HELP!! Found this in my dads garage...what is it?

[elwoodblue]

It's a series one guitar,
I'd guess it's worth 2300-3000 depending on condition and the mood of the market.
 The 5-pin jack is to power it , and for the stereo signal (separate channel for each pickup )from the guitar. The power supply box (DS-5) has 1/4 outputs to connect to the amps.
 
You should make sure there isn't any old batteries in it that might leak.
 
What a find ! I have a '78 series one guitar (#1100) , they are fantastic instruments that just get better as the years go by.
 
(Message edited by elwoodblue on December 28, 2010)

[lethaldose]

Do you guys have a pic of the power supply?

[lbpesq]

Lee:
 
I have a Moog Theremin I'd trade!  Also a very vintage Carvin mixing board with rotary pots and real mechanical VU meters!  Heck, I got lots of old stuff.  I'd trade lots of it for that guitar!
 
Bill, tgo

[lethaldose]

Thanks again guys...my pops was an amazing guitar player(bless his soul),was in guitar player magazine in 88 with keith richards on the cover,played with moby grape on they're last record etc,plus a gear hoarder,so I'm going to dig through piles of cables and amps and midi units etc for the mystery blue box lol..

[tmoney61092]

well...any other gear you're trying to get rid of? such as bass gear...  
 
~Taylor

[jazzyvee]

That looks a pretty tasty guitar you have there. Have you ever heard this guitar being played?  Or have you tried playing it yourself?
 
If you decide to keep it, it's a treasure. If you decide to part with it I'm sure someone here will give it a great home. If you find the build record in your search that will give you some useful information on the guitar.  
 
All the best with your search.
Jazzyvee

[hydrargyrum]

Wow! Find of the century.  I'm glad this is getting the attention it deserves now.

[dfung60]

Congrats on the find!    Nobody else had mentioned this yet, but if you plug a regular guitar cord into the 1/4" jack, you'll only hear the bridge pickup, and the pickup selector will appear to be dead in two positions.  There's nothing wrong - the 1/4" jack is a stereo jack, not mono, and a regular mono plug will only get one pickup's output.  On the current instruments, the output is usually mono to be more wireless friendly.  You won't get any output at all until you have a pair of good 9v batteries in there.  And on a Series instrument, the battery life is really short - maybe 40 hours (vs. 1000 for something like EMGs).  The power supply looks like this.  Once you know the bluish color you're looking for, you can't miss it - it's small, but built like a tank  

 

  Some of the boxes are black, but I think that's a lot later than this guitar.  While you're looking for it, keep an eye open for the special cable that you'll need to connect this 5-pin XLR up.  The standard cable has one end that has the same shell as a standard mic connector (of course, 5 pins instead of 3) and the guitar end is a right-angle XLR which you don't see too often.  Enjoy!  This is a real treasure!  David Fung

[hifiguy]

Holeeee cow.  Every few years you hear about something like this.  Beautiful instrument w/ a particularly nice patina of age.
 
BTW, didn't someone find a Gibson Flying V prototype under a bed about ten-twelve years ago?  I think the story was that it was sent to the case manufacturer for fitting purposes and never made it back to Gibson.  Sat under a bed for nearly forty years before the guy's son found it.

[edwin]

Hm, I wonder if that was the V that a friend of mine played. She had a benefactor who loved her music and hooked her up with a prototype for a while. Nice axe.
 
So's this one!

[mikedm]

The only thing I ever found in my dad's garage were chores. Nothing like this, nice start to the new year.