Spring cleaning – Inventory sales of guitar gear!

Spring is around the corner and it is time for a thorough cleaning of the inventory. The collection is growing and after 25 years of collecting growing out of hand. More the lack of storage room is forcing me to cut the inventory.

In the next days I shall list gear on Reverb and on my Facebook page. You can find shop tab on top of this page if you want to find my listings. I’ll post new stuff in the next weeks: Guitars, amps and pedals. Feel free to take a look or contact me if you are looking for a piece of gear. Check back regularly because I’ll list items one by one.

First one of the batch will be this Mesa Boogie Mk I King Snake. The 2014 limited run of the Carlos Santana amp. Please notice all amps are the EU voltage type unless I mention otherwise. I can ship worldwide but for practical reasons I only mentioned the EU shipping cost. International buyers can contact me and I’ll check out the best shipping price to their country.

So stay tuned, more to come soon. But let’s start off with this killer Mesa Boogie. Limited run, it is #596 of 600 worldwide. On the inside is the autograph of Randall Smith and Mr Carlos Santana himself.

Gibson Less +, …accidents will happen.

Two days to go in 2022, still time for a late Xmas present from the European Gibson Demo Shop. A 2015 Gibson Less + (plus) caught my eye, invoked a serious case of GAS and finally hit my Paypal account.

This instrument was only produced in 2015, had a thin body, coil split function on both pickups, pearloid inlays on a high grade fretboard, brass adjustable nut and the dreaded robot tuners were factory replaced with the Kluson style tuners. All housed in a real American made moulded Gibson case.

Bought on Thursday, delivered on Friday… and shipped back to Gibson on Friday. The horror, a broken neck at the headstock. Second time this happened in my 25 years collecting guitars and it feels like finding a dead puppy…

I returned it the same day to Gibson Europe. Wonder if I did the right thing? Return and go for the refund or ask for a partial refund and have it repaired? Oh well, too late now. As the Gibson employee said in the email: “too bad, life goes on…”

Happy holidays everybody!

(Is there anybody who has a Gibby Less+ for adoption?)

Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 1975

A new toy arrived at the Château PGC today! Well not exactly “new” … more like vintage. It is a well used and abused Gibson LP Deluxe from the Gibson Norlin era. I noticed the interest for these vintage instrument is on the rise. The Gibson Custom Shop issued a replica of the Mike Ness ’76 Gold Top and the 70’s Deluxe is now part of the Gibson production line. Well here is the real deal. A blast from the past, road worn and aged to beauty a 1975 Cherry Sunburst Deluxe.

Definitely not a collector’s grade guitar but i am not here to collect, these things are made to be played. It has lost the gloss and some finish but it feels great. The action is low and the rosewood on the board has this dark look and glossy dense feel you can only find on a vintage guitar. The weight of the guitar is on the heavy side. Three-piece maple top and “pancake” body. The stock mini humbuckers were replaced with vintage P-90 pickups from the same era. (just like the Mike Ness model).

Why am I writing? Gotta do some playin’…

Vintage Gear Alert: 1964 Fender Jazz Bass

Yep, I am no longer the oldest in the house! I got my hands on a L-series Fender Jazz Bass. All parts are genuine except the body got a refinish in 1966. The original owner didn’t like the sunburst and spray painted it in an electron green lacquer. Too bad, … but still an exceptional instrument!

Besides the refin it is in a good condition. I like the dark rosewood fretboard, over the years it became glossy and even like an ebony board. The first owner installed a little ‘thingy” at the back of the headstock as a replacement for the strap lock you usually can find on these old basses. I also noticed the type of capacitor used with the electronics is stamped on the back of the headstock. First time I see something like this on a vintage instrument.

It is an L-series serial number and the neck stamp reads: 7 JUNE 1964 A. The seven is code for Jazz Bass (not the day of the month) , the first number indicates what type instrument it is followed by the month and year of production. The “A” indicates it is a narrow neck (measured at the nut). “B” or “C” would be code for “Standard” or “Wide” neck.

I haven’t checked the pickups yet. Over the years the pick guard did shrink a little bit and they seem to be pretty tight around the pups. The guard is still in one piece (no chipping or cracks) and I intend to keep it that way.

I am stoked with this one. A players grade bass with a good sound and a fast playing neck. Slap it away…!