Mr. George Fullerton
March 7, 1923-July 4, 2009
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It is with deepest respect that we say goodbye to our very good friend Mr. George Fullerton.
Thank you George for all you've done, you've made our world a better place. We'll miss you!
Buffalo Bros. |
Photo Copyright: Buffalo Bros Guitars
The Bros. have always had a warm spot in our hearts for G&L.
The legacy that Leo Fender began in 1946 has continued to be the soul of G&L guitars.
We pay special attention to the "Leo era" instruments that
Leo Fender and his partner George Fullerton produced prior to 1991,
as well as G&L Special and Limited Editions.
Many players and collectors firmly believe that G&L guitars are the best value
in a vintage or collectable instrument that are quickly rising in value & demand.
We are honored to have been chosen by the Fullerton Family to offer a few select items from his personal collection. All of these instruments are documented with a signed certificate of authenticity by Geoff Fullerton (George's son) authenticating that it comes from George's personal collection. Most have appeared in his books, the 40 years of Fender exhibit, the Guitar Legends display, as well as in various articles over the years. This is a special consignment and no upgrade policy applies.
All sales on Mr. Fullerton's instruments are personally handled by Tim.
Serious inquiries can be e-mailed directly to "guitarsontheweb@aol.com" for further details and photos.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from an individual whose talents are responsible
for many of the most famous instruments in the world is rare indeed.
1957 Fender Jazzmaster THE FIRST FIESTA RED FENDER: This is certainly one of the most historic pieces from Mr. Fullerton's private collection and it holds a prominent position in Fender history. As a starting point, this is the final body style of the Fender Jazzmaster. As VP of Production, Mr. Fullerton not only designed and drafted the instruments ~ but his artistic flair no doubt added to their appeal.
Of great significance, this is THE guitar that Mr. Fullerton used to create the color "Fiesta Red" (originally called Fullerton Red), and began Fender's transition into custom colored instruments. He had the color mixed at a local store in Fullerton, then had the instrument painted where it was then shown to the Fender Sales department. The guitar remained in his office at Fender from 1957. Being it is the finalized body style of the Jazzmaster ~ it also features the Fender Patent Pending Jazzmaster bridge made in 1957 (the Jazzmaster was introduced in 1958).
It is easy to appreciate this instrument even more as it is evidence to Fender's constant innovation in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1961 it was fitted with an experimental neck (the neck features a "7/61X" stamp. X = experimental) as it has a vulcanized fibre fretboard that's .060 in thickness with a 60s style truss rod. At this time it was fitted with a traditional mint green guard and pickups for testing. As the pickguard has shrunk, it cannot be removed without damage, thus we are unable to date the pots and pickups further. However it would be logical that they would have come from the same 1961 period as the neck and pickguard.
This instrument appeared in Mr. Fullerton's Book "Guitar Legends ~ The Evolution of the Guitar from Fender to G&L" as well as "Guitars from George & Leo." It has also appeared in Yasahiko Iwanade's "The Galaxy of Strats." This instrument is fully playable and according to Yuri at the Fender Custom Shop it sounds like no other Jazzmaster they've heard. No doubt this is attributed to the unique experimental neck. In short, the sound is superb and one of the finest sounding instruments we've had the pleasure to see in our many years.
Furthermore, this instrument was played at Mr. Fullerton's Memorial in July 2009, and according to Geoff Fullerton (George's son) is one of the guitars in his Father's collection that he played on a regular basis. Of all the instruments in his collection, this is the only one that exhibits wear as there is a scratch from a grandson who bumped it off its' stand in George's home many many years ago. It comes with a non-original tweed hardcase and is complete with hand signed certificate of authenticity from Geoff Fullerton as coming from his Father's private collection. The back of the headstock is also hand signed by George Fullerton and has the original adjustment wrench taped above his signature. Photos of Mr. Fullerton with the instrument in his home are available that we personally took several years ago at George's request. Stock #UGC30443 photo
ca. 1965 Fender Proto-Type ~ Also as part of this purchase is a rare and seldom found instrument ~ a proto-type from Leo Fender's laboratory that was given as a gift to Geoff Fullerton by Leo Fender. It is rare to find such an item as Leo Fender traditionally ordered all proto-types to be destroyed. This instrument is featured in Mr. George Fullerton's Book "Guitar Legends ~ The Evolution of the Guitar from Fender to G&L." This particular instrument would best be viewed in a museum setting. We do not look at this proto-type as an instrument to be played. It is unique in that you have a window into the creative mind of Mr. Fender and can appreciate the multi-faceted direction he took in product innovation and design. Also included is a copy of the of written appraisal done in 1994 valuing this proto-type $20,000.
• Unique to this proto-type: It is a 1965 Musicmaster II guitar body in Olympic White with a pearloid pickguard. The neck is stamped "Nov65B" and is a Coronado neck that's bound, with fingerboard dots and Kluson tuners, 25-1/2" scale, 21 frets with no decal. A 1968 proto-type Clarence White/Leo Fender/Gene Parsons string pulling device is mounted on the back of the instrument with Leo's various hand written pencil markings on the back of the instrument to indicate where the body would be routed if gone to production. The string bender will work on one or all strings and is quite unique. A hand written letter by George Fullerton detailing the instrument is included. In his letter, he notes that Leo received a patent for this string bender design and how this instrument came from a collection of things he was working on in his laboratory/design room. Stock #UGC30525 photo
Fender Custom Shop "Control-Plate" Stratocaster White Blonde: It's a well known fact that George Fullerton was continually striving to improve his designs. Not completely satisfied with the control layout of the Stratocaster, feeling that they interfered with his picking hand (especially the volume control being right next to the bridge) he decided to try mounting the controls to a separate plate and moving them closer to the edge of the body of his '54 Strat. This model eventually made it to the regular production line, butb this is the first one. This reproduction is based around that '55 Strat and is finished in white blonde. Very few of these have been made and this one of only two that has a quartersawn maple neck. The other is owned by George's daughter, Diane Fullerton). The neck on this one was also hand-sanded by Geoff Fullerton, George's son. This is a rare bird with historical significance on many levels. With hard shell case. Stock #NGC34302 PHOTO
1986 G&L Broadcaster Black: I will never forget the first time George showed me this instrument in his home. He was very proud of the accomplishments of G&L ~ and the high acclaim that the G&L Broadcaster garnered was well deserved. This is the third one made ~ s/n 003 and is personally hand signed in the neck pocket by Leo Fender. Being one of George's personal instruments it is in as new condition and even has the plastic covering on the pickguard, though the plastic has worn with time around the edges. While George had a strong affection for maple fingerboards, he chose Ebony on this model. All the original paperwork is in the original hardcase. The production tag is dated 5/1/86. This appeared in George's first book "Guitar Legends ~ the Evolution of the Guitar from Fender to G&L" in the color section. We also have photo's of George with this guitar in his home. If you ever wanted to own a piece of G&L History ~ this is certainly the ultimate choice. Stock #UGC30437 photo
1979 Musicman Sabre II Red: This Musicman Sabre II comes from Mr. Fullerton’s private collection. Built in 1979 near the end of the CLF Research and Musicman collaboration, this is in pristine condition and if there was ever an instrument that appears to have resided in a “time capsule” this is it. In classic solid red finish on the body with a black pickguard surrounding twin Humbuckers. It also has a matching solid red headstock on a hard rock maple neck with maple fingerboard and black dot inlay. In the original case are all the original papers and Musicman guitar strap. This instrument also appeared in George’s first book “Guitar Legends ~ the Evolution of the Guitar from Fender to G&L” in the color section. Complete with original hardcase and signed certificate of authenticity by Geoff Fullerton (George’s son) as coming from George’s private collection. Stock #UGC30524 photo
This once in a lifetime opportunity to own an instrument from an individual whose talents are responsible for many of the most famous instruments in the world is rare indeed. They are not only prized due to their ownership, but are superb instruments that any player would find as a rare jewel to be enjoyed for years.Serious enquiries only.