Guitar Info

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hailing from Czechoslovakia in the early 1970s the Jolana Basso IX (this example for sale on eBay right now) is known as a cheaply-made poorly balanced instrument. It's a short-scale bass, so add this to its already none too impressive pedigree and I think it's unlikely that you're going to get a good sound out of it. It's main attraction its craziness, and is probably one for the collectors of weird and wacky guitars such as those coming out of Eastern Europe and Russia.

The poorly-cut plate carrying the volume and tone controls on this example is not original. To see how this bass should look and to read more about it, see Cheesy Guitars (plus more about the Jolana brand).

Seeing as this bass is not entirely original and is only really of value to collectors I think that the seller is being rather optimistic with the listed Buy It Now price of US $808.00 (approximately £497.17).

G L Wilson

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guitarz.blogspot.com:

I was going to ask whether you thought that the design for this 1960s Eko solidbody was the inspiration for the Charvel/Jackson Surfcaster (see previous post) but on reflection both were probably inspired by the offset-bodied Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars.

This guitar is remarkably restrained for a 1960s-era Italian guitar. It has just a single pickup instead of the usual four, and where is all the pearloid and glitter?

The volume and tone are rollers mounted on a panel on the bass-side of the strings. I think I'd find it very weird not having the volume (I rarely touch tone controls) in the usual place on the lower bout. This guitar almost looks as if something is missing.

G L Wilson

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guitarz.blogspot.com:

I wish all eBay sellers were as honest in their opinions about the items they are selling as this guy. However, he'd never get a job in marketing with this approach.

His listing reads:

Crappy junk New Surfcaster Guitar, I hate this thing

Yes, I still have this piece of garbage. It's still new even though it's a few years old because it sucks too bad to play. So it just sits and acts ugly. Why won't someone relieve me of my burden? I hate this thing. This piece of junk was made by Jackson around '04 I think. Why they made it is anyone's guess. I'd love to interview the guy that made the decision at Jackson though. It is called a "Jackson Surfcaster" but it is just an ugly slab of wood masquerading as a Surf. It doesn't have the soundhole, neck shape, inlays, heft, sound or looks of the original surfs or the later nicer Jackson Surfs that were all made in Japan. This was made in India. While they do a lot of great things in India, making guitars, evidently, is not one of them. Jackson ruined the most beautiful guitar in the world with this monstrosity. I bought it thinking all Surfs must be great. Not So! Only the Charvels and early Jackson's made in Japan are great. This thing is bland sounding and bland looking. No tremolo or cool C tailpiece. Just lazy strings through the body. This one is an ugly metallic red. It has a small neck, but it's round, not flat like classic surfs. I don't have anything good to say about it. This thing is so ugly that even though I get 12 pictures for the price of 10 with ebay, it's not worth any more pictures. There is no other angle to try to get it to look good. If you buy it, you're going to hate it, but please, please, do buy it so I can get it out of my house. Free shipping to entice you. No returns. Once you buy it you're stuck. You're it. And I promise you my handling time will be less than a day. I'll have it out of here and on it's way to you in 20 minutes.

Thanks for looking, and happy bidding.

guitarz.blogspot.com:
I have a bit of a soft-spot for parlour guitars. Perhaps, being mainly an electric player, I just prefer something with a smaller body. I do find large body acoustics rather ungainly; it can be a struggle having to cradle this huge thing and wrap your right arm around and over the top so as to reach the strings. In contrast, parlours I have played are not only much more conveniently-sized but are ofter very pleasant players with quite a sweet tone.

The above-pictured Hamilton parlour guitar is believed to be from the early 20th Century and probably made in America. It is currently for sale on eBay and the seller claims that it "plays really well". (Yeah, well s/he would say that, I suppose, but we have no-one else's word to go on. Sometimes we just have to take someone's word. It can be a gamble, I know.)

Unsurprisingly, it is fitted with light strings. On a guitar that may be perhaps 70, 80 or more years old, you don't want to fit it with heavy strings and then watch it implode in on itself.

It's hard to say what timbers have been used in its construction as the woodwork is completely finished in black cellulose. The top of the guitar has been decorated at some point with a couple of still life oil paintings which remind me of the kind of designs that my old Nana used to have on her cake and biscuit tins when I was a young 'un.

Whereas I personally could live without the kitschy oil paintings, one feature that I really like is the pearloid-backed perspex fingerboard and headstock facing. Of course, I'm reminded of Hagstrom/Goya 60s-period electrics which had the same feature.

This is another guitar I'd be seriously tempted to bid on if I wasn't trying to be careful with my finances at the moment.

G L Wilson

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guitarz.blogspot.com:

Recently we looked at a homemade guitar with a clear Les Paul influence, and today I present you with what you could call its Stratocaster counterpart.

The guitar appears to be made from a single piece of timber, probably mahogany judging by the colouring, and whilst the maker has not got the shape correct, it's quite obvious what guitar this has been inspired by. You could say that it was an approximation of a Strat.

Interestingly, despite its Fender influences, the maker has opted to make it a through-neck and seems to have borrowed other more Gibson-esque features in the number and layout of the volume and tone controls, and the use of a tune-o-matic style bridge and tailpiece.

The seller claims that it is well-made and sounds good with a nice tone and resonation. It's not surprising because the woodwork would appear to be perfectly competent; it just appears that any plans of what a Strat should look like were in the maker's head.

The tuners that the seller mentions, with a star on the back of each, are - I believe - from a Univox guitar. I have seen similar on Univox branded Strat-a-likes.

G L Wilson

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