A Personal Holy Grail is up for sale...

bluechargeboy

Oops no offence intended!

amarok1971

Why not go and try it? It'll either kill or cure you! You might be able to strike a deal ... 

ToneControl

here's an old thread about the Harrisons and Hanks:
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/77085/exposing-the-dodgy-criminals-behind-two-uk-pedal-brands

Voxman

Nope - &  although I love Mick Ralphs (RIP Mick) and Bad Company, I certainly wouldn't pay £25k for that even if I had   a couple of million £'s! 

IvisonGuitars

OK.....so...

Here's a video I'd never seen before with some great close ups of the guitar. It's got the PAF still in place, a Gretsch volume knob and a coil split switch in between the knobs...SO....the guitar on sale looks to be less and less like the guitar I covet and more a sum of some of the parts I covet and some replacements along the way.....it's suddenly much less appealing...

IvisonGuitars

Voxman said:

Nope - &  although I love Mick Ralphs (RIP Mick) and Bad Company, I certainly wouldn't pay £25k for that even if I had   a couple of million £'s! 

He's not dead @Voxman...

John_P

miserneil said:

OK.....so...

Here's a video I'd never seen before with some great close ups of the guitar. It's got the PAF still in place, a Gretsch volume knob and a coil split switch in between the knobs...SO....the guitar on sale looks to be less and less like the guitar I covet and more a sum of some of the parts I covet and some replacements along the way.....it's suddenly much less appealing...

If that’s the case then I’m even more angry and annoyed by their antics.  Some people just don’t know how to be honest   

IvisonGuitars

@John_P ;Yes....hardly ‘internally/externally original’ is it...  

ourmaninthenorth

Neil, don't get snowblind here...remember whom you're considering starting a narrative with.

john_r

I seem to remember a photo in guitarist a few years ago with mick standing on top of that guitar, wonder if the imprint from his Cuban heels is visible!

IvisonGuitars

@john_r Different guitar John, that one's a '57....

@ourmaninthenorth Absolutely right Paul, on closer inspection I'd wager the only parts that are 'Ralphs Mott/Bad Co era' are the Body, Neck & Tuners. So I'm out. 

What a rollercoaster of emotion this last 24 hours has been! Hey ho, at least my lad will still get some pigs in blankets with his findus crispy pancakes this christmas day....

peteri

Honestly 

play it. If as a guitar it’s worth the money to you buy it. 

If its only worth the money to you because of who played it. Play it and pass. 

And don’t pay anything for artist association, unless it’s Hendrix, Clapton etc. You’ll lose money as generations change. 

Im a massive fan of vintage guitars and they are worth it to me. But know the market price and stick to it. 

As i said if when you play it ‘it’s the one’ you won’t regret selling everything to buy it. 

57Deluxe

has he not recovered fully from his stroke then do you think...?

IvisonGuitars

57Deluxe said:

has he not recovered fully from his stroke then do you think...?

I hear reports to the contrary unfortunately.

57Deluxe

for those not familiar with the sound of this Esquire here is one of the most excellent solo's played on it ...



Here is the Tab (sectionalised) too if you want to emulate.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2eywcya.jpg

Strat_a_tat_tat

miserneil said:

All valid points but the overriding factor is, how could I buy a guitar off someone who can’t spell Mott The Hoople properly??

@miserneil... I'm not sure that's the guitar you're after.

I think the M Ralphs that played for Mot the Hoople was a car mechanic. Different guy altogether.

mort

I always lusted after Overend's bass and Hunter's maltese cross.... Teles were very boring to a 12 year old!

dindude

Disappointed with this thread. I mean, it’s 2017 and if you want something that is massively out of reach then you simply must provide your x-factor like back story as to why it will change your life and then crowdfund it.

You owe it to yourself to have this £25k guitar, you deserve it, I mean why should you go without!

But no, instead all we see is a sensible grown-up approach. Disappointed.

Bridgehouse

Never meet your heroes. Or so they say.

Personally, I wouldn't. If it means selling everything then it's a risk too far. Imagine if it played like a dog. Imagine if it just didn't sound right. Imagine how much you will worry and fret about it at every single gig. Every time you put it in the car. Every time you take your eye off it.

I always wanted a 1961 slab board precision - James Jamerson style. One came up recently - one of his actual basses. Knackered, well loved and clapped out. But it was his tho. 

I did play a '61 when I was on the lookout for my vintage P - it looked totally right. It had everything. It was just gorgeous. But it was a monstrosity to play. It nearly put me off pre-CBS precisions completely. 

Few weeks later I tried a '64 and it's now mine. It was the polar opposite to play. I don't think I will ever play a nicer bass. I wouldn't swap it for an earlier P, or for anything else regardless of who owned it.

You are a musician - buy for how an instrument sounds in your hands, not for how it sounded in someone else's

Skipped

I am not sure about Esquires, but Mick Ralphs has had a lot of Les Pauls and a lot a guitars over the years.

Even if photographs and video were to suggest  a decent match I cannot think what would be acceptable provenance other than a brief meeting with Mick Ralphs with guitar in hand. I am very sorry to hear that Mick is in a care home.