Vibra Artiste- reasonable B.I.N

[mgeek]

Spotted this on the Ebay last night...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1960s-Burns-Tri-S ... 1c19cc7740

That's a much more respectable price than the 600, 900 and other ridiculous figures I've seen bandied about recently- even with a hypnotic eye where the 'bit of white plastic' should be

I think it's kinda mad that people have made offers when the BIN is £350...cheapskates!

[mgeek]

aaaand...it's gone

Just a few hours after this stripped example with non original bridge sold for £510

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Madness...

[burnsbonkers]

HI Guys.....Bought it.
looks like it had been in a shed..but the neck is fine, amd although the paint is rough as a badgers arse, upon opening the body, the electrics are all original, and not a sign of corrosion, strung up, she plays lovely and all electrics operate flawlessly!!!
going to have her stripped and professionally resprayed and cleaned up . i also have a headstock badge from Alfons in the Netherlands, and also have the little white scratchplate.

[burnsbonkers]

another view... and my other earlier model, thats undergoing restoration..

IMAG0076 (Small).jpg

i have an early one and later one now,

(92.84 KiB) Downloaded 11037 times

[mgeek]

going to have her stripped and professionally resprayed and cleaned up .

Oh God...please don't

This is a fifty year old vintage guitar, much of the value and history of which is contained in the fact it still has the original paint, unlike most, which were stripped years ago by folks who didn't know any better.

In 2011, stripping this would be inexcuseable, from both a fiscal and historical value. You'd be paying someone to devalue it, essentially.

A tasteful restoration is: badge replacement that you've already got covered, and a replacement of the little extra scratchplate. I implore you not to go any further.

[burnsbonkers]

Yeah, i know what you're saying. But it had already been attacked by its previous owner.
The paint on the neck is no more than a few flakes of black - the edge of the body had alrrady been handed ( not flaked off ) there are lots of chips around the edges. It does look terrible.
In fact, the pictures actually makes it look better!.
By the way, the other V.A I have, had Its paint already removed when I got it.
Believe me I wouldn't even consider doing such a thing if the guitar was half as good as it is.
Anyway I've got a lot of brasso- ing to do first (it has a Hell of a lot of rusty bits!)

[mgeek]

Yeah, i know what you're saying. But it had already been attacked by its previous owner.
The paint on the neck is no more than a few flakes of black - the edge of the body had alrrady been handed ( not flaked off ) there are lots of chips around the edges.

Pics please. It looks fine in the pictures, and in the auction pictures. That's what a fifty year old guitar looks like. If it really has been so badly molested, then a minor overspray is all that is required. A strip and refinish is nothing more than mad butchery.

You're making me feel awful that I even posted the thing up here in the first place...To think I could have just left well alone, and it would have gone to someone who'd appreciate it for what it is- a fine, increasingly rare, original finished early sixties Burns.

If you really want to 'restore' something, why not do the one that's already missing the paint?

All you should be considering with the new one is a minor overspray, and that's only if you REALLY can't bring yourself to resist the misplaced urge to tinker.

[burnsbonkers]

I guess you're right, it was more of an idea to get it stripped to be honest, if I can get a sympathetic restoration done I will.
Also if you did see it in the flesh, you would have at least an Idea where I'm coming from. It has small nails hammered into the neck for some reason, looks like a dogs been chewing at the bottom of the body, also themes mould on it.
Honestly there's lot more than meets the eye! .Don't think in some kind of butcher because I'm not, I know the importance of how these guitars should be kept in their original form, but as I said , seeing it in real life, you would have an idea why I even considered it.
Also I saw the advert on ebay before I knew you even posted the thread.

[mgeek]

Okay, great!

Yeah- I think there IS a sympathetic restoration to be had here, and with all the attention paid to 'relicing' these days, all the techniquers are out there to allow you to blend in any areas of touching up with the original finish using a bit of freeze checking etc.

Making the little white extra scratchplate will be a doddle too- just need some 3mm white perspex. I've done some by hand before, and it's real easy to get them looking exactly like they would have been from the factory

What's the deal with the pins on the back of the neck then? Any chance of some detail shots to show what's going on?

PS- my '62 Fenton Weill Stereomaster has LOADS of paint missing from the base, fag burn on the headstock, initials carved on the back (jc 4 ab) and 'peace, love' scratched into finish- not to mention the usual forearm wear, and a bunch of paint gone wheree the strap has rubbed on the horns. My favourite thing about it though is all the checking- the nitro cellulose paint is cracked into thousands of pieces and looks a hundred years old. Love it!

[burnsbonkers]

If you send me your email, ill be happy to send some pics. I don't have a clue why there are nails in the neck. I think it was hanging on a wall or something?. They have now been successfully removed . They were not there for structural reasons ,As the neck join is like steel.
The Chrome bits do need cleaning , and the bridge is solid with rust. But that's no problem.
I have a sonic too and that has some little nicks and bumps, also a bit of checking, and I wouldn't touch that at all, also a 62 melody maker that has some serious bucklerash. But I wouldn't dream of touching them. The artist looks like a skip find.
Saying that it plays and sounds phenomenal, and functions well. The electronics were preserved like a time capsule!.
Also theres a number under the pickguard - 153/L .. ?