Soloway Gosling For Sale

[Woodstove]

Continuing to let wonderful instruments that are not in my rotation go to a new home.... an exceptional example of Jim's masterful work. Here's a release he made when first selling it. I'm forgetting the year he made it but knowing Jim he'll chime in soon.

J263 - Swamp Ash Gosling Single Coil - Available Now - $2480
Here's the special offer .... I'm leaving on vacation on Saturday morning, so this is the last shot anyone gets at this until I get back in February. Buy it before 2PM PST tomorrow and I'll throw in free express shipping to anywhere in the US by USPS Express Mail.
For those of you who are familiar with the Swan but have missed the development of the Gosling, this is our new 25.5" scale length model. Construction is identical to the Swan (chambered body, 1-piece top and back, 3-per side tilt-back peghead, graphite reinforced neck). Tonally, it's also as close as we could get with tremendous resonance, clarity and note separation.
The Gosling Single Coil ("SC") is functionally as close as we've ever gotten to a Telecaster with just a little more warmth in the bridge position, an added series option for an instant fat boost. I'm absolutely sold on this configuration of the Gosling and I plan on making it a permanent member of the family. We also built one with a maple top and it's on it's way to Chuck D'Aloia.
We actually completed this one a couple weeks ago, but there were a few more things we wanted to fine tune, so it didn't make the NAMM trip with me. It's now exactly what I had hoped it would be. The neck is a little beefier than usual, the top is a bit more understated than a lot of our more recent pieces, and the tone is definitely all that and more.
Features:
1-piece curly swamp ash top
1-piece chambered Swamp Ash back
Maple Neck
Croatian sycamore fingerboard
Matching peghead veneer with inlaid paua shell logo
.925 Soft-V neck profile
Amber poly finish on body
Nitrocellulose satin finish on the neck
Chrome hardware
Hum Canceling DiMarzio Pickups (Area-T in neck; Virtual Solo in bridge)
3 way blade pickup switch
Master volume, Master tone control; Push/pull pot used for the tone control to activate series mode
Sycamore truss rod cover with inlaid Gosling logo
Weight = 6lb 2.3oz

I bought it used 2 years ago in great shape other than tarnish on the pups and that's how it is now. It came with a Hiscox case that fits like a glove and is the best case I've ever had, sturdy and light enough to be a "gig bag". They go for $360 new. It came with the black knobs the original silver ones are in the case. When I got it I corresponded with Jim about how good it was and especially how resonant and this was his reply, printed here with Jim's permission.

"Think of this the next time someone says that wood doesn't make a difference. When this was built, I had access to probably the most exclusive stash of swamp ash on the planet and it was about a 5 minute drive from my home. I was able to go into their ware house and pick the specific boards I wanted. They were very light, very dry and wide enough to do 1-piece blanks, even for our 15 inch single cut body. The boards were so long that they stuck out the back of my Honda Element by about 4 feet and I would drive them very carefully across the bridge between Vancouver Washington and North Portland where we would cut them into body blanks. This body was built from one of those boards. Guitar wood just doesn't get any better than that.


And the one thing I would ask is that if you ever decide to sell it, think of me first.


Jim"

I did contact him and he said if his hands allowed him to play a 25.5 neck it would be his in an instant.

$1700 plus shipping cont US.

[Jim Soloway]

I loved this guitar. It was my idealized version of what I would want a Telecaster to be. The balance of the body is infinitely better than a Tele. There is no hum from the pickups and the Virtual Solo has all the power of a Tele bridge pickup with none of the ice pick. The Croatian is stunningly beautiful and really stable with none of the concerns of using figured maple in a neck. And with the reduction in the supply of quality swamp ash, the one-piece ash body and top are now an incredibly rare luxury (doubly so when you consider the weight). And yes, I seriously want this for myself but I at this point the damage in my left hand has gotten to the point when I can't play anything longer than my Mustang.

This is what it sounded like in my hands 13 years ago. I played the same passage through all three pickup positions plus with the pickups in series. I think this guitar is just the epitome of what I wanted from our 25.5" guitars and everything I could want from a T-style configuration.

https://on.soundcloud.com/oFQLlcbtCGgNEwX93c

[Sam Sherry]

This is what it sounded like in my hands 13 years ago. I played the same passage through all three pickup positions plus with the pickups in series. I think this guitar is just the epitome of what I wanted from our 25.5" guitars and everything I could want from a T-style configuration.

Your passion for this instrument comes clearly across the internet.
. . . y'know, if you asked politely the guy that made that instrument might be willing to bolt on a short-scale neck . . .


https://on.soundcloud.com/oFQLlcbtCGgNEwX93c[/QUOTE]
It's cool to hear a jazz player's take on the opening phrase to Hendrix' "Little Wing." More please!

[Jim Soloway]

Your passion for this instrument comes clearly across the internet.
. . . y'know, if you asked politely the guy that made that instrument might be willing to bolt on a short-scale neck . . .

I have a custom 24" build nearing completion in the next 20 days or so. It's being built to my design and specs by a younger builder here in Canada.

[Jim Soloway]

https://on.soundcloud.com/oFQLlcbtCGgNEwX93c

It's cool to hear a jazz player's take on the opening phrase to Hendrix' "Little Wing." More please![/QUOTE]

At the risk of hijacking his sales thread, here's the only complete version that's available (complete with a few nods to Lenny Breau).

[Woodstove]

No worries Jim! Glad to give you a reason to post your fine music.

[Woodstove]

The Gosling is sold. She's going to a new home

[Woody Sound]

Is it a SoloCaster, or a TeleWayster?

[Jim Soloway]

Is it a SoloCaster, or a TeleWayster?

Definitely a SoloCaster. It wasn't meant to be a Tele, but rather what I wished a Tele was: better ergonomics and balance; hum free; warmer tone (especially in the bridge); a bridge that intonated better; and a tilt back 3 per side peg head. We did and few of these but most of the also had a trem. That’s one of the reasons why I was partial to this particular one: I've never owned a guitar with a trem.

[Hammertone]

Like a hardtail strat without the middle pickup.
Great price for a premium-quality instrument.