Status Quo Replica Guitars

Back in 2000 I was lucky enough to meet Francis backstage at Quo's gig in Bournemouth. I had taken my replica guitars along to be signed, and I took the opportunity to ask him about his guitar.

Turns out he originally sanded it down and painted it black, didn't like it, so redid it green! (The guitar was originally a 'sunburst').

Very early on he removed the 'ash-tray' bridge and replaced it with a Gibson tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece. He told me he couldn't be doing with having to sharpen the A and flatten the E all the time...

The guitar was then left unchanged for years, until in 1991 Francis decided to introduce Fender Lace Sensor pickups, and a three pickup combination (blue-neck, silver-middle, red-bridge).

Finally, in 1995 the G&L chrome saddle-lock bridge was added, and an extra fret was squeezed onto the neck.

Francis explained that he is a big fan of G&L guitars, and a couple can be seen nestling in the Quo guitar rack at gigs.

When I asked Francis what year his guitar was made in he was adamant it was 1958. Apparently Leo Fender told him!

However, this date doesn't tie in with the neck (plate, serial number and decal), which would appear to date the guitar mid-60s. Possibly the neck isn't the original, who knows. It has certainly undergone major surgery during the last 10 years. Just compare the worn finger board on older photographs with more recent pictures!

The neck is a two piece maple neck, i.e. it has a separate maple 'slab' finger board (no 'skunk-stripe' down the back of this beauty!).

Finally the subject of the 'hole' came up. Francis asked me what I planned to do with my guitar now he had signed it. I told him I intended to mount it on the wall.

'Mount it eh,' he said, 'knew I drilled that hole for a reason!'

Tony has made umpteen replicas of this guitar, in all three of its bridge/pickup configurations, and he regularly swaps between them when playing in Bogus Quo.

One of his 'tune-o-matic' replicas carries a scratch plate signed by Francis and Rick (see bottom of this page). Another supports a beautifully restored original neck.

The guitar he had with him at practice when I turned up with my camera is shown below, and has been totally hand made by Tony.

The neck is a faithful reproduction of the original, complete with a separate maple finger board and that extra fret!