Anyone fancy an Expensive Stratocaster

[IanHenry]

I once read Bernie Marsden saying when he played Rory's Strat it still had Rory's ancient strings on it, as it was sacrilege to change them, so it really is a surprise to see it for sale.

I know it's going to go for a lot of money, but some things are more important than cash.

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, Karloff said:

I'm a fan ... I think he's great. 

He bores me. I’d rather listen to Rory G. Most of the white guy blues is boring.  Mostly copy cats. Especially Joe.

[Karloff]

9 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

He bores me. I’d rather listen to Rory G. Most of the white guy blues is boring.  Mostly copy cats. Especially Joe.

Everyone is a copy cat. Everyone takes from those before them and finds their own voice.

[Sgt. Pepper]

8 minutes ago, Karloff said:

Everyone is a copy cat. Everyone takes from those before them and finds their own voice.

Not like JB has only two albums out. He’s got dozens and still rips off Albert King, and the other 2 Kings and everyone else. Yawn. 

Edited July 13 by Sgt. Pepper

[Larsongs]

Back to Strats.. I played mine a little while ago thru my 65 PRRI. I love the sounds this Guitar gets through this Amp! 

[Karloff]

6 hours ago, Larsongs said:

Back to Strats.. I played mine a little while ago thru my 65 PRRI. I love the sounds this Guitar gets through this Amp! 

I've had quite a few Strats over the years.  Awhile back I bought a 20 yr old MIM Strat for next to nothing.  It plays n sounds great. Bone stock too ...

[sparquelito]

On 7/12/2024 at 11:26 PM, Larsongs said:

No. I have a 31 year old Fender USA 50th Anniv Strat & the Nitro Finish looks like brand new. I have Fender USA AV65 Jaguar & Jazzmaster from about 2010 & their Nitro finishes look like new except for a couple Scratches. I also have a 10 year old Fender USA ‘69 Thinline Tele the Nitro finish looks like new except for a couple knicks & scratches.

Here's my 33 year old Fender Stratocaster. 

The finish is still gorgeous. 

🙂

 

https://www.strat-talk.com/attachments/new-home-1-jpg.499658/

 

[ksdaddy]

My 1960 NOS Custom Shop:

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

How did Joe not get this ‘59?

22k for the replica. They are making you guessed it - 59 of them.

https://search.app/ahcx4GcMH2UpcLv58
 

 

['Scales]

In a world where many guitars are called iconic, they don’t come much more so than Rory’s….up there with Clapton and Jimi’s and Jimmy’s,

and nearly with Brian May’s. Hopefully will end up in an Irish museum.

 

On 7/14/2024 at 4:30 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

Not like JB has only two albums out. He’s got dozens and still rips off Albert King, and the other 2 Kings and everyone else. Yawn. 

if Joe and Taylor ever have a baby you are kind of blowing your chances of being a godparent.

[Sgt. Pepper]

7 hours ago, 'Scales said:

In a world where many guitars are called iconic, they don’t come much more so than Rory’s….up there with Clapton and Jimi’s and Jimmy’s,

and nearly with Brian May’s. Hopefully will end up in an Irish museum.

 

if Joe and Taylor ever have a baby you are kind of blowing your chances of being a godparent.

I saw Joe once. Didn’t even know he was on the bill. I was seeing BB on his 80th birthday tour and Joe opened. He was good. No need to see him again. I’ve seen BB and Buddy Guy a few times and once together. Those are blues players. To me it’s like why listen to Greta Van Fleet when I still have my original Zeppelin albums. They are a boring copy.

The thing that’s irritating about Joe is he’s a great player. He’s rich. He buys any guitar he wants anytime for exorbitant prices then he complains that they’re way too expensive. I guess Joe doesn’t see he is one one of the guys driving up prices. We feel for ya Joe. 

Edited July 15 by Sgt. Pepper

[Sgt. Pepper]

16 hours ago, ksdaddy said:

My 1960 NOS Custom Shop:

 

Sparkley

Edited July 15 by Sgt. Pepper

[ksdaddy]

37 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Sparkley

Close! I named it Sparkle. 
 

When I went to Gruhn’s last Oct it was on the wall and I stared at it a lot. I bought that ill fated Versitar, which UPS smashed, was retopped, and I decided I didn’t like after all. Gruhn’s sold it on consignment and I bought Sparkle. I’ve confirmed with Fender it’s the only one the Custom Shop made. 

[Larsongs]

22 minutes ago, ksdaddy said:

Close! I named it Sparkle. 
 

When I went to Gruhn’s last Oct it was on the wall and I stared at it a lot. I bought that ill fated Versitar, which UPS smashed, was retopped, and I decided I didn’t like after all. Gruhn’s sold it on consignment and I bought Sparkle. I’ve confirmed with Fender it’s the only one the Custom Shop made. 

I like it! Sparks!

[Sgt. Pepper]

30 minutes ago, ksdaddy said:

Close! I named it Sparkle. 
 

When I went to Gruhn’s last Oct it was on the wall and I stared at it a lot. I bought that ill fated Versitar, which UPS smashed, was retopped, and I decided I didn’t like after all. Gruhn’s sold it on consignment and I bought Sparkle. I’ve confirmed with Fender it’s the only one the Custom Shop made. 

It’s needs a My Little Pony Pony sticker on it to complete the look. Kind of tie the guitar together. 

Edited July 15 by Sgt. Pepper

[Phil OKeefe]

On 7/13/2024 at 5:16 AM, Karloff said:

He has light sensitivity much like John Kay.

It's a real issue for some people, myself included. For those who have this condition, stage lights can be practically blinding. I have actually been instructed by my ophthalmologist to always wear sunglasses outside, especially if it's a sunny day. I also have nystagmus (uncontrollable horizontal eye movements), which freaks some people out a bit when they notice it, so you'll see me wearing sunglasses in a lot of photos, too-even when I'm indoors. I have always been open about the reasons why I wear sunglasses, and I am happy to explain why I wear them indoors a lot when people ask, but beyond that, if they think I'm doing it to "be cool," or they otherwise take issue with it, then that's their problem, not mine. 

[Phil OKeefe]

On 7/13/2024 at 11:30 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

Not like JB has only two albums out. He’s got dozens and still rips off Albert King, and the other 2 Kings and everyone else. Yawn. 

SRV and Clapton were both big Albert King fans, and even "quoted" from him/his licks in various songs. There's not a blues player alive who wasn't influenced by the Three Kings, whether they know it/acknowledge it or not. I'm sure Joe would happily and readily acknowledge Albert's influence on his playing. 

[JO'C]

On 7/12/2024 at 8:33 PM, SteveFord said:

For the Fedner owners, is their paint so cheap that it just wears away to nothing?

Whenever you see an old one it looks like somebody wore a sandpaper suit for a week.

There's more to the story of Rory's Strat. It was stolen from him and someone found it more than a year later outdoors leaning against a stone wall in the countryside. Yet is was still playable and cherished by Rory. 

My '87 62 Reissue Strat still has a great finish after 37 years, as does my '69 ES-335, only a bit of lacquer checking. I had a '57 Fender Musicmaster that also had a great finish except for the buckle rash on the back. Also had a '66 Fender Jazzmaster that had a great finish and less checking than my 335. Whether Gibson or Fender they will stay nice if you treat them right. Left outside in the elements for a year, all bets are off, which just adds to the mystique of Rory's.

[Phil OKeefe]

As I understand the details of the theft and recovery, it wasn't found leaning against a wall, it was found in a ditch behind a wall. And it was only gone for a few days. Yes, I'm sure the ordeal added noticeably to the finish wear. Ireland's a pretty wet place, and I suspect it was subjected to at least some water exposure, which may have caused the wood to swell, which wouldn't be good for the nitro finish. But neither is tons of touring, lots of sweat, and good, honest play wear – all of which that guitar experienced in abundance. 

 

From https://www.rorygallagher.com/1961-stratocaster/ :

 

The last thing that we ought to mention is the significant wear on the guitar, which is quite extensive even when compared to the wear on similar models played by other professional guitarists, like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1962/63 Fender Stratocaster or John Frusciante’s 1962 Fender Stratocaster. Most of the wear seems to have originated from the mid to late 60s, and by the Isle of Wight gig in 1970 the guitar already looked like it have gone through a sanding machine. This for some reason happens often on early 60s Stratocasters, compared to late 50s which are much harder to find in such condition.

Although disregarded by most, a factor that might have also played a role in this was that the guitar was left in a rainy ditch for days at some point in 1966. A few days prior to this, Rory’s Strat was stolen from him during alongside a Telecaster that he borrowed from a friend to use as a slide guitar for the upcoming gig in Dublin. Rory decided to contact the producers of the television show called “Garda Patrol”, who then featured the guitar in one their segments that supposedly revolved around helping people locate their lost stuff (if you happen to know anything about this particular show, please contact us as we are curious to find if the original recording of this program is still available somewhere). A few days passed and the guitar was found abandoned in a ditch, and following that was successfully returned to Rory who swore never to lose sight of it again.

I had it stolen one time, following a brief appearance at the Five Club to visit Pat Egan about the Dublin scene, and it got very beaten up then. I had borrowed a Telecaster, and it and the Tele were nicked. I was terrified for a few days in case I would have to buy both a Strat and a Telecaster. Both guitars were found (with the assistance of some exposure on Garda Patrol on RTÉ) behind a front garden wall on the South Circular Road, with some of the strings missing and the bodies knocked about but, thankfully, they were OK.

[Phil OKeefe]

Also, it looks like the city of Cork and the Irish government are considering purchasing the guitar so it stays in Ireland. 

https://www.nova.ie/government-to-consider-options-to-keep-rory-gallagher-guitar-in-ireland-253192/

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/irish-government-hopes-to-keep-rory-gallagher-guitar-in-ireland

I can't say I blame them. It's an Irish national cultural treasure IMO, and I think it would be great if they were the ones to buy it. 

 

 

 

 

[Karloff]

1 hour ago, Phil OKeefe said:

Also, it looks like the city of Cork and the Irish government are considering purchasing the guitar so it stays in Ireland. 

https://www.nova.ie/government-to-consider-options-to-keep-rory-gallagher-guitar-in-ireland-253192/

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/irish-government-hopes-to-keep-rory-gallagher-guitar-in-ireland

I can't say I blame them. It's an Irish national cultural treasure IMO, and I think it would be great if they were the ones to buy it. 

 

 

 

 

That's good. It should stay ...

[SteveFord]

That answers my question, it's abuse not the actual finish quality.

[rct]

4 minutes ago, SteveFord said:

That answers my question, it's abuse not the actual finish quality.

Yes.  Somewhere along the way it became a thing to have a beat up guitar.  All of the old strats and teles and esquires I ever touched in my life, a lot of them, were not like that.  Worn, sure.  Frets down to dangerously low for sure, lacquer and top coat worn off sections of the neck, yes.  For some reason the belt sander look became a thing, I remember a couple of famous guitar players actually admitting they had taken tools to their old Strats to...enhance their vibe and mojo.

In the 90's when the old guitars really started getting stupid they were sold and bought back and forth between the dealers at the shows, each trying to get another grand out of it when they next sold it.  These old guitars started taking on the look of tour worn #1s, when they hadn't been played much for the last 20 years or more.

If you went to these shows back then, you could easily see that there just aren't that many guitar players with that many guitars getting thrashed each and every night, it just didn't add up and still doesn't.

Sanding and chaining and roughing up doesn't make you a better guitar player, it's pathetic and it only impresses others that are just as pathetic.

rct

[Sgt. Pepper]

13 hours ago, rct said:

Yes.  Somewhere along the way it became a thing to have a beat up guitar.  All of the old strats and teles and esquires I ever touched in my life, a lot of them, were not like that.  Worn, sure.  Frets down to dangerously low for sure, lacquer and top coat worn off sections of the neck, yes.  For some reason the belt sander look became a thing, I remember a couple of famous guitar players actually admitting they had taken tools to their old Strats to...enhance their vibe and mojo.

In the 90's when the old guitars really started getting stupid they were sold and bought back and forth between the dealers at the shows, each trying to get another grand out of it when they next sold it.  These old guitars started taking on the look of tour worn #1s, when they hadn't been played much for the last 20 years or more.

If you went to these shows back then, you could easily see that there just aren't that many guitar players with that many guitars getting thrashed each and every night, it just didn't add up and still doesn't.

Sanding and chaining and roughing up doesn't make you a better guitar player, it's pathetic and it only impresses others that are just as pathetic.

rct

It’s Gibson’s main thing along with ultra limited runs of 10k and up stuff. Ya know just want a gigging musician can afford and by giggling musician I mean Joe B. No one is fooled into thinking you have real ‘59 LP. A relic yes, but a ‘59, not even close bud. A little Breakfest Club line for you.

Edited July 16 by Sgt. Pepper

[ksdaddy]

On 7/15/2024 at 11:07 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

It’s needs a My Little Pony Pony sticker on it to complete the look. Kind of tie the guitar together. 

I don't get it.