Guitars that never made it

[Blazer]

Without a doubt, one of the craziest flattops Martin ever made, and it didn't really catch on either.

Of course, everybody will recognize the D-18E as the axe Kurt Cobain used on Nirvana's unplugged performance.

And another famous user was Tracy Chapman, who used one during her early days.

But neither used the guitar as it was intended. Tracy Chapman used hers plugged into the PA, like one would do with an Ovation. And Cobain had a Bartolini Soundhole pickup fitted because he hated the sound of the stock DeArmond pickups. The fact that he strung his up with Acoustic strings rather than electric strings also explains a lot when it comes to the resulting sound.

Because, if you use them as an electric, as they were intended to be used, they sound quite awesome.

 

[grandstick]

For some reason, morphing into a ukulele just doesn’t feel like a win.

I have two U-basses - one fretted, one fretless. Either one is great for getting the tone of an upright bass, without the bulk.

 

[goonie]

The 1986-87 Gibson SG Special 400. The short-lived and wildly unpopular 'hair metal' SG. I have one which I am (slowly) converting to an SG Jr.

 

[grandstick]

I had one of these back in 1975. It looks OK but the pickups and electronics were odd and it didn't catch on. I traded mine in on a 335.

Glenn Phillips (from Georgia) has played L6-S guitars for decades. He is an incredibly underrated guitarist who gets loads of interesting tones from his gear.

 

[Bruxist]

View attachment 1053517

If Bo Diddley had ever played MTV's Unplugged, I would want him to play this.

 

[badscrew_projects]

Without a doubt, one of the craziest flattops Martin ever made, and it didn't really catch on either.

Of course, everybody will recognize the D-18E as the axe Kurt Cobain used on Nirvana's unplugged performance.

And another famous user was Tracy Chapman, who used one during her early days.

But neither used the guitar as it was intended. Tracy Chapman used hers plugged into the PA, like one would do with an Ovation. And Cobain had a Bartolini Soundhole pickup fitted because he hated the sound of the stock DeArmond pickups. The fact that he strung his up with Acoustic strings rather than electric strings also explains a lot when it comes to the resulting sound.

Because, if you use them as an electric, as they were intended to be used, they sound quite awesome.

Oh wow these were sold like that stock? I was sure this was some kind of amateur hack job thrown together from various parts?

 

[badscrew_projects]

The 1986-87 Gibson SG Special 400. The short-lived and wildly unpopular 'hair metal' SG. I have one which I am (slowly) converting to an SG Jr.

View attachment 1054698

Looking great! They were just so late in the game that you had to have a pointy superstrat by the time these were sold.

 

[johnny k]

 

[Blazer]

Oh wow these were sold like that stock? I was sure this was some kind of amateur hack job thrown together from various parts?

They were stock alright. Martin actually did three versions.

- The D-18E which Cobain and Chapman used.

- The D-28E, which was a fancier version with Rosewood back and sides.

And lastly the 00-18E, which was a small body model.

Don't expect Martin to reissue these anytime soon, though.

 

[badscrew_projects]

These are looking surprisingly unprofessional coming from Martin

 

[NoTeleBob]

Giannini Craviola electric.....rarely seen. View attachment 1049975

Any idea what year that was made?

 

[fretknot]

Any idea what year that was made?

Early 2010s, as far as I know. Here's a link to a promotional video from 2013.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Early 2010s, as far as I know. Here's a link to a promotional video from 2013.

OK. That makes sense. Sort of phase 2 of the company when they started to get into electrics and some offshore building.

For a while I thought they just sold the name. But they seem to have come back and are hand building some guitars again in Brazil as of late.

I'd love to find one of those.

 

[raito]

We’re still waiting for the future to arrive. The day will come.

 

[Skydog1010]

For some reason they're all Gibsons...

Guess R&D was tasked with increasing their sales volume to catch up with T's and S's types.

 

[fretknot]

OK. That makes sense. Sort of phase 2 of the company when they started to get into electrics and some offshore building.

For a while I thought they just sold the name. But they seem to have come back and are hand building some guitars again in Brazil as of late.

I'd love to find one of those.

 

[Skyhook]

Guess R&D was tasked with increasing their sales volume to catch up with T's and S's types.

Good job...

 

[NoTeleBob]

@fretknot: Did you leave something out of that post?

 

[fretknot]

@fretknot: Did you leave something out of that post?

Yes, I started to tell a story about a guy named Adrian Legg, who (I thought) played one. It looked very similar when I saw him perform a few years back. Upon looking into it I realized it was a custom-built one-off guitar. I erased the text, but the post remained and didn't close.

 

[Skydog1010]

Epiphone will hate me for this, but the P93 is a dog unless heavily modified!