Description

Fender Lucite Esquire filled with Cumberland River flood water - "Luci."

An extremely rare "build" for the makers of the vaunted Stratocaster and Telecaster, this guitar was designed and built by Fender's R&D department. A solid block of Lucite was shaped as a solid guitar body, then "channeled" to create hollow spaces that would hold water. Fender Nashville employees collected water from the Cumberland and from a long-dry farm pond that was filled by the flood, and the mix was sent to the builders in California. While heavier than most guitars used for stage or studio, "Luci" is a fully-functioning Fender Esquire model, with a '50s re-issue neck and vintage-style pickup and hardware. Fender "one-offs" are built occasionally, typically as commemorative pieces for major events, artistic achievements or large charity efforts. But Fender's Mike Bump, who designed the Nash2o guitar, believes it to be especially unusual:

"We build a Lucite guitar every once in a great while, but I don't recall seeing - or even hearing of - anything filled with water. And the fact that is is actual water from the flood, well, I can say for certain nothing like this has ever come out of Fender."

Gruhn, widely acknowledged as the world's leading expert on vintage and collectible guitars, agrees that "Luci" is a rare bird:

"This is the kind of guitar that collectors will salivate over. For anyone interested in Fenders, in the legacy and the special, hard-to find pieces from over the last sixty years, this is a very big deal. It's the kind of thing that you'll hear about over the years, perhaps as it changes hands or appears in galleries or collections. We've had some special pieces in the auctions, thanks to the generosity of many artists. We have Les Pauls from Peter Frampton, some wonderful, special guitars from Vince Gill, and Brad Paisley, and Keith Urban. Studio tools from session players like Brent Mason, Brent Roway, Kevin Grantt... the list goes on and on. But this may well be the star of the whole show. It truly is something you won't see anywhere else."