'Scales Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 Never seen or heard of these before. Check out the photo of the back! :o http://guitaremporium.com.au/collections/new-arrivals/products/fender-l-t-d-1970
Pesh Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 That is quite a good looking guitar; lovely back timbers and the neck looks quite cool with that stripe. I would have thought they might have gone with a set-neck (yes, even Fender) for something like that model, but nice all the same.
kidblast Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 I've seen these before. I don't know if 20k is reality tho.
pippy Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 A pretty detailed description of the LTD was given in Ken Achard's 1977 book 'The Fender Guitar' but that's the first time I've actually seen a picture of one. Thanks for posting it, 'Scales! It was a fancy variation of Fender's Montego arch-top pairing (Montego I and Montego II - the number represents the number of pickups) which were introduced in 1969. Achard's book has a picture of the twin p'up model. From the aforementioned text; "The LTD was the hand-carved version of the Montego body styling and at the time of introduction was the most expensive commercially available guitar ever." All these guitars featured figured maple back'n'sides / spruce top / maple neck / ebony 'board. The main differences between the Montego and LTD were to be found in the choice of hardware; e.g. the LTD had a floating p'up whereas the Montegos had body-mounted units. The Montego controls were also body-mounted (ES-175 style) where the LTD has them on the 'guard...and so forth. Interestingly all the instruments in the Montego range were individually made by Rossmeisl - not just the top-of-the-pile LTD variant. Pip.
'Scales Posted September 21, 2015 Author Posted September 21, 2015 I've seen these before. I don't know if 20k is reality tho. sorry, I should have noted thats $20K Australian = $14K US / 9K GBP (just for clarity)
rct Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 A pretty detailed description of the LTD was given in Ken Achard's 1977 book 'The Fender Guitar' but that's the first time I've actually seen a picture of one. Thanks for posting it, 'Scales! It was a fancy variation of Fender's Montego arch-top pairing (Montego I and Montego II - the number represents the number of pickups) which were introduced in 1969. Achard's book has a picture of the twin p'up model. From the aforementioned text; "The LTD was the hand-carved version of the Montego body styling and at the time of introduction was the most expensive commercially available guitar ever." All these guitars featured figured maple back'n'sides / spruce top / maple neck / ebony 'board. The main differences between the Montego and LTD were to be found in the choice of hardware; e.g. the LTD had a floating p'up whereas the Montegos had body-mounted units. The Montego controls were also body-mounted (ES-175 style) where the LTD has them on the 'guard...and so forth. Interestingly all the instruments in the Montego range were individually made by Rossmeisl - not just the top-of-the-pile LTD variant. Pip. There was one of Ross<mumble> guitars at 8th street in Philly when I was young, prolly a Montego, mid 70s. It was right on the counter and going pretty cheap, but I couldn't tell you how much. meh. Right across from it was the Bicentennial Bird from our hosts. YOW. ZUH. rct
pippy Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 ...I don't know if 20k is reality tho... sorry, I should have noted thats $20K Australian = $14K US / 9K GBP... "...Only 36 of these were made; this one is number 24..." (from the listing). I know rarity alone is not an absolute measure for the value of any particular instrument and I know this will probably sound nuts but all things considered I think the asking price is actually very reasonable. £9k for one of only 36 hand-carved LTD instruments ever made; the flagship (in many respects) of the Fender range and one of the most singular models ever to be produced by the 'Big Two'? If one was in 'the market' for such an instrument how long might one have to wait for one to come onto this 'market'? I've never before seen one for sale in the 35 years I've known about them. £9k? Some regular Gibson CS models are in that neighbourhood. Just a thought. ....meh.... Right across from it was the Bicentennial Bird from our hosts. YOW. ZUH. Yes; granted. The '76 'birds were nice but you can pick one of those up pretty much any time you like. And, in any case, are the '76 'birds any better than the current CS offerings? OTOH will Fender ever again offer such a beast as the LTD? Pip.
rct Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 OTOH will Fender ever again offer such a beast as the LTD? No, I don't think so. All of their offerings different from what Leo did have pretty much tanked, most didn't even take long. rct
pippy Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 No, I don't think so. All of their offerings different from what Leo did have pretty much tanked, most didn't even take long. rct ...for which we can all be eternally grateful... Pip.
rct Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 ...for which we can all be eternally grateful... Pip. rct
Dub-T-123 Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 It's really cool to see the rickenbacker style design influence, but it seems really tacky to use a bolt on neck on a guitar like this. It's probably covered in about 1/8" of poly too
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