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Name that guitar!

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:33 pm
by Russ Gannicott
Ok then you anoraks.........name my 'avatar' guitar if you can. There, a challenge has been issued!
Russ

Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:13 pm
by Steve Smith
It's a bit small! ;) Looks like some sort of Fat Strat with a Hagstrom headstock.

Just for that, I think you should name mine, Russ

Steve

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 12:14 am
by Russ Gannicott
Ok Steve, you're close, but no cigar......you need to think more English than that I'm afraid!
As for yours.........? Well, if I was buying a guitar that was that shape (and not a vintage Ibanez) I reckon it would have to be either a Gordon Smith Graduate or GS2.
Mind you, I'm a bit odd like that!
Russ

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:06 pm
by Bob Wilson
Hi Russ
The picture is not that clear, but that headstock looks like it might be Shergold or Hayman, both great guitars. I must upload a picture of one of my lesser known guitars soon :roll: .
Best wishes
Bob

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 9:31 pm
by Roger
Hi Russ,

Looks very much like a Shergold neck to me, but I'm not sure about the body. Is it some sort of hybrid??

All the best,

Roger

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 10:58 pm
by Steve Smith
Hmm, more English, eh? Well, the Shergold\Hayman suggestions by others are probably right but, if not, the only other one I could think of would be a later model Burns.

And, no, mine isn't a GS, GS2 or an Ibanez although it was manufacturered by a Japanese company for an American company :)

Steve

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 11:10 pm
by Russ Gannicott
Ok , You're all a bit too smart!
It's a Shergold Numeteor maple/sycamore neck fitted to a swamp ash strat body. pick-ups are a couple of alnicos and a coil tapped humbucker. Owing to the short scale length the neck is set quite deep into the body. The pick-up configuration is interesting, as I've copied much of the Shergold switching which means I've got about eighteen combinations to play with! The neck pick-up is really interesting. Because of the neck being so inset, the pick-up buts up hard against the heel which gives masses more sustain than you'd get from normal positioning. If you think about it, this is the same as a lot of classic semi-acoustic jazz boxes - they had the pick-up screwed to the neck!
It is a truly outstanding guitar that amazes everyone that plays it - and most agree that the Shergold neck was one of the finest made by any maker.
Ex Shergold partner and neck specialist, Norman Holder confirmed that it was a Nu-Meteor neck, and possibly one of half a dozen factory prototypes from the early eighties. I like to think it would be the kind of guitar Shergold would be making now if they were still around.
Here's a pic;
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102 ... ergold.jpg
Russ
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 11:17 pm
by Russ Gannicott
Ok Steve.....how about a Hamer then?
Russ

Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 1:16 am
by Steve Smith
Nope, not a Hamer either :)

OK I'll put you out of your misery. It's a 1979 Washburn Falcon. The upper middle price model of the Wing series, it was made by Matsumoku, the company also resposible for Aria & Aria Pro II guitars, The also did Vantage & some Epiphone gutars. Matsumokwas producing from early 1970s to 1987

Pictures of the wing series can be found here:
http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/wing/wing.html

The Falcon is an arch toppped solid body guitar with a 5 piece laminated transmit (through body) neck, brass nut & bridge pieces, ebony fingerboard and two high output naked humbckers (said to be DiMarzios) and it weighs a TON!! It is also very badly balanced (neck heavy) so you have to wear a wide leather strap to keep it from rotating on you.

However, the neck is superb and the heavy body gives it incredible sustain.

I've had it from new :)

Steve