George Benson's own guitar for sale

[garybaldy]

It's not mine and not my thing. Just watching to see how quickly it'll go.
https://ebay.us/m/2cDkbx

[GuyBoden]

I think these were high quality guitars made by Aria in Japan.

Aria made in Japan: D'Aquisto New Yorker.

Like this below:


Edit: about £2000-2600, without the George Benson signature.

[deacon Mark]

I will take the non George Benson any day over the inflated one.

[nyc chaz]

If George had played that guitar in concert or made an album with it,that price would easily be ok but it's probably just a guitar that was given to him that he played a few times around the house.

[jads57]

I guess unless it was his main instrument, I don’t see the point other than to prop your ego and bragging rights.
And that in itself is so indicative of today’s society overall imo!

Sure it would be fun to play certain guitars associated with famous people. But it probably turn out to be a let down in reality for most.
Also are you a collector or a musician?
I find this type of self aggrandizement a real turn off!

[deacon Mark]

The only guitars that ever hit me as big time players using them would be Johnny Smith. Certainly, the original ES175 Joe Pass had and his D'aquisto, but the D'aquisto as much for the guitar itself. Otherwise, who played and owned the guitar not really on my radar screen. The problem with owning Benson's guitar is you sort of have to play like him and I don't play anything at all like George. He is one of the greatest players the guitar has ever seen but in truth I have purposely avoided all the talk of his picking style. That drives me nuts to hear players talk about it. He is George B himself and plays the way he does because he has talent and played a lot of guitar. I will never come close.

I would not mind having his D'angelico but not at all for the reason he owned it. To me the worst of this star crazy guitar thing is the known rock icons. Getting a guitar that they signed their name to and played. No thanks that means zero to me. I played Hank Garland's Stromberg at least one he had owned many years ago that was cool I have to admit. However, the Carl Albanus guitar that was also in the room and I played was a much better guitar. Much smoother and voice was incredible. I would have taken that over Hank's guitar for that reason alone.

[garybaldy]

Also are you a collector or a musician?

Me?

[nyc chaz]

I guess unless it was his main instrument, I don’t see the point other than to prop your ego and bragging rights.
And that in itself is so indicative of today’s society overall imo!

Sure it would be fun to play certain guitars associated with famous people. But it probably turn out to be a let down in reality for most.
Also are you a collector or a musician?
I find this type of self aggrandizement a real turn off!

Have to agree with you but then again last year someone paid 6.2 million dollars for a banana duct taped to a wall as art. In comparison at least here you get a beautiful sounding and playing guitar and a conversation piece for years to come.

[wintermoon]

I will take the non George Benson any day over the inflated one.

I'd take the inflated one but it has a bent tuner.

[Woody Sound]

I think these were high quality guitars made by Aria in Japan.

Aria made in Japan: D'Aquisto New Yorker.

Like this below:


Edit: about £2000-2600, without the George Benson signature.

I think they are pressed solid tops. ICBW. I had the smaller 15” Jr version.

[bluejaybill]

There are certain guitars that were owned by famous players that are important and yes, collectable, usually because they are iconic guitars that created a sound that became well known. In Benson's case, he has played many guitars. The one that I would think is in this category is the one he played Breezin' on, I can't remember it was his Johnnie D'A or Johnnie Smith.

As for not wanting one because it's just a guitar, who wouldn't want the one pickup L5 most associated with Wes? Jim Hall's 175? Pat Metheny even bought the sharp cutaway L5 in the cover of one of his albums (from Benson IIRC) just because it was associated with him.

In rock, there are and have been many celebrity owned guitars that have sold for a bunch, usually because they were the instrument most closely associated with the artist. Many are still out there, like Clapton's "Beano" era sunburst LP.

And yes, people who buy them are collecting them, not buying them to bring down to the local honky tonk to bash around. I don't have a problem with that.

[jads57]

The reason I find it appalling in this day and age of our current mega wealthy. Is just because you are able to, then I hope you put at least that much into supporting people in our own country that just lost their low $ SNAP Benefits.

It’s appalling that we live in a country that can never satiate the Mega Wealthy with enough TAX BREAKS!
In order to make healthcare and education and even food unaffordable for the majority of our fellow citizens.
Sorry for the rant, but I have no interest in such over the top purchases,unless they are going to help those who are less fortunate.

[Jabberwocky]

George Benson received a lot of free guitars, amongst other things, just for being George Benson. They are not guitars he chose to buy with his own money nor selected because he wanted them as his instruments. They were just given to him. Mr Benson grew up poor before he became the star that he is so one could hardly blame him for not having the good graces to say, No, to a freebie. Like all people who grew up poor we never quite forgot what poverty and privation tasted like; we took our poorhouse habits with us. Man: Ghetto. Ghetto: Man.

This Aria D'Aq New Yorker is one that he got free and stuck in the back of his closet, forgotten about until GB did house-cleaning about three to five years ago.

It really has no collector's value unless GB actively recorded or performed with it. I don't think GB ever did.

[GuyBoden]

I think they are pressed solid tops. ICBW. I had the smaller 15” Jr version.

I think they are very different guitars, the 'D'Aquisto Jazz Line Junior' was a 15 inch version of the legendary guitar co-designed by Jimmy D'Aquisto and jazz legend Jim Hall. (Yes laminate)

"Arched multi-laminate flamed maple top, back and sides; solid maple neck with adjustable truss rod; solid ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays; 5-ply bound body; triple bound headstock; bound fingerboard"



The Aria D'Aquisto Centura has a Solid pressed top / laminated figured maple back and sides.
D’Aquisto Centura 17” Archtop — Essential Guitars

Aria D'Aquisto New Yorker - MIJ - 2000s, pressed Arch Solid Sitka Spruce Top with Laminated Flamed Maple Back & Sides.
D'Aquisto (aria) New Yorker - MIJ - 2000s | guitar-garage

[garybaldy]

I'm not a fan of a flame top archy. It's nice on the back and back of the neck even though it's not in view much.

[Woody Sound]

I think they are very different guitars, the 'D'Aquisto Jazz Line Junior' was a 15 inch version of the legendary guitar co-designed by Jimmy D'Aquisto and jazz legend Jim Hall. (Yes laminate)

"Arched multi-laminate flamed maple top, back and sides; solid maple neck with adjustable truss rod; solid ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays; 5-ply bound body; triple bound headstock; bound fingerboard"



The Aria D'Aquisto Centura has a Solid pressed top / laminated figured maple back and sides.
D’Aquisto Centura 17” Archtop — Essential Guitars

Aria D'Aquisto New Yorker - MIJ - 2000s, pressed Arch Solid Sitka Spruce Top with Laminated Flamed Maple Back & Sides.
D'Aquisto (aria) New Yorker - MIJ - 2000s | guitar-garage

No that's not correct. I'm referring to the 15" version of the solid pressed top, single floating pickup. I owned one. Will look it up later. Maybe search here on the forum under my posts.

[Woody Sound]

No that's not correct. I'm referring to the 15" version of the solid pressed top, single floating pickup. I owned one. Will look it up later. Maybe search here on the forum under my posts.

Just a moment...

[GuyBoden]

Just a moment...

Nice, but yes, different guitars. The 15 inch '2005 D’Aquisto Jazz Line' Junior was a different guitar, but with the same name.
2005 D’Aquisto Jazz Line Junior – Bigfoot-Guitars

[bluejaybill]

The reason I find it appalling in this day and age of our current mega wealthy. Is just because you are able to, then I hope you put at least that much into supporting people in our own country that just lost their low $ SNAP Benefits.

It’s appalling that we live in a country that can never satiate the Mega Wealthy with enough TAX BREAKS!
In order to make healthcare and education and even food unaffordable for the majority of our fellow citizens.
Sorry for the rant, but I have no interest in such over the top purchases,unless they are going to help those who are less fortunate.

Thats fine, but it results in a somewhat biased take on some of these issues.

Even though I agree with you about the concentration of wealth in this country- I guess some folks never get enough! I don’t think this is the place to air out these type of grievances.

I view the desire for rare/ vintage/ collectible guitars quite separately from our political problems. They’re that way for a reason, and have been since way before the current glut of wealthy people. Most people I know who have collections of these have money, but are not obscenely wealthy. And most out their collections together long ago , when prices were a lot lower.

[jads57]

I guess I have to disagree with you on this. I’ve lived enough life at 68 years to see the difference on how possessions are valued above actual peoples abilities nowadays.
And instead of getting better,it’s only getting worse imo.

Sure I wanted a Sunburst Vintage Les Paul in my teens, just like Michael Bloomfield’s. But I also realized it was Michael’s talent that was the real star of the show. Same for George Benson,Joe Pass, Pat Martino,etc…

In fact when I was 13, I was in N.Y.City visiting 48th Street Music Row. Manny’s, Sam Ash,etc. We Buy Guitars who were very gracious to me at such a young age. They were selling Eric Clapton’s Gibson Firebird l for sale in the window,I believe they were asking $1100 in 1970 for it. I thought they were crazy!

But that was probably very fair, and not that out of line for the times. Nowadays it would $110,000 and owning it would not improve you’re playing at all,Lol!

[nyc chaz]

I guess I have to disagree with you on this. I’ve lived enough life at 68 years to see the difference on how possessions are valued above actual peoples abilities nowadays.
And instead of getting better,it’s only getting worse imo.

Sure I wanted a Sunburst Vintage Les Paul in my teens, just like Michael Bloomfield’s. But I also realized it was Michael’s talent that was the real star of the show. Same for George Benson,Joe Pass, Pat Martino,etc…

In fact when I was 13, I was in N.Y.City visiting 48th Street Music Row. Manny’s, Sam Ash,etc. We Buy Guitars who were very gracious to me at such a young age. They were selling Eric Clapton’s Gibson Firebird l for sale in the window,I believe they were asking $1100 in 1970 for it. I thought they were crazy!

But that was probably very fair, and not that out of line for the times. Nowadays it would $110,000 and owning it would not improve you’re playing at all,Lol!

$110,000 ???You definitely need to add some digits to that number,i seriouly doubt it would be dare i say that cheap in today's market.

[Mick-7]

$110,000??? You definitely need to add some digits to that number, I seriously doubt it would be dare I say that cheap in today's market.

Well, that road of regret would include a long list of dirt cheap possessions from my childhood and adolescence that later became collectibles: Marvel comic books, pop and blues music records, Fillmore and Avalon Ballroom concert posters, etc., etc.

[jads57]

You see that’s the point I’ve been trying to make. It’s the Music and the Players that were most important, not selling commodities associated with them. Rock and Roll had not yet been corporatized to the degree it is in today’s world!

Frank Zappa had a great take on how the corporate old guard didn’t understand the newer generations music.And since it was profitable they left it alone.
But now that we have so many Marketing People,in these jobs!
Just look at how many versions of a Stratocaster, Les Paul exist today..

In my day there was new and old, not even vintage until the mid 1970’s. And Leo Fender only offered maybe a color option and or a maple neck as an up charge.

[Litterick]

I found a Fender advertisement in a 1982 issue of Music Trades:

You know what hot properties vintage Fender guitars and basses are. Unfortunately, they're rather hard to come by. But now there's the Fender Vintage Series. A whole new collection of Fenders built to be absolutely faithful to the classics that inspired them. Choose from the '52 Telecaster, the '57 Stratocaster, and the '62 Stratocaster. We're also making '57 and '62 Precision Basses, and a '62 Jazz Bass. All classics. With a proven demand waiting to be satisfied. THE SOUND THAT CREATES LEGENDS.

Fender looked around and saw demand for old guitars that could not be met by the surviving examples. So Fender started making copies of their own guitars. Soon, Fender would stop making new guitars and instead rely on its past for its success.

[GuyBoden]

"You know what hot properties vintage Fender guitars and basses are. Unfortunately, they're rather hard to come by. But now there's the Fender Vintage Series. A whole new collection of Fenders built to be absolutely faithful to the classics that inspired them. Choose from the '52 Telecaster, the '57 Stratocaster, and the '62 Stratocaster. We're also making '57 and '62 Precision Basses, and a '62 Jazz Bass. All classics. With a proven demand waiting to be satisfied. THE SOUND THAT CREATES LEGENDS"

Fender looked around and saw demand for old guitars that could not be met by the surviving examples. So Fender started making copies of their own guitars. Soon, Fender would stop making new guitars and instead rely on its past for its success.

Originally (1950's), Fender created innovative designs that could easily be manufactured and assembled at low cost. To be sold at lower prices than other guitar manufacturers at the time. They achieved their original goal and were very successful. So, easy manufacturing was Fender's original design aim to achieve this lower cost.