Ladles and jellyspoons, I give you ‘The French Collection’, a release of four hand-built originals and two refits that must go to make room, so do please support a local artisan if you can!
I’m offski back to my old home in France for a brief stint prior to handing over the property to its new owners, and so must clear out of my temporary workshop space in the UK – so everything must go!
Postage within the UK is £30, £90 for ‘the rest of the world’. It’s only £40 for Europe, but if anyone is interested and based in continental Europe, you have to let me know before the 29th of September, so I can take it to France with me to post within the EU to avoid the evils of Brexit duties and delays. Collection free from either Burtonwood (Warrington), halfway between Manchester and Liverpool, or Birkdale (Southport), just north of Liverpool.
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First up is DG010, one of two identical walnut twelve-string Telecaster Thinlines I’ve built. It features a warm, beefy Antiquity 3+3 PAF humbucker in the neck, and a Seymour Duncan Phatcat P90 in the bridge, with locking tuners, engraved hardware and a cutdown brushed aluminium pickguard. It’s a beautiful instrument, the neck is slim and fast for a 12-string, and that P90 in particular gives a loud and bright sparkle to the sound. Comes with an upholstered, padded custom-built hard case and a light khaki fabric strap. This went out on loan to the singer in a CSN&Y covers band for around three months, who loved it so much they ordered one of their own in a different colour. The sound is big and lush, and it’s eminently playable. It has a sister-guitar below, and I’m happy to do a deal for the pair. £600.
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Second is DG018, a lilac solid-body Telecaster. The exact same, slightly obscure, pickup configuration as the 12-string above, it has a relic’d pearl lilac paint job and white pearl pickguard. The solid chestnut body feels pretty substantial. Comes with a basic gig bag and a white fabric strap. This feels like a gigging guitar that needs to be sturdy to withstand the rigours of the road. It looks cool (especially under stage lights – that pearlized sparkle really glows), and has the beef of that neck humbucker plus the bright, airy sparkle of the (loud!) Phatcat bridge pickup. Because it’s a sister-guitar to the 12-string, I’m willing to negotiate for the pair – contact me for a decently discounted deal. £350.
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The third Telecaster is DG019, a lightweight relic’d craqueleur grey sparkle Tele Thinline. A basswood body and ash top, it packs a big punch with two white humbucker pickups – a Tonerider Surfmaster in the neck, and a Tonerider Hot Rails tele bridge pickup – in black and brass hardware, and a cutdown black pearl pickguard. Comes with a basic gig bag and a black fabric strap. The twin humbuckers make it pretty beefy-sounding for a Tele, but with a comfortable weight and the playability of that slim Tele neck. £250.
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Lastly of the original hand-builds, there’s DG017 (‘A Very Naughty Boy’), one of my ‘Rebecca’ range of relic’d SSH Stratocasters (they’re named for someone whose playing I love who happens to wield a humbucker bridge pickup in all her Strats). This one has a pair of Wilkinson Custom black single-coil pickups and a Wilkinson ‘Zebra’ humbucker in the bridge position, with a Wilkinson tremolo system. It has a heavily relic’d custom paint job of black metallic sparkle over the top of a blue metallic undercoat, with a brushed aluminium pickguard. Comes with a padded gig bag and an embroidered black-and-silver strap. The slim neck makes me want to shred on this (pity I can’t), but it definitely feels like a great rock guitar. £250.
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The cheapest option is this refitted Westfield SG. New vintage-look locking tuners and a pair of P90 pickups make this a ‘Tony Iommi’ configuration (you too could sound like Black Sabbath). Westfield are British-built copies from the 80s and early 90s, and are exceptionally well-built, and the cherry red finish on this is immaculate, just two tiny chips on the entire body. I actually took this one off the market previously and kept it for myself, using it as a Blues machine while I’ve been learning delta blues slide, the P90s are great for that. But the lack of space means it has to go. Comes with a basic gig bag and an embroidered ‘red rose’ black strap. A steal at £175.
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Finally, there is this refit of an Epiphone Thunderbird bass in a dark tobacco finish. One of the pickups has been replaced (with a genuine Epiphone replacement), but otherwise this is practically box-fresh and has only been played a dozen times from new. Comes with a long broad brown leather strap and a gorgeous brand new grey padded gigbag that actually fits (Thunderbird owners will know bags that fit are few and far between). There are very few things that look as cool as a low-strung Thunderbird bass. It will rumble off for £400.
