(Un)Natural finishes on offsets

[sookwinder]

Just been surfing around GBASE and it has just dawned on me that there seems to be a far greater percenatge of vintage JMs and Jags with the old (un)natural finish  (including the Poo brown shoe polish look) than say on vintage strats or teles.

Anyone ever noticed this ? and if yes, any ideas why?

[zhivago]

I think it's probably that there were more offsets sold during the 60s than $trats and teles....so there were more offset candidates for That 70s Strip Show

[djetz]

I think that by the 70s, when the stripping was done, offsets were already considered to be less valuable than strats + teles.

"OK, I have this stupid old surf guitar, I might as well make the best of it and strip the finish and put humbuckers in it."

"Yeah, at least you won't be damaging a valuable guitar"

"Right. Got any more 'ludes?"

[Mad-Mike]

I think that by the 70s, when the stripping was done, offsets were already considered to be less valuable than strats + teles.

"OK, I have this stupid old surf guitar, I might as well make the best of it and strip the finish and put humbuckers in it."

"Yeah, at least you won't be damaging a valuable guitar"

"Right. Got any more 'ludes?"

It's a lifecycle of the guitars, I remember seeing in the 90's that there were a number of us who got stuck with a Kramer guitar and wanted a Jazzmaster, so then all these P-90 equipped pointy headstock "alt-modded" Kramers turned up here and there trying to be makeshift JAzzmasters.  The upside is it's mostly the cheaper models that got modded (Japanese Focus and Chinese Strikers). 

What's funny is some of us will be kicking ourselves if we try to sell our modded Kramers, because few or none of the Kramer guys will want to buy them, because they won't be original, not even close.  Heck, mine has the 90's Equivalent of putting a Floyd Rose on a Jazzmaster (putting a Kahler on a non-recessed Floyd Rose Kramer).  Lots of guitars get messed up that way.....

The scary part is, though, that vintage rebuilders buy these guitars up, and a small few of them rebuild them to original specs, then try to pass them off as a REAL vintage piece because that's how they'll make money off them.  I'm sure some/a select few of those vintage Jag's and Jazzy's we see are probably ex-poo brown guitars repainted into 60's colors.  In a few I'm estimating we'll see a few "original rebuilt" Kramer Pacers and Kramer Barettas on e-bay

Typically, the lifecycle of a guitar like this that has a particular genre tied to it is this....
1.) guitar gets popular in original genre
2.) guitar looses value as genre fades away
3.) Next generation modifies guitar to fit current genre
4.) Guitar reaches "the age of vintage", last generation sells off their modified guitars for the ones they wanted in the first place
5.) Guitar is bought up by rebuilders and rebuilt to vintage specs, meanwhile, last year's fad guitar dies off
6.) Guitar is sold for very high sums of money, investors smile about said guitar being in their bank vault
7.) The last Fad guitar gains in popularity again, and the cycle continues

Of course, the idea of a Fad guitar is only a term to point out how popular a guitar is in a given time frame, to me no guitar is really a "fad" guitar, but just another appealing instrument on  it's way through the highway of a very popular musical instrument's lifecycle.  Thay're kinda like Miss America, one day everyones looking at her, the next day, she may still be pretty, but she don't have the title no more, so nobody cares.

[NoFi]

Well, you pretty much nailed it.
I might add i actually like naturals and "Poo brown shoe polish" finishes !

[StevenO]

Well, you pretty much nailed it.
I might add i actually like naturals and "Poo brown shoe polish" finishes !

Me too, I think it has to do with elvis costello, for me.

[berlinbetty]

  Maybe not so much the shoe polish brown, but I think ANY Fender looks good in natural, especially with a tort pickguard!

[zhivago]

[berlinbetty]

  Exactly!!!

[StevenO]

John, yours?
It's awful purdy...

[zhivago]

hehe...nope...not mine...this one is mine....














eventually I will have it returned to it's original Blonde

[mezcalhead]

eventually I will have it returned to it's original Blonde

Good call .. it'll look excellent with that grain .. I hate natural finishes on offsets.

[zhivago]

eventually I will have it returned to it's original Blonde

Good call .. it'll look excellent with that grain .. I hate natural finishes on offsets.

after the second '61 is done, I'll be having the refin done on this one...I'm hoping it'll look like this:

[mezcalhead]

One blonde, one black .. great pair.

[burker]

hehe...nope...not mine...this one is mine....


eventually I will have it returned to it's original Blonde

those pictures are really dramatic looking, very nice...


also, just add, my 66' Jag has the natural refinish thing going on (well its more of a "De-finish" cause it doesnt have any clear on it or anything)