Hank marvin custom shop autographed series

[2e0lkp]

Hi my name is Larry and I have just joined this group..
I was looking for info on the HBM custom shop guitars and found this sight..

Was hoping for some info please..
This is my own guitar I bought brand new in 1996.

www.fuzzfaced.net/hank-marvin-autograph-stratocaster.html

The web page is not mine but the pictures are of my guitar

[peterbower]

I used to know Geoff Baker of the Flying Pig guitar shop Hanwell, He had a large collection of HM Strats and on one occasion made a window display of all of them from the early Squire Signature to the 40th anniversary.

Hank never liked the twin fulcrum tremolo and always got Mark Pressling at Arbiter ( then Fender UK ) to convert them to 6 screws pivot. He also liked quite a short trem arm.

Nice pics of your Strat, be aware that over the years we have seen various sellers mostly on the well known auction site making out the Fiesta Red Strat they are selling is a Hank Marvin model members researched the claim and found it wasn't a HM Strat, just a look a like.

[2e0lkp]

Thank you for your warning but as to my guitar I think I'm safe In this one lol..

I also still have the original box and the original sales recite in my name...
Purchased brand new in 1996.

Geoff was a great guy back in the day..

[bor64]

Hi Larry,

Welcome to this site!
Nice guitar, I've one of the 50 first signature series(who Fender promised at the start, it would be the only series ever being made,
but the sound of money is powerful...).



Hi Peter,

Hank told me in person, that he changed to the vintage 6 screw bridge setup, because Chris Kinman pointed out... the string spacing on the vintage bridge was way better for the early Kinman pu's.
Hank changed to the vintage 6 screw bridge 97/98, the first vintage 6 screw bridge was placed by Chris Kinman himself...
First public appearance was at the Fender clinics in '98.


Cheers Rob

[Tone]

Hi Larry

If you go to the FAQ relating to Hank and Shadows board on this site and check out the second thread entitled Hank Marvin/Shadows Custom Shop Stratocasters you'll find loads of information and discussion on these guitars. In particular, the very last post on that thread (to date) gives a link to a PDF document compiled by a former member here which lists a comparison of the various CS models.

Your guitar, which does indeed look very nice, is one of the second run of the 1992 Signature series with detail differences and they became known as the Autograph.

Cheers.

Tony

[Steve Reynolds]

My favourite guitar! Remember drooling over pics of Hanks one from the 1997 tour brochure and always promised myself one. Maybe one day!

[peterbower]

Some good information there from you guys The last I heard, Hank had loaded one of his guitars with Custom Shop fat 54's but It difficult to find out for sure, As for the trem issue, Hank told me that with the 2 point trem, playing muted notes could go sharp as it was a lot more flexible than a 6 screw, I guess there was more than one reason to his decision as Rob pointed out with the Kinman's ( not my favourite pickup ). I preferred the first pickups Hank had in his earlier Strats FS-1 in the bridge and 2 Seymour Duncans, I loved that sound on the recordings of the day, still this is slightly off topic but interesting

Thanks Tone for the heads up on the Hank Strats, Just watch out for unscrupulous dealers mostly on the well known auction site passing off Hank Marvin Strats for ridiculous money just because the guitar is Fiesta red, I saw one for a £1000 when it was only worth about £200

Cheers

Peter

[Tone]

Hi Peter

You're right - Hank did put CS54s on his Signature Strat for the last Reunion Tour and I think he also used them on his last solo album.

As regards the 2 point trem/ bridge, I find palm muting with it not as easy and comfortable as with the Vintage bridge.

Cheers.

Tony

[peterbower]

I found the later Fender Strat's fitted with flat topped saddles without protruding screws very comfy, I converted a couple of my Strats to a set of these in Stainless Steel, its all a bit academic for me as I hardly ever play muted notes, I have a set of CS54's in my California Strat, quite nice.

Peter

[peterbower]

Just as a point of interest, I was in Chandlers Guitars Kew, a few years ago ( they are now closed and gone ) and in the used section was a Japanese Hank Marvin signature Strat, from the first imported batch and in nice condition, no mods, just as stock, made in Japan, later one's were crafted in Japan not that I thought it made any difference,
However, the Jap HM is a very nice guitar for the money which when I got mine from the first imported batch it was under £400, Chandlers wanted £799, and they were confident it would sell.
It goes to show what a name can do on a guitar can do for the price

[2e0lkp]

Thank you guys so much for replying to my thread about my guitar..
My wife jo bought me this guitar for my 38th birthday and I never knew about it until she took my to flying pig (TEMPO) to pick it up..
I can tell you I was totally blown away by the whole thing ..Jo my wife found the add in guitarist magazine...

And see told me, when she first got on the phone..she was told this is not a cheap guitar
Madam!!

I know she said..the rest is now history..
And that's how the guitar came into my life.

Never will be sold..

[Tone]

Larry - nice story. Oh that we could all be so lucky!

Peter - The Japanese Hank Signature Strats were probably intended for those who didn't want to pay, or couldn't afford, the price of a US Signature and, as you say, are very nice instruments (I had one myself for quite some time). They still regularly appear on the second hand market and command prices of £700+. Even the earlier Squier Signatures go for around £500.

[peterbower]

She did you proud 2e0LKP

[2e0lkp]

Hi Tony
Thank you for the heads up bud..
I had no idea there were other custom shop HM guitars after mine..so annoying but money is king.

Seems I have found a great sight here
Thank you all...

Larry..


Thank you for your kind words Tone and peterbower

[peterbower]

Yes, indeed Tone, I had no yearning whatsoever for a US signature HM Strat even if I could afford it and still don't, the Jap HM was a good value for money guitar at the time and not really a substitute for me, I upgraded it to all US 57 parts just as a hobby Project. I saw a HM Signature Strat a few years ago in a Brussels music shop with a Rosewood finger board for about 900 Euro, I believe it was from Japan, I asked the shop keeper why the Rosewood board and he said we commissioned it with a limited run for all Belgian and Dutch dealers because Hank played the Rose Wood the longest and we were getting requests, interesting point of view I thought. I'm waiting for a HM black body, maple neck large headstock to come out, he played that for a while, although it was a re paint job, I saw him live once with a white Strat

Pete

[bor64]

Pete,

That Brussels shopkeeper was full of BS, it was a fake guitar made by these pillocks, they have sold a lot of Q2 with fake/pirated EFTP also(not via the store, but the owner via private sales).
They sold also re-sprayed Fender Vintage '57 Fiesta Red strats as original.
The phrase "Hank played the rosewood the longest" is a nice clue they are full of it!

I reckon there are more fake HM strats made by fans themself or people who want to cash and con good folks, then there are originals.
I see a lot of pictures of guitars made by fans on the websites, most of the time incorrectly badged with the wrong decals...
Japanese Hank signature with Custom Shop decal on the back, or just the Japan HM signature on a Korea Squier.
Some guitars are made from scratch or even samples from a well known reputed builder and shameless called 40th anniversary strat made by .... but with all the correct decals on.
Sure no-one will sell them as "original"... but what will happen when your gone and these guitars come on the market in the future???

I know 2 of the 3 HM CS strats Hank use himself were not build in the USA, but in GB by Mark...
Ghost builders are well known, the famous Les Paul of that guy with the Hat and sigi in face was not a real Gibson either...

Cheers Rob

[philc]

I remember a few years ago guys in the USA were building vintage Strat copies, they had a website where you could specify exactly what you wanted, as they had vintage woods, nitro cellulose scratch plates etc, their machining and aging was incredible and they had researched every part of the guitars with comparison pictures, you could also have whatever number you wanted, I have to say that I was tempted, they were not cheap as if I remember a "vintage" full blown Strat was around £5k.

They sent me an email saying that they were only going to produce a couple more then that was it, I don't know how they got away with it.

As Rob mentioned, in a few years time these would become genuine vintage guitars

Phil

[peterbower]

Thanks Rob, I never knew that, just goes to show there can be some 'scams' in this music game, I see these So called fake HM Strats on the well known auction site, so people need to be very careful and not taken in by the hype.

I hate it when some one builds a Guitar that looks like a Fender then puts a Fender decal on the headstock, This guitar never came out of a Fender factory so its not strictly a Fender, just looks like one,
I bought a Fender look a like Strat from a maker in Dorset a few years ago but he put a rather clever head stock decal on it reading 'free Style' but in the early Fender script, I like that, and it was not red either.

My early model Japanese HM with his signature on the headstock which replaces the words "Original Contour Body" and a Fender sticker on the back of the head stock saying "celebrating 1946 to 1996 Fender 50 years of excellence" these are fetching big money now on the used market, I won't be selling mine.

Did you mean Mark Pressling who looks after Hank's guitars when he is in the UK, I know Mark carried out some mods on at least one of Hank's Strats

Regards

Peter

[bor64]

Hi Phil,

Your right fakes can be bought if your into the know!
It's sad, in about 30 or so years time, there's no-one who saw the old guitars when they were new...
I reckon you and I have seen our share of originals and not originals along the years...let alone the fakes.
Difficult to imagine how our hands on knowledge, will be equalled by the youngsters for the future.
I can see lots of not so originals and fakes will be change hands as kinda original.
Granted there are more originals made then we let to believe in the days... in the 70's and 80's we thought all originals were rare...
We could have known (serial numbers alone)the factory output...
Thanks to the web, people know what is on there attic, so lots of stuff comes on the surface we didn't see in the old days.
When all of the baby boomer generation "kick the bucket" lots of stuff will come on the market, prices will be dropping perhaps..because most of the youngsters don't want a strat and a Vox...

On military shows you see now all kinds of stuff direct from the veterans of WW2, allied and Jerry/Huns...

Hi Peter,

Yes I meant Mark Pressling, he made the HM CS 2 and 3 at the first Nomis Studio address in the tiny upstairs Fender GB shop (nowadays in East Grinstead)so he could use genuine Fender parts...I know the details and what's on the back of all 3 strat heads(but I don't know I'm at liberty to write about).
I vividly remember Hank in his jogging trousers, polo shirt and sport shoes trying out the first new guitar dry.
I have a early sample of every HM signature series guitar from the first series till the very last one, of course also a original Marvin from the Burns days in the 60's.
That early MIJ HM strat is in good company of 499 others, the second batch of 500 did arrive shortly after so why should it the first 500 be more value?? It's hard to pinpoint at which number the "second batch" started in the factory.
Knowing the output of the factory...it could be made just a few days later...


Cheers Rob

[philc]

Rob,
If only we new back in the early days what these oldies are selling for, but a Strat in the 60's/70's was just a guitar. I'm sad to say it but my 63 (swapped my 61 SG Special for it in 66 to a guy that should have known better) has had lots done to it, different colours, flowers painted on it similar to Hendrix's but before he did it, power booster put into it plus more that I'm too embarrassed to mention, but it meant nothing at the time. BUT! I'm pleased to say that about ten years or more ago, I went right over it and put it back as close to as it was back in 63!

Nostalgia is a big part with the high prices, but as you say, in 30 years time things will be a lot different! But it could go the same way as vintage cars as a few decades ago the prices went sky high, then the bottom dropped out of the market, it's now reversed again!

Phil

[peterbower]

Thanks Rob for the heads up, useful info, Re the MIJ HM Strats, the early batch such as mine had made in Japan and later batches, crafted in Japan, Personally, I couldn't care less what's written but some people not me have attached a stigma to later crafted in Japan guitars, even some dealers have done this in their advertising, sad really that its come to this , Its utter nonsense, there is no difference between them

Peter

[Tone]

Hi Peter

I've always wondered if there was any difference between the 'Made in Japan' and 'Crafted in Japan'guitars which, to me, means the same thing. Thanks for confirming that it's indeed the case.

Cheers.

Tony

[sheendigs]

Would that help??

"Made in Japan" and "Crafted in Japan"

"Made in Japan" = FujiGen Gakki
"Crafted in Japan" = Others (Tōkai Gakki, Dyna Gakki)
According to a Fender representative, it was stipulated in the Fender Japan contract that if there was a change of manufacturer from FujiGen Gakki to another guitar factory, the production inscription in the guitar would be changed from "Made in Japan" (MIJ) to "Crafted in Japan" (CIJ). Most of the Japanese-made Fenders up until 1996/1997 were MIJ Fenders.

The first CIJ Fenders started around 1992, when Dyna Gakki took over some of the production requirements of Fender Japan. This resulted in the "Crafted in Japan" inscription appearing on some Japanese Fenders during this period. Dyna took over because FujiGen was expanding its own factory operations.

CIJ was used entirely on Japanese Fenders produced from 1996/1997 until 2015, after Tōkai and Dyna took over the Fender Japan manufacturing contract. The Fender Squier range was also brought in line with the Japanese Fenders at around the same time (1996/1997), with the CIJ inscription being used.

[peterbower]

Some good info there Sheendigs, whoever made the guitars had a specification to follow, so in theory there should be no difference and people should not worry.

[Tone]

Yes, very interesting, Sheendigs. A rose by any other name......