Rob Armstrong 12 String Acoustic Made for Don Partridge. Model No. 261. Oct 1985

  

From Rob's private collection. The following info was provided by Rob himself. Width at 10th fret : 61mm. Neck : Two-piece Mahogany with Rosewood Heel Cap.

Bridge : Ebony Floating with tailpiece. Headstock : Rosewood with Ivory Inlay. So, here we have the guitar owned by the Legendary "King of the Buskers"... It was made to Don's specific specifications...

Body depth, neck joint at 10th fret etc. Rob fondly remembers Don coming to collect the guitar clutching a hat full of loose change and pound notes..

There are lots of photo's online showing Don playing this guitar. The two hideous scratch plates were created by Don himself, presumably as an attempt to stop him wearing the top thru' with his strumming style.

Quite what he used is a mystery, but it does bear some resemblance to the hot-bitumen road workers use to seal concrete gaps, so possibly he paid for a cup full and applied it liberally... We'll never know and Rob himself laughed when he saw Don's efforts. This guitar even made it's way into the canal at one point. A close look at the photo's will show just how much attrition this guitar has endured over the years, yet it still remains intact, playable and good to go again. I resisted the urge to re-string and give it a good clean as it seemed disrespectful to the memory of the great man somehow.

The next owner will have all that to look forward to in terms of rejuvenating this legendary guitar. It would make an excellent centre piece at a Museum of Busking Musician's, if such a venue even exists? It's fair to say this guitar was a big part of Don's playing career... If you saw him on the streets after 1985, he was most probably playing this guitar... It came back into Rob's possession when Don ordered a replacement same dimensions etc.

And has been kept in storage since 2005. Inspection in person can be arranged for this guitar and any questions will hopefully be answered.