Here's one we never see on this side of the pond: a legit 1966 Watkins Rapier 33 model in original Coral Red finish. These guitars were produced at the Watkins Electric Music factory in London, England. The official area is known as Balham-located in the South-West part of London. In close coordination with The Who and Pink Floyd; the Watkins brothers were well known for their "Watkins Copycat" tape machine effect-similar to an echoplex. They also built guitars and this is one of them.
This one is my personal favorite that was offered: 33 model with the slanted middle pickup in Coral Red finish. Most Watkins guitars did not have a logo on the headstock-as the logo was on the pick guards already. Of course-while your hand is in the way playing the guitar-you are unable to effectively read the writing and thus the decision was made to move the logo to the headstock. This one has Both!
The body is in excellent condition with typical handling wear. There are line checks in the finish on both the body and backside of the neck-see photos. The neck joint is solid and the guitar is very stable. The back of the body is in great condition as well-see photos. The neck is a clean and slim 60's-C profile. The width of the neck at the nut is the same as a late 50's/early 60's Gibson Les Paul or SG: 1 11/16" wide. It measures .802" deep at the 1st fret and 8.45" deep at the 12th fret. The tuners function and hold the tune well. One of them is not an original unit-but is really close to the same and looks good. The high E tuning key is bent. The tuners sometimes exhibit the friction slip while tuning down-but work just fine-tuning up-the proper way to keep pitch. The headstock is clean and the logo displays excellent. The rosewood fingerboard is clean. The frets are in excellent condition-see photos. The action is set low for an easy playing experience. The action measures .010" at the 1st fret and .055" at the 12th. The electronics all function as designed. The knob array is a 4-position rotary and two tone (presence/brightness) controls. The middle tone control is a standard 0-10 level and the third knob is more of a tone-cut variation 10-0 level. The R-S switch is Rhythm and Solo (basic treble tone boost). The term arm is missing as they always are. almost anything without threads will work in its place. The ultra-thick pickguard is in excellent condition-and the logo is outstanding. Just look at it. The guitar is ridiculously lightweight-it only weighs 6.26 lbs! It is a lot of fun to wield and easy to play.
If you've ever heard these pickups-you already know. If you haven't-you need to. Do a video search and check it out-you owe it to yourself. I think I have only had 3 of these guitars in the last 40 years. I never see these available-and when they do come up-they are typically refinished or in a far-off country with kooky description.
This one comes with original form fit chipboard case. You know what to do...
