Norman, with his Reeve Headless Bass and Desmond Decker.

Another contact, Norman, with a great story about his Reeve Bass and two Reeve Guitars.

The story in his own words. 😎

In 1984, lived in Tooting London and wanted a new bass guitar.  I have no idea how it all came about but a mate of mine from Clapham and another from Putney decided we were going to have guitars made from scratch.  Two guitars with loads of switches and beautiful woodwork and a black headless bass.  We set off to Luton to a lovely cottage and was greeted by a very lovely woman named Val.  So warm, so friendly an accommodating.  From memory, Ges was quiet but absolutely loved what he doing.  Mick was very energetic and full of loads of wonderful ideas.  After our first meet, they packed us off to go away and come back with our designs.  I drew the body shape of my bass on the back of wallpaper.

I think we were all back within a week with our various shapes, sizes, colours and pickup positions and active controls which I think was still relatively new back then.  There would be mad discussions mainly directed by Mick while Val filled us up with tea and biscuits.  Ges and Mick were so excited about making these three guitars, almost even more than we were.  Two of us were touring with Desmond Dekker at the time.  One of my mates used his guitar in a band called Screaming Target, who later became Big Audio Dynamite, who later became Dreadzone.  I remember him selling his guitar to a music shop to buy a Gibson or something.  They were absolutely raving about it, and couldn’t get it out his hands fast enough.  I think he later regretted it.

We made a few trips the check on the progress and watch our babies grow and grow into full maturity.  All three were a work of art.  I can’t remember how much I paid but I could not believe how inexpensive it was for the time effort and care they put in.  Unbelievable.

I still have my bass, it stands in the corner of my living room, so I’m actually looking at it every day.  I  It’s very similar to your black headless bass except the back of the top edge runs longer than the bottom creating a kind of shark appearance without a top fin.

Happy days J

 There is another image with Norman and Desmond Decker, playing a Peavey T-40, which he also loved. 

"I know what you mean, Norman" 😉

Cheers. 😎

Violin Bass and Double Neck Bass. More from Reeve Guitars.

 Reeve fans or just fans of unusual custom guitars and basses. . .  Hi. 😎

These images were sent to me by another Reeve owner who I lost touch with for a while (my fault) but I was in touch again, a few weeks ago.

A fretted and fretless bass, with a signature Reeve look about it and a very nice looking Violin Bass. 

More quality work from Ges and Mick.

The more I come across, the more I marvel at the output and quality that came out if a brick garage, at the side of the house. Amazing!!

Cheers. 😉

100 Best Guitar Blogs and Websites in 2025

 Hi to all out there 😀

After all these years - fame, at last. LOL. 😁

It seems I am listed under number 50, in The Best 100 Guitar Blogs and Websites 2025. WOW!

100 Best Guitar Blogs and Websites in 2025

Well worth a look, there are some great Blogs and Websites that I have never come across before.

Back with more images of Reeve instruments.

Cheers. 😊😊

Geddy Lee Twin Neck Tribute, Reeve Guitars and the original owner.

 Mr Lee is a 4 and 6 twin neck and has been featured on here several times.

Mr Lee also inspired me to do research on Reeve Guitars and I went on to post several articles about Reeve and the instruments they made.

I have been lucky enough to be contacted by the original owner, who being a big Rush and Geddy Lee fan, commissioned his tribute twin neck.

Over several emails, he sent me this image. 

As he explains below, this is Mr Lee, on stage, many years ago - I just love the four necks being played at the same time - as my mate often says. . . . Progtastic!

 Here’s something from ancient history… a student band competition from 1986, both twins were mine at the time. We had a 20 minute slot and as a reaction to all the other bands playing six three minute pop ditties we performed one 20 minute epic. We didn’t win 😊

I’m still a huge Rush fan of course, I was at the last ever show in LA and was lucky enough to chat to Geddy at his (fairly) recent book signing events. After enduring no end of nagging from various friends who had heard some of my stories, I’ve even written a book about my various travels over the years to see them (andyfaulkner.net if you’re curious enough to take a look).

 

On the last tour Geddy pulled out a couple of Rickenbacker double necks for the first time in decades, and that triggered something in me again, finding your blog again was the final piece slotting into place.

Some more info you might find interesting, the 6/12 doubleneck also came from Reeve. It’s a Japanese something or other (I’ve either forgotten or never knew what!) and was being restored at the same time that Mr Lee was being made. I watched them both coming together and ended up falling for this one too so when the time came to collect Mr Lee I brought them both home. Eventually I sold it to the guitarist in my first proper gigging band (Walking on Ice) but again, this was forever ago, and he passed it on at some point (and now can’t remember what happened to it at all!).

 

You might be interested in this,

https://www.facebook.com/andy.faulkner.3114/posts/pfbid0vn77BCGLpwhzxHNLdARdRpUipJruxVZPCS9LA2Pbhb1Pm2mZZdyMYRoL7WxwaZi1l

Something I posted a few years ago on facebook when I was going through my basses

 

Another of those strange coincidences happened some years ago too. Do you remember me saying that the only other Reeve guitars I had seen belonged to the guys from Twelfth Night? I think you posted a photo of Clive Mitten with his doubleneck at some point. I was a huge Twelfth Night fan in the 80s (still am to be honest), I saw them dozens of times at the Marquee and all around the country. Well, in late 2011 I was introduced to Andy Sears, the Twelfth Night singer, by a mutual friend (Clive Nolan of Pendragon & Arena). Andy was looking for a bass player for a solo album he was working on and Clive kindly recommended me. The album never materialised in the end, but a week or two after we met (and based solely on Clive’s recommendation) Andy contacted me again saying Twelfth Night had been asked to play a festival in America and Clive Mitten was unable to do it, would I be interested?  I didn’t take too long to think about it! So I ended up doing a couple of shows with TN, including a fabulous prog festival in Pennsylvania – no doublenecks involved but it was one of the greatest weekends of my life.

 

https://www.facebook.com/andy.faulkner.3114/posts/pfbid0hESyHChg8tgP1dYMgP6K3V7VaGd4xHXbbqwkmn5ZNW9oJQh4Px3SU1CnSk9CShyyl

 

https://twelfthnight.info/?people=andy-faulkner

 

I’ve since spoken to Clive Mitten about the Reeves, the guitarist Andy Revell still has the explorer (although I believe he’s since passed it on to another mutual friend and it’s been stripped and refinished) but Clive’s doubleneck disappeared somewhere along the years. A real shame as I would have been very tempted to put an offer in for it if he had still owned it!

I’ve rambled on a bit here, but I get the feeling you like some of the background info 😊. Feel free to use whatever you want on the blog, including any of the links and maybe you could mention the book (https://andyfaulkner.net) as it’s kind of Geddy related.

Happy New Year. All the best for 2025.

 Happy New Year to all you Guitar and Bass enthusiasts.

2025 already, how time flies.

Over the festive break I have freed some old friends from their cases and gig bags.

It was more of a reacquaintance with some I haven't seen for a while and some that I haven't seen for some time. Ibanez Musician and SB70, along with RB650 and a later Blazer bass, in festive red. Aria SB 900 and SB404, which is one of the later built basses that I think boxes above it's weight. Gordy headless, so light and comfortable and finally a Peavey Foundation, a gold one, first generation "Line around head". I have three of these, the gold one, a fretless in sunburst and the white one, which is the the one I call Roger, after Roger Glover. Playing the gold one for 10 minutes reminded me of how good these basses are. Slim, fast neck and Super Ferrite pick-ups. Roger, who was known for various mods on basses, left his as stock - as it came from out of the box. Surely a big thumbs up for the early Foundation. 

Peavey Foundation Bass

White and Sunburst

It seems that a lot of you have had a relax over the holiday and been searching for guitars and basses on line, as views/reads increased a lot, just over yesterday.

So, if you were one of them, Welcome Aboard.

All the best for 2025.

Cheers. 😎

One at a time. . . . .

 Hi to all you patient readers. 😀

As we are coming towards the end of 2024, I thought I would put finger to keyboard.👍

I have been collecting, on and off for fifty years and still have instruments from that period. 

I started this blog on October 6th, 2009. That is just over fifteen years ago.

The very first post

There was a slow start. . .  very! It was April 2010! First up was some of my T Series Peavey Basses. 

Peavey T-40

Following that were the other posts in April, this one which gives an introduction The Story Continues to the Sumbro Les Paul, a Black one. 

Sumbro

After that, another 55 posts in one year! Those were the days. In 2010, there were another 58 posts and then I got busy with other things.

Any regular reader would already know that, but I carried on.

Features on Peter Cook, the guitar builder, who was also Gibson's man in the UK and also the work he did with The Who. There was also an extensive feature on Peavey T-40, T-60 and Chip Todd and Hartley Peavey, which I really enjoyed doing.

The thing is, although many think I have. . . . I haven't finished on all of them. There are still ones that I haven't done, so my aim in 2025 is to try and finish it.

Sit tight, I'll do my best.

Cheers. 😎

Peter Cook Firebird Twin Neck Guitar and the Julius Thurgood connection. . . .

 Well, what a small world - a full circle story, Julius saw the Firebird before I did and is still kicking himself! 😐😕

He had already mentioned that he had seen a Peter Cook Twin, at a Guitar Show and it turns out that it must have been the one I have! I sent him details of the one I bought from Harrogate, Yorkshire - this is his reply. . . . . .

Good evening Eric - Good to hear from you. 

The new posts look great and it's nice to get Peter the coverage he that he truly deserves.

Pretty manic here, as we have a big race meeting coming up on the 30th.

I'm pretty sure that the Peter Cook Firebird twin-neck is one and the same - surely Peter did not make many! I remember it being for sale (with case) for £750.

Keep up the good work.

All the best.

Julius

Anyone who has read this feature before, will have read that Peter did make another one, which ended up with Del Bromham, from Stray. Mine has the 12 on top and the 6 below - the one Del had, was 6 on the top.

If you click on the link and scroll down, you will see both of them.

Peter Cook Custom Guitars

 A 35mm shot of it from a previous owner in Nottinghamshire. 

35mm

So, purely from a twist of fate, Julius looked and admired it and now wishes he had bought it. As soon as I saw it on line, I moved quickly and managed to secure it.

If anyone else out there has a Peter Cook Guitar, that has not been featured on here, please get in touch via the comments button.

Cheers. 😎

Julius Thurgood. Not only cars but more Guitars and Stars. ELO, Wizard, Elton John, Paul Kossoff . . . . .

 As I said in part one, Julius is mainly known for historic car racing.

That said, his following email was also very interesting, with little mentioned about the cars.

What a colourful past he has! 👍

More from Julius. . . . . .

I did the COYS ROCK sales for a couple of years. I have always bought and sold guitars, more as a hobby than a business – trading up and down on various finds.

 Actually, I am not a player at all. My first ‘kit’ Fenton Weill got me interested in the construction of guitars and that went through a few modifications before parting with it with a ‘Dixson’ headstock logo (Family name). Sold to a guitar shop in Putney for £24.00. So, it was the engineering of guitars (or lack of it in many cases) that interested me.

 Being in and around Ealing, I also knew the late, great, Chris Eccleshall and commissioned a guitar from him – a double cut Les Paul Special body with a single John Birch pickup. I never actually took possession of it as It was spotted by a member of ‘MUD’ or ‘THE SWEET’ (memory fails me as to which group) whilst still with Chris and I was able to pay back the bank loan that I had taken out to buy it!

 Later I worked at Photogram Studios in Marble Arch. Spurred on by my close mate from Ealing, Bob Potter, who was a recording engineer/producer at Island Records. Bob worked with a wide and eclectic range of artists from Jimmy Cliff, Marianne Faithful to Paul Kossoff’s Back Street Crawler Albums. I sat in on many historic recording sessions back then thanks to Bob. Not sure what happened to Bob, sadly we lost touch a few decades ago. Whilst at Photogram, I too worked with a wide range of artists. Bo Diddley, the original ELO, Wizard, Elton John, Stephane Grappelli and even Val Doonican! Great days!

 I have attached a few more photos:

Bob Potter – where is he now? 

Does anyone know where Bob Potter is now??

I am pretty certain that Julius would appreciate any help. Google Julius for an email contact and drop him a line, if you can help.

Ned Callan SG work in progress with Brian and Mike Eastwood. Finished result is testimony to the Eastwoods’ magic.

A Watkins Rapier. No: 1380. Fixed neck. No truss rod. Bought covered completely in thick white gloss house paint. When removing the paint, I found the hippy doodles on it and managed to preserve them. Scratch plate and pickup make by the Eastwoods to my order. Will surely annoy Watkins enthusiasts with OCD for originality, but I think it works well. 😉

Dallas guitar from my archives. I’ve owned a couple in the past.

 Hope that this feedback is of interest.

Do pass on my best wishes to Peter when you next speak to him.

My biggest regret in collecting old guitars was not buying a mint, cased, Peter Cook double-neck at a Northern Guitar Show for £750.00!

Have been kicking myself ever since! 😉

All the best,

Julius.

So the Peter Cook connection is a strong one. Tom Newman, The Tomcats, Ted McDowell and of that era, Sid Watkins.  

There may be a sort of part III to this, so I may add something to it.

So, Best sit tight and I'll come back to you as soon as I can

Cheers. 😎