Rex Bogue Custom 6 String 1980 Natural

No sales tax for customers outside California.

Rex Bogue was a lesser-known figure, but he was a true pioneer of guitar building and an enigmatic character. This one-of-a-kind guitar was owned by Joseph Anthony Spry of Felony, the American new wave and rock band formed in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. Two music videos are attached to the listing so you can see the guitar in action. Joe replaced the original bridge with a Kahler tremolo, which required routing the top of the body.

The electronics are wild, as was customary for Rex's guitars. An LED in the star near the treble side of the bridge pickup lights when the electronics are activated. With them off, you get neck, bridge, and middle pickup positions with just volume control. With them on, two pairs of knobs work together as apparently active tone controls, one pair on the treble side and one toward the low end. One knob seems to select a frequency and the other cuts or boosts it. You can center on frequencies that feed back so notes sail forever, or get a "cocked wah" sound, anywhere from nasal to muted. The mini switches are a mystery. They don't seem to be coil taps, and they do have an effect, but I can't determine exactly what.

The guitar is slim, as is the neck. Built from a gorgeous solid birdseye maple slab, it is lighter than you'd expect, and the action is about as low as you can get. The large flight case is the one Joe carried the guitar in on the road with Felony. It will get the guitar to you safely, but it will come at a cost.

Felony's single "The Fanatic" became a hit on Los Angeles station KROQ-FM, peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1983, and appeared on the influential Valley Girl soundtrack. The band performed it on American Bandstand, and the video aired on MTV. Their debut album, The Fanatic, followed in 1983 on Scotti Brothers Records.

Larel Rexford Bogue is best known for John McLaughlin's Double Rainbow 6/12 doubleneck, built while he apprenticed in Ren Ferguson's Venice Beach shop, with Rex handling the electronics. McLaughlin called his workmanship "impeccable, flawless." Rex also did electronic work for Alphonso Johnson and Jorge Strunz, sold preamps under the Balz Deluxe and Balz Galore names, and built instruments for Frank Zappa and Miroslav Vitous. His best friend Bill Hoting said he was way ahead of the mainstream electronically, using op-amps with battery power supplies before anyone else. Rex passed in 1996.

Rex's instruments never come up for sale. Finding a single neck like this is extremely rare. My take is that there are a slim few in existence.

• Color: Natural 
• Weight: 10lbs 2.0ozs 
  
• Body: Birdseye Maple
  
• Neck: Flame Maple/Walnut/Flame Maple
  
• Neck Profile: "D" see picture
• Fretboard: Bound ebony
• Inlays: Abalone stars
• Frets: Re-fret
• Fret count: 22
• Nut: Bone
• Nut width: 1 5/8"
• Scale: 24 3/4"
• Radius: 20"
• Neck thickness at 1st fret: 0.77"
• Neck thickness at 12th fret: 0.89"
• Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
• Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
• Total length: 39 5/8"
• Lower bout: 13 3/4"
• Waist: 8 1/8"
• Upper bout: 9 5/8"
• Body depth/thickness outside edge: 1 1/8"
• String gauge: .010-.046"
• Hardware Color: Gold and brass
• Bridge Pickup/Brand: Unknown
• Bridge Pickup Reading: 7.47k
• Pickup Original?: Yes
  
• Neck Pickup/Brand: Unknown
• Neck Pickup Reading: 7.97k
• Pickup Original?: Yes
  
• Bridge: Replaced with a Kahler Tremolo
• Tuners: Original Schaller tuners
• Switches: Original
• Pots/Codes: 137 8021
• Case: HSC + Anvil Road Case
• Notes:

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