Here is a very interesting guitar I have just purchased (from the USA) as a gigging guitar. I was struck by the quality of construction and the elegance of the solution of fitting 12 tuners onto a 'normal' Fender Strat type headstock. The guitar was made by Rick Cremer, who operates Cremer Guitarworks in N. Aurora, Illinois, USA, and I had assumed it was a fairly recent creation.

On dismantling the guitar for identification and photography, things became extremely interesting. Not only was the guitar definitely a Cremer, it was also quite clearly made back in May 1986. To make things even more interesting, the body bears the classic Paul C's stamp (see all the photos in the 'more pictures' link below). Paul C's was the trading name Paul Chandler used before he used the full Chandler name on his instruments.

This very interesting guitar has active electronics (I have yet to determine exactly what does what - the mini-toggle is a 3-way switch, and the bottom chrome 'tone' knob is actually a 6-position rotary switch. Pickups also date to 1986, but I have yet to determine what brand they are.

An amazing guitar for which I hoped to discover a lot more from Rick Cremer and Paul Chandler. Chandler responded to my email to confirm the body and pickguard are genuine, and also explained that the 'mystery' BMP code in the neck pocket stands for either "burgundy mist pearl" or "burgundy mist pink" (a bit of a friendly dispute among the old-timers at Chandler on that one!). I'm going for the first, as the finish is definitely a pearl, not unlike that used on the Pink Paisley Fenders (see here). Rick Cremer has not yet responded to my email.

I'll update this page if any new details come to hand, but enjoy simply looking at the photographs in the meantime. I'll just enjoy playing it!

Not for sale