Description
The G. E. Smith Vintage Guitar/Amp Collection
If you have ever watched the Saturday Night Live band back some of the greatest names in music, then you probably saw G.E. Smith on guitar. G.E. has been THE rock-steady guitar sound behind SNL, Hall & Oates, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, MoonAlice and many more.
Recently, G.E. had been thinking about selling some of the gear he'd collected during his long career. While looking for an established, knowledgeable and trusted buyer, he ran across our shop and liked what he saw. After checking out the store's bona fides, he decided to touch base with John Majdalani, Cream City Music store co-owner and head vintage buyer.
Fortunately, John and G.E. hit it off immediately, and G.E. asked John to come out east to see, in person, the portion of his collection he was no longer using. When John arrived at G.E.'s, he was invited down to the basement, and they spent the next 8 hours deep-diving through the whole thing: amps then guitars--all the while jibber-jabbering about gear, life, food and rock'n'roll war stories.
The collection turned out to be a total of 60 pieces--roughly 30 guitars and 30 amps...an astonishing wealth of great vintage gear. At the end of the long day, as John was packing everything into the truck, G.E. sat on the tailgate and played a goodbye tune on his old, trustworthy 1960 Black Beauty Les Paul.
Most of the collection is currently at Cream City Music and consists of some of the most extraordinary vintage pieces we have seen in many years. If you're in the area, it's truly worth a visit to the store to see this gear. If you can't make here though, take a look at our website and social media over the next few weeks to see these items as they are posted for sale.
What makes this guitar special: A beautiful pre-war piece, with a terrific sound and classic resonator tone. This Model 27 is one of the last made in Los Angeles before the company's move to Chicago. Manufactured somewhere between 1933 and 1936 (serial number 8348) with a pair of screenholes and a beautiful sunset coverplate. A rare find! Again, a testament to the discerning taste of its former owner. This beauty has been professionally inspected and setup by our expert in-house luthier, and will arrive ready to play.
Cosmetic condition: Good shape, with some expected wear & tear throughout. Various scratches, dents, dings, nicks, chips, and scuffs are present, with a small repaired crack on the treble side. There are numerous areas of finish wear, some visible finish checking throughout, and visible oxidation on the hardware.
Body: Birch/mahogany body with bound top in dark sunburst finish. Chrome tailpiece, sunset cover plate and a spider style bridge over the resonator. Original cone. This model features a sound well and round screen sound holes on either shoulder.
Weight: 6 lb, 3 oz
Neck: Square neck with fretted rosewood fingerboard and aged white dot inlays. Slotted headstock with 3-on-a-side strip tuners and black buttons. Tuners are fully functional. 1 15/16” nut width, 24 3/4” scale length.
Playability/Sound: This Dobro produces a great sound with plenty of attack and even response from the lows, mids and highs. The resonator has great volume yet retains plenty of warmth thanks to the wood body. The neck is extremely comfortable for slide guitar and great for chords especially in the lower registers.
Case: Unoriginal, vintage chipboard case included. Case is in somewhat rough shape, but serves its purpose.
