New kind of Stringmaster debasement...it's back!

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 11 May 2014 7:42 am

Never seen a Stringmaster defiled like this before:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131185869511?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

My guess is that it was somehow paired with a shorter-scale case. Rather than get another case they cut down the ends of the guitar...amazing how stupid people can be!

Stephen Cowell · Post by **Stephen Cowell** » 11 May 2014 7:48 am

The case is brown tolex... probably 1960-61 vintage.

I believe you're right... it's had the Procrustean mod.

Ken Campbell · Post by **Ken Campbell** » 11 May 2014 8:24 am

Pretty proud of it too.....

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 14 May 2014 6:35 am

Stephen Cowell wrote:The case is brown tolex... probably 1960-61 vintage.

I believe you're right... it's had the Procrustean mod.

Not the original case. This is a 26" scale first generation Stringmaster, 1953 as stated in the ad.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 14 May 2014 8:11 am

beware of what can happen in de basement.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » 15 May 2014 7:10 am

Somebody liked it....went for almost $900.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 15 May 2014 7:46 am

The buyer probably has no idea that the body has been cut and the finish is probably not original. This is a good example of a strong sales pitch by a seller who doesn't know much about what he's selling. He sells antiques, not musical instruments according to his sales history. But he has no problem using the term "excellent condition" to describe the guitar. $:\$

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » 15 May 2014 8:08 am

Yeah, I feel sorry for the buyer if he decides to resell it...I guess unless of course he runs across someone else who doesn't know. Probably still sounds like a stringmaster though I guess. I sell some stuff on ebay and have a Carter Starter there now for sale, but I always go to an extreme to describe it accurately and show anything that has been modified, is missing, etc.

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 15 May 2014 11:36 am

The buyer probably has no idea that the body has been cut

And if the buyer is Derek Trucks or John Mayer and they write "the new Sleepwalk" on it, 100's of people will be clamoring for "the Derek mod." There's probably only one place where the total tragedy of what happened to it is fully appreciated, and - we're on it.

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 15 May 2014 11:54 am

I tried to "educate" the seller, here's a message I sent:
Hello,
I thought you might like to know a few things about your Stringmaster.
It was made in the early 50's, probably 1952 or 1953.
It has been refinished and the Fender badge was moved to the front of the guitar from its original position between the necks.
The case is from the early 60's and was made for a guitar an inch or so shorter than yours, which explains the fact that your guitar has been chopped at both ends, about 3/4" each. These are all pretty major issues that you might want to mention in your description.
Good Luck
They responded: thanks much. it is a friends listing is his description. much appreciated.

It looks like my good deed was all for naught...

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 15 May 2014 12:39 pm

He's taking a chance... risking negative feedback on his account to help his buddy sell his steel guitar.

Some sellers don't care. About 10 years ago a local antiques guy who does a lot of eBay asked me about a lap steel he wanted to sell on eBay. I checked it out, and it was a National Dynamic in fair condition. I told him the year it was made and I told him how to list it properly on eBay. And I told him that it was in rough condition. The body sections were loose and coming apart. There were deep scratches in the body. The pickup output was fairly weak. The tuner buttons were kind of iffy. As I was pointing out these condition issues he didn't seem care too much. He just wanted to know what is it? and what's the value? I saw his auction a few days later, and in the description he put "Excellent Condition". I was shocked by that. I had clearly told him that it was not in good condition. After the lap steel sold... a few weeks later, I checked his feedback on eBay. He had received a Negative from the buyer. The buyer said "Not as described".

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 15 May 2014 2:09 pm

I've done a couple of drop-kick temp fill-in jobs for two completely different antiques dealers, and the intersection of "antiques" and "musical instruments" is pretty perilous. In antiques there's a certain type of furniture where the more wormholes, randomized construction, beat-to-death condition, the better... and it's actually called "Americana" and the timeframe roughly coincides with old Gibson/old Martin/old crap instruments too. In Americana a washstand or desk may actually be worth more the more it looks like some moonshiner made it in his spare product-testing time and he only had a hammer, an ax and a beaver-on-a-stick to do it.... It might be hard to explain to the wrong (right?) person that an "Americana"-era guitar needs to work, too.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 15 May 2014 2:38 pm

Well look at this way: like many Stringmasters that were raided for the pickups and other parts to be re-installed in more modern Telecasters, and the carcass that remained was to be potentially burned in a fireplace, this one lives, in an albeit modified form, to create more music.

Lee Cecil · Post by **Lee Cecil** » 15 May 2014 2:51 pm

I'm with Mark: we can be pretty sure that the guy who bought this one was a player, not a collector, so at this point, it lives on as an intact Stringmaster. If I'd needed it and had the cash, I'd be proud to play it, alterations and all. You should see some of the other guitars I play.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » 16 May 2014 2:38 pm

I'd be proud to play even a chopped off String master...just wouldn't want to have a grand in it though.

Paul Arntson · Post by **Paul Arntson** » 17 May 2014 8:52 am

Stephen -that's hilarious!

Stephen Cowell · Post by **Stephen Cowell** » 17 May 2014 12:42 pm

Paul Arntson wrote:Stephen -that's hilarious!

Thanks, Paul... good to know this mic is on. Procrustes had a bed... If you were too long, you got chopped... too short, and you got stretched.

$900 is still a good deal on that guitar... the case alone is worth $250.

Michael Maddex · Post by **Michael Maddex** » 17 May 2014 1:17 pm

While the Procrustean theory may indeed prove to be correct, my first thought was that a biker had given it the Fat Bob treatment. After all, it was being offered for sale in SoCal . . .

Ken Campbell · Post by **Ken Campbell** » 17 May 2014 1:37 pm

Michael Maddex wrote:While the Procrustean theory may indeed prove to be correct, my first thought was that a biker had given it the Fat Bob treatment. After all, it was being offered for sale in SoCal . . .

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 20 May 2014 6:52 pm

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 23 Jun 2014 6:24 am

Look what just reared its ugly chopped head:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FENDER-D8-LongS ... SS:US:1123
And at a "CRAZY LOW STUPID START PRICE !!!:
...only about $400 more than what it sold(I wonder?) for last time.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 23 Jun 2014 8:49 am

Yes, this "orphan" section of a quad or a triple has been listed a couple of times recently. The last time it was listed I emailed the seller and told him what he had, and I pointed out the red flags, the obvious evidence... and he told me that he was told by a well-known steel guitar expert that this was a vintage Stringmaster, etc. So he was sticking with that info and he ignored what I told him. Oh well, let the buyer beware. $:\$

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 23 Jun 2014 9:41 am

The seller probably has no idea that the instrument has been altered. I've seen a lot worse things done to Fenders over the years. A common modification was to drill holes in the body and improvise pedals with coathangers, etc.

Remember that, although they're collectors' items nowadays, they weren't always treated with the same regard.

It reminds me that in days of yore undertakers would sometimes cut off the feet of the deceased to get them into a smaller coffin. Since only the face was shown to the mourners no-one ever noticed the lack of feet, and the family saved money with a cheaper coffin.

Off-the-peg: one size fits all.

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 24 Jun 2014 9:15 am

Doug Beaumier wrote:Yes, this "orphan" section of a quad or a triple $:\$

I think it is an original double, it's been chopped in the other direction.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 24 Jun 2014 9:36 am

Ah yes, I had this one confused with an earlier cob job!