I'm speechless...

[RampageFan]

I have told the story many times here about how I discovered G&L back in 1986. I went to buy a Charvel, the salesman was playing a hot pink Rampage when I walked in. After I played it I fell in love with it and bought it. I wasn't thrilled about a pink guitar, but it was the only one they had, and they were the only G&L dealer around.

In 1992 I traded it for a Les Paul Standard that I located through the old Trading Post classifieds. Interesting that we met in a public parking lot when we made the deal. I always regretted getting rid of the Rampage. It was ugly and pink, but the Rampage was a sweet playing guitar that I was always trying to replace after I got rid of it. I always joked that if I ever saw it I would know it because of a finish flaw on the side near the output jack.

Fast forward 20 years... A pink Rampage showed up online yesterday in a pawn shop about 25 miles from me. I went to look at it, and they told me it wasn't for sale because it was listed on auction. I told them my story and they let me look at it. When I saw the case I knew it was mine! I had put an Ace Frehley bumper sticker on the case back in the 80's and I could see where the sticker used to be on the case. When he opened it up, I immediately saw a small chip on the front that was caused by me years ago. And when I checked the side near the jack, there was the dark spot in the finish that I mentioned above! I can't believe I found my old guitar! The guy thought my story was cool, and decided to go against his policy of letting the auction run it's course. He gave me a fair deal and now it's mine again! And strangely, the parking lot that I mentioned, was right across the street from the pawnshop. I haven't been in this area since I traded the guitar.

It's still in good shape. A few nicks in the body here and there. There is some serious finish checking throughout the body. And it needs a good cleaning and setup. But most importantly, the neck is still in great shape! Still has the original pickup. The only mod is the Leo Fender graph-tech locking nut has been replaced with a Floyd Rose locking nut. It still has a great feel when playing. But it's still ugly and pink!

Sorry to ramble, just stoked I found my old G&L! Tone report and porn coming soon!

Dave
Sill man enough to play a hot pink guitar!

[yowhatsshakin]

Great story Dave and congrats

At least you are spared having to post an 'I Want It Back' ad in all sorts of places and periodicals!

- Jos

P.S.

Dave
Sill man enough to play a hot pink guitar!

I guess so. Daisy Rock has nothing on your 'Pretty In Pink'!

[Katefan]

Hi Dave,

Congrats! Nicely Done!

The first G&L I owned was a mid 80's pink Rampage. Got it from the Little Nickel (Classified Ads Paper in Washington State) in 1994 for $139 including the OHSC. It sat there for at least a month at that price. I was into vintage fenders at the time - had a '64 refin strat, a '66 tele and a couple '74 strats but was curious so I gave the guy a call. Met him late one night after a Pretenders' show in Tacoma, Wa. Seller commented - nobody wants a pink guitar. Didn't know much about its history but it has a dealer's sticker from Tenneesee on the back of the headstock.
Anyway, I was blow away by the natural sustain even with the stock Kahler + the fit and finish. My other guitars felt lifeless compared to it. I didn't mind the colour so much (sort of a salmon pink) and not a humbucker fan but the deciding factor was the size of the thing - both the body and the neck (1 & 3/4" nut width) felt too foreign compared to my fenders. I ended up selling it to a friend of a friend for $300.
It was missing the lock down metal pieces on the headstock when I got it but I called and talked to a guy @ BBE who sent me some for free.
Years later (circa 2002) I saw it in a pawnshop (Capitol Loans - Seattle) all knackered and weather-checked. They had it hanging behind the counter with a $1600 price tag on it!

Just recently I picked up the '90 ASAT Classic off Ebay that was thought to be a Bluesboy prototype - see the blurb Gabe wrote about it - it has a #4 neck and a mid 80's Schaller humbucker - Ha! Kinda gone full circle via the Tele route
The sustain it has is incredible - just like the old rampage. That got me thinking that a lot of it is probably due to the wider neck and headstock. At first it felt a bit too big but my other G&L ('90 ASAT Sig) has a pretty beefy #2 neck so I find they get along

Hey - have a question for you - did all G&L Superstrats come stock with the wider 1 & 3/4" nut width?

Cheers,
Kf

[RampageFan]

Great story Dave and congrats

At least you are spared having to post an 'I Want It Back' ad in all sorts of places and periodicals!

- Jos

P.S.

Dave
Sill man enough to play a hot pink guitar!

I guess so. Daisy Rock has nothing on your 'Pretty In Pink'!

Thanks Jos. To be honest, I considered the I want it back ads! I couldn't resist the man enough to play pink comment! I've seen that joke said around here a few times. And there is something just odd about a 43 year old man getting all giddy and excited over a pink guitar!

Dave

[RampageFan]

KF,

That's a cool story. I got rid of mine around the time you found yours. At that time you couldn't give a Rampage away, let alone a pink one! Thanks to Cantrell, that saved the model, and they became highly sought after. Anyone who follows the Superstrats know the prices are unpredictable. I've seen some in bad shape that go through the roof. I couldn't take the chance and let it go on auction. I got lucky and got it for $450.

I know the superstrats had different neck options. The four I have are all 1 3/4" at the nut. My '85 Invader and the pink rampage have 12" radius and my two '86 Rampages have the flat 25" radius. The flatter radius necks look wider, but they are all 1 3/4".

Thanks,
Dave

[Sprinter 92]

I had may eye on that auction. I was a little disappointed this afternoon when I saw the auction had ended. Congratulations, I'm glad the guitar found its way home!



Sprinter 92

[Katefan]

Thanks Dave - much appreciated.

Thanks Sprinter! - Yeah, was in the States for a short visit so thought I'd make the most of it Even was able to get it set up by my old tech before heading back here.

Cheers,

Kf

[Elwood]

How cool...
...a good reason to have a (really sticky) sticker on every guitar case.

can't wait to see pics etc.

I've had one guitar come back, and it did take some diligence scouring ebay everyday
for a long while. (A silvertone with AIC ties too to it).I had fashioned a bone saddle in place of the rosewood
one that is stock, so I knew it would stand out in the dozens of black silvertones on ebay each year.

Yahoooo
Elwood

[darwinohm]

Wow, great story Dave.-- Darwin

[RampageFan]

I had may eye on that auction. I was a little disappointed this afternoon when I saw the auction had ended. Congratulations, I'm glad the guitar found its way home!



Sprinter 92

Sorry Sprinter. I've never asked anyone to end an auction before. I've just always let them run their course and bid what I'm willing to spend. But I just couldn't let this one slip out of my hands for sentimental reasons. I think I'm out of the Rampage business for a while. I want my next guitar to be an Asat. I will keep my eyes open and I will let you know if I see one come up for sale.

Did you notice in the auction it mentioned the hairline crack on the headstock and the pictures showed the two white plastic ties holding it together? I checked it out very closely, and it's more of a surface scratch. I removed the ties, and slightly sanded that area and it's pretty much gone.

Thanks,
Dave

[Sprinter 92]

I had may eye on that auction. I was a little disappointed this afternoon when I saw the auction had ended. Congratulations, I'm glad the guitar found its way home!



Sprinter 92

Sorry Sprinter. I've never asked anyone to end an auction before. I've just always let them run their course and bid what I'm willing to spend. But I just couldn't let this one slip out of my hands for sentimental reasons. I think I'm out of the Rampage business for a while. I want my next guitar to be an Asat. I will keep my eyes open and I will let you know if I see one come up for sale.

Did you notice in the auction it mentioned the hairline crack on the headstock and the pictures showed the two white plastic ties holding it together? I checked it out very closely, and it's more of a surface scratch. I removed the ties, and slightly sanded that area and it's pretty much gone.

Thanks,
Dave

Those plastic ties were interesting. That was the first time I've someone try to hold a headstock together like that. I'm glad to hear that it's not broken. The Rampage is a fun guitar! I still need to finish the restoration on mine.

Sprinter 92

[RampageFan]

How cool...
...a good reason to have a (really sticky) sticker on every guitar case.

can't wait to see pics etc.

I've had one guitar come back, and it did take some diligence scouring ebay everyday
for a long while. (A silvertone with AIC ties too to it).I had fashioned a bone saddle in place of the rosewood
one that is stock, so I knew it would stand out in the dozens of black silvertones on ebay each year.

Yahoooo
Elwood

Thanks Elwood, yeah that old sticker came in handy! I'm still in shock I found it. I still kick myself for getting rid of it!

That's cool about your silvertone! I know what you mean, I was lucky this one had the little flaw in the finish or it would never have stood out. I had a daily system set up. I would do a Google search using the last 24 hours search function. I would use the Craigslist national search engine. I would check guitar centers used website. And I would scour the local guitar shops used inventory hoping it would show up. I even had my phone set up to alert me when a Rampage was listed on Ebay! Extreme I know, but it worked!

Thanks,
Dave

[RampageFan]

Hi Darwin, Thanks! And glad to see you back on here!

I worked on the guitar for 9 hours last night. It was covered with nicotine, and had a yellowish tint to it. I cleaned it, polished and buffed it out and the yellow tint is gone. It took 3 hours to clean the neck and fretboard. It was disgusting. Amazing how much grime that was on it. Anyone who's played an oiled neck knows they have a tendency to look dirty. I used .000 steel wool and 2000 grit sandpaper and cleaned it and smoothed it out. And someone had the bright idea of drawing a symbol on the headstock in black marker. Luckily I got that off also.

New frets had been installed on it recently and the floyd rose locking nut seems to be a professional job. I prefer the original, but I'm liking the floyd so far. I did a setup last night and it's good to go now!

And I would like to point out one more time... The micro tilt adjustment was a brilliant idea! It needs to make a comeback!

Thanks,
Dave

[Elwood]

You da Man Dave,
Well done...what a joy!

good news on the locking nut being a pro job...that's a sensitive area,
I saw that symbol in the auction pics, good job making it disappear.

Elwood

[blargfromouterspace]

Great story Dave - really looking forward to some before and after pictures

[Fred Finisher]

Dave
Sill man enough to play a hot pink guitar![/quote]

Dave,
I'm not sure you realize that the man responsible for that color in the first place was Jeff Beck. He asked Grover Jackson to paint a custom guitar for him way back then and it took off. Dale H. had us do the same when he saw the popularity of it. The inspiration for the color was a pair of high top sneakers he was wearing at the time. You could probably find a picture of him wearing them on the web.
Fred

[Elwood]

Fred, wow ...that's a nice little nugget of history ,

I say we all chip in and buy RampageFan some pink sneakers .
(vegan of course )

Elwood

[RampageFan]

Thanks Jamie. Will get some pictures posted soon


Fred, I know that Beck guitar you are talking about. It's legendary among vintage Charvel/Jackson collectors! I never thought about the connection. Thanks for the story! I am very interested in the history of G&L and your input is very much appreciated! Thanks for coming here and sharing your insight. Great stuff!

Elwood, I would probably wear them! Compared to some of my fashion choices in the past, couldn't look much worse!

Thanks,
Dave

[Fred Finisher]

You're welcome Dave, these posts bring out a lot of old memories.
Fred

[sscandyman]

im a little late to respond but super happy for you man! and i ( like alot of others) would love to see a before and after.

-JT