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: Another fantastic and unique piece from the collection of G.E. Smith, this Val Trol has a fabulous sound. The humbucker sized single coil pickups are transparent and crisp, which in tandem with the unusual piezo-style bridge pickup offer a broad array of sounds. The neck carve is superb, a chunky rounded shape that rests beautifully in hand. G.E. even adorned this one with one of his signature gold foil stickers on the back of the headstock, as well as the electronics cavity. As to be expected, it’s in completely original condition, with a fabulous patina and stellar playability.
Cosmetic condition: Some good honest wear throughout. Various scratches, dents, dings, nicks, chips, and scuffs are present, with some tarnishing on the hardware and visible finish checking throughout much of the instrument. There is a single stress crack on the body near the neck pocket, and some separation along one of the body seams (see photos). The mini-pots are a little touchy, but do work fine.
Body: Solid maple body in natural finish with stenciled black pickguard. Compensated bridge with rosewood base and stairstep trapeze tailpiece.
Weight: 7 lb, 14.8 oz
Neck: Chunky maple neck with black side dots and white block inlays. Bound rosewood fingerboard is in good shape and frets have plenty of life left. Brass nut measures 1 11/16”. 24 1/2" scale length. Black outlined headstock with Supro badge. 3-to-a-side Kluson Deluxe tuners with original Tulip buttons work great. G.E. Smith gold foil stick on the back of the headstock. Frets are in awesome shape and show almost no wear. Neck is straight and plays great up and down the length of the fingerboard.
Electronics: Dual humbucker-sized single coils with Piezo-style under saddle pickup. 3-way pickup selector switch and single master volume. Each pickup is also equipped with mini volume & tone controls, however, these only function when the pickup position is selected (due to their age, they’re also a bit finicky). All electronics have been tested and are fully functional.
Case: Unoriginal hard shell case included.
