This guitar is an anomaly.
It shouldn’t play this good. It shouldn’t sound this good.
There are so many things wrong with it – There’s a giant crack on the front. The bridge is lifting away from the body. The neck is lifting and should need to be reset. There’s chips and dents and scratches from a lifetime of use, abuse, and/or neglect. It is bone dry.
But, for some reason, this is my #1. This guitar legitimately plays better than any other instrument I’ve ever picked up (and I’ve picked up some pretty expensive guitars).
I tell people she’s “broken in all the right places.” It is both ugly and beautiful at the same time.
Framus, short for Franconian Music Company, was a high-end German instrument maker that originally went out of business in the 70’s but was the brand was then bought and reimagined. I was aware of the brand Framus and specifically of the Texan model because John Lennon had the 12-string version. These are nice instruments – they sound beautiful and are built to last.
This is a 1966 Texan model. It is one of the few years that they used a set-neck design. Usually you will find Framus guitars with a bolt-on neck.
This was another Goodwill find. I got it for a steal I think because of all the imperfections and how just absolutely dirty it was. I had legit tetanus concerns when I first sat down to play it.
But from the first note I played, I knew this guitar was different. The strings may well have been as old as I was, but the guitar played and sounded…good. Better than good.
This guitar doesn’t belong on this page. It doesn’t belong because I haven’t fixed a dang thing on it. In theory, I should re-set the neck. In theory, I should replace the bridge. And in theory, I should fix the crack. But “fixing” those things would change how this plays and sounds, and I love it just the way it is.
Sometimes our imperfections are what make us the most special.