Tuesday: Early Lunch Report

[RickT]

I'm posting early today as my work schedule is a bit hectic today. We have some internal training for our new project managers as well as some customer meetings.

G&L Topic of the day is my Leo Fender signature ASAT from the George Fullerton collection.


I purchased this guitar from Tim at Buffalo Brothers back in 2010. I owned a Broadcaster that I had purchased from Buffalo Brothers some years before that. Unknown to me at that time, the Broadcaster was previously owned by Tim. The Broadcaster had some sentimental value to Tim and he wanted the guitar back into his collection. However, he also knew there was a certain amount collector's value for the instrument. So, Tim came up with an interesting trade for the Broadcaster. He was able to purchase a Leo Fender Signature ASAT from the estate of George Fullerton. That collection of guitars is known as the "George Fullerton Collection". I couldn't resist owning that piece of history. Here's a guitar that was owned and played by George Fullerton. And, it wasn't some spec'd out custom guitar. It was a piece that you'd easily find in a music store near you. I agreed to the trade which is how I came to own this piece of guitar history.

The guitar came with a few extra goodies. There was an envelope containing the Certificate of Authenticity, indicating the guitar as one from the personal collection of George Fullerton and a copy of the page of the production log for this guitar. Also, the guitar case was labeled in George's handwriting with information identifying the guitar that was stored in the case. Apparently George kept his guitars in the case.




Here's the Broadcaster that I traded for the ASAT:


Another positive for the ASAT is it has a story associated with it. I think that adds to the uniqueness of the guitar and makes ownership more personal and intimate. Do you have a special guitar with a story to tell?

RickT

[yowhatsshakin]

Morning Rick,

I also have a George and Tim story. Knowing what kind of G&L connoisseur Tim is, I had dropped him an email with a list of a couple of models I was looking for; one of them being a Trinity which we all know was designed by Tim with additional help/input by Gabe Dellevigne and Greg Gagliano. A couple of months later I received an email that his brother Bob wanted to sell his Trinity: #24 and the only one in transparent red.


Tim has told me that when showing this guitar to George, it inspired him to come up with a design for the Trinity logo. At the same visit, George also signed the back of the headstock:

Here some pics Tim sent me of the occasion:


What makes Bob Trinity also special (and in a similar fashion Tim's #25), is how the Buffalo Brothers decked out their Trinities. It has a black aluminum wrinkle powder-coated pickguard, bridge, and control plate, some special knobs with a US nickel depicting a buffalo in bas-relief, and a special neck plate with Bob's initials (RDP) added:


And to finally bring it back to George, according to Tim this COA for the #24 is the very last certificate of any kind George signed for anything related to G&L:

You'll notice too that the COA is customized for this specific guitar. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it ...

- Jos

[darwinohm]

Rick, great story followed by another from Jos. I have been looking forward to your reports this week.

Unfortunately I came into the G&L fold quite recently compared to many of you so I do not have prized G&Ls like you have shown today but I do have a story which I believe is unique in numbers alone. I had posted a picture, a year ago, of a Tanqueray Fender Start that I had found. It was in near perfect condition and Fender built 100 of them in 1988 for the Tanqueray Gin Company in the UK to give away as prizes in a contest, and they were the first prize. They were an American Standard in the special color and were never sold by dealers. A fellow member here contacted me this winter as he wanted to sell the one that he had and it turns out that two of them were in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Thanks to him, I now have two of them and the one that he had is virtually unplayed, in perfect condition, and still has the original strings on it. He had purchased it from the original winners of the guitar in probably 1989. So thanks to him I am lucky enough to have twins. Here they are and if you like John Deere, you will like these. The one on the right is perfect and the most recent 88.-- Darwin

[sickbutnottired]

Great stuff guys. Thanks for sharing.

Rick, that is what a tele should look like.

Jos, I have said it before, and I am sure I'll say it again. Your ASAT and related collection is spectacular. Thanks for sharing the details.

Darwin, do you really have 2 of a 100 piece run from a promotion in the UK? That is incredible. I happen to really like the green, as well.

I think you guys are scaring citizens like myself from posting. These are too cool! j

[louis cyfer]

i have nothing to add to this discussion, great guitars. the only leo thing i have is a 57 tweed deluxe. no historic items like this. rick, i am not sure if i would have made that trade. the broadcaster is sick.

[darwinohm]

SBNT, yes I do have 2 of 100 or who knows, 120? that were built for the UK. I am lucky thanks to another guy from this forum. They are not going any where and it is funny when people see them. Either they think they are cool or ugly. There is no in between. If nothing else, some John Deer farmer in the Red River Valley would love them especially if I put yellow pickguards on them!-- Darwin-- maybe if I have a cold one or two the pickguards would look yellow!

Rick, that Grey one you traded was a class act!

[CGT]

Wow. Just. Wow.

[glvourot]

Great guitars. I would have kept the Broadcaster though...

[asphalt-abate]

Nice stories. I do not have one to share, which has any historical importance. I am second owner of a L-1000, hog. The original owner bought it in Cleveland, OH. A few years ago I sold a guitar to a guy who was in a band that opened for REM in the mid-80s at the Greek Ampitheatre in LA. My brother was at that show. I would have gone but I had to work so my brother took my girlfriend. I can't remember the name of his band. It was one of those psychedelic punck bands that came out of the Bay area in the 80s.

Darwin, I love that green. I could own a guitar with that green. Mark me down as a lover.

[astutzmann]

great guitars, love that tele. Too bad George wasn't left handed

[gitman001]

Great stuff guys.... I only have BBE era stuff, not much history behind it....yet!