affordable framus fun

captain gorgeous · July 10th, 2007, 05:41 AM

the singer on one of my bands occasionally has errr occasion to visit germany and whenever he does he does he tends to pick up a few guitars and bring them back to sell.

he showed up at my house yesterday with a fabulous looking thing in a thick dark red finish with silver sparkle, a pair of p90 alikes and a jazzmaster style trem. it looked AMAZING, was as light as a feather, sounded great, played surprisingly well and retained tuning perfectly. the best thing was that it cost him just 170 euros. that's just over £100. i'm intrigued and am going to start investigating these german framus' as a source of interesting and affordable funky old guitars.

anyone a fan or know what that particular model might have been.

Jelly · July 10th, 2007, 11:21 AM

I'm a big Framus fan (I have two and a half of them!

). 170 euros sounds like a good price if it's in good shape. Could be quite a few different things. What does the body shape look like? Check out their vintage site, tons of pics (in English too):

http://www.framus-vintage.de/

captain gorgeous · July 10th, 2007, 12:46 PM

brilliant!

here it is (except in yellow rather than red sparkle)

Jelly · July 10th, 2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captain gorgeous

brilliant!

here it is (except in yellow rather than red sparkle)

Very sweet indeed. He got that for 170 euro!? That was a steal if it was in good shape, he's a lucky dog.

Maestro · July 10th, 2007, 03:17 PM

I love framus guitars. I have a AZ 10 and couple of old no name acoustic archtop and flattop beaters. And a fretless jazz bass. They have such a good build quality to them. The AZ is without a doubt the best built guitar I own, the attention to detail is amazing. I'm really longing for those new flame maple single humbucker ones. IMO they best looking archtop on the market today.

Jelly · July 10th, 2007, 04:03 PM

I've got a 1970 Framus SG copy - the single coil neck pickup of which has got the best tone of any guitar I own - it looks just like the pickups on the one Captain Gorgeous posted. I've also got a '65 New Sound Television which is still in disrepair and needs a lot of TLC. And I've got the loaded pickguard and all hardware from a 60's Strato - I'm going to route a body and use a Fender-style replacement neck.

Unkie Al · July 10th, 2007, 08:25 PM

Here's my 1961 Framus Hollywood, it not playable anymore but it's fun to look at...

Talk about a swimming pool rout!!!

Tony474 · July 10th, 2007, 10:00 PM

Back in the 60s Framus and Höfner guitars (both from the same part of Germany) were among those we played because we couldn't afford American instruments. In 1974, at Jim Marshall's shop in Ealing, I actually chopped in a '71 four-bolt Strat that had always had tuning/intonation problems for a Framus Les Paul-a-like that was beautiful to play and sounded good too. Sadly this met an early demise when a couple of years later it got knocked off its stand and the headstock was fractured. Turned out it had a multi-ply laminated neck making a repair/refinish economically unviable.

These days they seem to be turning out some excellent instruments but despite the fact that they advertise extensively in one of our monthly magazines I've never seen any pro guys using them - unlike Warwick basses, which are made by the same company.

Dacious · July 10th, 2007, 10:30 PM

I have two Framus' (or Frami). The semi-thinline archtop in my avatar, which I can't seem to get a model number on. The body is similar to a Sorello, but with the compensator with welded or cast members which are articulated separately per pair of strings. This is a 1969 with a carved spruce top, and flame maple laminated back. It really needs the top frets removed and a mild fretplane to achieve best action, but I put flatwounds on it and it is cool for jazzy thunking and through my little Diason Rose-Morris made 15 watt (2 x 6GW8) amp with the short pan echo is rockabilly city if you want.

The other is the 1966 Caravelle I just picked up. Needs some minor neck attention (neck split at back, planing of frets) and i have acquired a GFS New Yorker pickup which seems an ideal match to the original neck. My brother-in-law is machining a way to fit a new Schaller trem arm into the original Bigsby-type trem and I just need a spring.

Framus has a site up with limited info of old models. They also sell some old stuff like the machined, knurled knobs, transfers and neckplates.

http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules...tID=4616&cl=EN

Jelly · July 11th, 2007, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony474

Back in the 60s Framus and Höfner guitars (both from the same part of Germany)...

And the same part where I live! Ironically there aren't many around here - they all went to the north

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony474

These days they seem to be turning out some excellent instruments but despite the fact that they advertise extensively in one of our monthly magazines I've never seen any pro guys using them...

I think it's because nowadays, other than good quality, they don't offer anything remarkably different than the major names. If they made reissues of their 60's models, with the same type pickups, tremolos and quirky designs, well that would be something different all right.

July 10th, 2007, 05:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
captain gorgeous Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Angel, North London Posts: 1,888 38 Photos	affordable framus fun the singer on one of my bands occasionally has errr occasion to visit germany and whenever he does he does he tends to pick up a few guitars and bring them back to sell. he showed up at my house yesterday with a fabulous looking thing in a thick dark red finish with silver sparkle, a pair of p90 alikes and a jazzmaster style trem. it looked AMAZING, was as light as a feather, sounded great, played surprisingly well and retained tuning perfectly. the best thing was that it cost him just 170 euros. that's just over £100. i'm intrigued and am going to start investigating these german framus' as a source of interesting and affordable funky old guitars. anyone a fan or know what that particular model might have been. __________________ "What is it with chimpanzees and that middle parting? It's so 1920s." www.myspace.com/daddylonglegsuk http://www.myspace.com/thetacticians

July 10th, 2007, 11:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
Jelly Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 1,423 10 Photos	I'm a big Framus fan (I have two and a half of them! ). 170 euros sounds like a good price if it's in good shape. Could be quite a few different things. What does the body shape look like? Check out their vintage site, tons of pics (in English too): http://www.framus-vintage.de/ __________________ "I got on a bus and I went to Fresno because I thought Merle Haggard lived there."

July 10th, 2007, 12:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
captain gorgeous Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Angel, North London Posts: 1,888 38 Photos	brilliant! here it is (except in yellow rather than red sparkle) __________________ "What is it with chimpanzees and that middle parting? It's so 1920s." www.myspace.com/daddylonglegsuk http://www.myspace.com/thetacticians

July 10th, 2007, 03:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
Maestro Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The United Lowlands Of Holland Posts: 755	I love framus guitars. I have a AZ 10 and couple of old no name acoustic archtop and flattop beaters. And a fretless jazz bass. They have such a good build quality to them. The AZ is without a doubt the best built guitar I own, the attention to detail is amazing. I'm really longing for those new flame maple single humbucker ones. IMO they best looking archtop on the market today. __________________ A clean conscience is usually the result of a bad memory.

July 10th, 2007, 04:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jelly Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 1,423 10 Photos	I've got a 1970 Framus SG copy - the single coil neck pickup of which has got the best tone of any guitar I own - it looks just like the pickups on the one Captain Gorgeous posted. I've also got a '65 New Sound Television which is still in disrepair and needs a lot of TLC. And I've got the loaded pickguard and all hardware from a 60's Strato - I'm going to route a body and use a Fender-style replacement neck. __________________ "I got on a bus and I went to Fresno because I thought Merle Haggard lived there."

July 10th, 2007, 08:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
Unkie Al Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark Age: 41 Posts: 687 26 Photos	Here's my 1961 Framus Hollywood, it not playable anymore but it's fun to look at... Talk about a swimming pool rout!!! __________________ My girlfriend always laughs during sex - no matter what she's reading. -- Steve Jobs

July 10th, 2007, 10:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
Tony474 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North Bushey, near London, England Age: 61 Posts: 2,386	Back in the 60s Framus and Höfner guitars (both from the same part of Germany) were among those we played because we couldn't afford American instruments. In 1974, at Jim Marshall's shop in Ealing, I actually chopped in a '71 four-bolt Strat that had always had tuning/intonation problems for a Framus Les Paul-a-like that was beautiful to play and sounded good too. Sadly this met an early demise when a couple of years later it got knocked off its stand and the headstock was fractured. Turned out it had a multi-ply laminated neck making a repair/refinish economically unviable. These days they seem to be turning out some excellent instruments but despite the fact that they advertise extensively in one of our monthly magazines I've never seen any pro guys using them - unlike Warwick basses, which are made by the same company. __________________ *Proud to be The Man From Uncool.* I cried because I had no shoes - until I met a man who had no feet...

July 10th, 2007, 10:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
Dacious Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Godzone Posts: 2,623 35 Photos	I have two Framus' (or Frami). The semi-thinline archtop in my avatar, which I can't seem to get a model number on. The body is similar to a Sorello, but with the compensator with welded or cast members which are articulated separately per pair of strings. This is a 1969 with a carved spruce top, and flame maple laminated back. It really needs the top frets removed and a mild fretplane to achieve best action, but I put flatwounds on it and it is cool for jazzy thunking and through my little Diason Rose-Morris made 15 watt (2 x 6GW8) amp with the short pan echo is rockabilly city if you want. The other is the 1966 Caravelle I just picked up. Needs some minor neck attention (neck split at back, planing of frets) and i have acquired a GFS New Yorker pickup which seems an ideal match to the original neck. My brother-in-law is machining a way to fit a new Schaller trem arm into the original Bigsby-type trem and I just need a spring. Framus has a site up with limited info of old models. They also sell some old stuff like the machined, knurled knobs, transfers and neckplates. http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules...tID=4616&cl=EN __________________ My other Telecaster is a Thinline The Tele Bible, Ch 1, v 10 Love thy Telecaster, covet not thy neighbour's Strat!