Bert Weedon

[GGJaguar]

Before he had his signature Guild guitar, Bert had his "Bert Weedon Zero-One". Here's an ad from 1964.

 

[GGJaguar]

The entire pickguard assembly floats above the top!

 

[GGJaguar]

And here's ol' Bert later in 1964 with his new Guild signature model.

 

[DrumBob]

I once asked Neil Lilien about Bert Weedon, and his response was, "He's an English guy we had as an endorser years ago. He's like the Mel Bay of England."

 

[GGJaguar]

He's like the Mel Bay of England.

Yeah, but Mel Bay played an original D'Angelico. Can't get much better than that.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I once asked Neil Lilien about Bert Weedon, and his response was, "He's an English guy we had as an endorser years ago. He's like the Mel Bay of England."

His book "Play In A Day" was THE guitar tutor book in Britain and has sold well over 2 million copies since it's publication in 1957.
'Neville Marten, editor of Guitar Techniques magazine, commented that Bert Weedon's contribution to the guitar world cannot be overstated: "With 'students' that number Eric Clapton, Brian May, Sting, Pete Townshend, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and countless others, Weedon could well be described as the most genuinely influential guitarist of all time."' It was the first book that I bought when started to try to learn guitar, but I have to admit that I don't really rate it, just didn't really work for me.
He was a close friend of Jim Marshall, of Marshall amplifier fame, who played drums in his band in their later years and they died within a few weeks of each other.

 

[Teleguy61]

This quirkily reminds me that I had a bunch of friends, back in the day, who named their band The Boozy Hawks.
They did their best to live up to the name.

 

[SFIV1967]

His book "Play In A Day" was THE guitar tutor book in Britain and has sold well over 2 million copies since it's publication in 1957.

Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

This quirkily reminds me that I had a bunch of friends, back in the day, who named their band The Boozy Hawks.
They did their best to live up to the name.

Major music publisher Boosey & Hawkes.

Classical musicians have been making similar jokes for most of my life.

P.D.Q Bach's compositions and "history" also make reference.

 

[Teleguy61]

Major music publisher Boosey & Hawkes.

Classical musicians have been making similar jokes for most of my life.

P.D.Q Bach's compositions and "history" also make reference.

Yes, exactly.
They were all Berklee students, and thought the name was a laugh riot.

 

[teleharmonium]

The Zero One looks like a Fenton Weil or Vox pickguard and pickup assembly on, what, an Egmond laminate guitar ? The one he is holding in the ad is different, maybe German.

 

[SFIV1967]

The Zero One looks like a Fenton Weil or Vox pickguard and pickup assembly on, what, an Egmond laminate guitar ? The one he is holding in the ad is different, maybe German.

The Zero-One could have been made by Framus in Germany as Höfner used Selmer as importer. But who knows, maybe the body came from somebody else.
The complete pickguard assembly that was added came from Henry Weill however, see:

"Henry Weill imported these (pre-loaded) scratchplates (from Japan) for use in his own factory, established in South West London and were used in his own brand of guitars and in the guitars he made for other companies... The complete scratchplate assembly also turned up on an imported archtop, marketed as the Bert Weedon Zero One model."

Broadway Wiring and Pickups

The wiring and pickups used on Broadway guitar models

www.broadwayguitars.co.uk

There were two versions of the Bert Weedon Zero-One base model, 5 stripes or 4 dots in the fretboard.



Ralf

 

[SFIV1967]

Before he had his signature Guild guitar, Bert had his "Bert Weedon Zero-One". Here's an ad from 1964.

Actually he started with Höfner guitars back in the 1957 when his book was published. I almost doubt he actually used the Zero-One much.

"Bert Weedon, the busiest British session guitarist of the 1950s, was a star among Selmer-Hofner endorsers almost from the start. "Holiday stockings will be in a strange shape this year if forecasts of the biggest guitar sales of all time come true," reported Melody Maker in December 1957.
"The instrument is so popular in the UK today that Selmer organized an airlift of Hofner guitars from Germany. The first Lufthansa plane, delivering nearly 1,000 guitars, was greeted at London Airport by Bert Weedon this week. To support budding guitarists, Bert Weedon makes personal appearances in music stores to give advice and demonstrations.""

The first add below showing the Club models is from 1957 and his book from 1957 shows a Höfner in an earlier version (different tailpiece and pickup, no switches yet):

He still used that kind of Höfner model on stage in 1965, but now with an added bigsby and as it looks with a thinner body:



Ralf

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I suspect that the Zero-One was produced to cash in on the success of the book. It would make a lot of sense to market an entry level guitar to go with the tutor book
Wouldn't be the first musician to endorse an instrument that he only played for marketing reasons. George Formby, a music hall performer, actor and singer, who was also a very talented ukulele player, marketed an extensive range of George Formby ukulele banjos, made by Dallas (actually made for Dallas by George Houghton & Sons). In practice he almost always played a Ludwig, Gibson or a custom made Abbott.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Bet the name drew more than one stoner-guitarist's snicker back then...