Needing something to help keep me from going crazy during the pandemic quarantine, I was poking around on shopgoodwill.com, an auction site for all kinds of stuff in their stores nationwide, including guitars. I came across a guitar brand I wasn't familiar with, but liked the design and the "bones". I won the bid at $33, plus $34 for shipping, so for $67 I had something to fart around with. It turns out the 'Rogue' brand is the in-house brand for Guitar Center, based in my home state of Oregon and named after the Rogue River- perfect! Here's the before & after pictures after replacing all the crappy electronics, tuners and tremolo with better stuff, repainting and making a wacky pickguard. I hope this pandemic is resolved soon, or I'll be ass-deep in guitars....
Hmmm...that's weird...I commented on how the pick guard gives it a Fifties vibe, and that comment is gone. Hopefully, this one stays.
It's not the first time, it has happened before, but so very seldom, I can't keep track of the happenings.
Curious to know if anyone has commissioned you to build something or do you just randomly build/modify and then occasionally sell? I have an idea that would be a bit of an anomaly....
I've only built one instrument on commission Minotaur, and it was a tenor ukulele for my old boss's daughter: I typically build/modify them, then keep them until I get another idea, and sell one to fund the next build. But of course, now you've got me interested in your 'anomaly'.... PM me if you'd like to discuss.
BB you just gave me a major flash back to the year I got married in Hawaii. The was this little "German" restaurant in down town Waikiki and the bouncer "HUGE" man and my wife's grandmother just hit it off walking in the door. So Grandma is chatting this BIG Samoan guy up and laughing as it goes. So we do the dinner thing and all is well and the bouncer comes over with one of what you posted and started playing AT our table. I have no clue and he introduces himself as IZZ and for whatever reason he fell in love with Grandma. 10 years later I am stationed at Pearl Harbor and the wife and I go back to the restaurant and the big guy is not there and I find out that "Brudda IZZ" has moved on from bouncer but he still comes in from time to time. No crap he showed up and I introduced myself to him and told him the story, no crap he remembered it. So my wife and I had dinner with Brudda IZZ and yes he played for us. Sadly he went from this world too soon as many of the good do. For those of you that don't know Israel Kamakawiwoʻole or Brudda IZZ he had a voice that that would sing to your soul even if you had no idea what he was saying. The Ukulele always reminds me of him and what a truly HAPPY person he was. Need more happy people in our world. Cheers, Doc
I cannot listen to him since, because hearing his great voice tells me he's gone, it makes my heart hurt. But, thank you for your story.
Andy I don't seek out his songs but they are sprinkled through my play lists and they always make me smile when I hear the opening chords. Cheers, Doc
