Townshend guitars

Meant to say something about this the other day, but got busy.  I think I can
shed a little light on the various "Townshend" guitars.  

I used to own an early Schecter "Townshend" model, although it did not bear
that name anywhere on it.  I've heard that later versions did bear the name
on the headstock, but I've never seen one.  Nevertheless, I've got a 1984
Schecter catalog that refers to the "Townshend" model.  It is basically a
tele copy with two humbuckers, a 3-way switch, and two push/pull pots.  It is
black with cream binding, and no pickguard.  In the early '80's Pete played
custom-assembled Schecters that were black with no pickguard, black with a
black pickguard, blue with a white pickguard, gold with no pickguard, black
with a white pickguard, etc.  ONLY the black/no pickguard model is considered
a "Townshend" model.  These were PRODUCTION instruments, and I doubt Pete
ever actually played one.  I don't believe they began producing them until
1983 at the earliest.  When/if they stopped making it I don't know.  I
haven't seen one in years.

The Rickenbacker "Pete Townshend" model was a limited-edition guitar that was
a copy of the 1960's Rose Morris "330" Pete played (and smashed) in the early
days of The Who.  (Rose Morris was Rickenbacker's distributor in the UK, and
their model numbers were different than in the US.  That's why I put "330" in
quote marks--that's the US model # and I can't remember the RM #)  The major
difference in the Rose Morris 330 and the US 330 was the f-hole:  Rose Morris
had an actual violin-style f-hole, while US models had the more familiar
Rickenbacker "cat's-eye" f-hole.  (When I was 15 I wanted a Rick real bad
'cause of the Maximum R&B poster, and was utterly amazed and disappointed
that I couldn't find one with a violin-style f-hole--that's what I thought
they were SUPPOSED to look like).  Of course, Pete went through a large
number of Ricks, and you'll see slight differences (ie stop-pieces, etc) if
you go through the pics.  The "Pete Townshend" model was a composite of the
guitars he used to play.

It's brown (tobacco-burst is Rickenbacker's official name), with double cream
binding.  There is a Rose Morris-style f-hole, it does not have the US "R"
tailpiece, it has two "double-bar" pickups, and Pete's signature is on the
upper part of the two level pickguard.  They only made a few hundred of
these, if I'm not mistaken.  To the best of my knowledge there are no special
electronics, as in the "Roger McGuinn" model.  He did not play "Pete
Townshend" model Ricks on the '89 tour, and even removed the Rickenbacker
nameplates from the headstock.  Whether this was because he had a falling-out
with Rickenbacker I have no idea (as I have heard some people suggest).  My
guess is that Ricks have two truss rods, accessible only from the headstock,
and when you travel and move a Rick around a bunch it can be tough to keep
the neck true (my experience, anyway).  Keeping the nameplate off makes
servicing a hell of a lot quicker and easier.

As far as why no Fender Townshend, my guess is he's never been truly
idendified with Fenders.  I've only seen a few pre-'89 pics or films where he
was playing one.  Compare that to the numerous pictures of him with Ricks,
SG's, and Les Pauls.  I believe that Gibson toyed with the idea of a
Townshend model Les Paul in the late '70's, but nothing ever came of it.

Anyway, that's all I know.  Anyone else feel free to pitch in.

All I want to do is play my red guitar. . .
AThosWhite