I got a Reeder because it was an amazing guitar. I didn't know much about the original, nor did I really care. In a way that made it better, there wasn't much hype to be lived up to. There were two in the store at the time I got this one. The other one was nice, but the flame was too much of a symetrical chevron for my taste. I suspect it was a Frehley that was re-purposed. The one I got stood out from all of the other reissues I tried. The flame and color were crazy amazing to me. The top carve is also a bit deeper than the other '17's of that time. And this one has a unique chirp to the higher end that almost mimics a French jazz horn - to my ears.