THE GUITAR GURU IS AT YOUR SERVICE, READY AND ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE YOUR STRANGE OLD ELECTRIC GUITARS. UNDER THE ALL-KNOWLEDGEABLE GURU'S GAZE THIS MONTH ARE:
A Harmony H79 12-string from J A Crowther of Scunthorpe, Humberside; a John Birch double-neck from Mike Thorburn of Currock, Cumbria; an Ormston Mini-bass from 'Ace Player' of Fleetwood, Lancs; a Framus Junior 4 bass from Eric Clennell of Telford, Shropshire; and a Contessa HG150V semi from Griff Griffiths of Narborough, Leics.

Greetings from your Guru — and straight to business. Mr Crowther from Scunthorpe has this to say: "I own a Harmony semi 12-string with two pickups and a resemblance to the Harmony shown in issue 10's calendar. The serial is 4034H79/s671H/S6, and strangely enough it has a classical headstock. Is there any value to it?"

Well, just for a change the serial numbers on Mr Crowther's Harmony provide quite a lot of info on the model, including the catalogue designation (it's an H79) and possibly the date of manufacture too (this model certainly appeared in 1967 — there should be a date stamped on the underside of the pickups to confirm this).

This Harmony 12-string certainly isn't as common as others from this range, and I would estimate it to be worth around £150 providing it is in good, all-original, playable condition — not always the case with some of these 1960s 12-strings, believe me.

Now, Mr Thorburn from Currock says in his letter to me, "I have a white John Birch six-string and 12-string doubleneck with Hyperflux pickups — what are they? It sounds great, and I paid £200 for it. Is it worth more?"

There are still quite a few John Birch instruments around, although their appeal diminishes as fewer people remember the products of this 1970s Birmingham-based guitar maker and repairer.

The double-neck jobs aren't too common, however, but I've seen at least three different styles, including one decidedly Gibson-influenced instrument and another of Rickenbacker parentage. In 1975 one of these somewhat unwieldy beasts would have set you back at least £450 new, but current values are around half this — so the £200 Mr Thorburn paid was about right.

John Birch produced about 10 different types of pickups, the Hyperflux variety being one of his more restrained humbucking designs. It was supposed to have high sensitivity for long sustain, and had a quoted frequency response of 30Hz to 13.5kHz.

Now to an unusual turn-up. An anonymous correspondent from Lancashire writes: "I've got an Ormston electric double bass, solid-bodied with a magnetic pickup, single volume and tone controls, and full scale length. It says 'An Ormston Studio Workshop Design, Made in England'. Please could you tell me when it was made, what it's worth, and anything else you know about it."

Well, this solid double bass is quite a rarity. The Burns company launched the Mini-bass, as it was unofficially designated, in 1965, just prior to the Burns outfit being taken over by US company Baldwin. The design was shelved, but designer Jim Burns brought out a revised version under the Ormston name in 1968, built by Jack Golder (later of Shergold fame). Jim was unable to use his surname as Baldwin had acquired this as a trade name — so he adopted his middle name, Ormston. The design differed significantly from the original model, both in body shape and hardware.

It's very hard to put a value on such an instrument as not many were made and very few have survived. Although undoubtedly rare, this oddity would only be appreciated by a fanatical Burns collector, so a realistic value must be about £150. I've come across only two others in the past 10 years — I once turned down the opportunity to buy one for £45 because I was too embarrassed to lug the thing half way across Portsmouth to my car. We all make mistakes. Anyway, to our lucky anonymous Lancashire reader I'd say look after the Ormston solid double bass and give it a good home. I only wish I had one.

"I bought a secondhand Framus bass about three years ago," says Mr Clennell from Telford. Pic top right. "It's a simple one pickup, two control job, with a beech neck, 20 frets and the serial 366510-72. It's a lovely sounding bass — in my experience Framus instruments are superb (I have a great semi too). Can you tell me any more?"

I too share Mr Clennell's enthusiasm for this West German brand — in my opinion they're far superior in many ways, including sound and playability, to another German brand currently receiving more than its fair share of popularity in the fashion stakes.

The bass in question is in fact a Junior 4 model, quite a budget instrument by Framus standards though a good performer nonetheless. It was very much a Fender copy, being the Framus equivalent of the Fender Musicmaster (only in my opinion a much better bass). The last two digits of the serial number indicate the year of production as 1972, and it retailed then in the UK for about £80. I think a realistic value now would be about £65 at the most. Use and enjoy!

Lastly, Mr Griffiths from Narborough tells me: "I've recently bought a Contessa semi-acoustic which I'm informed was made about 1962 and owned 'by famous jazz guitarist Mike Britton' (his name's engraved on the bridge). It's a fairly unorthodox design, with pushbutton pickup and tone controls. Two numbers are stamped on the rear: HG150V and N6732. Are Contessa still going?"

The Contessa brand first appeared in the UK in 1967, imported by Bell Musical Instruments, and the range consisted of various semi and solid guitars and basses, apparently American designed but actually made in Italy. Bell also distributed a virtually identical range under the JG name at the same time, and the same instruments appeared in America under the Goya name (just to complicate and confuse the issue).

Mr Griffiths' Contessa is, as the stamp implies, the HG150V model, which retailed at £88 in 1967 and was in fact the top of the range model. The Contessa name resurfaced briefly in 1970, imported to the UK via Hohner this time, but the range was considerably reduced and didn't include the HG150V. Current value would be about the same as the original retail, £85.

If you want some strange old thing identified, send full details and a picture if possible to our resident strange old thing, the Guitar Guru, at Making Music, (Contact Details).