"Venus" -- Shocking Blue 🆚 Bananarama

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Randy Used One Too

Not extreme the way Malmsteen & Vai did, but he had the frets dished out on most of his guitars.
Speaking of luthiers:
I knew a guy in the 70s. An engineer at a local nuke plant, pretty good guitar player who built acoustics.
He actually patented a special bracing pattern to allow a doubleneck (12 & 6) acoustic.
We bought tickets to, and sent a letter to Leo Kottke about it for when he came to play Wise Fools' in Chicago.
We went with the guitar, and my buddy gave it to Leo.
Leo used it that night!
About 3 years later, he gets a letter from Sigma. They wanted to buy his patent. They gave him $75,000 for it. (In 1980, so a serious chunk of change.)
Sigma made some (for Leo, I don't recall if they ever fully commercialized it). Roughly 6 months later, he got his original guitar back from Leo.
We both had a pic of Leo playing the original version. And, he got his original back.
Thing was a work of art.
I'd bet, given the quality of the wood (rosewood back & sides, spruce top, rock maple neck), the inlay, & craftsmanship it would fetch $8,000-9,000 today. Maybe more.