Lunch: I didn't really get a lunch today, but dinner made up for it. I moved away from the South Carolina Lowcountry over 25 years ago, but I try to maintain a tradition of eating traditional Carolina food on New Year's Day. The centerpiece of the meal is Hoppin John, which is a rice and bean dish traditionally eaten as a sort of New Year's good luck charm. This afternoon it was accompanied by grits with shrimp, okra, and my wife's cornbread.
Question #1: What gear did you score in 2014? Any G&Ls or other gems?
Most of my guitar and bass finds in 2014 were unplanned, but I did stumble across some keepers:
This one is a '91 ASAT Signature Bass. It was one of the last few models I had been chasing for my Leo-era bass collection. This one has a body dated March 19 1991, which I believe was the last day Leo Fender worked. The neck is a warranty replacement with a November 1992 date stamp, but for some reason it was made with pre-BBE style thin veneer fretboard. It also somehow ended up with a BBE-era pre-amp. It technically doesn't fit the theme of my bass collection (i.e., built by a company owned by Leo Fender), but it is gorgeous, feels great, and has great tone. I still need to find a true Leo-era ASAT Bass, but this one will be a keeper.
This one's a 1977 Musicman Stingray. I found it by chance at a local shop. I just happened to be there when it reached the floor, and while I was holding it two other regular customers walked up to the owner and said they'd buy it if I set it down. I worked out a trade for my 1980 F-100, a lot of pedals, and some cash. I think I got the better end of the deal. The finish is not original, but it was done professionally very early in the bass's life.
I'm not a fan of PRS guitars, but they made some incredible basses back in the late '80s and early '90s. This is one I had been hunting for a while. It was modded by a previous owner with a high-end pre-amp. I don't think it sounds quite as good as it would have before the mod, but the neck is amazingly easy to play and it still has serious thunder from the PRS pickups. Photo by a previous owner.
This one's a mid-1990s ASAT Classic Custom. It was hanging on the wall of the same shop where I found the Stingray. Somehow I managed to work out an even trade for my '98 ASAT Classic and some pedals. This is another one that I was very pleased with. A friend who has played all of my G&L guitars and owns several himself swears that this is the best one he's ever played.
Here's the 1981 G-200 that I've discussed in a couple of different threads. This was the result of four years of looking. It's hard to describe just how unique this model is among Leo Fender's creations.
I found a couple of other scores that I don't have pictures of yet. One was a mid-1980s Guild Pilot bass with a flamed maple body and a fretless flamed/birdseye neck. I will need to get pics when we have a sunny day. The other two were pedals - an Xotic AC Booster and a Subdecay Prometheus filter pedal.
Question #2: Do you have any plans for gear purchases in 2015? If not, is there anything you are hoping to stumble acress?
My GAS has really tapered off after finding the G-200, but there are still a couple of Leo-era basses that I'm on the hunt for to round out the collection. To be complete, I need to find a '79 or '80 Musicmaster Sabre, an '87 through '91 SB-2, and an L-5000. That elusive ASAT Bass with a logbook date prior to March 21 1991 is still out there somewhere, too.
Happy New Year's, everybody!
Ken
I couldn’t help it, a double bound tuxedo telecaster is a thing of beauty. But beautiful isn’t reason enough to keep two near identical guitars and I do actually regret buying this. As such I’m selling this to help cover the cost of one of these beauties that is currently in a truck on its way to me 
Neck pup is a Steve Grom Bluesboy humbucker and bridge is standard BIG MFD. Guard from Chandler.
