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Post by harley on Aug 1, 2011 22:32:59 GMT
Hi all i was in aberdeen weekend and couldnt walk past the local cash converters without popping in. among the usual mass of guitars was what i thought was a classic vibe. closer inspection revealed it to be a Futurama ST57. OK, ive never heard of it either and all i have managed to find out is that they appear to be made in China and retail at just under £200. That said it played beautifully and just felt "right" It had no price on it so i enquired.... "Dont know yet" was the reply "we havnt managed to find out what it is yet" So i walked away but the seed was planted. when i got home i scoured the net and found out pretty much nothing. i did however find some for sale on the well known auction site. 1 in particular caught my eye. Vintage tinted figured maple neck, Olympic white (their words not mine) £129 new!!! take a look. cgi.the well known auction site.co.uk/ws/the well known auction siteISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230651820407&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:1123 They have even Cheekily used the same font and "F" as fender on the headstock so im guessing fender will have something to say about that sooner or later. i should probably add its no longer for sale ;D if it plays anything like as good as the one i tried in aberdeen ill be more than pleased. Id be interested to know if anyone else knows of the brand regards Ian |
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johnsmith
Member
I CAN play all of the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order!
Posts: 116
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Post by johnsmith on Aug 1, 2011 23:02:13 GMT
Hello Harley and Ian, just thought I'd let you know I also tracked down a Futurama guitar on the well known auction site. It was Fiesta Red with gold hardware and went by the name of Futurama MRV (as in Marvin) and retailed for £179 new!!! And yes it had the same cheeky logo in the famous fender spaghetti type font. It was also on Purple Turtle Music website,but for some reason is not there now.
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Post by trickytree on Aug 2, 2011 3:47:08 GMT
I do believe Futurama guitars where very popular in the uk in the early 60's.
Ian
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Post by noelford on Aug 2, 2011 7:39:26 GMT
The Futurama brand has been around in different guises for over fifty years, but the only one that counts for me was the one with the three push switches that we all lusted for before Strats became available in the UK. THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED GUITARAttachments:
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Post by Rick on Aug 2, 2011 7:40:28 GMT
I had a Futurama guitar some 45 years ago during school days,There were so many switches on it that the sound possibilities were almost endless,and from what i remember,it also played very well.If only i had todays brain back then. Best wishes, Rick.
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Post by Tone on Aug 2, 2011 8:27:27 GMT
Yes, I well remember the Futurama guitars from the early 60s but there were some strange looking models as well as the one in Noel's pic. I think they were very well priced, about £35 as opposed to £150+ for a genuine Strat.
I don't suppose the company which produces this current model is remotely connected to whoever it was that produced the originals (does anyone know who it was?). This one is obviously a straight Strat copy, even, as Ian says, down to the headstock font and the name of the colour. BTW, I personally think that Olympic White looks much nicer with a rosewood fretboard rather than maple, no matter what make of guitar it is!
Cheers.
Tony
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Post by noelford on Aug 2, 2011 8:56:34 GMT
I don't suppose the company which produces this current model is remotely connected to whoever it was that produced the originals (does anyone know who it was?). Tony Yes, Tony. Check the link (THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED GUITAR) in my post above for full info. (See 'THE STORY SO FAR' section.) |
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Post by Tone on Aug 2, 2011 10:05:55 GMT
Thanks, Noel - I just looked at the photo first time round and missed the link. That's a very interesting site.
The strange looking model I referred to in my first post turns out to be the Hagstrom made Futurama Deluxe of 1963 but it doesn't look so strange now because of all the weird and wonderful guitars that have made their appearance in the intervening years!
Cheers.
Tony
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2011 17:20:41 GMT
When John Foster walked into the 2 i's coffee bar he was looking for Tony Sheridan to play lead guitar for Cliff on his first tour after the hit 'Move It'. Tony didn't turn up (so the story goes) luckily Hank was there instead, well you know the story anyway. This is a very short clip of Tony Sheridan who was one of the resident guitar players on Oh Boy, and d**n good he was too, whacking a Futurama driving the amp to distortion (you can still hear him play the riff's but the focus was on the cover by Chris Andrews. Brian 'Licorice' Locking on double bass. Could be Tony Meehan on drums but not certain. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_A2lY--poTony |
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Post by asimmd on Aug 2, 2011 17:59:10 GMT
I had a Futurama 3 deluxe,bought for me by my Mum
from Frank Hessy's shop in Liverpool.
Lot's of memories - Happy day's.
Alan
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Post by Rick on Aug 2, 2011 18:38:18 GMT
Wow,That was a great clip to watch & listen to, ......... Especially the Aristocrats style music on bill bailey, ........... Just how we used to SWING in the old dance band,and still do ! ...... great. Best wishes, Rick.
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Post by Emiel Visser on Aug 3, 2011 11:26:13 GMT
Great to see Brian Locking. I had the pleasure to play with him several times at Shadows meetings in Holland.
Emiel
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Post by neil2726 on Aug 4, 2011 18:40:18 GMT
I had a Futurama 2 deluxe in 1963 - front was finished in blue perspex and back in blue cloth. They also did a red version. You could also get a futurama 2 in sunburst. Pic shows our band the Breakers in 63. The lead guitarist has a Futurama 3 with rocker switches. The bass is a Fenton Weil. Attachments:
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Post by harley on Aug 4, 2011 22:00:57 GMT
Hi all
it arrived today and i cant believe how good it is. i have put 11's on it and i will at some point make a new trem block and arm for it as the existing arm is M6 and all of mine are M5 or UN. i was expecting the pick ups to be junk, not at all... very nice vintage sound to them. im in the process of editing a set of patches for it but once thats sorted ill post something
result!!
regards
Ian
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Post by harley on Aug 15, 2011 13:36:17 GMT
Hi all took this guitar out for its first live performance last night and was well pleased with it. i ended up junking all the electrics and fitting full size pots, orange drop cap, a new 5 way switch and ironstone pick ups. it plays and sounds fantastic and after a bit of patch tweaking this is probably now going to be my main working guitar. This week i shall fit a new trem block, a set of 13's (not sure how the pups are going to handle the wound G) and at least 1 more trem spring. so far so good! ;D regards Ian i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af226/harleydude20/IMAG0192.jpg |
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