We have a limited number of the new Airline Jupiter Pro – Dallas Green Signature Model coming in early June 2013. We are taking PRE-ORDERS now. (adjustment to shipping will be billed week of shipping). This model features dual Airline Argyle pickups, three way flipper switch, two volume, two tone controls and a unique “blend” control that pans between the two pickups when the flipper is in the center position. The blend control ranges from hi-tone bridge pickup to neck pickup with the tone rolled off. Very versatile! Also check out the standard Jupiter PRO.

only $999 (case included). $49 Shipping to North America, $149 to UK and Europe. $189 Australia, Japan, etc. $285 South America.

NEW Airline Jupiter PRO – Dallas Green Signature Model from MyRareGuitars.com

In the 1960′s Maurice Lipsky Music Co., a prominent importer and distributor in New York City, developed the Domino brand of guitars. One of my favorites from them was the Californian Rebel. Lipsky was also the company that offered the Orpheum brand of guitars from the 1950s on. Many Orpheum’s were made by United Guitars of Jersey City, NJ, the successor to the Oscar Schmidt Company. There is some evidence that Lipsky’s Orpheum name was used on some Italian Wandré guitars, as well.

Vintage 1960′s Domino California Rebel CE82 Electric Guitar

In 1967 Lipsky introduced a line proto-copies carrying the Domino brand name. Most were inspired by European models such as the EKO Violin guitar. Among the offerings were two models sporting a California cache, the #502 Californian, an asymmetrical copy of a Vox Phantom, and this #CE82 Californian Rebel. It was a semi-solid, since most of it is solid, but built in halves with a sound cavity routed out under the one sound hole. The top has a nice German carve relief, the slotted head adds a kind of retro vibe and cool dots along the top side of the bound fingerboard. What looks like a rosewood pickguard is wood grained plastic. Featuring high output for a single-coil pickups, two sliding switches for on/off control and a tremolo.

Who actually built this guitar is unknown, but these pickups appear to be associated with Kawai guitars, and that’s probably a good guess. Rumor is www.eastwoodguitars.com is planning a reissue of this guitar before the year is out.

Back Catalog Memories: Vintage 1960′s Domino California Rebel CE82 Electric Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

We have a limited number of the new Airline Jupiter Pro Model coming in early June 2013. We are taking PRE-ORDERS now. (adjustment to shipping will be billed week of shipping).

This design is based around the early 60′s Silvertone Jupiter H49 which was also available with the Airline brand. Here we have upgraded our existing Airline Jupiter to create the Jupiter PRO. We’ve added a unique blend control that lets the player dial in a wide variety of tones. We have also replaced the wooden bridge with a Tone Pros Tun-o-matic, upgraded the bolt-on neck with a set maple neck and upgraded the hardware to create a solid, tour worthy guitar for today’s modern player.

This model features dual Airline Argyle pickups, three way flipper switch, two volume, two tone controls and a unique “blend” control that pans between the two pickups when the flipper is in the center position. The blend control ranges from hi-tone bridge pickup to neck pickup with the tone rolled off. Very versatile! Black finish with gold metal flake. Also check out the Jupiter PRO – Dallas Green Signature Model.

All PRE-ORDERS will receive a Body Glove Hybrid gigbag (factory list price $199) at no extra cost.

only $879. $49 Shipping to North America, $149 to UK and Europe. $189 Australia, Japan, etc. $285 South America.

All PRE-ORDERS will receive a Body Glove Hybrid gigbag (factory list price $199) at no extra cost.

NEW Airline Jupiter PRO – Metallic Black Finish – June 2013 from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline guitars were being made in USA from 1958-1968 by Valco Manufacturing Company and sold primarily through the Montgomery Ward catalog company. Valco also made other popular brands like Supro and National. Today they are being made through Canadian company Eastwood Guitars. By the early 1960′s Airline were producing many different models – most in those early days were solid wood designs like the Town and Country, but the more valuable vintage models were made of res-o-glas. This model is often referred to as the Jetsons model.

Vintage 1960′s Airline Jetsons Red Res-O-Glas Electric Guitar

Res-O-Glas was Valco’s term for fiberglass. These guitars we made with two clamshell pieces (top and bottom of the body) that were aligned and held together with a slotted rubber grommet strip, then long machine screws through the back and into the front. There was a maple block inside the hollow body which served the purpose of mounting the neck. The necks did not have a truss rod – a major setback to these old guitars, especially 50 years later – but had a 3 screw pivot system to tilt the neck angle back and forth to adjust the action. These were covered but chrome plastic covers on the back of the body. One giveaway that a vintage version has a bad humped neck? Those covers are always missing, as someone over the past 50 years tried and tried to adjust the neck and eventually lost the covers.

Although they appear to be humbuckers, these guitars had single coil pickups with a unique tone that became popular with the blues players (not just for their tone, but more likely for their affordability vs. a new Fender Strat). That is what modern players are seeking out these old guitars, like Jack White, for the growly single coil tone. This sample had two pickups, each with its own volume and tone controls, and a unique 3-way switch labeled “Tone Switch”.

Back Catalog Memories: 1960′s Airline “Jetsons” 2P Red Res-O-Glas Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

One of the highlights of life back when I was a youngster was the arrival of the latest Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog. Anything you desired could be delivered right to your door. A lot of my early knowledge about guitars (and lingerie) came out of those “wish books.” One piece of that knowledge, however, wasn’t about this Sears Silvertone because when it was made in 1965, Sears only sold Japanese-made guitars through its retail store outlets, not through its catalogs!

Vintage 1965 Silvertone Teisco 1437 Electric Guitar

Ward’s was probably the first to sell guitars through its catalogs. Aaron Montgomery Ward started his company in 1872 as a solution to the problem of farmers obtaining the items they needed to make life more palatable out on the Great Plains. At the time, the farmer’s only source for household goods was the general store. And their only source of merchandise was the railroads, who charged an arm and a leg. To combat the high prices, the farmers joined to form buying clubs and put together lists. A representative would take it to the big city to buy the stuff and ship it back in one big container. Lot’s cheaper. Ward’s idea was to return to Chicago and put the lists together for them by assembling a catalog and sending it to the farmers direct.

Ward’s concept was so successful that Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck decided to compete head-to-head with them, starting Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 1893. Sometime between Ward’s founding and Sears’ first catalog in 1894 Ward’s began selling guitars. There’s a guitar offered in Ward’s 1894 catalog with a woodcut and some copy. That very SAME woodcut and copy appears in the first Sears catalog!

Vintage 1965 Silvertone Teisco 1437 Electric Guitar

Sears sold increasing numbers of guitars as the years progressed, obtained from various sources, including Lyon & Healy, Oscar Schmidt, and the Harmony Company. In 1916 Sears purchased Harmony to supply the majority of its stringed instruments, which began appearing carrying the Supertone brand name in 1917. While it was a subsidiary of Sears, Harmony was still free to sell its own brand independently and to make guitars for other companies. Sears, for its part, mainly relied on Harmony for its guitars, except occasionally when a specialty model was sourced from someone else. In 1940 Sears sold Harmony to its president Jay Kraus, after which it operated pretty much as before, with Sears as its main customer, with the Sears brand name changed to Silvertone.

Sears had branched out into retail stores in 1925. By the 1960s, when this guitar was made, Sears was the largest retailer in the U.S. Throughout the 1960s the guitars featured in the Sears catalog were exclusively American-made, mostly by Harmony. However, obviously, as evidenced by the very existence of this guitar, they also sold guitars made in Japan, only just through their retail store outlets.

Vintage 1965 Silvertone Teisco 1437 Electric Guitar

This Silvertone is a Model 1437, otherwise known as a Teisco WG-4L. Except for the logo, it’s a completely stock Teisco. The Teisco company was founded in Japan in 1946 by Atswo Kaneko and Doryu Matsuda. Teiscos were distributed within Japan and probably regionally until the end of the 1950s, when exporting to the U.S. commensed. The first known American importer was the late Jack Westheimer whose Westheimer Sales Corp. began importing Kingston acoustic guitars from Japan in 1959, followed either later that year or early in 1960 by Teisco electric guitars. Jack added the “del Rey” most often seen on these guitars.

In around 1964, Sil Weindling, Barry Hornstein, and Sid Weiss formed Weiss Musical Instruments (W.M.I.) and began importing Teisco Weiss guitars. Westheimer’s focus had shifted toward his Kingston brand, so W.M.I. sort of took over the Teisco franchise. The WG line debuted in 1964 with a plain pickguard, changing over to the very groovy striped metal ‘guard in 1965. W.M.I. undoubtedly provided this guitar to Sears.

Vintage 1965 Silvertone Teisco 1437 Electric Guitar

There’s nothing not to like about this guitar! I mean, how could you resist the look of that pickguard?! And metallic blue paint! Plus four—count ‘em—four chunky single-coil pickups. And I love those typically Teisco rectangular adaptations of Gretsch’s thumbprint inlays. As with almost all better Japanese solidbodies from the 1960s, with just a little attention this can be set up to play quite nicely. The neck is a little hefty for a modern taste, but then so were many others back then. To be honest, you don’t really get that much tonal variety out of four pickups, but it’s still way, way cool. Perfect for a chorus or two of Walk, Don’t Run or Apache!

By the 1970s, Sears was finally featuring Japanese-made guitars in its catalog, but the Sears hegemony was waning, replaced by emerging “big box” retailers such as Kmart. The catalog soldiered on into the 1990s, but its value as a source for interesting guitar—or lingerie—information was long past.

Catalog of Dreams (Vintage 1965 Silvertone Teisco 1437 Electric Guitar) from MyRareGuitars.com

One of the most legendary musicians of all time was also quite the great guitar player. Many don’t associate John Lennon with being a great guitarist, but in actuality he was. Sure in the early Beatles’ days, he played standard rhythm guitar, but in later years he was soloing along side George Harrison.

So what guitars did John use as a Beatle? Lets take a closer look…

1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri

John Lennon with his 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri guitar (The Beatles)

It was in 1960 that John acquired the 325 capri, which accompanied him in the Hamburg days. This guitar can famously be seen in the Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan Show performance. Rumor has it that this guitar was a natural color and was painted black in 1962. It is believed that he stopped using it sometime in 1964. The 325 Capri has been left in the hand of John’s son, Sean Lennon.

1962 Gibson J-160E

John Lennon with his 1962 Gibson J-160E guitar (The Beatles)

One of John’s most famous acoustic guitars is easy to recognize with the sunburst finish and knobs on the soundboard to control the built-in pickup. The Gibson can be heard on the song “Love Me Do” and was used extensively on the Please Please Me sessions. Lennon picked up another J-160E, which he took on tour in 1964 and 1965.

1963 Rickenbacker 325

John Lennon with his 1963 Rickenbacker 325 guitar (The Beatles)

This Rickenbacker came in to replace John’s “Hamburg” Capri, which had taken quite the beating. It was used on the album A Hard Day’s Night. As well, it was used on the second performance the Beatles did on the Ed Sullivan Show. Lennon also received a 12-string version of this guitar.

1961 Fender Stratocaster

John Lennon with his 1961 Fender Stratocaster Guitar (The Beatles)

In 1964, John Lennon and George Harrison made a request for some strats, and each received one. In a cool light blue color with a rosewood fretboard, the stratocasters were used on the song “Nowhere Man”. George Harrison later gave his a psychedelic paint job for the All You Need is Love satellite broadcast.

1965 Epiphone E230TD Casino

John Lennon with his 1965 Epiphone E230TD Casino guitar sanded (The Beatles)

John Lennon with his 1965 Epiphone E230TD Casino guitar unsanded (The Beatles)

This hollow body guitar is quite famous as John used it for the impromptu rooftop concert. He also toured with it extensively in 1966 and it can be seen at the Beatles’ Shea Stadium performance. Sometime in 1968, John has his Casino sanded down to its natural finish, which can be seen in the rooftop concert.

Other guitars John had during the Beatles

• Ramirez A-1 classical guitar
• Framus 12-string acoustic guitar
• 1963 Gretsch 6120, Guild Starfire XII
• 1966 Vox Kensington
• 1965 Martin D-28 acoustic

- Posted by Raj who writes a blog on Guitar Tone

Check out these cool ‘best of’ articles from GuitarToneTalk:

• Best Reverb Pedals
• Best Chorus Pedals

John Lennon’s Guitars in the Beatles from MyRareGuitars.com

Since 2005, Rob Roberge has been entertaining the My Rare Guitars subscribers with his insightful and often hilarious stories. Ranging from The Close Relationship Between Booze & Lost Gear to his curious observations from our annual trip to the NAMM Show, and a bunch of interesting articles about oddball vintage amps.

Rob Roberge

But, is has been some time since we’ve had the pleasure of a Roberge contributions. Why? Well he’s been busy writing his latest novel, The Cost of Living, that’s why! Here’s the note from the publisher:

To the shock of lovers and rivals, indie guitarist Bud Barrett is finally—if tenuously—married, clean, and sober. Now he faces the challenge of staying that way. To avoid repeating the past, Bud needs to confront the ghosts that dwell there. After decades of seeking redemption in the arms of “pervy Florence Nightingales,” Bud finds himself still haunted by his mothers abandonment, his own array of crimes, and a murder he witnessed as a child. As he revisits his life of grief and reckless excess, all paths lead to his long estranged father, a man with his own turbulent history and the only one who can connect Buds fragments, unlocking the answers that just might save him.

The Cost of Living, a novel by Rob Roberge

Rob’s new novel is a seat-belt-buckled crazy ride through the world of rock and roll, substance abuse and the nutty people you’d meet along the way . It did not yield as many laugh-out-loud moments as I’ve become accustomed to with his work, but the subject matter is a lot heavier than usual. Most of the day I had trouble putting the book down long enough to grab a bite to eat – at other times I wanted to put it down for fear of finding out what was to happen next. Rob has a knack of turning the most dark, frightening, pathetic human circumstances into a funny yet heart breaking thrill ride. His narrative about the horrific lifestyle of the drug addicted central character – Bud Barrett – is troubling. Yet it is written with such brutal accuracy that you feel like you are in the car with him, in a band with him, in and out of the hospital with him, being rejected with him and being loved with him. But most of the time you’ll feel deeply in trouble with him. Not just in trouble, but troubled. A front row seat to trouble. You’ll feel like the guy holding the boom mic just off camera for the entire novel, so close that you’re afraid, but thankful it’s Bud Barrett, not you.

So if you’re like me and want to read the book before the movie comes out, dig up fifteen bucks, click here, grab your imaginary boom mic and settle in for a wild ride. You’ll be glad you did.

The Cost of Living from MyRareGuitars.com

Aria was formed in Japan in 1953 by Shiro Arai as Arai and Company. They began retailing acoustic guitars in 1960, although the company didn’t actually start manufacturing their own until 1964. Aria arranged for Matsumoku, the musical instrument maker, to build the guitars for them under contract. Arai and Matsumoku started building acoustic guitars in 1964, and then electric guitars in 1966, using Arai, Aria, Aria Diamond, Diamond, and much less frequently, Arita brand names. The Aria brandname was changed to Aria Pro II in late 1975, though this has been used mostly (but not exclusively) for electric guitars and basses. All guitars were made in Japan until 1988, when production of less expensive models was switched to Korea.

Vintage 1980′s Aria Pro II ZZ Bass Deluxe

Aria Pro II did some copies of famous American guitars like the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul though it also did its own style of guitars. In the 70s and early 80s the company came into its own in the United States with a series of high end professional instruments. The company had professional endorsements from Herb Ellis, Yngwie Malmsteen, Neal Schon, John Taylor, and many more. Cliff Burton of Metallica used an Aria SB Black N Gold I as well as an SB-1000 bass but was never an official endorser.

Here is the Aria Pro II ZZ Deluxe Bass. These were manufactured between 1982-1987.

Back Catalog Memories: Vintage 1980′s Aria Pro II ZZ Bass Deluxe from MyRareGuitars.com

UPDATED April 26, 2013: All the planets have aligned for the LEFT-HAND crowd this month, as a strange fluke in production has created some EXTREMELY Rare limited left-hand models. Seriously, most of these have never been made before and will not be made again. On top of that, for some of these models, we only have three of each!! Yes, THREE. So, enough said, if you want one, don’t mess around.

NOW SHIPPING (cases extra):

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LEFT-HAND Airline RS-II Natural – $789 - 12 at this price – SOLD OUT

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LEFT-HAND Airline Espanada BLACK – $899 - 8 at this price – SOLD OUT

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LEFT-HAND Gretsch G5420 Electromatic Aspen Green $695 ONE ONLY

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LEFT-HAND Airline MAP Red – $879 – 4 at this price only 1 left at this price

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LEFT-HAND Airline ’59 Town & Country DLX Vintage Cream (includes DLX hardshell case) – $1199 8 at this price - only 3 left at this price

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LEFT-HAND Sidejack BASS VI Vintage Cream – $699

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LEFT-HAND Eastwood Wandre Tri-Lam Red – $879 – 6 at this price – 2 left at this price

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LEFT-HAND Airline 2P STD SKY BLUE – $749 – 8 at this price – SOLD OUT

Airline 2P LH Sky Blue

Left-Hand Players – Limited Edition Models – Almost SOLD OUT from MyRareGuitars.com

Here are a pair of Airline Barney Kessel models from the 1960′s. It was also known as the Swingmaster, and could be found under the Kay brand and the Old Kraftsmen brand.

Vintage 1960′s Airline Barney Kessel Model Swingmaster Electric Guitar (Deluxe)

The natural color was unique to the Airline brand. All were outfitted with the “Kleenex Box” pickups. It was available in 2 or 3 pickups models, with or without the Bigsby style tremolo and a wooden, floating bridge. Bolt-on neck with a flamed maple bound body on top and bottom. Each pickup had its own volume and tone controls and there was a flipper switch for pickup selection.

Will Eastwood make a replica of this for its Airline line of guitars in the future? Pretty sure the answer is yes!

Back Catalog Memories: 1960′s Airline Barney Kessel Swingmaster Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com