Another long delay - Sorry about that - loads on, at
the moment! :)
The next part of the story, which Val sent to me a few
weeks ago, I put down onto a memory stick, which I have
left behind, somewhere!!
Think I know where it is, so no panic.
In the meantime, some more picks of Reeve.
The one below is my first Reeve - "Mr Lee"
Val has sent me some more from her archive, including
this one, which Ges called Patchwork Guitar, as it was
used as a demo for all the timbers he could offer.
Bit of a Brian May looking trem, there which brings me
to the "mystery guitar", shown below the Patchwork.
This is a bit of a mystery to me and Val.
She can't remember if Ges built this Brian May Red Special
or if it was just in for repairs, as there are no shots of the
rest of it or the head.
I have tried to look for signature details on this - is it a Burns,
or a Guild? I don't think so - any comments, would be very
welcome, from those in the know.
This is another one that Val sent to me - a very 80's take on
a Strat - one pick-up in the "screaming position" and one
control, Volume!
Loud or off!! :)
I'll be back in a couple of days, honest. . . Promise!!!
Any Reeve Guitars out there?
I'm going to do a complete gallery of the ones that
owners have sent me, at the end of this feature.
Back soon.
Cheers. :)
More about Reeve - A Cottage industry in Bedfordshire!
Val Reeve with a Bass & Guitar Twin Neck.
Val is helping me out with the story of Reeve, which relies
on her detailing the story and finding old photos to scan.
So, after sever emails, we are off and running again.
Over to you Val!
Off we go ...... Back to the eighties which, for Reeve Guitars,
was a time of excitement and promise.
In 1983, we were mentioned by a mutual acquaintance to
Pete Tulett who at that time was Managing Director of
Musicians Direct Supply Co producing the Alligator P.A.
Pete was interested in bringing out an Alligator Guitar and
Bass to celebrate the company's first anniversary.
He came to meet Ges and Mick and decided that these two
were more than capable of producing exactly what he wanted.
Pete designed the shape, colours (green) and timbers while a
guitarist and bassist helped out on the more technical aspects.
These instruments would appear as a limited edition (6 guitars
and 6 basses) to begin with.
Each instrument had First Anniversary engraved on the neck
plate and of course 'Alligator' on the headstock.
It was never revealed who had produced these instruments,
only that they were British made.
Ges was a bit 'miffed' at this and each instrument carried a
well-concealed 'Manufactured by Reeve Guitars' engraved plate.
I think over the years, it did leak out.
Obviously the instruments were checked regularly by Pete and
his colleagues to make sure all was proceeding to plan.
Pete had called us 'a cottage industry' and I guess we probably were.
But this 'cottage industry' could produce the finest instruments and
also provide a strong cup of tea!!!!
During this time, Ges had to rent the use of a Carpentry Shop
(at Dunstable) for a couple of days a week because obviously
this offered a range of facilities our workshop did not have.
How I ever found time to go to work I do not know.
I worked in a school and the Headmaster was well into our
guitar-making.
Several times, he waved me off saying ' Off you go, go and do
what you have to!!' Imagine that happened now!!!
The instruments were very positively reviewed in the
International Musician and Recording World (Nov 1983),
Music UK (Dec 83) and Guitarist (June 84).
But after a triumphant debut, the Alligators seemed to
gradually peter out.
Part II of this episode next week.
Anyone out there got an Alligator Bass or Guitar??
contactflateric@gmail.com
When I bought my first Reeve, I never thought I would
end up getting the whole story.
After much research and putting out requets, my call
was finally answered.
Many thanks to Andy Gilbert, who slotted in the missing
piece of the jigsaw!!
Cheers mate! :)
This is Val and Ges Reeve!
Val has made contact with me and is very happy to tell
the story of Reeve Guitars.
A story that is much bigger than I ever imagined it would
ever be!!
Val, take it away!!
Hi Eric
Right here we go.
It all started in the late seventies. Mick had been raring to
make a guitar, Ges more reluctant.
One day Mick came in to us from school with a piece of beech
saying 'here's the body'.
He had retrieved the lid of a school desk that was being dumped
at the school.
They were totally inexperienced but this was a music household,
my son having his own band.
Mick having his own musical connections, able to play both lead
and bass plus being a whizz kid at electronics and Ges becoming
involved so they both knew their way round a guitar.
In actual fact it turned out brilliantly so that was it, Reeve Guitars
was born.
Both Ges and Mick in their own fields were very very talented,
each complimenting the other in their craftsmanship.
Because we were involved in the local music scene, word quickly
got round and orders started to come in.
A huge selling feature was that the customer could call in regularly
to check the progress of the instrument and also we could produce
whatever the customer wanted.
We made instruments for The Wellington Bootles, a local band
who had a certain amount of 'fame' at the time.
Obviously by this time, the garage which had become a workshop
had been extended, part soundproofed and now housed a lot of
very impressive wood working machinery.
Ges and I went to Nottingham to order one particular beast.
We found a very reliable supplier Cass Music in Eastbourne,
it was a lovely man there, Jeff Frost who ordered all our
Kent Armstrong pickups, some made to a definite specification.
The dining room was turned into a customer receiving room.
Sometimes the place was packed with would be customers or just
guitarist mates of my son, Michael (or Mike).
Michael was the most talented guitarist. Sadly he died in March 2001
I did all the ordering, correspondence, phoning etc and during 1983,
we put our heads together because we needed to project our profile
and I came up with contacting Melody Maker magazine.
I was in touch with a Mark Jenkins who ran a couple of reviews in
Melody Maker on Reeve Guitars.
Ges and I had taken one of our guitars to his home for him to try.
Mark also got Snowy White (famous guitarist then) to write a review.
The publicity sure paid off - we were away!!!
There is more to come from Val and more from the contacts
I have made along the way - owners, their Reeve Guitars and
their stories.
My headless is almost complete, so will be gettting some final
shots of that, soon.
More to come next time.
Cheers. :)
More progress has been made!
I tend to save old strings to mess around and do a basic set up.
I don't do it every time but this seemed like a good candidate.
These came from a Jazz bass and I think I may have cut them
a little short!!
Never mind, they are only temporary, I'll correct that later on.
Having fixed the broken joint and fitted a new battery, it was time
to plug it in.
Very nice, indeed!!
On passive there is quite a big sound to it with some tones that are
more than acceptable - turn on the active - Wow!
As you have seen from the previous post, it has an "old fashioned"
looking circuit but there is a lot going on in there.
The rear control knob operates a five position rotary switch, which
takes you from a deep, powerful thud, though to biting highs.
After playing around with it for a while, I think my favourite is
position two - big bottom end with some mid bite. Nice!
I must have taken the strings of the Jazz, as they were loosing their
edge but on this, they seem just fine!
The bridge is totally floating and to be honest a bit of a fiddle but
seems to follow the design of some other Reeve basses I have seen.
The action and intonation aren't set at the moment - I'll get around
to that soon, as I think I will leave these strings on for the time being.
The frets have come up really nicely and the wonderfully "hand made"
string anchor works a treat, with the setting being done with the little
tool screwed into the bottom. How thoughtful!
A few minor jobs to finish off and then time to plug it into something
big and powerful!
Back next time with a full report.
Cheers. :)
Hi to all you patient readers. :)
Right, where are we up to now?
Here!!
The top shot show the tuners finished and re-fitted and the
one above shows it when I took the cover plate off it.
As you can see, in red marker, it says "Derek".
I have no idea who Derek is or was - or what the arrow is for,
unless Derek was the engraver and the instruction is "this
is the top"?
All cleaned up inside with a dab of white grease, to keep it
running smoothly.
The other day, whilst I had the iron out, I sorted out the
wayward wire, which was the only thing that was wrong
with the electronics.
And finally, for this post - I cleaned up the board, making
the frets and the brass position markers stand out very
nicely - all shiny.
One coat of lemon oil, job done.
Currently, I am in the middle of cleaning the body and
refitting the bridge, then the string retainer and the knobs
for the pots and selector switch.
So, back next time with more details and pics.
Cheers. :)
Any regular readers will know I did a big feature on
Peter cook, the guitar builder - perhaps most famous
for his work with The Who.
He also made many other instruments, including these.
Quite a long time ago, Peter and I arranged another meeting
but Peter was not well at the time and that has sort of been
on-going, for some time.
In his own words, he said that the "Nuking" was over and he
is back in the loop.
So, after some considerable time, we are going to meet up,
early next year and chew over some of the other work he did,
as well as catching up.
I am pleased to tell you that he is back out gigging again,
with "July"
July - The Band
I had a lot of readers follow Peter's story, so. . . . sit tight
and I'll keep you posted!!
The Reeve is coming on nicely - pics and details to follow!
Cheers. :)
Dear readers.
I have had a bit of a telling off, which to be fair, is probably well deserved!
One of my long time readers, sent me several screen shots a few months
ago and said, that having done a search on various search engines, my
collection came first, top left, on a lot of the ones he tried.
Fair enough!
He continued with "so why don't you get cracking and show us some more!!"
Well, it's finding the time!!
The Reeve project has taken so much longer than it should - the weather
has not been too bad over the summer - hedges to trim, grass to be cut, gigs
to do and go to, several trots down to the pub and all manner of other things!!
I have apologised in the past, for my lack of continuity but anyone who runs
a blog, will know it takes more than just a few words.
Some I know, make an entry almost every day!
So, this is not an apology, more of a I will try harder - the winter is on it's way
so I may be able to knuckle down again.
And. . . . while I'm here, this is a call to anyone who has a Reeve Guitar or Bass.
I have had several good contacts from owners and would like to hear from others.
The Reeve is in hand and I will be putting up another post. . . . Real Soon!!
Cheers. :)
