Thinline double cutaway with rounded horns. This forty-eight year old 15 1/2 inch-wide guitar ex Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and then Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) weighs just 7.30 lbs. Double-bound laminated maple body with black painted f-holes with white borders. Two-piece maple neck with ebony center-strip, a nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches,  a medium-to-thick profile and a standard Chet Atkins scale length of 24 1/2 inches. Ebony fretboard with 22 frets plus zero fret and neo-classic inlaid pearl thumbprint (half-moon) position markers. Black faced headstock with inlaid pearl Gretsch "T-roof" logo and rectangular brass plate secured by four pins and engraved "Chet Atkins / Nashville / Model". Bell-shaped two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover with three screws. The serial number "271292" is stamped in black on the back of the headstock. Individual closed-back Grover USA tuners with oval metal buttons. Two patent-number Filter'Tron pickups with gold plastic surrounds and outputs of 4.20k and 4.32k. Gold Lucite pickguard with pantograph-engraved Gretsch "T-roof" logo and "Chet Atkins" signature and "Nashville" in black. Two volume controls (one for each pickup) plus a three-way stand-by switch on the lower treble bout, one master volume control on the upper treble bout, plus two three-way selector switches (one pickup selector and one tone selector) on the upper bass bout. The potentiometers are stamped "137 663X" (CTS, July-September 1966). String damper with the original? white felt pad. Gretsch "Arrow-through-G" knobs with cross-hatch pattern on sides. Aluminium Gretsch 'Bar-bridge on height-adjustable ebony base and aluminium V-cutout B-6 Bigsby ("Gretsch by Bigsby") vibrato tailpiece with pivoting arm. Original black vinyl pad with gold trim and eight push-button fasteners on the back of the guitar covering the original Gretsch cream plastic control cover with only two (of eight) screws. All hardware gold-plated. Housed in the original Gretsch five-latch, two-tone gray, shaped (well worn) hardshell case with burgundy padded felt lining (7.50).

This guitar was owned by Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum. Dan used it on several of their recordings. Dan purchased the guitar from Jeff Tweedy of Wilco (sometime before 1996) - Jeff used the guitar extensively on stage - he can be seen on Youtube playing the guitar in a 1996 Chicago Wilco concert at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJSM9yfrW_0  Interestingly, the guitar has an original matching 'gold-sparkle' leather strap...

This is the only 'gold-sparkle' Gretsch 6120 that we have ever seen. We are aware of a 1967 6120 in factory black as shown on page 154 of Ed Ball's wonderful book on the Gretsch 6120. The million dollar question on our guitar is - was this the original color of the guitar? We do know by the aforementioned video that the guitar had its Gold Sparkle finish back in 1996!

We purchased the guitar from Willie's American Guitars in St. Paul, MN. They were told by the previous owner (Dan Murphy) that the guitar was "a very rare factory-original custom color - gold sparkle". As always we are super cautious about 'factory custom colors' and we have taken the guitar completely apart (as always) to verify its authenticity. Our findings are as follows:

1. Under UV light the finish looks to be original - there is a clear distinction where the body has been 'covered' by the hardware - i.e. the pad on the back of the guitar, the Bigsby tailpiece etc.
2. We believe that the tuners have been changed - there are additional three additional small holes which can only be seen when the tuners are removed.
3. The input jack plate has been changed - the hole has been enlarged and a square gold-plated four-screw plate has been fitted (this was most likely due to make it stronger as there is no evidence of a break in the side of the body).
4. There are orange stains on the wooden braces under the pickups - but the pickup wiring and solder-joints are all original. Also there are signs of orange stain under the gold finish on one of the back-plate screw holes. We sent detailed photographs to our good friend Ed Ball - his explanation is as follows
"There appears to be orange stain in the pickup cavities, under the holes from the back access cavity, and in the hole for the muffler pads.  Now... who's to say that Gretsch didn't decide to paint an already orange stained guitar a custom color over-top... like Fender did with some custom color Strats?  I dunno... maybe."
5. The face of the headstock is factory black and the factory serial number is stamped in black.
6. The white outlines around the black 'faux' 'f' holes are not as finely executed as usual...

In conclusion we believe that the 'usual 6120' orange stain had been applied to the body before the gold sparkle finish was applied and that to fulfill a 'special custom order' - the guitar left the factory in 1967 as a 'gold-sparkle'. However it is also possible that the Gold Sparkle finish was applied at a later date but if so it would most certainly have been done at the Gretsch factory and it would have been not long after 1967. Whatever the story this is a great playing, great sounding guitar with a very good provenance (at least for the past twenty odd years)...

"In 1962 a profound change occurred in the Model 6120 Chet Atkins Hollowbody: the company introduced its Electrontone hollowbody design, a two-inch-deep, 15 1/2 inch-wide (not 16" as the catalog noted) double cutaway body with replica, not real, f-holes painted on the guitar. So, the Model had been converted from a true f-hole, single cutaway, hollow guitar to a simulated f-hole, double cutaway, semi-hollow instrument" (Jay Scott, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, p. 83).

Single Venetian (round) cutaway. This super rare Hofner 'Golden-Style' 17 1/4 inch wide, 1 7/8 inch deep electric archtop weighs just 6.60 lbs. Two-piece book-matched, spruce top. Two-piece, book-matched, highly flamed maple back with an inaid, dark brown and cream "Fleur de Lys" purfled into the lower edge. Highly flamed maple sides. Elaborate tortoiseshell colored pearloid binding and multi-purfling to the body edge and multi-bound f-holes. Eleven-piece (two-piece highly-flamed maple with nine mahogany, maple & ebony center-strips) neck, a nut width of  1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 25 1/4 inches and a wonderful thick profile. Multi-bound, black-faced headstock with 'Lillies of the Valley' and "Hofner" inlaid in mother-of-pearl. Individual Kolb closed-back tuners with gold-plated oval with straight-sides metal buttons. Five-layer, black over white plastic, 'bell-shaped' truss-rod cover secured by three screws. Three-layer brown pearloid over white and black plastic heel-cap with original metal strap button on neck heel. Multi-bound rosewood fretboard with 'zero' and 22 original medium frets and inlaid three-piece pearl 'Bow tie' position markers, each with two inlaid white lines. Original three-layer black over white plastic nut. Specific-shaped, single-layer transparent acrylic pickguard with single-line gold border and "Hofner" engraved in gold from the underside, secured by a single bracket and screws with clear plastic washers. Two Hofner type 513 single-coil 'bar-blade' pickups on rectangular black plastic bases, with outputs of 6.80k, and 6.72k. Three controls (one volume, two tone - all on treble bout) plus three-way pickup selector switch on bass horn. Hofner white 'top-hat' control knobs with metal inserts, ribbed sides and securing 'grub' screws. Six individual metal (fret-wire) saddles on height-adjustable ebony base. Replacement Hofner vibrato tailpiece secured to side of body by two screws and the strap button. On the underside of the top, written in pencil, is the date of manufacture "14/12.67". All hardware gold-plated. This rare and highly unusual mid-sixties Hofner thinline electric was in a private collection of some twenty-three fifties and sixties guitars that we purchased earlier this year. When we received the guitar the tremolo arm was missing... We sent the guitar to Don Butler who is a renowned expert and restoration specialist of early Hofner's. He contacted the Hofner factory in Germany and managed to acquire a 'new old stock' replacement which has now been fitted. Apart from two small cracks in the acrylic pickguard, this extraordinarily beautiful, super rare guitar is in near mint (9.25) condition. Housed in a later Excelsior five-latch, shaped black hardshell case with burgundy plush lining (9.25).

The Hofner model 4700 was introduced 1966/67, perhaps initially for the US market, as a thinline version of the top-of-the-range Hofner 470 'Golden' full-bodied archtop model (1959-1963). This was rather late, considering that Hofner had been making thinline versions of the Golden Hofner and Committee models for Selmer since 1959. The 4700 was available in blonde finish only, and officially with two pickups, although three-pickup examples are known to have been also produced. The Hofner vibrato tailpiece was offered as an option. Over the years, the 4700 was subjected to many changes, some cosmetic, others rather more basic such as a change from the initially fitted 11-piece neck to finally a one piece maple neck. The enduring basic specification however was the 17" wide body, the heavily flamed maple body back & sides, and the beautiful pearloid binding and multi-purfling to the body edge. All 4700 had a "Fleur de Lys" purfled into the lower part of the body back. The 4700 was discontinued, together with the 4570 and 4577 models as being the last of the "old-style" hollow-bodied thinline archtops, in 1992.

Single cutaway solid body. This early 1957 12 3/4-inch-wide solid mahogany bodied guitar weighs just 7.60 lbs. One-piece mahogany neck with a fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a wonderful thick profile. Bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original thin frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Special" silk-screened in gold. Single-line Kluson Deluxe strip tuners with white plastic oval buttons. Serial number "7 3851" inked on in black on the back of the headstock. Two very hot P-90 pickups with outputs of 9.20k and 7.92k. Both black plastic pickup covers stamped on the underside "UC-452-B / 2". Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard with four screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout, plus three-way pickup selector switch on upper bass horn. Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. The potentiometers are stamped: "134 649" (Centralab December 1956). Original combination wrap-over bar bridge/tailpiece. There are a few small marks/indentations on the edges of the body and a small ding (just over 1/8 inch square) on the treble-side of the back of the neck, behind the second fret. There is also a small discoloration mark on the back of the neck behind the 9th fret (almost certainly due to a prolonged time on a guitar stand). With all that said, this is one of the cleanest, nicest playing, incredible sounding TV Special that we have handled, and we will still give it a (9.25) exceptionally fine rating. Housed in the original Gibson 'Lifton' four-latch, 'California Girl' shaped brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.00).

"In 1955, Gibson launched the Les Paul TV, essentially a Junior but with a finish that the company referred to variously as 'natural', 'limed oak' and (more often) 'limed mahogany'. Surviving original TV models from the 1950s reveal a number of different colours, with earlier examples tending to a rather turgid beige, while later ones are often distinctly yellow. Today there is much debate about where the model's TV name came from...One such theory says that the TV name was used because the pale colour of the finish was designed to stand out on the era's black-and-white TV screens. This seems unlikely, not least because pro players appearing on television would naturally opt for a high-end model... Others say the guitar followed the look of fashionable contemporary furniture, where the expression 'limed' was used for a particular look. Certainly Gibson promoted the Les Paul TV as being 'the latest in modern appearance'. There's also been a suggestion that 'TV' might be a less than oblique reference to the competing blond-coloured Telecaster made by Fender. But in fact the name was coined to cash in on Les Paul's regular appearances at the time on television on The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show. This was effectively a sponsored daily ad for a toothpaste company, for which the couple signed a $2 million three-year contract in 1953. Gibson reasoned that if you'd seen the man on TV, well, now you could buy his TV guitar. Following a reader's enquiry to Guitar Player in the 1970s, a Gibson spokesman confirmed that 'the Les Paul TV model was so named after Les Paul's personal Listerine show was televised in the 1950s'" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 28).

"In 1955, the original line of Les Paul models was completed with the addition of the Special, effectively a two-pickup version of the Junior, finished in the TV's beige colour (but not called a TV model -- a cause of much confusion since). The Special appeared on the company's September 1955 price list at $182.50" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 29).

1958 was the last year for the 'single-cut' TV Special. The Gibson shipping records show that out of a total of 1,647 Les Paul TV Junior and Special models made between 1955 and 1958.

Single cutaway solid body. This very beautiful and unusual early 1960 Les Paul Standard re-issue weighs just 9.00 lbs. Solid mahogany body with a 'natural' book-matched carved maple top. One-piece mahogany neck, with a perfect nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a really comfortable thin-to-medium 1960 neck profile which measures just 0.80 inches at the first fret and rises gently to 0.88 inches at the 12th fret. Rosewood fretboard with 22 original medium jumbo frets and inlaid pearl trapezoid position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Model" silkscreened in gold. Two layer black on white, bell-shaped plastic truss rod cover engraved in white "Standard" and secured by two screws. The back of the headstock with the serial number "93221422" and "Made in USA" stamped in blind. Individual Gibson (Kluson) Deluxe double-line tuners with single-ring tulip-shaped Keystone plastic buttons. One Gibson Burstbucker Type 2 pickup in the neck position with an output of 8.11k, and one Gibson Burstbucker Type 3 pickup in the bridge position with a really hot output of 12.66k. Both pickups are engraved on the underside  "PAT. NO. 2,737,842". Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout plus a three-way selector switch on upper bass bout. The potentiometers are stamped "137 91 43" (CTS October 1991). Gold "Speed" knobs with white numbers. Gibson [ABR-1] Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. Inside the neck pickup cavity is written "Nat" and inside the bridge pickup cavity is written "G G". This extremely rare example, with a figured natural maple top, is in near mint (9.25) condition with just a few small surface marks/indentations and a small scratch on the bass side of the neck behind the 6th fret. Housed in its original Gibson brown hardshell case with purple plush lining and silk cover (9.25).

"On the shop floor of the original Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the earliest Gibson "Patent Applied For" humbuckers were wound using imprecise machines, resulting in pickups with varying degrees of output and tone. The BurstBucker™ line of pickups represents Gibson's drive to recapture the magic of the original "Patent Applied For" humbuckers. First introduced in the early 1990s, the Gibson BurstBucker™ - Types 1, 2, and 3 - successfully captured the subtle variations of true, classic humbucker tone with historically "unmatched" bobbin windings and Alnico II magnets. They produce an airy, full tone, and when overdriven they achieve a magical distortion with the slightly enhanced highs that made the originals famous. BurstBucker™ Type 1 features a lower output, excellent for the neck position. BurstBucker™ Type 2 features medium output, and is perfect for both positions. BurstBucker™ Type 3 is overwound and hot, which is typically ideal for the bridge position. None of the BurstBuckers™ are wax potted, and all feature vintage braided two-conductor wiring. Slightly overwound, with hotter output, the BurstBucker Type 3 works well in the bridge position with a BurstBucker Type 2 in the neck position.' (Musicians Friend).

"J.T. Riboloff in the Custom Shop had found that a lot of players who asked him to build special one-off Les Pauls were requesting the slimmer-profile neck associated with the 1960 Standard. Gibson boss Henry Juszkiewicz noted the flurry of interest when the company showed an example at a NAMM trade-show and told Riboloff to start work on a production version. This appeared in 1990, called the Les Paul Classic. "One of my main things," said Riboloff, "was to try to get the stock instrument to be just as cool as the custom ones. That's really how the Les Paul Classic came about"... A year later, in 1991, the Standard Reissue was revised and split into two models, effectively the 59  and the 60. This is where the proper, modern Reissue starts. These models adopted the 'correct' details of the Classic, as well as more traditional-sounding humbuckers, as developed by Riboloff" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 105).

Single cutaway solid body. This near mint Les Paul Jimmy Page Authentic guitar weighs just 9.10 lbs. and is just like Jimmy Page's original '59 guitar. The neck is thick at the nut and at the neck heel, like a typical 1959 Les Paul, but it tapers to a super-slim depth in the middle. Solid mahogany body with a wild 'tiger-stripe' book-matched two-piece carved maple top with single-ply cream binding. One-piece mahogany neck with a nice fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches, a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a 'long tenon' neck joint. Single-bound rosewood fretboard with 22 original medium-jumbo frets, inlaid pearl trapezoid position markers, and transparent red side dot markers. Inlaid pearl "Gibson" headstock logo and "Les Paul Model" silkscreened in gold. Two-layer black on white plastic truss rod cover secured by two screws. Serial number "JPP 805" inked-on in black on the back of the headstock. Individual Grover Roto-Matic tuners with half-moon metal buttons. Original holes for Kluson Deluxe tuners beneath as per Jimmy Page's guitar. Two fantastically resonant Gibson humbucker pickups with cream-colored plastic surrounds and outputs of 8.16k and 7.99k (the bridge pickup with the rectangular black label on the underside "Patent Applied For") - the label on the neck pickup has disintegrated. The neck pickup with the original nickel cover, the bridge pickup exposed. The potentiometers are dated "0506" (February 2006). Cream-colored plastic pickguard with large 'slot-head' screw on bracket. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch and two-way coil-tapping switch on the bridge pickup tone control. Gold-plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. 'Page' style strap buttons with 'slot-head' screws. All hardware nickel-plated and aged. This JP Les Paul is in near mint (9.25) condition with just a miniscule amount of very light belt buckle scarring on the back of the body, and one small mark/indentation on the lower edge. Housed in the original Gibson custom five-latch, shaped black hardshell case with maroon plush lining (9.25).

This perfectly balanced, ideal weight Jimmy Page Gibson Custom, Art & Historic guitar serial number "JPP 805" was shipped on "7/21/06" and is complete with the original "Certificate of Authenticity", "Gibson Gold Warranty" booklet (with checklist date), various hang-tags and the original truss-rod adjustment wrench.

This guitar "replicates the unique neck shape and custom electronics of Page's favorite guitar. "Les Paul #1," as the Rock Hall of Famer calls his personal guitar, is a 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul that he bought from Joe Walsh in the early 1970's. The neck of Page's guitar is thick at the nut and at the neck heel, like a typical 1959 Les Paul, but it tapers to a super-slim depth in the middle. It was that way when Page acquired it, and he hasn't changed it. He did make two other modifications: He put a push/pull pot in the rear volume control that reverses the phase, in order to get a tone like Peter Green or B.B. King. And he replaced the tuners with sealed, gold plated Grovers to achieve the exact tuning and sensitivity of the Les Paul Custom he had been playing with Led Zeppelin". (New Gibson replicates Jimmy Page's "Les Paul #1" http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/2004/feb9a.html)

Single cutaway solid body. This 13-inch-wide, electric solid body TV Special weighs just 6.80 lbs. Solid mahogany body with translucent 'limed mahogany' finish on body and neck. One-piece mahogany neck with a nut width of 1 11/16 inches, a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a wonderful thick 'baseball-bat' profile. Single-bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original thin frets and inlaid pearl dot markers. Black-faced headstock with inlaid pearloid "Gibson" logo, and "Les Paul Special" silk-screened in gold. Two-layer black over white plastic, bell-shaped truss-rod cover with two screws. Three-in-a-line Kluson Deluxe 'single-line' 'no-name' strip tuners with oval white plastic buttons. Serial number "510996" inked-on in black on the back of the headstock. Five-layer black over white plastic pickguard with four screws. Two P-90 pickups with outputs of 7.72k and 8.11k. Black plastic pickup covers stamped on the underside "UC - 450-1 / 2". Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout and three-way pickup selector switch on upper bass side. The potentiometers are stamped "615 4190 514" (ROC, April 1955). Two original "Grey Tiger" capacitors. Black plastic barrel-shape "Speed" control knobs. Original combination wrap-over bar bridge/tailpiece with two intonation screws. There is some very fine finish checking and some minimal belt buckle rash on the back (nothing through the finish). There are a few miniscule indentations on the lower edge of the body and some very light surface marks on the edges of the headstock. The first three original thin frets show minimal playing wear but there is virtually no playing wear on the fretboard. Overall this all original fifty-nine year old Les Paul TV Special is in near mint (9.25) condition. Housed in the original Gibson 'Aligator' softshell case with brown felt lining (9.25).

"In 1955, Gibson launched the Les Paul TV, essentially a Junior but with a finish that the company referred to variously as 'natural', 'limed oak' and (more often) 'limed mahogany'. Surviving original TV models from the 1950s reveal a number of different colours, with earlier examples tending to a rather turgid beige, while later ones are often distinctly yellow. Today there is much debate about where the model's TV name came from...One such theory says that the TV name was used because the pale colour of the finish was designed to stand out on the era's black-and-white TV screens. This seems unlikely, not least because pro players appearing on television would naturally opt for a high-end model...Others say the guitar followed the look of fashionable contemporary furniture, where the expression 'limed' was used for a particular look. Certainly Gibson promoted the Les Paul TV as being 'the latest in modern appearance'. There's also been a suggestion that 'TV' might be a less than oblique reference to the competing blond-coloured Telecaster made by Fender. But in fact the name was coined to cash in on Les Paul's regular appearances at the time on television on The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show. This was effectively a sponsored daily ad for a toothpaste company, for which the couple signed a $2million three-year contract in 1953. Gibson reasoned that if you'd seen the man on TV, well, now you could buy his TV guitar. Following a reader's enquiry to Guitar Player in the 1970s, a Gibson spokesman confirmed that 'the Les Paul TV model was so named after Les Paul's personal Listerine show was televised in the 1950s'" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 28).

"In 1955, the original line of Les Paul models was completed with the addition of the Special, effectively a two-pickup version of the Junior, finished in the TV's beige colour (but not called a TV model -- a cause of much confusion since). The Special appeared on the company's Spetember 1955 pricelist at $182.50" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 29).

The Gibson shipping records show that out of a total of approximately 700 Les Paul TV Special models made between 1955 and 1958, only about 115 TV Specials were shipped in 1955.

Single cutaway solid body. This 13-inch-wide, just under 1 /14 inch-deep, electric solid body guitar weighs 7.00 lbs. Solid alder body with a two-tone gold and coral 'hammered' finish with matching headstock. On the top of the body (bass side) is the Höfner decal in gold with black trim. Two-piece maple neck with a beech center strip and a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 24 1/2 inches and a wonderful thick 'baseball-bat' profile. 'Slab' rosewood fretboard with a three-layer black over white plastic nut, a 'zero' and 22 original medium frets and inlaid 'graduated' pearl dot position markers. Headstock face with "Höfner" decal in gold with black trim. Three-in-a-line open-back strip tuners with oval white plastic buttons. Serial number "213" stamped in blind on the back of the headstock. Specific 'pear' shaped plywood pickguard with 'hammered' coral finish secured by three screws. Two Höfner single-coil, black top 'bakelite' pickups with rosewood sides and outputs of 5.89k and 6.02k. Two rotary volume controls and three two-way tone-selector slider switches mounted on the pickguard. The two 'Preh' potentiometers are stamped "518" & "169" (December 1958 and April 1959). Original Hofner 'teacup' control knobs with securing grub screws. Egmond (one-way) vibrato bridge on height-adjustable metal base and Höfner basic 'trapeze' tailpiece secured to lower edge by two pins and one screw. A few small surface marks (mainly on the edges) are all that prevent this guitar from being near mint. Conservatively, this 'uber' rare little guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition and is complete with the two original brown leather strap fasteners. Housed in the original four-latch, shaped black hardshell case with green felt lining (8.00). Unlike most of the early Höfner guitars which did not have a truss-rod, this one has a perfectly straight neck with very low action and great playability - and also a unique 'rock 'n roll' sound. This guitar was previously owned by guitarist and author Gordon Giltrap who has signed the back of the headstock in gold marker "Gordon Giltrap 94." (This actual guitar is featured with several color photographs, in the book by Giltrap and Marten. The Hofner Guitar - A History, on pp. 44/45).

This model was the first Colorama imported into the UK by Selmer. It originally started life in Germany as the Hofner Model 160 (single pickup) and Model 162 (twin pickup) which were produced for the European market from 1956 to 1960. The guitar features a "semi-solid" body, i.e it looks like a solid guitar but is really a heavily reinforced plywood box - BUT this example has a solid alder body. The very earliest examples had a "tear" shaped pickguard, with the later models (1959-60) having a more stylized shape. A square cornered version of the standard Hofner "black-bar" pickups were fitted, without the usual rotary height adjustment wheel. The controls were installed in the classic Hofner consul. Metallic finishes were the norm with this first model. The guitar featured here has a gold 'hammered' metallic finish on its front, and a coral hammered finish on the back of the body and the neck. The Selmer list price in 1959 was twenty-two guineas. (The Vintage Hofner Website).

Solid body in the shape of a Gothic Cross. This is probably the most unusual 'custom' guitar we have ever offered for sale... featuring a specially shaped 2 inch thick, 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 'Gothic Cross' body of 'ancient' mahogany with a laminated maple top. One-piece bolt-on mahogany neck with a nut width of just under 1 11/6 inches, a medium to thick profile and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Ebony fretboard with 22 original jumbo frets and rhombus shaped maple inlays with ebony circles as position markers. Gothic-shaped headstock with brass 'gothic' shaped (false) truss-rod cover with two screws. Individual Schaller M6 machine tuning heads with kidney-shaped brass buttons. The neck is secured to the body by a metal plate with six screws and two rivets. The body and neck of the guitar are finished in black with faint gold pinstripe around the body and the headstock. Three DiMarzio D Activator Humbucking pickups with brass surrounds and outputs of approximately 4.33k each. Specific brass six saddle, individually adjustable bridge and specific brass tailpiece secured to the body by ten screws. There are also three matching brass plates complementing the Gothic design, one either side of the bridge pickup and one behind the bridge. On the back of the body is a seven inch diameter brass plaque engraved with a pentogram encircling a goat's head in the center. The total length of the guitar is 41 inches. There are no controls for the electrics and the input jack is mounted on a gothic-style brass plate to the lower bass edge of the body. There are three gothic-shaped brass plates on the bass, treble and lower edges and also eight bras plates on the four 'cut-outs'. Although there are no controls, the three pickups have been wired together and this is a fully functional axe with surprising playability (apart from the action being a little on the high side) and a very full sound. This piece was built to look 'old'  and is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Housed in a black gig-bag (9.00).

"British luthier Barry Collier clearly had the occult-obsessive metal guitarist in mind when he designed this instrument. The ornate woodwork and the brass fittings found on the body have been given a deliberately crude finish that creates an almost Gothic effect. "Little is known about Collier's Rebeth brand name other than he used it on a very limited number of custom guitars produced during the early 1980's." (Terry Burrows. Guitar: A Celebration of the World's Finest Guitars. Pg. 165)

REBETH GOTHIC CROSS "Barry Collier made this in Britain in the early 1980s. It has a strong occult character (there is also a goat's head and a pentangle on the rear plaque). Deliberately crudely finished woodwork and brass hardware add to its primitive spirit." (illustrated in Tony Bacon. The Ultimate Guitar Book. p. 117.)

The pentagram or pentacle is probably the best known and used of all occult symbols and is considered to be the most potent means of conjuring benevolent spirits. The inverted pentagram, with the point of the star is downward, is used to conjure up the powers of evil. As the circle is believed to enhance the powers of a particular symbol it is usually added to the pentagram. The ordinary (point-up) pentagram is the symbol of witches, warlocks and Wiccans in general and which they call "The Great Rite," whereas the inverted (point-down) pentagram is the symbol of Satanism. The point-down pentacle is also the symbol of Masonry and the Eastern Star.

Masonic writer Manly Hall writes:

"The Pentagram is used extensively in black magic, but when so used its form always differs in one of three ways: The star may be broken at one point by not permitting the converging lines to touch; it may be inverted by having one point down and two up; or it may be distorted by having two points of varying lengths. When used in black magic, the pentagram is called the "sign of the cloven hoof" or the "footprint of the devil". The star with two points upward is also called the "Goat of Mendes" because the inverted star is the same shape as a goat's head. When the upright star turns and the upper point falls to the bottom, its signifies the fall of the Morning Star [Jesus Christ]".