ELECTRICIZED

Guild X-50

1954-1970
Mahogany, Maple, Rosewood

The Guild X-50 was Guild’s response to Gibson ES-125. It was the smallest of Guilds hollowbody and the only model of the ‘X’ line to be non-cutaway. Early models were nicknamed Granada, up until 1961 when the guitar was renamed Cordoba.

Gibson PAF pickup

1956-1962

The very first humbucker and probably the most sought after pickup of all time, the PAF was invented by Seth Lover, then Gibson employee, as an answer to the problematic hum caused by single coils. Famously the de-facto pickup on Les Paul standards of that era, the PAF was the secret weapon to crush Fender.

PAF stands for “Patent Applied For”, as seen on the decal. Story goes that no PAF pickup sounds the same, but they all roar. This is probably due to the fact they were randomly stuffed with Alnico II, III, IV or V magnets. Modified patented versions were produced after 1962, marking the official end of the “Patent Applied For” era. Since then, countless reissues, clones and copies have been produced.

GuitarHQ has pulled a very comprehensive guide to the PAF

Photo by mmcquain

Silvertone 1423 Jupiter

1959-1962
Maple, Rosewood

Also known as the Harmony H-49, this is one of the Sears catalog guitars produced by Harmony. Two DeArmond pickups with a gorgeous tone, lightweight because of a semi-hollow body, it’s a very desirable guitar usually found under $1,000. Photo: Southside Guitars

Gibson Byrdland

1955-Present
Spruce, Maple, Ebony

The name Byrdland is a mashup of the names of Billy Bird and Hank Garland the two guitarists who participated in its design. They had requested a short scale archtop that would be less bulky than the traditional hollowbody, and this is basically what they got: A short-scale thinline L5CES.

P90s, PAF pickups, venetian or florentine cutaway, the Gibson Byrdland went through several phases, but was always seen as a remarkable and prized instrument. Some of Gibson’s finest. Hear it

Photo: Georgesmusic

Bo Diddley

1928-2008

The Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Hendrix… You name it. Everyone has been influenced by the simple yet feverish rhythms of Bo Diddley. “The Originator”, as they called him, defined the genre and is unmistakably considered a cornerstone of blues rock. He was also famous for having female guitarists in his band. 

His two main instruments were the cigar-box shaped Grestch Twang Machine and the Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird. Both were designed by Diddley himself, respectively in 1958 and 1959. Yes, Bo Diddley was a man, and a remarkable one.

Wandré Model BB

1958-1962
Aluminum, Rosewood, Plastic

The initials B.B. was the title of a Serge Gainsbourg song. It was also the name of one of  Wandré’s first electric guitars. In both cases, they refer to the same emblem of the sixties: Brigitte Bardot.

Her sexy curves were certainly an inspiration for the body shape, on which Wandré experimented with all kinds of unusual finishes, like candle smoke. Long before Travis Bean, Wandré used aluminum for the neck, and plastic for the headstock. Just like Bardot, this guitar was very liberated for its time. More info and pictures at fetish guitars. Photo from Guitarz.

Hound Dog Taylor

1915-1975
Flesh, Bones, tons of soul

From a guitarist point of view, having six fingers on your left hand is not a malformation, it’s a gift. Hound Dog taylor was definitely gifted. He has pulled more bewildering slide blues and raw boogie than anyone ever did out of a Teisco.

Hear him play “Wild about you Baby”

Fender Princeton

1947-1986

Here is one of the most popular studio amps Fender ever made. The Princeton was introduced in 1947 as an entry level amp, along with the Fender Champ. The Princeton was a fairly basic 15 Watts amp that has been particularly priced for its recording qualities. The Princeton Reverb was added in 1964, which was basically a version with reverb and vibrato. That amp is also the home of the very first Mesa Boogie mods.

While the classic model was discontinued in 1979, Fender kept the popular Princeton Reverb in the catalogs until 1982. It was then replaced by a 22 watts version, the Princeton Reverb II. 8000 units of the version 2 were produced before Fender dropped the series from the catalog. Fender reissued some of the Princeton series in 2006. Hear the Fender Princeton roar

For sale

Guild T-100

1950s-1960s

Despite the fact it was not such a popular model at the time, several variations of the T-100 exist. The earliest model had a single Franz P90 pickup (T-100 SP). A dual pickup (T-100 DP) version followed. In order to compete with Gibson’s new models, a version was released as the “Guild Starfire” with two humbuckers. Photo: Greg’s guitar

Gibson ES-5

1949-1962
Maple, Rosewood

The ES-5 was first revealed at the 1949 NAMM convention as “the supreme electronic version of the famed Gibson L-5”. It was the first Gibson model to feature three pickups. That is also the first Gibson to feature volume knobs with a 0-10 graduation. The original price tag was $395, which was well below the price of a Super 400.

A four-way switch was eventually added in 1956 and the model was renamed “ES-5 Switchmaster”. A year later, the P-90s were replaced by the legendary PAF pickups. The Es-5 was reintroduced between 1995 and 2006 as a Custom Shop model.

Gretsch Country Club / Electro II Cutaway

1951-1981
Maple, Ebony

This sumptuous Gretsch started its long lasting life as the  “Electro II cutaway” and was offered in Sunburst (6192) and Natural (6193). It was then renamed “Country Club” in 1954 and a Cadillac Green option was added (6196). DeArmond pickups were replaced by Filtertron in 1958. Let’s forgive whoever installed the non-original bigsby on this 1956 model, it looks splendid.

For Sale

Golden Hofner

1959-1962
Maple, Spruce, Ebony

Hofner’s holy grail. Rather fatty, its 18” body size is the largest body ever made by Hofner. Mother-of-pearl roses inlays florish through a zero-fret 11 piece laminated neck. Came in three versions (acoustic, electric and thinline).

Sold exclusively in the UK by Selmer, about 100 goldens ended in british homes. The rest of the world had to accomodate with the Hofner 470 model, very similar but smaller in size and with different inlays. If you’re curious, here is a ton of pictures and more details.

Teisco Guyatone Star GT-70

Late 50s

With their chunky neck and high action, Teisco Japanese guitars from the late 50s might not be qualifying as the not most playable guitars. Yet, their killer looks is enough of a reason for anyone to make room in their collection.
This rare GT-70 stands out by featuring a set neck,and, according to Retrofret, “More playable than many would expect”.

1959 Guild M-75 Aristocrat

1959
Spruce, Mahogany

The lord of the Guild.P-90 love. Absolutely gorgeous. On Ebay

1958 Fender Stratocaster

This is the mugshot of an unused, like new 1958 Fender Stratocaster. The strat is in such great and unseen condition that it just got sold at auctions for a record $46,875. Unfortunately for the new owner, the wonderful effects of aging, most valuable feature of a 58 strat, were not included in the sale.