Pretty cool. Too bad you didn't snag it.
Oh, I definitely wanted to! But, I knew that whatever he wanted for it was far more than I could afford. He had a few dozen vintage Fenders, any of which I'd loved to have had. He owned a music store, so he was exposed to a lot of that cool old stuff, but he was also one of those lucky guys that was always in the right place at the right time, or else stuff just fell in his lap by sheer dumb luck (like the Tremolux).
For example, the Tremolux sat on a shelf next to a pre-CBS blackface Princeton, that he found in a barn. It was dirty and had spray paint overspray on it, but it cleaned up REALLY well, and you had to get up close to see anything that wasn't pristine looking. He had a mid-'70s 3-pickup Les Paul Custom, that he special-ordered new with the optional "Shadowburst" finish because he thought it looked cool. It's now very rare and collectible. He also owned a '59 ES-335 with dot inlays. Yes, THAT guitar...
I've gotten a few valuable things free or by luck, but nothing like that. Back in 1989, a friend gave me his original TS-808 Tube Screamer (circa '79 or '80) when it stopped working. The culprit was merely a bad solder joint. I still have it.
Another friend gave me his pair of Sennheiser HD600 cans, and another gave me a brand new Simpson 260-7 VOM.
I once bought a 1962 Heathkit AA-151 integrated stereo amplifier for $110, that was a rare, factory-assembled unit in flawless mint condition; a true museum piece. The lead dress was gorgeous and it had all the original RCA and Mullard tubes, that tested at or near 100%.
Alas, it was heavily damaged at a USPS facility in Texas during shipping. It looked like a lift truck fork had penetrated the box, and hit the chassis and sheet metal cover. Amazingly, it still worked and I used it a long time with the cover off, because it was so mangled it wouldn't fit. I finally grew weary of looking at it with a sick heart, and decided to give the poor creature a proper burial. But, I of course kept the tubes and the magnificent Stancor transformer set.
The guy I bought it from was like the music store owner; someone who was always in the right place at the right time. He was a tech at the Magnatone factory in the '60s, and had several pristine Magnatone amps in his collection. He'd go to estate and yard sales all over southern California, and some of the more interesting finds he told me about were:
A pair of tweed Fender amps, fished out of a dumpster after they didn't sell at a remote yard sale
A cabinet full of tube Marantz and McIntosh hi-fi gear, bought for $2300 and sold the next day for $9000
An original D' Angelico Style B made in the '30s, bought for $5 in the '80s. The owner was deceased and his wife had stored the guitar in their basement, which later flooded. The case was lying flat on the floor, and the water had made the back separate from the sides. It was repaired by none other than Mr. Jimmy D'Aquisto himself, and after getting it back the guy enjoyed playing it for about 6 months, then sold it for $6000.
