Abalone Vintage Guitars

10/08/2026

The Seldom Seen 1970s Hamer Guitars satin tour jacket! I don’t know how common these are, but I haven’t seen one and maybe a decade. Maybe I’m just not looking in the right place. Goes great with a Hamer Standard! Just ask Cheap Trick Rick! 😂😂😂

10/06/2026

10/05/2026

For immediate sale. This is a circa 1980 Gretsch four piece kit NOS.

That’s right, 46 years old!!!!!!!

two of the boxes are still unopened!!! This is one of the most spectacular drum kits you could ever purchase.

That is pink stain with lacquer, it is not a wrap!!!!!!!

Mind blown!

10/01/2026

In the 1970s, Mighty Mite became part of Southern California’s emerging hot rodded guitar culture, where players treated guitars less like finished products and more like machines to be modified and rebuilt. Few embodied that attitude more than Eddie Van Halen. His famous Frankenstein guitar, assembled from aftermarket parts and heavily modified, combined the feel of a Strat-style instrument with the power of a Gibson-style humbucker. When Van Halen’s debut album exploded in 1978, his striped guitar became a symbol of this new approach. Mighty Mite was part of that story too: Eddie was photographed with a Mighty Mite humbucker on an early version of the Frankenstein, and a Mighty Mite brass tremolo was briefly fitted to the guitar.

Van Halen’s Frankenstein did more than showcase one player’s ingenuity; it helped demonstrate how aftermarket parts could shape the future of guitar design. As that idea spread into the early 1980s, the parts built guitar became a legitimate design philosophy. Mighty Mite offered players interchangeable necks, bodies, pickups and hardware, while the California custom scene embraced exotic woods and increasingly bold designs. Rosewood, koa, zebrawood and figured maple gave instruments a distinctive look, while hotter humbuckers, brass hardware, tremolo systems and vivid graphics defined the emerging Super-Strat aesthetic. Mighty Mite was part of a larger revolution in which the electric guitar became a personal hot rod assembled from available parts and customized for both the player’s sound and the flamboyant visual language of early ‘80s rock.

The Mighty Mite bass you see pictured above with maple body and paduk neck is a powerhouse of tone and aesthetic!

MightyMite

09/30/2026

S.D. Curlee was a small American guitar and bass company founded in Matteson, Illinois, in 1975 by musician and businessman Randy Curlee, designer Randy Dritz, and pattern maker Homer “Sonny” Storbeck, the initials of the three men giving the company its name. Production began in 1976, with the company emphasizing American made instruments that combined unusual construction with relatively accessible prices. Curlee’s signature approach used a maple neck fitted tightly into the body and secured with a substantial brass plate rather than relying on a conventional glued neck joint. The company became especially known for its basses, but it also produced a comparatively small number of guitars. A 1979 account of the factory describes a workforce of only six people on the production floor, with machines used for basic cutting and shaping while much of the finishing and fitting was done by hand.

By the early 1980s, S.D. Curlee was experimenting with more contemporary designs as the market moved toward brighter finishes, unconventional shapes, and new construction techniques. The familiar “S.D. Curlee” logo eventually gave way to simply “Curlee,” and the company produced limited runs of guitars alongside its better known basses. The original company ceased operations in 1982, making its late instruments particularly interesting to collectors because they represent the final phase of Curlee’s original American production.

One of the last models was the Strat Bass, a Stratocaster influenced design that illustrates the company’s attempt to adapt its distinctive construction and aesthetic to the popular Strat style format. Surviving late Curlee guitars are scarce, and contemporary accounts describe the guitar production as being carried out in small batches rather than on the scale of the company’s bass line.

This particular Stratbass is the only Candy Apple Red SD Curlee instrument known to exist. Also the only one with a glossy black headstock. Since the was also unfinished from the factory, it was probably the last one made!

09/21/2026

Extraordinarily rare vintage Gibson guitar string display. Jampacked with colorful orange boxes of guitar strings. This thing has a wow factor that’s off the charts.. Enjoy!

09/18/2026

Few guitars capture the spirit of the early 1980s quite like this exceptionally beautiful Erlewine Super Strat. The stunning quilted maple top is finished in a glowing sunburst that brings out every ripple and figure in the wood. Under the light, the maple seems to move and shimmer, giving the guitar an almost three-dimensional appearance. From its sleek contours to its unmistakable vintage vibe, this is a guitar that commands attention before it ever makes a sound.

Built for the player who demanded both beauty and performance, this Erlewine features a Kahler/Floyd Rose tremolo, one of the defining innovations of the era. The combination of precision hardware, Super Strat styling, and Erlewine craftsmanship gives the instrument a distinctly purposeful character. It represents a fascinating moment in electric-guitar history, when builders were pushing beyond traditional designs to create instruments capable of handling the increasingly adventurous playing styles of the time.

Decades later, the guitar remains a remarkable piece of 1980s craftsmanship. The quilt maple, elegant sunburst finish, and Floyd Rose come together in an instrument that is equal parts art, engineering, and rock-and-roll history. An Erlewine Super Strat like this isn’t simply a beautiful vintage guitar, it is a snapshot of an era when imagination, innovation, and craftsmanship came together to create something truly extraordinary.

09/03/2026

What you are witnessing, is the rarest point-of-purchase music retail signs ever made.

The circa 1968 Gibson Trini Lopez standee.

These were offered for sale to Gibson dealers and the only known mention of it is in the 1968 Gibson confidential dealer price list. That’s it, nothing else.

This is the only one known to exist.

06/17/2026

Abalone Vintage started in 1989, prior to that I had already earned a reputation for my passion. Not just as a dealer, but as a caretaker, someone who didn’t just sell vintage guitars, but knew where they’d been, what they’d meant, and why they mattered. The fascination was deep.

What set me apart wasn’t the inventory, though our shop has held some of the rarest pieces in the world, it was the passion and bold foresight. I wasn’t interested in flipping gear or feeding hype, it was about attaining knowledge and knowing where the edge of my proximal development was.

The reputation wasn’t built overnight, it was built one conversation, one guitar show, and one road trip at a time.
Whether it was a forgotten Gibson prototype guitar from Kalamazoo, a load of original guitar manufacturing templates, or a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with factory tools found in a dusty drawer, everything has been vetted, documented, and honored.

For decades I’ve spent countless days hauling out vintage tooling from estates, warehouses and auction houses, not because it was profitable, but because it was important. These buying opportunities served to increase my knowledge base and provide me with expertise that is unparalleled.

But that’s not where the story ends, that’s really just the beginning. It takes months of tedious work after every buying opportunity to research the discoveries and connect the dots. Sometimes it takes years to stitch it all together, and some of it, I’m still trying to figure out!

Because that’s the heart of my work as Abalone Vintage, it’s not preservation for preservation’s sake, but resurrecting history and telling untold stories of the past.

Today, the business I have founded and built, Abalone Vintage, stands as one of the most respected names in the vintage guitar world. Not because of advertising, not because of clever branding, but because the work is real. Because of the decades of surprising discoveries and new discoveries we chase every day.

That feeling drives me. That feeling is what Abalone Vintage is all about.

06/11/2026

Nashville Baby!!! Hiding in the heart of Nashville’s legendary music scene, Abalone Vintage has been a cornerstone of guitar heritage to the world.

For over 35 years we have been more than just a guitar shop, repair shop, or guitar show fixture, we are a repository for collectors, musicians, producers, and curious enthusiasts alike. Specializing in the rarest vintage and celebrity-owned Gibson and Fender guitars, Abalone Vintage has earned a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable and respected names in the vintage gear world.

What sets Abalone Vintage apart isn’t just the uniqueness of our inventory, it’s the stories behind the instruments. Every piece is meticulously curated, often with provenance that links it to legendary players, legendary manufacturers, or legendary music. From fascinating one-off guitars to vintage Gibson Les Pauls once owned by rock royalty, our collection of guitars is a living museum of music history…and it doesn’t stop at guitars. We do vintage amplifiers, effects pedals, drums, studio gear, guitar parts, other rare musical antiques and signage that are the rarest of the rare, with each item steeped in its own legacy.

Abalone Vintage is more than a business, it’s a preservation of culture. Whether you’re a seasoned collector chasing a holy grail guitar or a person of refined tastes looking to own a piece of musical history, our deep expertise and passion for vintage gear ensures an experience that’s as genuine as the gear itself.

In a city where music is everything, Abalone Vintage is a treasure trove for those who know that some instruments are more than wood and wire, they’re icons.

Abalone Vintage is not wired for mediocrity, and neither are our guitars.