Carmella! - Vintage VS6 • Cherry Red • Wilkinson Hardware & Pickups

Carmilla arrived at The Stray Chord in such remarkable condition that we spent a brief period trying to work out what the catch was.

We never found one.

She is a Vintage VS6 finished in a beautifully deep translucent Cherry Red, built around one of the most gloriously straightforward recipes in electric guitar history: mahogany, two humbuckers, a set neck and two pointy horns.

The mahogany body is paired with a set mahogany neck and a comfortable 24.75-inch scale length. A rosewood fingerboard carries 22 frets, pearloid trapezoid inlays and cream binding.

Electronics come courtesy of a pair of Wilkinson WVC Alnico humbuckers, controlled by two volume controls, two tone controls and a three-way pickup selector.

No coil splitting, active electronics or hidden switches. Just a traditional twin-humbucker arrangement capable of everything from warm, rounded neck tones to considerably less polite bridge sounds.

Wilkinson hardware continues with a Tune-O-Matic-style bridge and stopbar tailpiece, while Wilkinson Deluxe machine heads with vintage-style green keystone buttons complete the specification.

And then there is that headstock.

With its black face, cream detailing, Vintage script and fleur-de-lis motif, it has absolutely no business looking as expensive as it does.

Rehabilitation

Despite arriving in exceptionally clean condition, Carmilla received the same workshop treatment as every Stray.

She was thoroughly cleaned and inspected, with her hardware and electronics checked and her frets levelled, crowned and polished. Her fret ends were attended to before the guitar received a complete professional setup ready for her next keeper.

She didn’t technically need all of that fretwork when she arrived.

This has never stopped Jordan.

Condition

For a pre-owned instrument, Carmilla was remarkably well preserved.

Her Cherry Red gloss remained beautiful, the back was exceptionally clean, the horns and headstock had escaped the usual knocks and bumps, and the chrome hardware presented extremely well.

There were only the smallest signs that she had ever existed outside a guitar case, and even the traditional buckle-rash archaeological site had apparently failed to materialise.

Specification

Manufacturer: Vintage
Model: VS6
Finish: Cherry Red
Body: Mahogany
Neck: Set mahogany
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Scale Length: 24.75”
Frets: 22
Inlays: Pearloid trapezoid
Pickups: 2 x Wilkinson WVC Alnico humbuckers
Controls: 2 x Volume, 2 x Tone, 3-way selector
Bridge: Wilkinson Tune-O-Matic-style bridge
Tailpiece: Wilkinson stopbar
Machine Heads: Wilkinson Deluxe, green keystone buttons
Hardware: Chrome
Adoption Fee: £275
Status: Rehomed
Adoption Number: #49

Carmilla’s Story

Red, elegant, slightly Gothic and considerably older than she looked, Carmilla was named after the titular vampire of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla.

Unfortunately, she never actually got to be Stray Of The Day.

Carmilla had been photographed, rehabilitated and was patiently awaiting her grand introduction when Scott spotted her and adopted her before we could publish it.

So Carmilla skipped directly from:

“Everybody, meet Carmilla.”

to:

“Everybody, say goodbye to Carmilla.”

She became The Stray Chord’s 49th adoption, leaving us just one guitar away from Adoption #50 and the trigger for our third Mini Moshers starter-guitar giveaway.

Apparently some Strays simply aren’t interested in hanging around.

Rescue • Restore • Rehome