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dave robinson wrote:145gns in 1959 = £3602 today

Fenders were marked up like mad by Jennings and Selmer (when a Strat sold for about £165). Some of the difference was made up by Purchase Tax, of course. At the dawn of the 1960s, it was set at about 25% (it had been higher, especially in the late 1940s). So of 145 guineas (£152.25), the first £30.45 (approximately, assuming a 25% rate) was PT.

The "real" net price in the USA was more like half of the street price in the UK and closer to what an American guitar (such as the new Fender Professional II range) costs today.

Great little feature! Bruce keeps his plectrums either under the strings by the nut (good pic on p.161 of Which One's Cliff? (one of several Cliff Richard autobiographies!) of them during the 1978 Palladium reunion) or under the scratchplate. Pleased to see Bruce has the same Technics amp as me! I was listening thru' an old laptop but the recording of Apache near the beginning didn't seem to have any rhythm guitar on it...

Moderne wrote:I was listening thru' an old laptop but the recording of Apache near the beginning didn't seem to have any rhythm guitar on it...

Yes, I noticed this too. This means that the editors only used the left channel of the stereo recording, because Bruce's rhythm guitar sound is on the right hand side of that recording. A very sloppy mistake, especially since they interviewed Bruce!!!

Lovely item.

But when they do these pieces on TV I always wonder why they don’t plug the guitar in.

All nice to see that guitar and emphasising that it's a half million worth.
Showing the new CD,his gold records incl.the view from Bruce flat etc, just a matter of time..... some knob with google earth a small brain and some 4x4 find out where our beloved Mr Rhythm lives.
Strat at home or not, I reckon this idiot thinks he can own a few bob(and hasn't a clue this guitar isn't easy to pawn etc) especially when the news is full of a cracked shads skull and the theft of a famous guitar....

A few years ago in Amsterdam a well-known white 62 JB was stolen and ended up in some bush along a small water.
The Bass owner was so popular in Amsterdam music scene and known in the second hand music gear scene, this JB wasn't to get rid of it expect in a small swamp.
It was found by a junk and he ran to a pawnshop and was arrested by the police.

Cheers Rob

bor64 wrote:All nice to see that guitar and emphasising that it's a half million worth.
Showing the new CD,his gold records incl.the view from Bruce flat etc, just a matter of time..... some knob with google earth a small brain and some 4x4 find out where our beloved Mr Rhythm lives.
Strat at home or not, I reckon this idiot thinks he can own a few bob(and hasn't a clue this guitar isn't easy to pawn etc) especially when the news is full of a cracked shads skull and the theft of a famous guitar....

A few years ago in Amsterdam a well-known white 62 JB was stolen and ended up in some bush along a small water.
The Bass owner was so popular in Amsterdam music scene and known in the second hand music gear scene, this JB wasn't to get rid of it expect in a small swamp.
It was found by a junk and he ran to a pawnshop and was arrested by the police.

Cheers Rob

We shouldn't tempt providence...

bor64 wrote:All nice to see that guitar and emphasising that it's a half million worth.
Showing the new CD,his gold records incl.the view from Bruce flat etc, just a matter of time..... some knob with google earth a small brain and some 4x4 find out where our beloved Mr Rhythm lives.
Strat at home or not, I reckon this idiot thinks he can own a few bob(and hasn't a clue this guitar isn't easy to pawn etc) especially when the news is full of a cracked shads skull and the theft of a famous guitar....

A few years ago in Amsterdam a well-known white 62 JB was stolen and ended up in some bush along a small water.
The Bass owner was so popular in Amsterdam music scene and known in the second hand music gear scene, this JB wasn't to get rid of it expect in a small swamp.
It was found by a junk and he ran to a pawnshop and was arrested by the police.

Cheers Rob

I know where Bruce lives. Me and a friend knocked on his front door about ten years ago when we were in the neighbourhood and hoped to have a chat with him. He wasn't in, but we had a nice chat with his next door neighbour. Incidentally, it's a house and not a flat. I'd never reveal where he lives but have a feeling that there are so many celebs and stars living in that neck of the woods that Bruce is quite unlikely to be singled out by a burglar. I would suspect that the guitar is probably kept safely locked up somewhere else, or I doubt any insurance company would be willing to insure it for that amount.

The true value of 34346, as with any such artefact, can never be accurately determined unless it were put up for auction, a highly unlikely occurrence in the foreseeable future. Any item is worth only as much as someone is prepared to pay for it, in the context of their desire for ownership, when in competition with other like-minded bidders. In that sense, I doubt we shall ever know.

Bill

Many TV news shows usually finish off with a short "human interest" story and the short item
featuring Bruce Welch and the 1959 Fiesta Red Stratocaster is one such filler.
There is bound to be much more footage actually recorded and viewing this at some
point would be a pleasing watch.
Just guessing the reason for filming and broadcasting this interview with Bruce Welch is that
there is still probably a relatively strong interest remaining in The Shadows out there in TV land
but the enormous insured value of this particular instrument is news worthy to a general TV viewing
audience. Besides, there has been some speculation recently from Shadows followers just how many Pounds
this Stratocaster may possibly be worth if it were offered for sale sighting the sale of the Pink Floyd's David Gilmour Stratocaster as a possible bench mark.
In any event, I'm never disappointed if I get to view any Shadows related item broadcast on TV even if the underlying
Intent may be to flog some CD's.

Rob, usually with high value items, Insurance Companies require that these are securely held for to protect their risk.
It seems possible that this particular instrument would be, or could be held in a facility such as a Security company
facility some place away from where Bruce Welch resides.
Or, there is an Insurance company approved secure storage at the Welch residence itself.
Anyway, it's unlikely to be snatched by a crim in a ram raid any time soon.

Cheers
Simon.