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Thread: George Harrison's fretless guitar

  1. #1
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    Default George Harrison's fretless guitar


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    Registered User mandolinstew's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    My viola is my fretless mandolin

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    300,00-400,000 GBP? Keep smoking that good good leaf.

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    Registered User mandolinstew's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Just pull the frets out of your guitar.Jaco did.

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Blasphemy. Jaco would not be caught in the same room with a guitar. This makes Me Sad.
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    Registered User Mike Buesseler's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    https://youtu.be/al1Fp6wd-P8

    I saw this guy last month. Who needs frets?

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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Bartell's of Califormoa made it. Their non-Beatle, fretted guitars run about $1000-1500 on the vintage market. The funniest thing is that the guy who owns it is only known as "a guitarist named Ray". I wonder if he has any proof that John and George ever owned it.

    Here's a less annoying article that doesn't change like the Yahoo one does.

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    Registered User mandolinstew's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Who needs chords?After Jaco pulled the frets on his bass he filled tho slots and applied marine varnish.He found extra notes.

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    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by mandolinstew View Post
    My viola is my fretless mandolin
    Actually it's your fretless mandola. That is, if tuned CGDA.
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    Registered User mandolinstew's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    It’s tuned e a d g (I got an e string for viola and the neck is the same size as a mandolin)I’m going to put frets on it.It is tuned like a mandola.I was wondering if someone would notice that.
    Last edited by mandolinstew; Mar-03-2020 at 9:53pm.

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    Bartell's of Califormoa made it. Their non-Beatle, fretted guitars run about $1000-1500 on the vintage market. The funniest thing is that the guy who owns it is only known as "a guitarist named Ray". I wonder if he has any proof that John and George ever owned it.

    Here's a less annoying article that doesn't change like the Yahoo one does.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	kPWeMVjJDo8XUDbSHDakEm-970-80.jpg 
Views:	265 
Size:	80.5 KB 
ID:	183960
    I saw the programme and the bloke that owned it also had a photograph of George Harrison standing amongst a collection of instruments including the one in question.

    A luthier mate of mine once built a resonator uke for GH - he always wondered what happened to it after GH died and always regretted cashing the cheque.

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    These TV shows are great at telling you what they think something is worth, but in most cases we never find out what they actually sell for . . . .

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    That same show priced a Gibson Jr. mandolin at $7000. Need I say more.
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Years ago I read the back of a sitar album and it said Indian music used a 167 note scale, IIRC........

    I assume Harrison would be looking for those notes that are between the frets, considering his interest in sitar.

    "We" might call those semi-tones.....I might go so far as to call them notes I don't need very often......to put it politely.

    OTOH, Derek Trucks uses a slide to reach some raga-territory notes and it sounds good incorporated into some ballads. The Allman Brothers (later version with Warren Haynes singing) do a version of "Into The Mystic" that is great and Derek plays some Eastern-influenced slide on it.

  16. #15
    rock in rôle Paul Statman's Avatar
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    Question Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by mandolinstew View Post
    My viola is my fretless mandolin
    Viola = fretless mandola, n'est pas?

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    It’s for sale with an auction estimate of £200,000 to £300,000 - any takers?

    https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/184/

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    Bartell's of Califormoa made it. Their non-Beatle, fretted guitars run about $1000-1500 on the vintage market. The funniest thing is that the guy who owns it is only known as "a guitarist named Ray". I wonder if he has any proof that John and George ever owned it.

    Here's a less annoying article that doesn't change like the Yahoo one does.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	kPWeMVjJDo8XUDbSHDakEm-970-80.jpg 
Views:	265 
Size:	80.5 KB 
ID:	183960
    For the record, the “guitarist named Ray” isn’t me!

  19. #18
    '`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`' Jacob's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Adventurous guitarists can order a fretless model here.. (NFI.)

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Efren Lopez playing fretless guitar.

    https://vimeo.com/57078999
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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Oud players deal with a fretless neck all the time...and there are Turkish fretless guitars.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mandolinstew View Post
    Who needs chords?After Jaco pulled the frets on his bass he filled tho slots and applied marine varnish.He found extra notes.
    Jaco also had played string bass in school.

  22. #21
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Jacobson View Post
    Blasphemy. Jaco would not be caught in the same room with a guitar. This makes Me Sad.
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    Check out the "Trio of Doom" for Jaco with a guitar in the room.


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    rock in rôle Paul Statman's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    It’s for sale with an auction estimate of £200,000 to £300,000 - any takers?

    https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/184/
    Can I get a discount on two, d'ya think?

  25. #23
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Statman View Post
    Can I get a discount on two, d'ya think?
    The discount comes in the auction house charges. If it doesn’t go higher than £300,000, you’ll only have to pay an extra 25% commission + 20% tax. Once it goes over £300,000 the drops to 20%. (That’s £90,000 if it goes for £300,000 which would buy you a half decent mandolin!)

  26. #24
    rock in rôle Paul Statman's Avatar
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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    The discount comes in the auction house charges. If it doesn’t go higher than £300,000, you’ll only have to pay an extra 25% commission + 20% tax. Once it goes over £300,000 the drops to 20%. (That’s £90,000 if it goes for £300,000 which would buy you a half decent mandolin!)
    ...how much for the fret-puller again?

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    Default Re: George Harrison's fretless guitar

    If anyone's still interested, it was originally over-valued and sold for £237,562 including the auction house's charges. I'll let somebody else work out what the hammer price was - clearly too much!

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