder joints. Besides the tuners, jack plate and a restring with 10 gauge strings we’ve left the guitar entirely as it came to us in order to present it in exactly the same condition. In partnership with the family we have decided to name this burst “Sunny” in memory of its former owner.
Rarely does an uncirculated ’59 Les Paul Standard come to market these days. Even rarer a one family owned instrument with photos/provenance. Rarer that it is 100% original, untouched with original case, and rarer still that it has retained a lot of its colour over what is a stunning flame Maple top. This was one of those days that we will remember and we couldn’t be happier to offer for sale what we believe to be one of the most stunning ’59 uncirculated Bursts to surface for quite some time.
You can hear the Sunny 'Burst through our '64 Marshall JTM-45 MkII (also available soon) on Chris Buck's Friday Fretworks:
]]>The first known Fender custom colour guitar is a white 1951 ‘Nocaster’ which once belonged to Nat King Cole guitarist Oscar Moore. Also believed to be the first Fender guitar featuring gold hardware it was finished using a white paint from DuPont’s Duco range – a brand of nitrocellulose lacquer ubiquitous in the automotive industry at the time. Being relatively cheap, plentiful, and easy to obtain, DuPont’s Duco (nitrocellulose) and Lucite (acrylic) automotive paints were soon adopted by Fender as a standard choice for their bespoke finishes.
Although some well-known players owned custom colour Fender guitars in the early/mid 50s, such instruments are exceptionally rare. While being made to order on a singular basis, at that point they were ‘custom’ in the truest sense of the word. It wasn’t until 1956 when Fender began advertising custom finishes “at 5% additional cost”, but the concept/marketing didn’t really take off until 1961 when their first custom colour chart standardised a range of options for customers.
While the Stratocaster, Jazzmaster and Jaguar all featured a sunburst finish as standard, a regular Telecaster/Esquire-style blonde finish would be accounted for as a custom colour option and subject to a 5% upcharge. A further 14 DuPont custom colour options then remained, namely: Daphne Blue, Sonic Blue, Black, Sherwood Green Metallic, Foam Green, Surf Green, Fiesta Red, Dakota Red, and Shell Pink nitrocellulose/Duco, along with Lake Placid Blue Metallic, Shoreline Gold Metallic, Olympic White, Burgundy Mist Metallic, and Inca Silver Metallic acrylic/Lucite. All guitars finished in the above colours normally feature a nitrocellulose clearcoat.
Overall, Fender’s custom colours were a smashing success, although some of the options proved to be far more popular than others and the selection was reviewed on an ongoing basis. In 1963, the rarely ordered Shell Pink was supplanted by the far more numerous Candy Apple Red Metallic, and in 1965, the chart was further amended with new metallic shades which replaced six existing colours. These replacements included: Blue Ice (Daphne Blue); Firemist Gold (Shoreline Gold); Firemist Silver (Inca Silver); Charcoal Frost (Burgundy Mist); Ocean Turquoise (Sherwood Green); and Teal Green (Surf Green).]]>Unlike Fender’s inaugural “electric Spanish” guitars, the original incarnation of the Les Paul Model was not a design that endured. Les Paul’s most significant functional contribution – the combination bar bridge/trapeze tailpiece – immediately proved impractical for many guitar players and was superseded by the simplified ‘stud’ bar bridge/tailpiece in ‘53. In a strange twist, the patent number corresponding to Les’ tailpiece (2,737,842) began to appear on the underside of Gibson’s humbuckers when the “PATENT APPLIED FOR” stickers were phased out during the early 60s. ’53 was the Goldtop’s most successful year with around 2,250 guitars shipped, however, sales figures significantly dipped in ’54 and never recovered. Despite the addition of an ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece in ’55, followed by dual humbucking pickups in ’57, annual sales remained in the hundreds, signalling the end of the line for the Goldtop.
Since his arrival at Gibson in 1948, Ted McCarty’s raison d'être was to modernise the company. The post-war era was a time of rapid change, both in terms of consumer technology and popular culture, and in 1958, the bulk of what would become Gibson’s most important electric guitar concepts were unveiled. These included the “modernistic” Explorer and Flying V, double-cutaway solidbodies, and the revolutionary ES-335 semi-hollowbody. Also among these groundbreaking classics stood the revamped Les Paul Standard, resplendent in a bright Cherry Sunburst. Many years later, this legendary guitar would become known simply as the ‘Burst. Having ditched the opaque gold finish of yesteryear, the instrument’s uniquely figured carved maple top was proudly displayed. Gibson had high hopes for their new look Les Paul “Regular” (as it was referred to within the business). Alas, with an all-time low of just 434 sales in ’58, followed by 643 and 635 in ’59 and ’60 respectively, Gibson decided to close the book on their seminal solidbody. For now…
Take a look at one of those 635 Les Paul Standards from 1960 on sale here at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars:]]>The 1954 Stratocaster was Fender’s first “electric Spanish” guitar to be endowed with a sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer finish, which typically comprises of a bright Canary Yellow graduating into a Dark Salem brown outer layer. Complimented by this semi-transparent two-tone sunburst, ’54 Strats are also notable for their heavily grained ash bodies, with the occasional exception of those made from sassafras, such as Eric Johnson’s ‘Virginia’. Although it was supplanted by alder in mid-’56 (blonde guitars aside), many Strat aficionados find ash easier not only on the eye but also on the ear, perceiving it to have a broader tonal response. In addition, the ’54 Strat’s characteristically chunky neck provides greater resonant mass than the slimmer profiles of those necks produced in later years.
Look closely at the headstock of a ’54 Strat and you may notice the edges have been delicately rounded off – a unique and thoughtful touch of handiwork which, although it was abandoned by the following year, coordinates with the Stratocaster’s curvaceous figure. Together with its “synchronized tremolo”, the Strat’s “original contour body” was a major selling point – as per the headstock decals – and was developed by Leo Fender in collaboration with pro guitarists Rex Gallion and Bill Carson (Bill had previously ‘modified’ his Telecaster body with a saw!), while Freddie Tavares later assisted in refining the Strat’s final form. Such input from guitar players was crucial to Fender’s success and literally helped shape the future of the electric guitar. With a restless mind, Leo constantly sought to improve upon these historical innovations, and yet while the Stratocaster did receive an occasional tweak along the way, its ageless and ultimately versatile design is as relevant today as it was when it first appeared back in 1954.
Check out one of the earliest known Fender Stratocasters now on sale here at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars:]]>
In many ways, the Stratocaster is a guitar designed by guitarists for guitarists. It’s true that Leo Fender was more of an engineer and inventor than he was a musician, but he sought a great deal of feedback and advice from guitar players, some of whom were directly involved with the Strat’s design. Most of those musicians who were engaged with Fender in the early days were based locally in California. But by the end of the decade, the Stratocaster was a national phenomenon, having been adopted by the likes of Texan rock ‘n’ roll icon Buddy Holly who appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in December 1957 with his ’55 Strat, and Chicago blues luminary Buddy Guy who is believed to have acquired a ’58 model.
As the Stratocaster grew in popularity, Fender continuously responded to requests from musicians and dealers concerning the guitar’s design, all the while attempting to improve their newfound production methods. Some of the earliest changes occurred in 1956 when the neck profile became less rounded, taking on more of a ‘V’ shape, and the body changed from ash to alder (although ash was retained for those instruments with a transparent blonde finish). More subtle adjustments included the replacement of ‘no-line’ Kluson Deluxe tuners by the ‘single-line’ type, and the introduction of a butterfly string tree in place of the original round variety.
In 1957, the Strat’s fragile polystyrene parts began to be phased out while harder-wearing ABS plastic pickup covers and knobs were introduced. Meanwhile, the guitar’s two-tone sunburst changed appearance as Fender decided to speed up production by dipping the bodies yellow (as opposed to spraying). The classic ‘V’ profile was retained for much of ’57, although by the end of the year the neck had slimmed down into more of a ‘C’ shape. In ’58, Fender attempted to gussy up the Stratocaster’s finish by introducing a third/red layer to the sunburst. Unfortunately, however, the aniline dye they used was prone to fading in sunlight. Much like the Gibson Les Paul Standards of this period, the issue was eventually addressed in 1960, resulting in many faded examples from ’58 and ’59 appearing to have a two-tone sunburst.
The Stratocaster’s most prominent alteration to date occurred in 1959 when Fender introduced rosewood fretboards across their entire range of guitars, as per 1958’s top-of-the-line Jazzmaster. In 1962, these early flat-base ‘slab’ ‘boards changed to a rosewood veneer which became thinner the following year. Also, in ‘59, the Strat’s original white single-layer pickguard was superseded by a three-layer (white/black/white) ‘mint green’ nitrate ‘guard, lasting until 1965 when a more stable plastic was introduced. The Strat would see many more changes during the 60s and beyond, but its various guises throughout the 50s remain as appealing as ever.
One of those very early Strat’s from the Spring of ’54 is currently available right here at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars: https://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/products/1954-fender-stratocaster-sunburst
]]>It would take a series of influential British guitar heroes to discover the discontinued ‘Burst and turn people on to its charms before Gibson decided to revisit their single cutaway Les Paul design (starting in ‘68 with the dual P-90 Goldtop and dual humbucker Custom reissues). One of the earliest high-profile ‘Burst appearances occurred during The Rolling Stones’ second ’64 tour of the United States when Keith Richards appeared with his Bigsby vibrato-equipped ‘59 on The Ed Sullivan Show – a national primetime TV programme that had broken records when 73 million people tuned in to watch The Beatles perform earlier that year. Elevating the status of the ‘Burst even further with his blistering electric blues licks on John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ 1966 ‘Beano’ album, Eric Clapton then set the bar with respect to the sublime tones a Les Paul Standard was capable of producing in the right hands. Having now been seen and heard in true style, the ‘Burst finally came into its own.
Although ‘Bursts were few and far between on British soil in the 60s (and still are!) they soon became an instrument of choice among the hip blues players of the day, including a young Peter Green who was smitten after seeing Clapton perform with the Bluesbreakers in ’65. After a brief stint in the band filling Clapton’s shoes, Peter went his own way to international stardom with Fleetwood Mac in the late-60s. His legendary ’59 ‘Burst – later dubbed ‘Greeny’ – eventually found its way into the hands of his friend and protégé Gary Moore, who used it to record two of his most celebrated albums: 1990’s Still Got the Blues and the 1995 Peter Green tribute, Blues for Greeny. The same guitar is now owned by Kirk Hammett, who considers himself merely a custodian. As he recently remarked: “It’s the people’s guitar.”
Currently looking for a new custodian is this Holy Grail 1959-spec ‘Burst dating to early-1960 available right here at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars: https://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/collections/gibson-electric-guitars/products/1960-gibson-les-paul-standard-burst-0-0299
]]>1958 Gibson Les Paul Junior 3/4. One of 181 made in 58. This thing rocks. Very clean with a nice strong P90. Set up with 12s it feels solid and easy to play. Call the shop for additional info and pricing.
]]>Fender Masterbuilt Jason Smith ‘63 Stratocaster. An absolutely amazing guitar with a super authentic heavy relic 3 tone Sunburst. The original Tortoiseshell pickguard divided opinion. Curiosity got the better of us so we decided to put a period correct Art of Ageing aged green celluloid guard on it. The guitar comes with both pickguards so it’s up to the guitars future owner to decide what to use.
1973 Fender Stratocaster and 1974 Marshall Lead and Bass 50w 1964 model amp with matching 2×12 cabinet loaded with 1974 Celestion Creambacks. The Strat is easily one of the best early 70’s 3 bolt guitars we’ve had in and save from the 5 way switch it’s all there.
]]>1959 Gibson ES-175 D. Its the D that makes these guitars so versatile. From Jazz, Americana, Rock and Roll, Izzy even used one in GnR. Two 1959 PAF pickups that sound unbelievable, the guitar has had some finish work done at some point and changed tuners but also is featured as the only ‘59 to feature in Adrian Ingram’s ES-175 book. Look out for this guitar along with another couple of ES-175s in an upcoming issue of Guitarist Magazine
]]>We’ve just taken delivery of lots of new effects from Klon, Buffalo FX, BearFoot Guitar Effects, Dr Scientist, Skreddy and Analog Alien along with various new and used pedals from manufacturers like Catalinbread, Earthquaker Devices, Lovetone, Gore, Chase Bliss and Strymon.
]]>Extremely rare example, custom built at the factory with a ‘Charlie Christian’ single coil bar pickup.
Keep an eye on the website for more details and photography to follow.
]]>Super clean and original Gibson SG Junior from 1964; we are big fans of Juniors here at V’n’R and this guitar is no exception. Guitars don’t get much simpler than this, a featherweight Honduran Mahogany body and neck, single P90 pickup in the bridge, a volume and tone control and a wraparound bridge and tailpiece. Despite the simplicity a good Junior can be one of the most versatile and intuitive guitars out there. Through an amp that’s breaking up nicely they sound big, bold and punchy but will clean up to an almost acoustic like whisper. This one in particular is slightly darker sounding than other SG junior we’ve dealt with, no bad thing; if anything it sounds closer to the earlier style double cutaway Junior.
The guitar has no issues, breaks or repairs and the original tailpiece is still nice and straight and the cherry nitro finish is bright and un-faded.
The guitar comes with hangtags and a Gibson Challenge case
]]>Here’s a great Pre-CBS 1961 Fender Stratocaster. Nice slim profile, slab board neck. Body had been overpainted but has been taken back to what looks to be the original finish giving it a bit of a relic vibe. The hardware, pickups and guard are all good with traces of the Olympic white refin evident underneath. Super cool and great to play after coming back from a little fret treatment. Details on the website soon or send us an enquiry!
]]>First shipped in 1958 but officially released in 1959 the ES-335TD-SV was the flagship guitar in Gibson’s new Thinline Electro Spanish series. The ES-300 range went from the simple, functional single pickup (ES-330T) through the ES-335 and ES-345 to the top of the range ES-355 TDSV (Thinline, Double pickup, Stereo, Varitone).
Gibson shipping records show an initial ten ES-355TDs were shipped in 1958 but by the first full year of production in 1959 the number had increased to a healthy 300 total guitars shipped. Standard 1959 specs for the guitar were Cherry finish only, semi-hollow double cutaway with maple block running through the center, two humbucker pickups with independent volume and tone through a 3-way switch, stereo electronics with 6-position Varitone rotary control (mono electrics were available) and a Bigsby Vibrato (although factory stoptail examples do exist). The guitar was appointed to a high level in line with the Super 400 archtop and solidbody Les Paul Custom with a 5-piece split-diamond headstock inlay, multiple bound body with a bound neck and long tortoiseshell pickguard, an ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays and gold hardware throughout.
By the first catalog appearance of the ES-355 in the 1960 Catalog the guitar was offered as either the ES-355TD at $550.00 in Cherry or the ES-355TD-SV at $600.00 also in Cherry, with the 519 Faultless plush-lined case costing an additional $47.00. Shipping records show a total of 291 ES-355TD shipped with 174 of those being the ES-355TD-SV.
]]>Founded By Semmie Moseley in the mid-1950’s after a time working with Roger Rossmeisl at Rickenbacker Mosrite spent the early part of their production concentrating on custom, handmade guitars including double and triple neck instruments, most notably a double neck guitar for Joe Maphis. In 1963 he met Nokie Edwards of the Ventures, who liked what Semie was up to. The band struck an endorsement deal with Mosrite and The Ventures Model went into production.
Mosrite Ventures model guitars have many unique features compared to other historic American marques and Moseley was not afraid to do things differently, all Ventures Models do share some common traits, notably, a reverse-style double-cutaway body, slim neck with zero-fret and steel guide nut and low Mosrite speed frets, proprietary Mosrite vibrato and bridge, proprietary fat single-coil pickups and “The Ventures” headstock.
Due to the nature of construction the Ventures Model went through various changes during it’s original 1963-1969 production. This lovely rare blue example is from 1965 and has all the design and production traits of a guitar from that period including the unbound German carved body, bolt-on neck, small Mosrite logo, Mosrite Mosley Tremolo/tailpiece and V and T short Mosrite knobs. The serial number 3042 drops the guitar into the 65-66 range with the neck dating Dec. 1965 and a body date of Nov. 1965. Pickups are unmolested with no signs of a rewind with pot codes matching Centralab 34th week of 1965. Tuners are Pat.No double line Kluson Deluxe tuners.
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