isnt the deco... a sticker ? can ware off ?....just checked out and you can buy it for 17 dollors.
All i wanted to know is a bit of info, as my dad had bought in 1967

Pics from under the hood please! Pots and neck butt want to see fret board end.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Its certainly possible that the decal was changed on the refinish. Those old decals were fragile things and often wore away. You can see the replacement has worn away too. Now I'm not sure if that technology was widely available 10/20/30 years ago. I err towards it not being available to just any old body. Its been put ontop of the lacquer, vintage correct. Its also worn away a bit, leads me to believe its been on some years.
The truss adjusting screw looks to be in about the right place, but the fretboard looks to be a veneer'd board, not a slab board, which was used up till 62. Still the picture isnt that clear, I'd need a picture of the end of the neck heel for that. It looks authentic of the time. Candy apple red was used just a few years later so it would have been a desirable colour then. It certainly has the correct hue to it. Bit of a conundrum on the other stuff though. Still everything starts somewhere and the factory was still very experimental at the time.

Sharon if possible can you post a picture of the bridge saddles taken from directly above? I'd like to have a closer look at them.

Thankyou for sharing and condolances for the loss of your dad.

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Sharon, if you are wanting to keep it for sentimental reasons great. Enjoy your dad's guitar. If it could be documented as real it would be worth thousands of dollars. You can't just buy a new(fake) decal and sell it. A buyer would do a much more detailed inspection. Good luck and enjoy the memories.

I will take a photo tomorrow...as i live in England its late at night...thank you

Its just dad played along with Gene Vincent, joe brown etc back in the late 60s and used this same Guitar,
thank you for your responce
but in england its time for bed lol
sharon

You're welcome Sharon! Good night and good luck!

Sounds Incorporated!
John St. John

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Sharon, Your not the Sharon who graduated from st Augustines high school (near birmingham) around 88-90 are you. If you are, I had a terrible crush on you. I'll admit it now that I'm happily married.

Seriously there are good shops to take the guitar to. They will maybe charge £30-£60 for a valuation. With that you'll get a certificate of value for insurers/prospective buyers. I know one thing, your Dad had a very early strat for the UK. Hank Marvin got his first in 59(I think) it was a 58 model.

Try these people, they deal in vintage guitars and know their onions.

Heres a imaculate 56 their selling, there will be a contact link somewhere on the page.
http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/


Celeach your on the wrong track to simply go by the decal. They do get changed occasionaly.

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It's a small world huh Niki! It would be nice if it turns out she is a girl you once admired. I'd love to run into some of my old flames.

Half of mine want to kill me, all except my exwife funnily. I was way too awkward, gangly and clumsy at high school to ever let my desires be known. Unless of course it was a sure thing. Truth be told Sharon Jones must be in the top 10 of girls names in England. Its really and outside chance. I only mentioned it because it was the first thing that hit my head. Been looking at the past a lot lately, feelin old and tired.

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Sharon,

Ok, here are my two cents on this:

The tuners (which are single line Klusons) are legit and quite fine specimens you have, if I do say so myself.

the bridge saddles (which are on the Bridge, down by the 3 pickups on the body) are corroded, but seem legit. a little cleaning and I'm sure we can tell further if it is or not.

the wear pattern, aging of the plastic parts, and pickup tips seem to fit as well, suggesting further that it is legitimate.

such a fascinating color that is. very similar to my Candy Tangerine '64, shown here:



COMPARED TO YOUR FATHER'S:




May I ask what color it was before he changed it?

also, do you know if he had it professionally done, or if he did it himself?

A possibility is that the rubber stamp faded off from age or wear. it happens.

I say, regardless, you still have a nice instrument easily worth 10-12,000 USD.

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http://www.twitter.com/CAE_Music

Any guitar featured alongside Sweet Gene is going to have a big markup. Far more than 20k. The rockabilly crowd will go wild for it in the uk. I'd be looking for £30k+ after validation, especialy if it was used for any recording, photoshoots.

Rocknroll in the uk just wouldnt have happened without Gene and Lonnie. It would still be crooners or max bygraves. Gene was always noted for his black on white theme. It was always black and white with Gene. The dent/ding in one of the pictures shows a very un-sunburst but also not black colour. Dunno how they layered paint in them days. Colour over colour, modern customshop options only come from one place though, old guitars.

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It's looking good for you Sharon! I sure hope so!

Hello Sharon,
First and foremost please let me offer my condolences on the loss of your father. My own mother is in a nursing facility with brain cancer and they don't think she has very long at all, so I understand a little of what you must be going through. Please know you have my very deepest sympathies.

As far as the guitar itself goes, I would strongly have to agree with Nick here in that you should take it to a good shop and have it looked at by a pro. The simple truth is that folks aren't going to be able to tell that much from the pictures you have posted. Yes, the instrument certainly could be a nice, legit '61 but the honest truth (and I am NOT accusing you of anything here) is that there's so many people out there now a days who are so good at faking the relic look, that I would not place any bets at all based on pictures on an internet forum. There are a few things that would certainly be more telling...pictures of the back of the pick guard and such with any markings on the electronics clearly visible -but-...unless you have some good deal of experience with disassembling vintage guitars, I would not try this with this instrument yourself. Removing the pickguard isn't really all that hard but if this is indeed the vintage instrument that it's believed to be and more over a family heirloom...let's just say that some of those old parts can be a bit fragile. It really would be better to have a pro look at it in person and check these things for you and then as Nick said, you could get a certificate of authenticity and said person would be able to answer all of your questions in person and perhaps even give you an accurate value on the guitar. No disrespect to anyone here at all, but personally I would NOT trust the opinions of an internet forum for an accurate value on such an instrument.

BTW...while I will be the first to admit that I've faked a logo or two in my day (purely for my own amusement), I would NOT try to replace the logo on this instrument. If you can have the instrument authenticated, that's all the logo you need.

Even if you decide to keep the instrument as a family heirloom...and it does seem as though it would be well worth keeping (I still have my grandmother's 1937 Kay acoustic so I know the whole family value thing)...having the certificate would lay to rest any questions and such in the future.

These are just my own personal opinions and should only be taken as such. Again, you have my deepest sympathy on your loss.

Peace,
Jim