This site is for collectors of rare and fine guitars. Would love to hear what you have.
Created by a former Billboard magazine music writer. If you see something you like and want to buy, let me know.
Fender at one point quit making the Squier Jazz Bass, then they started again. I bought this around 1997. I thought a bass guitar was like a guitar. It may as well be a tuba for the difference.
I’ve played it about 5 times. I have tried to sell it for $225, including gig bag. It’s like the relative who comes and stays and stays and you can’t get rid of it. I’d love to sell this instrument. The body is royal or navy blue, almost black. Photos make instrument looked damaged, but that is light reflection.
The story behind this guitar is the Fender Ensenada plant burned in 1994. Fender was forced to assemble something like 78 Squier Strats in its Corona, USA, plant. Parts was parts. Whatever was laying around was used on the guitars.
This Squier distinctly has the Made in USA label. Pickguard does not lay flat. I was the one to paint it and pickup covers. Neck is good. Add to the fact that it is one of a handful of Squier’s made in USA, it was signed by Gin Blossoms’ Robin Wilson and Scotty Johnson at Long Wong’s in Tempe, where the band got their start, in 2002.
Long Wong’s is long gone, destroyed by some developer. It is now a vacant lot. There’s almost voodoo with this guitar.
One of several guitars hand-made from parts. When I purchased the neck on Ebay, the seller said it was the best neck ever. That seller wasn’t kidding. I prefer maple necks, but this is wonderful. As good as any Corona-made.
I’ve had a picture of a Fender Strat on my wall for years. Ironically, this body matches it perfectly. You can see by light reflection how polished the finish is.
You’ll notice there are no guitar strap buttons. Oh well.
Now, let’s get into the meat of this. At the bridge there is a DiMarzio super distortion. Great pickup. Can’t knock Larry’s products. Full-bodied sound to punch through other band members noise. Yet, each pickup is unique.
In the middle is a Fender Lace Red. Crystal clear humbucker sound. I’d love to try the noiseless, but not on this guitar.
At the neck is a Fender Tele Tex-Mex. Don’t ask me where it came from. To quote an old TV ad, parts is parts. It is louder than the Fender Lace and has that Texas twang. Great for blues.
To sum it up, bottom pickup rock, middle clear or jazz, top blues. Guitar Electronics did the inside wiring. Pull the bottom volume and it makes the DiMarzio single pickup plus a combination of other sounds I’ve yet to figure out which pickup is which.
What I have found is you’ve got three guitars in one, but mixing the pickups is like mixing oil and water – it doesn’t work.
I’ve considered offers of $800 for this, but think of what a custom Strat would cost! I would be willing to part with this.
One of the most unusual and rare of all guitars made. A 24-fret Epiphone guitar made from late ‘90s to very beginning of 21st Century. I’d love comments on production years for those who know, especially Gibson employees who could tell stories about this, and the Gibson double-cutaway, which is the same guitar at three to five times the price.
OBL pickups with distortion sound. I did not know until 2009, after nearly 10 years of having mine, that you can pull the tone knob and have single-rail, or Stratocaster, sound. I have a rare Ibanez RG 570 that plays two single rails, but has two humbuckers (can not be played at the same time as you can with Del Rey). Pulling the pot up on the Del Rey gives the Ibanez sound and I still have 24-frets like the RG 570. Wonderful.
What makes the Del Rey special is its finish. It has white binding, mahogany body, 24-fret rosewood fretboard with dot inlay, and a spectacular flame maple top. You can see by some of the photos how it reflects light, especially stage lights.
I’ve had this up on Ebay several times, but no one would pay the $500 I have in it. Since I found out about the push/pull feature, it has become one of my most used guitars. If anyone wants to donate a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul case, I don’t have a case for this beauty.
