Sold: 1960's/70's Columbus ES-335 style guitar finds discerning connoisseur

DB1

Plays like butter! Tone for days! Better than a Custom Shop Gibson! Luthier built to the highest standards!

Yes, I can honestly say that none of the above apply to this guitar.

I'll ramble for a bit just because I'm a bit bored and I don't see why you shouldn't be either, but just skip to the bottom if it's too boring, and believe me, it will be. You might want to while away a few minutes by reading some mad old git's ramblings, which is fine but if it's....

tl;dr - it's a crappy old guitar for sale for nostalgia buffs, lovers of crappy old guitars or weirdo's. Or all three. So....

When I was 12, in about 1842, I remember seeing a Strat-type guitar in Woolworths and I lusted over it. No way was I ever going to have that sort of money (it was £14.99 and I didn't even have enough for the pick 'n' mix)) but I wanted an electric guitar. Fast forward a few years and a Columbus ES-335-ish guitar turned up in the window of my local music shop in Mill Street, Stafford.

Anyway, it was about £50, which is approximately £3 million in today's money, and oh dear Lord, I wanted this guitar. I lusted after that more than I lusted after my first girlfriend, who coincidentally was also quite red, rattly and round at the bottom.  I asked if I could pay for the guitar weekly, and the owner said that I could pay at a couple of quid a week from my paper round. He was a bit surprised that a twenty-seven year old had a paper round, but I explained that I was a late developer. Still haven't quite got there.

Anyway, (very) long story short, I got the Columbus eventually, and also bought a book 'How To Play Rock 'n' Roll Guitar', with a sub heading 'You do not have to be able to read music to use this book' - the sub heading was the clincher. I still can't read music and - in an amazing twist of fate - still can't play rock 'n' roll guitar.

So why sell this guitar, this nostalgic, wistful, romantic link to my youth, the instrument that took me back to my teens, those long hot summers, those long school days and those furtively traded copies of Razzle behind the bike sheds with the headmaster? 

Well, it's not the same guitar. That was a pile of junk and I should have set fire to it, but I think I traded it in for a Walnut Whip plus cash (cash for the Walnut Whip).

A couple of years ago a wave of nostalgia washed over me and I decided to buy this - it might even be the same guitar, I suppose. It was advertised as a late sixties/early seventies guitar, but I think it's early seventies, although I'm not that bothered, to be honest. Anyway, when it turned up, a wave washed over me again, but this time it was nausea. No, it's not that bad. Actually, yes it is.

It lives at work, and I come into work sometimes on a Sunday and give it a go on the settee when I'm waiting for the kettle to boil. I don't tune it, but like to imagine that I'm an old bluesman playing a slightly out of tune guitar on the porch. There's a slight difference in as much as the old bluesman a) probably wasn't making a pot of Earl Grey, b) didn't have spreadsheets to do and c) could actually play the blues. I don't have a porch either.

I wouldn't have bothered thinking about moving it on, but I saw the ad for the Peavey Rockingham from @HarrySeven and decided to offer him this pile of old tat - sorry, I mean classically-shaped quality vintage Japanese instrument - in p/ex, but it was too late. It had gone! Anyway, the thought of selling it entered my head, and as I don't have many thoughts, this one stuck.

Anyway, I'm even boring myself now, so I thought I'd see if anyone wanted to give it a home. I'm in Stafford and you'll have to collect it, or I might be able to drop it off to you if you're not too far away. It hasn't got a case - frankly that would double it's value - the electrics crackle (loose connection?), if you thumb the bass string, the guitar rattles, which you can either find endearing or just bloody annoying, the wobble bar works, the action.... well, the action, you could just about slide paper between the strings and the fret. When I say 'paper' - I mean the Daily Telegraph. Rolled up.

I don't know what the nut width is, and I don't care, I don't what the radius is and I don't care, and I don't know how heavy it is, but it's light enough for one of our guinea pigs to have picked it up and attacked the other one with it. 

The pickups sound surprisingly sweet, oddly enough - or at least they did when it was last plugged in. I don't know what else to say about it. I think it's fair to say that it was built slightly before the golden era of Japanese guitar-building, but it's got a bit of charm about it. At least it looks like a guitar. It might be fine when someone that knows what they're doing sets it up or takes a lump hammer to it, but I can't be bothered to pay to get it set up, and I haven't got a lump hammer. 

If I've 'wowed' you with the description of it, shall we say £3000 for this, erm, beautiful example of a vintage Japanese classic ? No? How about £120? No? OK.

* Orders lump hammer from B&Q*

Funkfingers

Stafford, eh? Dangerously close to the gravitional pull of the gear warehouses of @HarrySeven

HarrySeven

Funkfingers said:

Stafford, eh? Dangerously close to the gravitional pull of the gear warehouses of @HarrySeven

Indeed it is...

earwighoney

DB1 said:

Plays like butter! Tone for days! Better than a Custom Shop Gibson! Luthier built to the highest standards!

Yes, I can honestly say that none of the above apply to this guitar.

I'll ramble for a bit just because I'm a bit bored and I don't why you shouldn't be either, but just skip to the bottom if it's too boring, and believe me, it will be. You might want to while away a few minutes by reading some mad old git's ramblings, which is fine but if it's....

tl;dr - a crappy old guitar for sale for nostalgia buff, lovers of crappy old guitars or weirdo's. Or all three. So....

When I was 12, in about 1842, I remember seeing a Strat-type guitar in Woolworths and I lusted over it. No way was I ever going to have that sort of money (it was £14.99 and I didn't even have enough for the pick 'n' mix)) but I wanted an electric guitar. Fast forward a few years and a Columbus ES-335-ish guitar turned up in the window of my local music shop in Mill Street, Stafford. Years later it became a little sports shop owned by a friend of mine, who has sadly died - bless you, Russ. He only wanted to run a shop because he didn't like work that much, he was that laid-back.

Anyway, it was about £50, which is approximately £3 million in today's money, and oh dear Lord, I wanted this guitar. I lusted after that more than I lusted after my first girlfriend, who coincidentally was also quite red, rattly and very plump at the bottom. I asked if I could pay for the guitar weekly, and the owner said that I could pay at a couple of quid a week from my paper round. He was a bit surprised that a twenty-seven year old had a paper round, but I was a late developer. Anyway, (very) long story short, I got the Columbus eventually, and also bought a book 'How To Play Rock 'n' Roll Guitar', with a sub heading 'You do not have to be able to read music to use this book' - the sub heading was the clincher. I still can't read music and - in an amazing twist of fate - still can't play rock 'n' roll guitar.

So why sell this guitar, this nostalgic, wistful, romantic link to my youth, the instrument that took me back to my teens, those long hot summers, those long school days and those furtively traded copies of Razzle behind the bike sheds? 

Well, it's not the same guitar. That was a pile of junk and I should have set fire to it, but I think I traded it in for a Walnut Whip plus cash (cash for the Walnut Whip).

A couple of years ago a wave of nostalgia washed over me and I decided to buy this - it might even be the same guitar. It was advertised as a late sixties/early seventies guitar, but I think it's early seventies, although I'm not that bothered, to be honest. Anyway, when it turned up, a wave washed over me again, but this time it was nausea. No, it's not that bad. Actually, yes it is.

It lives at work, and I come into work sometimes on a Sunday and give it a go on the settee when I'm waiting for the kettle to boil. I don't tune it, but like to imagine that I'm an old bluesman playing a slightly out of tune guitar on the porch. There's a slight difference in as much as the old bluesman a) probably wasn't making a pot of Earl Grey, b) didn't have spreadsheets to do and c) could actually play the blues. I don't have a porch either.

I wouldn't have bothered thinking about moving it on, but I saw the ad for the Peavey Rockingham from @HarrySeven and decided to offer him this pile of old tat - sorry, I mean classically-shaped quality vintage Japanese instrument - in p/ex, but it was too late. It had gone! 

Anyway, I'm even boring myself now, so I thought I'd see if anyone wanted to give it a home. I'm in Stafford and you'll have to collect it, or I might be able to drop it off to you if you're not too far away. It hasn't got a case - frankly that would double it's value - the electrics crackle (loose connection?), if you thumb the bass string, the guitar rattles, which you can either find endearing or just bloody annoying, the wobble bar works, the action.... well, the action, you could just about slide paper between the strings and the fret. When I say 'paper' - I mean the Daily Telegraph. Rolled up.

That's a truly wonderful listing. 

suspiciousminds

Advert of the year!
very funny!

richardhomer

Epic ad!

CasperCaster

@DB1 you're a day early - it's not April Fool's Day until tomorrow!

DB1

CasperCaster said:

@DB1 you're a day early - it's not April Fool's Day until tomorrow!

I'll have you know that I treat being a fool as a full-time hobby. 

jonnyburgo

I actually like it.

Mark1960

Wow - That takes be back in time. My mum purchased a similar guitar for my 14th (I think) birthday back in 1974. It too was a pile of junk by todays incredibally high standards for budget guitars, but it had a certain charm, and the tone (mine had humbuckers fitted) was suprisingly good (well not too bad). Unfortunately the neck developed a twist after a while, so I used it as a slide guitar, until it finally fell to pieces and had to be scrapped. It was my first proper electric guitar though, and as such will always be remembered.

merlin

My first guitar was a Tesco "Woolies Audition"  My second was one of these.

If I can find a picture of me playing it... then I won't upload it.... 

Mark1960

Thanks - appreciate that. I won't either

DB1

We're about the same age Mark , I'm a '1960' as well. April in fact (the month, not my name), so we were exposed to the same sort of crap - I mean quality Japanese, etc, etc.... Gutted that it hasn't been snapped up yet, but I think I might have used a bit too much snake oil in the ad to oversell it. I thought at least @HarrySeven might have been after it though ! The £3000 may have been a tad optimistic though. Looks as if the £140 was as well! 

Mark1960

To be honest, nobody in their right mind would buy it for it's instrumental quality IMHO, but a collector or somebody who used to own one and is looking through the proverbial "rose tinted" might be tempted, but I would have thought maybe £50.00 is the best you could hope for. Sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear, but that's the reality in my view. For what it's worth in financial terms, is it not better to keep it as a conversation piece, I mean it looks OK, so why not display it somewhere?

DB1

Thing is Mark, I wasn't really looking for someone in their right mind! There's one for sale at £250 on eBay at the moment.    I've seen a few go for £150 or so, so there's obviously some nutters - sorry, I meant connoisseurs of fine vintage instruments - about. I'm not too bothered really, it's not doing any harm unless I play it. I can't have it in the house though. I just can't. 

Mark1960

Leave it at work then, and just have a chuckle everytime you look at it!

DB1

Mark1960 said:

Leave it at work then, and just have a chuckle everytime you look at it!

To be fair, there's a few at work that have that effect on me. 

1979

Fantastic ad @DB1 , how it’s not sold....

paul111s

I think this very fine instrument deserves a bump

DB1

Thanks @paul111s - I'm just waiting for the Gruhn's valuation to come through and I think it will fly off the shelf then. 

paul111s

Think old George would like to see this one in person to truly appreciate it, might be worth getting a flight.