News: Shadows guitar stolen

Now here’s a tale of skulduggery if ever there was one… When the fine people at Oasis Music in Ringwood, Hampshire heard about The Shadows’ 50th anniversary, they were quick to act: with the blessing of both Hank B Marvin and Bruce Welch, they commissioned a special Stratocaster which was masterbuilt by Greg Fessler at Fender’s Custom Shop and based on Hank’s iconic original. In all, there are only 50 of these beauties being made and then that’s it; no more. So imagine the horror when the delivery man arrived with a large guitar-shaped box with Fender written on it and they opened it to reveal… nothing. That’s right – an empty box! Ouch – and at a retail value of £5000, it’s a pretty big ouch.

It looks like some thieving n’er-do-well had opened the box and taken the guitar while it was in transit between California and Hampshire. So naturally, an appeal has gone out to all traders and guitar enthusiasts alike to be on the lookout for a Custom Shop Master Built Hank Marvin Strat in Flamingo Pink with the number 16 on the neckplate. Anyone who has any information should contact Howard Gillespie at Oasis on 01425 478135 or by email on howard@oasismusic.co.uk.

The guitar should be easy to spot; for instance, there’s the fact that it’s a master-build and so it has the Custom Shop logo and the maker’s name – Greg Fessler – on the rear of the headstock. It also has gold-plated Kluson tuning heads – and there aren’t too many Strats around with those at the moment. Then there’s the case-candy: a certificate of authenticity which has been signed by both Hank and Bruce Welch, two trem bars (one standard, the other shortened as per Hank’s preference), a repro Fender catalogue from the period (ie late 50s) and a limited edition strap with The Shadows 50th Anniversary logo on it. Stay sharp, people!