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Where are they now...

Kris Ford

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Jan 6, 2007
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4,003
Ran across this brochure today. Gonna look good hanging in my music room.



EE_88_zpscfllhqlv.jpg
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Was just on a big Cars bender..this really hit the spot!

Thank you Elliot for some truly beautiful music.
It's a Dean fest!
RIP Benjamin Orr.:dang
 

TAC

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Jan 15, 2017
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Nugent has a thin body LP with a Byrdland scale neck, the stop tailpiece is extended down about 6" (like a trapeze tailpiece), an uncovered regular humbucker in the bridge and an EMG in the neck. Iirc, it was made in '87.

Did if you make it?
 
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Strings Jr.

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Jan 17, 2016
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Nugent has a thin body LP with a Byrdland scale neck, the stop tailpiece is extended down about 6" (like a trapeze tailpiece), an uncovered regular humbucker in the bridge and an EMG in the neck. Iirc, it was made in '87.

Did if you make it?

Sorry, didn't see anything for Uncle Ted in my records.

But while I was browsing, I saw a few of the NAMM guitars I built.
Since the Winter NAMM show ended a few days ago, I thought I would
share some of these that were shown in the early 80's. Where are they now?


  • A white V-83 with black and silver pinstripes
  • A Pearl White Explorer with a "Blue Splash"
  • and a Copper Explorer 83


NAMM-1_zps1i5c92d7.jpg
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  • Explorer 83 with a Kahler vibrola, finished in Violet and Wine.


NAMM-2_zps57v6uvxl.jpg
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  • And these Explorers that were going to a show in Dallas, early '84.


NAMM-3_zpsncfwokx3.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 

TAC

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Jan 15, 2017
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Too bad! Would have been cool if you had been the guy who made it!

"Did if you make it?" Stupid auto word/spell on my iPad. Lol.
 

Strings Jr.

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Here's a couple more of the Jim O'Connor Customs.

Where are they now?





And last but not least, who's the lucky guy that ended up with this ONE of a kind?



 
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Strife

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Mar 4, 2017
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I just stumbled onto this thread now and was happy to see this pic. I actually own Chris Hayes' old blue Spirit II XPL prototype. I'm a longtime fan of Huey Lewis and the News and snapped it up about seven years ago on eBay. Chris Hayes was even kind enough to check out the auction listing/serial numbers and confirm it was legit for me.

Would love to hear/see anything you might know about this guitar!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50281402@N08/sets/72157623938537005/

4607523363_7651b73a95_b_d.jpg


4607522813_ef36ecf6a2_z_d.jpg


I built this one on August 1st, 1985. It's a Spirit II XPL.

Sporting a gold Supertune and special pickups from Mr. Shaw,
this was a SWEET sounding guitar.

Sent this one to Chris Hayes, guitarist for Huey Lewis.

Anyone out there own one of these?



 
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DanD

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Apr 8, 2007
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Looks like you found one in the wild Strings! That's pretty cool. Hopefully more will find this thread and claim their guitars! :salude
 

jb_abides

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Apr 6, 2005
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Fantastic thread, thanks so much for your contributions! :jim

Did any lefty guitars pass thru your hands, including anything for EE? :hmm

:salude
 

Patrick Ginnaty

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Dec 15, 2001
Messages
1,498
Thanks guys!
Some say I should write a book, but who has time for that?
Much more fun sharing here on the LPF.

Here's one to close out the year.
Hope everyone has a fantastic 2017 :salude

Single P90 Customs aren't that rare nowadays,
but they were in the 80's.

This is the only one I've ever seen with the
tone control in the Rhythm Tone position.

Where is it now?


Scan_20161218_zps32hwpxdo.jpg
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I think that this is my favorite, so far. Very cool!
 

Strings Jr.

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Jan 17, 2016
Messages
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Looks like you found one in the wild Strings! That's pretty cool. Hopefully more will find this thread and claim their guitars! :salude

Actually Dan, that's not one of mine.
The "Originally Posted by Strings Jr." quote came from post #133 of this thread.

After an email correspondence with Mr. Strife, I did more research and have a theory.
The Julian date on his guitar is 014 of '85. The Julian dates for ALL the guitars I have
listed for Chris Hayes are in the 190~196 range, one of which is shown in post #15 of this thread.
However, I found this entry in my ledger.

Spirit%20II%20Proto_zpsarkhmryl.jpg
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Looks like there was more than one prototype made early in the year. One of them was sent to Chris.
Evidently, he liked it and ordered more. Here's more history on the gold one in my pic. My initials are
in the vibrola cavity. http://www.hueylewisandthenews.com/forumb/index.php?topic=5603.0
 

Strings Jr.

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Fantastic thread, thanks so much for your contributions! :jim

Did any lefty guitars pass thru your hands, including anything for EE? :hmm

:salude

Thanks, and yes, I built many lefties over the years.
LP's, SG's, 335's, even a Lucille or two.
I don't recall anything specifically for EE though.
 

DanD

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Apr 8, 2007
Messages
2,368
That top on the gold one in the link is sweet. :2cool

I'm sure one of yours will surface eventually!

Any idea of where those hand painted 'woman' guitars went? I swear I'd seen two or three of those before. The only place I could (foggily) remember would be Thoroughbred Music in Tampa. They used to carry a decent number of custom Gibson and Fender guitars. :hmm
 

Strings Jr.

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Jan 17, 2016
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For my buddy Edwin Wilson. I remember when he got hired at Gibson.
We quickly became friends because I could tell he had a real passion
for guitars, and cared about doing quality work. Sad to hear that after
30+ years of dedicated service, he is no longer with the company.

Anyone recognize this Custom from the Greg Rich era?







 
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Bloodspoint

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Jul 3, 2004
Messages
166
Fun thread! Thanks, Randy, for doing all this! Did you build any of the Les Paul Artist guitars? I have an '81 I just picked up.

Sean
 

Strings Jr.

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Fun thread! Thanks, Randy, for doing all this! Did you build any of the Les Paul Artist guitars? I have an '81 I just picked up.

Sean

Yes, I did build some of those. They were nice guitars.
I wasn't a big fan of the electronics though.

Here's one with an '81 serial number built on January 21st, 1982. #2 for the day.

Oh and look, I built a 335 Dot Prototype that day too :jim


Artist%20-%20Copy_zpsxsnt9kjj.jpg
[/IMG]
 

Bloodspoint

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Jul 3, 2004
Messages
166
Very cool! Mine is 80621524. I guess it would be a little earlier than the Artist on your list.
 

punkerg1

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Apr 4, 2017
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Oh, I loved my Leo's. Thanks for bringing them up. It gives me an excuse to look back through my ledger to check serial numbers and dates. Each time I do I find something I missed before, like "hey there's another Spotlight I missed, or there's another Korina Explorer I missed".

Your Leo WAS an early one. Built in Kalamazoo. The Nashville built Leo's started with serial number L1 0300. I built that one on December 22nd, 1982.
The highest serial number I built was L1 0461 on October 10th, 1983. So maybe safe to say around 200 were built in Nashville?? I have 48 serial numbers recorded that I built, including L1 0414 which is the only one I have listed as having an Antique Sunburst finish. Where is she now...

Thanks!

RL
Would you be responsible for my Leo #0336?
 
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