Custom Jake E Lee?

[kirkslossar]

I am selling a couple of my guitars, and one is up for a trade. A guy has emailed me about it, and has offered the following. What do you guys think? I am not overly concerned with it's previous owner (love Jake, but that's not really a selling point to me.)

Here's the email correspondance from him:

Hello, I have a killer one of a kind custom shop strat that belonged to former Ozzy guitarist Jake E lee that I would swap you...KIller tiger flame maple neck w/rosewood board custom osa actives floyd....let me know.

Follow up email:

Here are pics.....in the pictures it is covered with cling on
stickers...I put them on for a photoshoot and loved the way they looked
and left them, I assure you they lift right off and the finish is fine
underneath...If we trade I can remove them before shipping or I can
leave them.
I can give you all the details and history of this axe if your
interested in it, It was handbuilt in a small custom shop in Tokyo in
1983...actulla I was told the two gentalmen who owned the custom shop
shortly after went to esp. I have owned around 20 strats and never found
another that feels this good! and is your not familiar with osa
pickups....they are custom order and around 300.00 a set...Gibson used
them on a few select custom guitars in the early 90's....let me know.
C.C.

And here is a link to the pics:

http://community-2.webtv.net/SIX_GUN...C/CUSTOMSTRAT/

What do you guys think?

[Chuckracer]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

Well, as Jake wasn't really a Floyd user, I'm suspicious.
Is it just me, or does that body scream "Model 3 import"?
Looks cool, though.
What's the dollar value of the trade?

[sully]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

dunno about the model 3 part,
but jake HATED trems. HAAAAA-TED trems.
i dunno, if i had a guitar that was jake's,
i wouldn't have put a ghostbusters sticker on it.

unless he has pix of jake with it, or some kind of documentation, it's a floyded strat.

sully

[chrisolson]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

I'm with Sully - unless there's a serial number or pics with THAT guitar (and even then, I'd be suspicious - guitars can be made to look just like another one...), there's just no way to REALLY verify it. Other than the fact fact that Jake MAY have owned it, is there something about that guitar that screams, "GOTTA HAVE IT!!"? It looks fairly ordinary to me. What are you putting on the block for it?

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

I doubt that Jake played that guitar. Aside from the aforementioned details, Jake is a major Converse Chuck Taylors fan, not a Vans fan.

[kirkslossar]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

Those stickers were put on by the current owner, and supposedly they are clings, not stickers. The dollar value is $350.

Like I said the JE Lee thing isn't that important to me. It could very well be a mongrel made with mexican strat parts.

Re the trem, I know that every JEL guitar that I've seen has had a hardtail on it.

Regardless, someone hit the buy it now on the auciont which I had going for the trade I was going to do, so this topic is closed unless I offer him cash for it.

What bout OSA active pickups? I've never heard of them.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

I know that Jake thing wasn't important to you, but the seller/tradee sure thought it was a biggie, therefore that would likely influence his percieved value. That why we were concerned by that.
There is a Charvel strat, pickguard model, with a Warmoth neck on ebay for $350 and no-ones touched, so that would be a barometer. I'm not saying this is a model body, but rather it might as well be.

Anyhoo, I've never heard of those pickups.

[777SteveVai777]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

There is a name on the headstock.. you can barely see it.. but I can't tell what it says...

[btx109]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

I highly doubt that that guitar is what the owner says it is. Everything about it just feels wrong.

I know that the Jake E. Lee connection may not be important to you, but the owner's integrity should be and if he's lying about the pedigree in order to enhance it's value, I'd be mighty suspicious about the guitar itself. Who knows what POS you might be trading for?

I'd pass.

[toejam]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

I don't know what OSA pickups are, but I don't think Gibson used them. [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] Gibson used OBL pickups in certain models.

[taxistationary]

Re: Custom Jake E Lee?

It looks like theres a JT-6 on their.