A Brief History of ESP Guitars
Written by vintage on March 15, 2009 – 2:01 am -ESP, short for Electric Sound Products, started as a shop in Japan by Hisatake Shibuya in 1975. At first they just sold replacement parts for the guitar but in 1976 they started making guitars. These products were only found in Japan until the 80s when the replacement parts found their way to the U.S. The company was pretty much obscure in the United States until 1983 when these replacement parts line was introduced. Then in 84 and 85 ESP began creating custom guitars for certain artists such as Bruce Kulick of KISS, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, and Vernon Reid of Living Color. In 1986 George Lynch discovered the shop in Japan while searching for a replacement guitar part. The end result of this encounter was his Kamikaze model. The Kamikaze... more
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A Brief History of Epiphone Acoustic Guitars
Written by vintage on March 15, 2009 – 1:55 am -Epiphone had its true beginnings in Greece where Anastasios Stathopoulos started out by making traditional stringed instruments such as violins, lutes, mandolins, and a Greek instrument called the lioutos. The family then moved to Smyrna in Asia Minor but later fled to New York due to persecution. After moving to New York, Anastasios son, Epi Stathopoulos, inherited the family instrument making business. During the early years of Epi s running of the business, the company was called the House of Stathopoulos. But, Epi changed it from that to Epiphone. He filed for the change in advance, but it did not become official until 1928. The new company was named for Epi, the owner, and phonos, the Greek word for sound. At this point, it was called the... more
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Eric Clapton Stratocaster “Blackie” Becomes Most Expensive Guitar Sold at Auction
Written by vintage on March 9, 2009 – 11:15 pm -by TOM WATSON June 25, 2004 Eric Clapton's prized Stratocaster, "Blackie", brought $959,500 in the Christie's Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Auction, becoming the most expensive guitar ever to have been sold at auction. Stevie Ray Vaughan's Stratocaster, "Lenny" received the second highest price ever paid for a Fender Stratocaster at auction, fetching $623,500. A new world record was also set for the sale of a Gibson guitar - Clapton's 1964 red Gibson ES-335 brought $847,500. Guitar Center, Inc., was the buyer of Blackie, Lenny, and Clapton's 1964 red Gibson ES-335. Christie's representatives describe the event: In a thundering two-hour sale, carried by waves of fierce bidding and outbursts of devotional excitement, many Eric Clapton fans saw... more
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A RARE ERIC CLAPTON HAND PLAYED Martin 12 String D 12-20 Guitar is FOR SALE
Written by vintage on March 9, 2009 – 9:47 pm -A RARE ERIC CLAPTON HAND PLAYED STUDIO & INTERNATIONALLY TOURED "LET IT GROW" BEAUTIFUL MARTIN 12 STRING D 12-20 GUITAR THIS GUITAR INCLUDES AN ERIC CLAPTON AUTHORIZED LETTER OF AUTHENTICITY, APPROVED & HAND SIGNED BY ERIC CLAPTON & YVONNE ELLIMAN ON 1/22/09. If your are interested in this rare valuable guitar you can bid on it ON THIS SITE Read More →
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The Fender Jaguar
Written by vintage on March 2, 2009 – 4:50 am -The Fender Jaguar was first released in 1962. It was based very much on the Jazzmaster, another Fender guitar first made in the late 50s. The majority of vintage Jaguars are sunburst. Other "custom colors" are more rare. Apparently, a 5% premium was charged for these paint jobs (including candy apple red and olympic white, which are perhaps the most common colors after sunburst). Taking the extra charge for custom colors into account, it's little wonder that most 60's Jaguars we see are sunburst, because they were obviously the cheapest to buy, and at this time, the Jaguar was the most expensive Fender guitar available. Sunburst was available with non-matching headstock only. Olympic white was available with or without matching headstock.... more
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