Hi new member from Australia

[plonky17]

Finally found the Forum and wished to say Hello to all.

I have been playing on and off since I was 8 and I bought my first 'real' guitar with my own money at 14 (A Gibson SG)

I live in Hunters Hill in Sydney Australia, recently retired from the NSW Police after 19 years (was injured at work) and have more time to practice at home.

Guitars? Well I have bought and sold many but I still have a 1992 Black Beauty '57 reissue that I bought new in 1992. It has the screenprinted serial number, solid mahogany, 57 Classics etc.

I just bought two (2) Honeyburst faded Standards from a guy named Larry Corsa (a great guy BTW) These are modified by Larry to be Peter Green replicas. These guitars are extraordinary and are fast becoming my favourites.

My current amp setup is a Laney Pro Drive 100 Watt Valve with 2 x 12 Celestions. I also have a Line 6 Flextone Duo (USA made). The only effects I use are a Vox Crybaby, Tube Driver (with a 12AX7 inside) and I muck around with a Theremin

Favourite guitarists? Peter Green, Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley and Tony Iommi. There are many others I like but these guys are probably my all time favourites.

My other guitars are a Fender Telecaster Blue Flower, Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop with P90's and an Epiphone Ace Frehley Les Paul with Super Dimarzios. The Epi's have all been upgraded with better hardware and are for my son for when he is older (he is now 8 but would rather play football than guitar)

Regards

Grant

 

[Belman]

Love the Standard Fadeds. Especially with those mods.

:salude

 

[plonky17]

I'been to Richmond for a holiday

Very nice little town. My ex wife and children live in Launceston (she is originally from Tas and moved back there in 2003 with the kids)

Cheers

Grant

 

[Iplay4JC]

Nice pair of fadeds plonky17 and welcome to the LPF. :welcome

 

[plonky17]

These are some of my other guitars

 

[Schtang]

Hi - I live near you. I own a unit in Balmain that I use on weekends & a house in Cheltenham (Beecroft) during the week. I work at the local university in the north district...I have 3 Gibson Les Pauls, 1 SG, 2 Fender Strats, 1 Fender Telecaster & a Yamaha Bass.

 

[Axel]

Oh, I love those Peter Green-modded Standards! Welcome to the forum.

 

[dege]

:welcome Great collection of guitars!

 

[plonky17]

I can't say enough good things about the Peter Green replicas

A guy named Larry Corsa did them for me and they are absolutely outstanding!

Both guitars are slightly different - one has the mods on the pickup, tuning bridge and knobs and the other one is the whole hog - caps, pots, pickups etc etc etc

Both really hunt down that Peter Green sound and one of them (with the bumblebee caps etc) can really get that Danny Kirwan sound on 'Like it this way' -

After my Black Beauty, these are probably the best guitars I have ever heard. My BB was actually picked for me by my friends Al (he used to own Guitar World) and Gary (he now owns Guitar Factory) from the importer (Dynamic Music). They thought it was one of the best they had ever heard and I concur with their assessment. It is truly a beautiful sounding and playing guitar.

Cheers

Grant

 

[ultra]

Is Larry Corsa a Sydney guy?

 

[stornoway38]

Welcolm Grant,

Very nice collection there!!!!!

 

[Red Baron]

Welcome Grant :salude ...be warned though, the LPF is known to empower even the strongest willed members and can/probably will change your life forever …let the GAS begin! :applaude

 

[larry_lalonde]

Nice gear, and welcome!

 

[plonky17]

Is Larry Corsa a Sydney guy?

HI

Larry Corsa is from the USA. I bought my two guitars from him. They are exceptional! He has a website called CV Guitars

Cheers

Grant

 

[ultra]

Thanks Grant. I'll check him out

 

[05hummer]

:welcome Great collection:headbange

 

[GeeJay]

:welcome to :teh forum..

 

[bgwicks]

Hi Plonky,

I am an Australian who has been in the Us a couple of years. What's the vintage guitar market like right now in Australia?

I follow Aust ebay and sometimes it seems the prices are high, or alternatively it doesn't matter how cheap a guitar is, no one is interested.

Is the vintage guitar market strong? Has the removal of import duties on US guitars like Gibson's through the 2004 free trade agreement increased the quantity of guitars in Australia or affected prices?

What guitars are in demand?

Thanks

 

[Axel]

With the tophat/inlaid-knobs configuration and the Kluson tuners, they are in replica no mans land. Put Sperzels on them! Great guitars though!

 

[Red Baron]

Hi Plonky,
Is the vintage guitar market strong? Has the removal of import duties on US guitars like Gibson's through the 2004 free trade agreement increased the quantity of guitars in Australia or affected prices?

What guitars are in demand?

Thanks

I might be able to answer your questions...

The vintage market here isn't anywhere near as strong as it is in the US - obviously because of the relatively low population and therefore the number of collectors.

I personally know about 6 serious collectors, all of whom have very nice collections of 50's Fender's and Gibson's, including a few bursts. There are also some extremely rare models here in Australia, especially 50's Strat's, such as a 1 off model built for a trade show.

Because of the high demand (world-wide) for vintage instruments, you typically don't see collectors going to the States to buy guitars now, many of the vintage guitars that were brought in to Australia over the years have made their way back to the States or to Japan, but lately collectors prefer to sell locally whenever possible to keep some of these great guitars here.

So to sum up, there is a high demand for vintage instuments here, but fewer buyers, so certain brands/types of guitars will sell before others... to give you an idea, Steve Jackson recently sold a 68 goldtop for $50k, and it wasn't on the market for long.