Rare 1996 D-63 Furch Stonebridge

[Richardsuserid]

I have a near mint condition 1996 D-63 Stonebridge guitar, made before the name was changed from Furch, manufactured in Czech Republic, well before Stonebridge went global.

This guitar has aged well for its 15 years and has virtually never been played, so in that sense, it's somewhat of a rarity. I purchased it 3 years ago on Ebay from somebody who didn't know what they had and swore they purchased it and stored it away. Of course you can't necessarily believe what someone will tell you on Ebay, so I purchased the guitar expecting to see some wear, but was surprised to find that, when I opened the case, the seller was telling the truth; it's in amazing condition. For the three years I've owned it, its rarely been out of its case, thus my selling it, along with some others. You can tell by the pic of the frets that this guitar has had minimal, if any, serious playing time.

There are only a couple noticeable nicks on the front, and only if you get close and look, and one similar nick on the side. Otherwise, it's pretty much flawless as far as my eyes can see. There's a funny little discoloration on the front in one of the pics, part of the wood apparently.

Because of the inlay on the fretboard, the gold tuners and fancy appointments, I'd have to guess this was pretty much top of the line for Furch at the time. As for the wood, I'm waiting to get a definitive answer from the Czech office of Stonebridge, hopefully soon. I believe it's Brazilian rosewood on the back, but I'll post what info they send me. The neck is thin, approximately 3/4 inch. From how it plays and sounds, I would venture to say Furch was going after the Martin market with this model, as it definitely has a Martin vibe to it, but it definitely sounds like a Stonebridge. The cool thing is that it's incomparable to any Stonebridge you would buy today because the rosewood gives it a warmth and cohesiveness that only comes with age. The top end is bright but not overbearing. The lows are rich and defined and it has an even sound across the spectrum. This is a great strummer guitar and possibly a collector's item, but I don't pretend to know about such things.

It does have a case (in terrible shape, I may have to fix it or see if I can use another one) and an under-saddle pickup system that works fine, but I forget what kind it is.

The price is $2300. PLEASE, no trades as I'm liquidating my studio and instruments and have no need for other guitars. Paypal is accepted but buyer must pay paypal fees. Shipping will be additional and actual to your CONUS location.

The dimensions are, to the best of my ability:

lower bout 15-1/2
upper bout 11-1/2
waist 10-3/16
string spacing at bridge 2-3/16
neck width at nut 1-11/16 -- just under 1-3/4

The pictures can be seen at this link:
http://s1287.beta.photobucket.com/us...ry/Stonebridge

PS... I also have a very nice Continental single cone resonator (but still trying to get independent verification since the label was taken off the headstock. I have a used Tascam FW-1884 with two LE-8 extensions that I've never used, in very good shape, as well as an M-Audio Sputnik mic I've never used, so feel free to ask me about those since I haven't posted them yet.