A Personal Holy Grail is up for sale...

IvisonGuitars

Just thought i'd have a quick look on Reverb, see what CS Esquires were kicking about for sale....

...and stumbled on a guitar that I have coveted since I was 14.....Mick Ralphs' '54 Esquire that he used on 'Mott' and the first Bad Company album (2 of my favourite all time albums - first dance at my wedding was Can't Get Enough)....

but it's £25k....

....and 'Hanks' are selling it.... (and it's not 'all original'...theres a massive filled humbucker route in it for a start...)



https://reverb.com/item/7708721-fender-esquire-mick-ralphs-bad-company-mot-the-hoople-owned-used-1953-blonde

***BIG SIGH****

Winny_Pooh

Thats how a CS relic should look! Cool guitar

thegummy

Very sweet looking guitar

Moe_Zambeek

miserneil said:

....and 'Hanks' are selling it.... 

At least if it sells they could probably make you another one...

Bridgehouse

"Ok, I need to take some shots of that really expensive 53 Esquire that used to be owned by Mick Ralphs. I was wondering where to take them?"

"Just do them on the fucking lawn."

"Yeah, cool"

richardhomer

That looks like a brilliant guitar - I’ve only played one Blackguard - it was incredible....

Bygone_Tones

Very likely to be a complete fake.

IvisonGuitars

Moe_Zambeek said:

miserneil said:

....and 'Hanks' are selling it.... 

At least if it sells they could probably make you another one...

Bridgehouse said:

"Ok, I need to take some shots of that really expensive 53 Esquire that used to be owned by Mick Ralphs. I was wondering where to take them?"

"Just do them on the fucking lawn."

"Yeah, cool"

Mental isn't it!!

It does give me chance to use my favourite Music Ground related .gif though....

IvisonGuitars

Bygone_Tones said:

Very likely to be a complete fake.

While I would ABSOLUTELY be 100% behind this statement 100% of the time, unfortunately, this time, it's not.

I have coveted this guitar since I was young, it's been played on some on my favourite records of all time and that's the guitar. I even have a folder full of detailed pics of it from 10 years ago - including internal cavities etc - not taken on someones front lawn either - which document every scratch. 

So straight away their description of it being "Externally/Internally Original" is bollocks. For starters there is a filled 'swimming pool' route under the pick guard where a PAF humbucker was originally (near the bridge, not the neck interestingly) that was filled a long time ago and the pick guard is obviously not original/a repro.

F*cking typical isn't it, the ONE guitar I would literally sell every other I have to own and those two crooks are involved....

I am genuinely upset it’s currently in their hands.

Gassage

Justin Harrison's shops are the only retail outlets where lawyers hand you their cards as you walk out.

Jez6345789

I am not sure i see the dilemma here.

is it that it’s Hanks and you don’t want to sell a kidney and give them the money because of who they are.

Or their pricing is way off even for a celebrity guitar.
i have no idea what sort of price it should be.

If it meant as much to me as it does to you and I could raise the money and the price was fair for a celeb guitar with that history. I would just suck it and buy the thing fuck the moral high ground.

i might be way off here 

IvisonGuitars

Jez6345789 said:

I am not sure i see the dilemma here.

is it that it’s Hanks and you don’t want to sell a kidney and give them the money because of who they are.

Or their pricing is way off even for a celebrity guitar.
i have no idea what sort of price it should be.

If it meant as much to me as it does to you and I could raise the money and the price was fair for a celeb guitar with that history. I would just suck it and buy the thing fuck the moral high ground.

i might be way off here 

Mainly, at this point in time, knowing the guitar as well I think I do, I do have a problem with who the seller is but it wouldn’t be the deal breaker, I think it’s about £7k too expensive currently.

Neil

miserneil said:

Jez6345789 said:

I am not sure i see the dilemma here.

is it that it’s Hanks and you don’t want to sell a kidney and give them the money because of who they are.

Or their pricing is way off even for a celebrity guitar.
i have no idea what sort of price it should be.

If it meant as much to me as it does to you and I could raise the money and the price was fair for a celeb guitar with that history. I would just suck it and buy the thing fuck the moral high ground.

i might be way off here 

Mainly, at this point in time, knowing the guitar as well I think I do, I do have a problem with who the seller is but it wouldn’t be the deal breaker, I think it’s about £7k too expensive currently.

You could always try an offer?

Philly_Q

Neil said:

miserneil said:

Jez6345789 said:

I am not sure i see the dilemma here.

is it that it’s Hanks and you don’t want to sell a kidney and give them the money because of who they are.

Or their pricing is way off even for a celebrity guitar.
i have no idea what sort of price it should be.

If it meant as much to me as it does to you and I could raise the money and the price was fair for a celeb guitar with that history. I would just suck it and buy the thing fuck the moral high ground.

i might be way off here 

Mainly, at this point in time, knowing the guitar as well I think I do, I do have a problem with who the seller is but it wouldn’t be the deal breaker, I think it’s about £7k too expensive currently.

You could always try an offer?

Could be your one and only opportunity....

IvisonGuitars

Philly_Q said:

Neil said:

miserneil said:

Jez6345789 said:

I am not sure i see the dilemma here.

is it that it’s Hanks and you don’t want to sell a kidney and give them the money because of who they are.

Or their pricing is way off even for a celebrity guitar.
i have no idea what sort of price it should be.

If it meant as much to me as it does to you and I could raise the money and the price was fair for a celeb guitar with that history. I would just suck it and buy the thing fuck the moral high ground.

i might be way off here 

Mainly, at this point in time, knowing the guitar as well I think I do, I do have a problem with who the seller is but it wouldn’t be the deal breaker, I think it’s about £7k too expensive currently.

You could always try an offer?

Could be your one and only opportunity....

Great minds gents, great minds....

....although, I’m not sure if Mr Harrison will be quite as open to a Hondo Strat, a Bad Monkey pedal and £500....but everyone loves a trier...

GoldenEraGuitars

Sorry, I’m not sure about the whole issue around Hanks but it’s definitely worth getting in touch with them about. 

You have a lot of knowledge and info on the guitar, you clearly want it. No harm in sending them an email to query the pricing

RiftAmps

I think you have a duty to buy it so they don’t sell it to someone less informed. £7k too much...who cares, it’s YOUR holy grail.

richardhomer

If you can get somewhere near putting the money together, I’d go for it Neil. Clearly the guitar and it’s provenance means a lot to you - and as others have said - this is likely to be your one and only chance.

The one thing the vintage market seems to have done consistently is confound predictions of a crash - so if you ever did get another chance it would no doubt be at an even higher price.

IvisonGuitars

richardhomer said:

If you can get somewhere near putting the money together, I’d go for it Neil. Clearly the guitar and it’s provenance means a lot to you - and as others have said - this is likely to be your one and only chance.

The one thing the vintage market seems to have done consistently is confound predictions of a crash - so if you ever did get another chance it would no doubt be at an even higher price.

It certainly does Richard and you are, of course, totally right but spending that much money on ANYTHING is a pipe dream for me, I’m just a gigging musician....I don’t even have a real job!!  

Moe_Zambeek

Why not go and try it? I imagine that might help slay the GAS dragon? 

Also - if you did buy it, for 18k say, what would you do with it? Gig it? Hide it in a locked cupboard?

Some things are best enjoyed from afar, I feel.

IvisonGuitars

Moe_Zambeek said:

Why not go and try it? I imagine that might help slay the GAS dragon? 

Also - if you did buy it, for 18k say, what would you do with it? Gig it? Hide it in a locked cupboard?

Some things are best enjoyed from afar, I feel.

I’m going to do just that.

I certainly would gig it....in fact, id HAVE to as i’d need to sell everything else I own!!