A Rare Guitar

JCH

JCH

El Nacho
A collector friend brought this Fender Electric XII by today. I think it's a '66

The case was marked Baja Marimba Band. I remembered them from when I was a kid so I did a you tube search. I found several videos from variety shows where they appeared. It's easy to spot this guitar in many of them.

It's in remarkable condition. He'll bring it back in a few days with some strings, and I'll work on it then.



You can see the guitar in this vid. It wouldn't let me embed it.
Baja Marimba Band "Flyin High" Jimmy Durante Don Kotts Comedy Hour - YouTube
 
Okay, so just to be sure... that guitar didn't used to be a goldtop Gibson twelve string, right?
 
Pro tip.

Grab a camera and take pictures of just about everything on it as well as from every angle you can. Take hundreds. Grab some calipers and measure everything, and I mean everything and note it down.

When I get some thing unusual in the shops I measure and snap for the records.
 
muttley600 said:
Pro tip.

Grab a camera and take pictures of just about everything on it as well as from every angle you can. Take hundreds. Grab some calipers and measure everything, and I mean everything and note it down.

When I get some thing unusual in the shops I measure and snap for the records.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea. I took a few, but it wouldn't hurt to get some more along with measurements. I don't normally post pictures of other peoples stuff that lands on my bench, but this was so out of the ordinary I had to share.
 
JCH said:
That's a good idea. I took a few, but it wouldn't hurt to get some more along with measurements. I don't normally post pictures of other peoples stuff that lands on my bench, but this was so out of the ordinary I had to share.
Click to expand...

Seriously. I do it every time something special comes in the workshop. You will be glad of it down the line when you have a library of stuff to fall back on. Get neck profiles as well. They are one of the things you often look back on when building. I often go back over my notes when asked to get certain type of feel or profile.

Measure everything. You cant take enough measurements or pics. It should only take a half hour or so. I'd be glad of a copy. Maybe we could swap some info. I'm gonna PM you soon as now that VP thing has been resolved and he's gone as of today we can get back on that build project..
 
I see you started using that anti rug slip stuff on your bench top too. I've been doing that for years. Great stuff..
 
FWIW, Mogwai also use one of these for some of their songs:



I've been wanting one for some time now, so if you'd like to ship it over..... :rolleyes:
 
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JCH said:
A collector friend brought this Fender Electric XII by today. I think it's a '66

The case was marked Baja Marimba Band. I remembered them from when I was a kid so I did a you tube search. I found several videos from variety shows where they appeared. It's easy to spot this guitar in many of them.

It's in remarkable condition. He'll bring it back in a few days with some strings, and I'll work on it then.



You can see the guitar in this vid. It wouldn't let me embed it.
Baja Marimba Band "Flyin High" Jimmy Durante Don Kotts Comedy Hour - YouTube
Click to expand...

Super cool. I especially like the socks/sandals combo. Always a good look. :D
 
I hate ankle socks. so girly. I don't like 12 string guitars too much either. too awkward and the sound rewarded for playing it isn't worth the effort.
 
Chili said:
I hate ankle socks. so girly. I don't like 12 string guitars too much either. too awkward and the sound rewarded for playing it isn't worth the effort.
Click to expand...

More wardrobe comments...:yawn:

I have to come to the defense of ankle socks. Tube socks look weird with shorts. Unless you're from Texas or Oklahoma. There it's pretty normal, but you can't see them because of the cowboy boots.

I had an Applause 12 string that recorded really well. Unfortunately only one track remains. I wish I would have kept the guitar.

The b/g track on this vid. It's my Son playing.
 
I had my eye on one in my local music store back in around 85. I finally decided I needed it & went in with a deposit to find it was gone and they had no prospect of getting another one.
Amongst other things I love the head.
I've salivated at the sight or sound of electric 12s ever since but haven't been able to justify the purchase price.
"Ankle" socks were correctly termed girl's tennis socks in Australia until about 10 years ago - now they are ubiquitous for almost all folk, all genders and all occasions. When I look at someone wearing shoes & those sock my mind tells me they are wearing girl's socks - can't help it - hard wired.
They do look kinda girlie anyway!
Though to be entirely honest I think long shorts are weird too. Shorts are nominatively determined to be short unless they were called board shorts which were popular swim wear in the late 60s into the 70s.
These days even sports shorts are so long that they catch at the knee of a soccer player running etc.
I'm biased, old and I don't wear shorts except when playing rugby league (which I gave) or when swimming inpublic (which I haven't done for 20 years even though I live 5 mins walk from a beach).
 
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