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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Apr 26, 2020 20:37:08 GMT -6
REWRITTEN IN PROPER ENGLISH  -- If I find information that pertains to the clarification or update of the Master List, I'll try to corral that here. |
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Apr 26, 2020 21:28:35 GMT -6
Speaking of which, I've located an AU 935 that might fill in a couple of small chinks. As anyone else might have noticed, there's a whole bunch of models that don't appear in the 2005 catalogue. I managed to piece those together from pricelists, online reviews, dealer "Out Of Stock" pages, and some luck with the Wayback Machine. Since it was essentially a salvage project, I didn't note the data sources.  Back to the topic-at-hand. Per the Master List, the Era Professional Deluxe was probably discontinued 2004. An h-s-s Strat clone, standard-shape wbw pickguard, VS50K bridge, 3-3 head like other Austin models such as the 792. Veneer flame face, not back. I got a look at one. Definitely unbranded Kluson-style nickel cans and matching oval buttons, but seeing how butchered the screws are, and at least one hole that suggests the now-universal Grover Midsize Rotomatic shape, they're aftermarket. Cream-covered singles, naked cream HB. It's definitely a 2-tone cherry sunburst. Also definitely Korea. The exceedingly unhelpful serial number: W4G1781. My mere guess: 2004, and G as a month code (though as I've speculated elsewhere, each of 26 English-language letters could easily designate a two-week period of a year...) so July. |
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Post by Rex on Apr 26, 2020 21:58:05 GMT -6
The AU935 was manufactured through 2005. It does appear in the real 2005 catalog. It was replaced by the AU933 in 2006, which added Wilkinson two-hole “locking” tuners, a six-screw Wilkie bridge, and a set of Wilkinson pickups.
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Post by Rex on Apr 26, 2020 22:18:16 GMT -6
The exceedingly unhelpful serial number: W4G1781. My mere guess: 2004, and G as a month code (though as I've speculated elsewhere, each of 26 English-language letters could easily designate a two-week period of a year...) so July. That's a Korean guitar, made in July of 2004. The first letter designates the factory (W is Korea, and D (Daewon?) is China). You're correct that the third character designates the month of manufacture. You'll never see that letter go beyond L, which designates December (the 12th month). |
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Post by Rex on Apr 27, 2020 0:14:22 GMT -6
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Post by Rex on Apr 27, 2020 0:27:37 GMT -6
Corrections: - The AU789 and AU790 are Photo Flame, not real quilted maple. I have one of each. The 789's body is plywood. I haven't opened up the 790 to find out. Incidentally, they are both wonderful players. - Some of the AU792's have quilted maple veneer. Others are Photo Flame. I have one of each. Both of those are excellent players, too. - When Austin uses a Photo Flame, it's almost always a bookmatched pattern (I've never seen an exception to that). When they use real quilted maple, it's almost always a single continuous piece (I've never seen an exception to that, either). Austins with real flamed maple are rare. There's one on eBay now that's bookmatched. This is probably an AU766. (edit by Rex ) Nope. It’s an AU786, in the pre-2006 style.  |
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Dec 23, 2020 21:41:19 GMT -6
I kicked the code around on that flametop LP so it could show.
That's a good catch, and illustrates a snag with Austins. At first glance, the top says it's a 786, the Vintage Rock Custom... except the Custom had the three-piece inlays, and a bound back, and four-ply binding. So basically it's a fancy 766 with black rings.
Considering the market segment they were going after, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the earlier Austin maple-tops actually were veneer, and changed to film later in the run -- because who'd know the difference, right? I say that because there's some indication that Washburn did that with the quilt-top BT-2Q and BT-4Q; in the case of the latter, a few owners were comparing notes and it seemed they'd found one with film, one with veneer, and one with an actual (if thin) maple cap! (They were going to post photos, but then the forum died.)
(Oh, and I updated the status of your confirmed models -- glad you found an elusive resonator! I also changed 2005 refs to 2004; is that accurate? It just now occurs to me that you might have to tweak the list to fit in the added 2005 models, as well as any changes in specifications to an existing model.)
I've another mule to add. It's clearly a 776, but the pickup layout is not identical to an SG -- decent axe, just not plug-and-play, so I'm guessing an early Austin. (FWIW, the s/n is "N3A 1000488")
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Post by Rex on Dec 23, 2020 22:56:08 GMT -6
Nice work, Tony. You saved me some work.  Don’t let those Les Paul copies throw you. That part of the Austin lineup went through some radical changes at the 2005/2006 cusp. Austin had two Les Paul models: the AU766 and the AU786. Prior to 2006, the AU 786 was a set-in neck LP copy with dot inlays and single-ply binding. The AU 766 was a more basic bolt-on version. That all changed in 2006. In that year, production moved from Korea to China. The bolt-on AU 766 disappeared. In its place, the existing AU 786 was demoted — yes, demoted — to AU766. That made way for a brand-new AU 786, with six-ply binding and the fancy three-piece inlays. Overall attention to fit and finish also improved. Any AU786 with those fancy accoutrements is from 2006 or later. Except, that is, for one that I have in my possession with a 2005 serial number. That’s not surprising when you consider that it’s unlikely that the model change occurred precisely on January 1 of 2006. |
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Post by Rex on Dec 23, 2020 23:09:37 GMT -6
Can I hack those 2004 references back to 2005? With only very rare exceptions, there were two block-logo eras: approx. 2000 to 2005, and 2006 to approx. 2010.
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Dec 31, 2020 11:57:26 GMT -6
Good to know!! I say run with it.
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Dec 31, 2020 12:03:05 GMT -6
Austin had two Les Paul models: the AU766 and the AU786. ... You've got an excellent basis for a stand-alone thread/article there. Please consider pushing it together and taking it public, like "Timeline of the Austin LPs" or such. You could even extend it to include the subsequent/current clones, and leave it open to tie back to Bently and Series 10 if connections (like factory codes) appear. |
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Post by Rex on Dec 31, 2020 13:38:00 GMT -6
Heh. I’ve had an Austin LP mini-article in the back of my mind for a while now. Let’s see what I can scrape together.
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