1960's Kay Vanguard Electric Guitar

Here is another funky old guitar that was on its way to the auction block.  Now I'm not so sure as prior to listing it I spent some considerable time playing it and was having a great time doing so.  We'll see what happens.  My initial thought was that I have a few Kays with this zippo pickup and figured the sound would be redundant, but i was wrong.  This guitar has a nasty, garage rock tone(that is kind of what these cheaper old kays seem to do).  It seems to bite more and the pickup seems hotter.  It is a super lightweight guitar as the body is only like an inch thick and it is very easy and fun to play.  You see these for sale everyday on ebay, so they are far from rare.  I recently saw Guitarist/Producer John Levanthal playing one of these with a Ry Cooder setup.  He had added a gold foil pickup above the zippo pickup and may have had another below(couldn't get a good look at it).  Nonetheless, it sounded pretty cool..

1930's Oahu Acoustic Guitar

Here is another guitar that I have had for a while in hopes of resurrecting it.  Unfortunately this guitar just sold as well.  It is a 1930's Oahu that seems at one time to have been a square neck model, but a conversion attempt to a spanish style neck was done.  the conversion is not really bad, it just seems they didn't take it all the way.  The neck on this guitar will need some work for it to be a functioning instrument.  Nonetheless, as randy as the body looks, this is where the tone is!  The body save for an easily repairable crack below the bridge is solid and amazingly straight.  The tone is very cool as well.  i would have loved to have the time and money to get this old dog back into playing shape as you don't see that many of these around.  A reworked neck is going to give the buyer a very unique and somewhat rare instrument.  Adios to an old friend.

1920's/1930's Tonk Brothers Sterling Parlor Guitar

I am going to put up a couple of posts showing a couple guitars that I have up for sale right now.  I hated to have to do it, but they have been projects that have been sitting around for quite some time.  These are a couple of cool guitars that need somebody's time and money and deserved to be in the hands of someone who can tend to them.

This guitar is a Tonk Brothers Sterling Parlor Guitar from the 20's/30's.  This guitar is in incredible shape for its age.  It is all original(another incredible fact) and about the only thing it will need is probably a neck set and setup.  The guitar is playable as is, but with the neck set properly she will be a beauty.  You do not see many of these around so the lucky buyer will have a rare and funky instrument to enjoy.  Hate to let it go.

Danelectro DM-25 Guitar Amp

Here we have a Danelectro DM-25 electric guitar amp.  Really fun and great sounding amp.  This model was made in the mid sixties and is another survivor.  You don't see many of these around and after getting it I can see why. I can't imagine why anyone would want to sell it.  This is in many ways simply a smaller version of the Silvertone 1484 series.  The Dm-25 has one 12" Jensen speaker and two channels.  The first channel has two inputs and controls for volume, treble and bass.  The second channel mimics the first with the addition of controls for reverb and vibrato.  The reverb doesn't work on this model, but the vibrato effect is in fine working order. 

It is quite amazing to be able to stand right in front of an amp with a 12" speaker, crank it up and not do serious damage to your inner ear.  That is the joy of this amp.  It is not high powered but makes up for that in tone.  What a wonderful sound and vibe.  Crisp, clean, transparent tone that is clear as a bell.  It is a joy to play through.  I have experimented with very little effects, only using a little delay to get a little rockabilly going and love it.  It's a blast to play and keeps you coming back for more.  It's hard to think of a better testament for an amp or instrument than its ability to make you want to play more.

This amp most likely won't suit you if you are looking to gig with it due to the fact that it is a fairly low output amp.  In the studio it will no doubt be a secret weapon.  It just begins to break up with the volume pinned and though I would be interested to hear how it responds to a tube screamer, i think I will hold off as the Jensen speaker is original and though it sounds great could potentially be a bit frail.

I am not much of a gear head when it comes to electronics and tube lineups, so I will spare you any attempts at technical talk.  Drop me a line if you wish to know the tube configuration and I will be happy to respond.

Just like the 1484 series the head on this amp can be packed away in the back of the speaker cabinet.  What a great find!!

that is the reverb tank behind the tubes - wish it worked, but you can't have everything.