Hank Marvin Custom Shop Copy

[Sothall Mike]

Hi everyone, on behalf of the widow of one of our Club members I've been asked to find out any information and a possible price for her late husbands guitar. It was made by someone with the initials JRH in Nov/Dec 2020 and is described as a 1959 Hank Marvin Copy. It has Fender Custom Shop Logos on the headstock along with Hanks Signature, and Custom Shop neckplate. Bird's-eye Maple Neck along with Gold hardwear. Any help or offers would be appreciated.

Regards
Mike Kilner.

[scouserjoe2]

Hi Mike,

This is a very difficult question to answer; to be honest, the truth is that it is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. A quick look at the range of offerings on EBay will give you some kind of a guide. There are so many guitars for sale that are described as a 'Hank Marvin' look-alike, or built to a 'Hank Marvin type' specification that it is difficult to evaluate exactly what is on offer and whether it is worth the money people are asking.

Sadly, I think the market for 'Hank Marvin' style guitars has been in decline for a number of years and many collectors seem to be 'off-loading' pieces from their collection. Over the years I, for one, have bought all the various offerings bearing the official 'Hank Marvin badge' from those of a Japanese origin right through to the limited edition Signature editions including the much admired 'Oasis Stratocaster' which was described as THE definitive copy of Hank's 1959 Stratocaster. However, one by one, I have sold them all and now play more 'affordable' instruments that suit my playing interests and style (although most, I admit, are still Fiesta Red in colour) !!

The guitar you describe does not appear to conform to any of the known standards and I would suggest that it was built to a personal specification with a mix of parts. If that is the case, then I fear that it is probably worth less than, say, a respected standard Custom Shop build.

A new standard Custom Shop build today could cost anywhere up to £4K, and on the second-hand market probably more like £2-3K. Condition is important. Old standard specification guitars can go for a lot of money in virtually any condition, but a custom build like this has more chance of selling if the buyer likes the particular specification and it is in excellent condition.

Good luck with the sale.

Ian

[dave robinson]

As Ian says it's mostly down to what someone is willing to pay which is down to how much they want it.
I'm currently going through my guitars to decide which ones I will no longer need as things and needs have changed vastly for me, as well as finding that the profile of any given neck can make a big difference whether or not I can play it or not, as a millimetre in the dimensions of the thickness or neck camber can affect my feel these days and make it difficult to play well.
I'm using eBay and Reverb as a guide to get an idea of what guitars may or may not be worth as well as looking at the adverts on-line of used guitars.
The one thing that really helps in many ways is having the serial number to able be to compare prices and you'll get an idea from the manufacturers about the build of the instrument and in which factory / country etc.
As an example. I have a USA 40th Anniversary Fender Stratocaster (1994) with the 40th Anniversary badge and neck-plate, but in reality it's a USA Standard Stratocaster from a period when they were very good and the ordinary USA Standards are fetching more money in good condition than the Anniversary, because many people don't care for the badges and paraphernalia associated with those models. In some cases a Stratocaster associated with HBM is less desirable than a normal model without the signature and hype.
In truth there is nothing special about those guitars that warrants the extra expense and a lot of people, me included, believe that the only benefactor of peddling these 'special' guitars is gained by the original dealer who probably sold what amounts to a £2000 guitar for £4000. Don't get me started on those JMI amplifiers that were used on the Reunion tour. That was THE biggest rip off of the century. The were bog standard AC-30s that they put a badge on and charged the earth for. How do I know? I got the facts from the man who built them. Steve Giles.
It's a funny old world.

[Garystrat]

It’s a reasonably new guitar, being a custom a build I would have thought Fender would still be able to provide a full specification from the serial number, this would also give it a little more provenance in terms of being factory supplied to that specification?

[scouserjoe2]

Hi again,

I have had a few more thoughts about this instrument and what can be done to identify its origin and potential value.

The first question I ask myself is whether or not this is a guitar genuinely built by Fender or by someone else. There are many excellent guitar builders out there - what is to say it is not one theirs designed to mimick a Custom Shop Strat? Mike does not say where the initials 'JRH' are stamped on the guitar, but for Fender to do something like that would be most unlikely. How and where are those initials and the date 'Nov/Dec 2020' identified on the guitar? What paperwork or other documentation is available to support its provenance, Fender authenticity or origin? It is very easy these days to attach all kinds of Fender and Hank Marvin logos to guitars for which they bear no relevance.

Unfortunately, even if this is an original genuine Fender guitar made to order at the Custom Shop through a dealer to an individual specification it is unlikely that even entering a serial number into the 'Fender Serial Look-up' Function on their website will provide any details. I have a masterbuilt instrument based on a 56NOS model that was prepared for me by Greg Fessler who also built all the 'Oasis' guitars. Although the guitar comes with Greg's signature on the headstock, a serial number on the neck plate and a Certificate of Authenticity from Fender, entering the serial number into Fender's serial look-up function does not produce any results !! I found that quite surprising as every other one of my Strats do - including, if you take it a little further, an image and a full specification. !!

If this is a custom built item from Fender Custom Shop sources then it should at least have a serial number on the neck plate and a Certificate of Authenticity to go with it.

If Mike can provide any more information then I could help further for you. But as things stand and as I said at the outset of my earlier post, without any of this backup information or documentation this instrument is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it which depends on how much they like the look and feel of it.

As a post script, I note that there is a firm called JRH guitars run by a guy called John Hopkinson who has a Facebook page. He appears to be a builder on a small scale but sadly any more detailed information on his background and whereabouts are absent.

Cheers,

Ian

[Sothall Mike]

Hi Ian - I have tried to contact JRH on Facebook as this does appear to be one of his creations - but had no response from him. The details I described in my earlier post are written on a white sticker in the reverse of the pick guard - so that appears to rule out it being anything to do with Fender - even though it may well be an excellent looking and playing instrument. In the meantime I have returned the Guitar to his widow and she is deciding what to do next.