Framus Strato Deluxe Black - c.1965

OMG, look into this guitar’s hypnotic pickguard, but not for too long!  Otherwise it will be a case of “Yes, Master, I will do anything you say…”  You gotta love the fantastic array of celluloid and plastics available back in the 60’s!  What with Fender’s amazing tortoiseshell pickguards, that sometimes almost take me into another dimension if I look at them for too long, to the wonderful Italian and European guitars, like this one from Germany.  Where’s all that cool stuff gone today?  Who knows… This is a beautiful guitar to just sit down and look at but it also plays pretty well and has some interesting sounds to go with those cool looks. I have no idea how the controls work but all the pickups seem to work and there’s some cool tones to be had. Put some distortion on and look out; one sound reminded me of Angus Young!  Bridge pickup looks to be replaced and there’s a bit of wear on the gold-plated parts. I love the massive metal control plate on this one.  Weight is reasonable at 8.63lbs/3.91kg.  This fine specimen comes with a gig bag and just might look good up on your wall.