St. Blues Strings & Things Guitar Blues King IV 1982 Wine. EXTREMELY RARE. Mahogany Body. Memphis

STRINGS & THINGS IN MEMPHIS

ST. BLUES

CUSTOM

 BLUESKING IV

“BK-IV”

ALL ORIGINAL.

NOT A REISSUE.

BUILT IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, USA

1982

by TOM KECKLER.

Possibly some of the best guitars of the 1960’s were built in the 1980’s in Memphis, TN by the Strings and Things Custom Workshop.  Their story is below.

But first, the ORIGINAL Strings & Things in Memphis Custom guitar for sale here is a:

BLUESKING IV

SN:  01005

This series was “Stratocaster” model. 

It is one of the rarest Strings and Things in Memphis Custom guitars I own.  It was made in 1982 and has a MAHOGANY body.  It is the only Strings & Things/St. Blues guitar I have ever seen that is not made of Ash. And it gives it a resonance not often heard with others.

This guitar features a ROSEWOOD (traditional 1960’s) fretboard and Kluson tuners. 

The finish on this guitar is a beautiful cherry stain on mahogany wood with great wood grain showing through and features the famous “St. Blues binding” with a white pickguard.  It is almost impossible to show the true beauty of this finish in a photo.  It is incredible.

It features two Humbucker pickups with split coils which give this guitar a massive sound range.  And they match the resonance of this special Mahogany body.

Also the tailpiece, with through body stringing, is brass (including the saddles of which three have been replaced).  The knobs are also brass.

This guitar is in excellent operational and mechanical condition.  Cosmetically it has been passed around and shows it in its nicks, dings, scratches, chips, etc.  It is “naturally reliced”.   Look at the photos to see many of these signs of natural “re’licing”.

It is not an exaggeration to call this guitar a “super cool” 1960’s guitar even though it was built in 1982.  And it plays and sounds just the way you expect.

These guitars have been reissued but the new ones are just not as “old good” as this one.  I think a lot of that has to do with the climate of the times and the incredible Memphis musical vibe surrounding them.  It strikes me that these guitars were the first reincarnation of the classic Fenders and Gibson that we saw in the early 1960’s in their cool appearance, great tone, and comfortable necks.

Please look at my other listings for more of these rare, and becoming rarer, great guitars.

ABOUT THE BUILDER:

S&T Custom Workshop Guitars,

Strings & Things in Memphis Custom

a/k/a

St. Blues Guitars

Their history:

The roots of Saint Blues started growing in the late 1960's, when Led Zeppelin's tour brought them to Memphis. Jimmy Page walked into Mike Ladd's guitar shop, known for some of the best customization work in the country, and asked Mike Ladd and Tom Keckler to overhaul one of his guitars. When Page saw Keckler's work he asked if Tom would refurbish all of his instruments. Many other entertainers followed over the years. The shop, located across the street from Graceland, ended up building a special guitar for Elvis that was a birthday present from his dad. This one-of-a-kind guitar can be seen being played by Elvis in his "Elvis, Live in Hawaii" video. Keckler moved his repair and custom shop to Strings & Things, the legendary Memphis music store founded by Charles Lawing. In 1978, Tom left Memphis to hook up with Tom Anderson and David Schecter to launch Schecter Guitar Research in Van Nuys. In 1983 he moved back to Memphis and rejoined Charlie to build custom guitars for Strings and Things. These first generation guitars were called S & T Custom Workshop Guitars ­ and dealers were wild for the guitars but not for the name. The name was changed to Saint Blues and the brand was born.  The first original prototype design for Saint Blues was the Bluesmaster. It’s unique shape, vintage appearance and playability created a lot of interest from players and led to its first production in 1985. The list of people who played that Bluesmaster is impressive, and includes Bono on the Rattle and Hum album, Elliot Easton of the Cars, Eric Clapton, Marshall Crenshaw, Joe Walsh, Jeff Carlisi of .38 Special, Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult, Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Toto), Billy Squire, Martin Briley, Elvin Bishop, Joe Walsh and Glenn Grey of the Eagles, Dave Edmunds, Albert King, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many more. While the guitars were a critical success, the business was continually hampered by lack of capital. By 1989, with the dollar at an historic low against the Yen, Saint Blues was priced out of the market. Without the capital to keep going, they stopped production later that year. Interest in the line has never wavered, with sales of vintage St. Blues models on eBay going for record prices.

1982 Strings & Things in Memphis Custom

1983 called S & T Custom Workshop Guitars

1983/84 name changed to St. Blues

1985 Bluesmaster introduced.

1989 Closed. 2500 Guitars built.

PRESENT:  Guitars now being built in Memphis again.

OUR INVENTORY #:  803

The guarantee (applicable to sales only-not trades).

1.          The guitar is in FAIR RELIC  cosmetic condition and is as described in this ad. 

2.         The guitar is in fully operational condition.

3.         Buyer has 48 hrs. to inspect the guitar or have it inspected.  Any defects, damage, misrepresentations or other problems must be reported within that time period in writing to the Seller.

4.         In the case of damage during shipment, Buyer shall immediately inform seller of such damage and will maintain all original packing materials and box for inspection by the transportation company.

5.         If other problems are discovered, Seller will either arrange for repair etc. at a location near the Buyer or request that the Buyer return the guitar to the Seller (Seller will reimburse Buyer for cost of shipment of guitar back to Seller).

6.         Seller will correct indicated problems and ship the guitar back to the Buyer within 7 days of receiving it.

7.         In the event that the guitar cannot be repaired or replaced with a similar item from Seller’s inventory, the Seller will give the Buyer Credit toward current or future purchases from inventory of Seller.

8.         No refunds or returns for Buyer Remorse or Buyer Mind Changing. 

9.         If there are any undisclosed physical attributes of this guitar that will prevent buyer from playing it successfully, e.g., neck to wide to be played with arthritic hands, guitar too heavy to be played due to back, shoulder, etc. problems , then we will, upon return of the guitar, issue a Credit Memo to Buyer in the amount paid for the guitar plus the cost of shipment paid by the Buyer against the future purchase of a guitar from us

 

ALL TRADES CONSIDERED.

ALL TRADE OFFERINGS WILL BE CONSIDERED.

Thanks.