Vintage Guitars - Hofner, Rickenbacker, Burns, Framus, etc. used by Irish bands in the '60s
On these pages we share vintage photos of musicians with their instruments. If you can identify any of the musicians, please let us know. We are indebted to Guy Mackenzie, Paul Day, John Doyle, Stefano Aria, Steve Russell, Jack Marchal, Mike Robinson, Alfons Lahaye and Tommy Dunne for their very generous expertise in identifying most of the guitars. Where possible, we have credited vintage guitar websites with photos. If your website has been omitted, please let us know and it will be added.
Fergus Plunkett of The Corvettes with his Hagstrom. Colour photo courtesy of weirdvintageguitars.com   An Egmond-made Rosetti Solid 7 (c.1960)  played by Val Reynolds of The Black Aces.   A beautiful Hofner President hollow-bodied archtop played by Mickey Brady of The Avons. Thanks to Steve at vintagehofner.co.uk for photo on left.
A Vox Mark VI Phantom (c.1964-'65) owned by a member of The Woodpeckers from Drogheda.   Jimmy Uprichard of The Majestic Showband sent us this photo with his Guild Starfire III from the early '60s.   Derek Kennedy of The Swingtime Aces with his vinyl-covered (red) Hofner Colorama c.1960-'61 with metal tailpiece and sans tremolo. Thanks to Steve from vintagehofner.co.uk

Looks like a Gibson but it isn't. It's a Hagstrom EDP46 Deluxe c.1959-'60 (Swedish) owned by The Slick Six guitarist. Colour photo courtesy of weirdvintageguitars.com   A Hofner Senator c.1957-'60  played by a member of Waterford's Derek Joys. Thanks to Steve from vintagehofner.co.uk   Guitarist with the Billy McFarland Showband poses with his Hofner Verithin with Bigsby tremolo. Thanks to Steve from vintagehofner.co.uk
Speedy McCormack of The Crackaways with his Italian-made Crucianelli Ellisound Triple guitar. Thanks to Stefano of fetishguitars.com for identification and lower photo   Aiden Magennis of The Debonaires onstage with his Rickenbacker 325 c.1965-'67   Unknown guitarist (name?) with unknown Dublin group (name?) plays a rare Wandré Bikini guitar with built-in amp and speaker. Photos courtesy of Kate Horgan and fetishguitars.com

The Southlanders guitarist (name?) with his Burns Vibra Artist 1962. Photo on right courtesy of burns-guitars.nl   Alan Carr of The Silver Clouds with an Eko 500/3V (c.1962-'63). Photos courtesy of Alan Carr and RudysMusic.Com   Guitarist with Athlone's Saints Showband pictured with his semi-solid Rickenbacker 330
Not many acoustics used during the showbands era but here's one - a Gibson J45.   A young Brendan Quinn who later went on to great success as a country singer pictured with his Harmony H78 when he was in The Signs Showband.   Top of the Hofner archtop series, the Committee played by The Cossack's guitarist (name?).
The 345 differs from the 330 and the 335 with split rectangular fret-markers and a Varitone switch.  

A Fender Telecaster Custom, c.1973. One humbucking pick-up and a traditional single-coil. It has a bullet truss-rod with a three-screw neck plate. The truss-rod is adjustable through the neck plate.

   A rarity made in Italy for the American market. There's even a legend that the body was designed to look like a map of North America!
A Hofner Colorama c.1960-'61 played by the guitarist in The Young Vikings. Up to 1960, the Colorama had a Gibson-style (3+3) headstock. Photo on right courtesy of vintagehofner.co.uk   The Detroit Showband's other guitarist with his Hofner.   Tommy Fitzpatrick of the Dave Dixon Showband with his Gibson ES330 c.1962

Ronnie Clugston playing his Burns Jazz guitar in Vancouver in 1967 (thanks to Ronnie)   Two unusual guitars played by members of The Laredo Showband. An Egmond-made Rosetti Airstream 3 (c.1961-'62) and a Rosetti Bass 8 (c.1961-'62)   This guitar looks like a Rickenbacker but it's not. Is this a Framus Fret-Jet c.1962-'63. Not Paul Brady as we thought but Dave Prim.

The late Brendan O'Brien (brother of Deke) of The Corvettes with his Futurama/Hagstrom?

   A Hofner President c.1957-'60, owned by Tommy Fitzpatrick (Swingtime Aces/Kings)   Hofner Galaxie  c1962-'63.   Guitarist with The Detroit Showband with his Hofner.
Fender & Gibson          Bass Guitars        Brass, Reed & Percussion
Some great vintage guitar sites! Rudy's Music Fetish Guitars Vintage Hofner Framus Vintage
Hagstrom Vintage GuitarHQ Weird Vintage Guitars Burns Vintage
East European Vintage DDR Vintage Guitars Hopf Vintage Fenton-Weill
rocknrollvintage.com guitarage.nl    
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