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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Hitchhiker guitar

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Hello, I'm new to the site. I really like the Ventures. Have since the mid 60's. I'm a young senior citizen now. I play guitar more often
now since I retired 3 years ago. I have 8 guitars, 3 of wich are
Wilson Bros. Ventures guitars. I love all 3. A VCM-2001, VM-110, and
VM-100.
I ordered a Hitchhiker guitar directly from Nokie Edwards back in Aug.
of 2012. I'm still waiting. Cost was $4300 up front because I wanted Nokie's new Vibrato, or Tremelo as some call it. I know the production
has been moved to California. Has any one else ordered one and still
Waiting? I hope to receive it, since I paid hard erned cash up front,
plus I think it's a great guitar. I know Nokie has had health problems, and God speed on his recovery. If any one has any info on
them, that would releive any concerns I might have, I would like to hear from you.
Thanks. Confused

Try typing "hitchiker guitar" in the search bar above and you're sure to find some stuff in relation to said guitar and welcome aboard. Cheers

rogdodge,
I hate to say it, but I wouldn't set your expectations too high regarding your purchase, especially considering the state of Nokie's health. Take a look at THIS thread, and you'll find an example of a customer that waited over two years for their guitar only to have it arrive with the wrong finish. Man, $4300 is a boatload of money.

Insect Surfers
The Tikiyaki Orchestra
The Scimitars
Lords Of Atlantis
Fiberglass Jungle - Surf Radio

Wow, that is quite a bit of coin for a guitar! (About the price of a museum-quality vintage Ventures model Mosrite... drool.) Did you happen to ask around on the Mosrite Forum? I think I saw someone else there with the same problem a while back; that wasn't you, was it?

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

I'd be interested to know what sort of lead time were you given when you ordered it---in other words, are they officially late, and how late? Were you given a contact email, and do they respond to your inquiries?

Hey Rogdodge, there are a number of folks that have purchased Hitchhiker guitars from Nokie on the Underground Fire yahoo group. They can tell you their experiences. Join that group at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/undergroundfire2/

-Marty

"Hello Girls!"

Last edited: Feb 05, 2013 17:41:09

Rod,
Not looking good for you. Whatever possessed you to lay out that much cash up front? Lots can happen in two years. Vendors can literally DIE on you in that time. Corpses really aren't legally on the hook for anything once they - well - become corpses.
I don't think Nokie has a dishonest bone in his body - BUT - he has had things go bad, overpromised on stuff, and has had his load of bad business decisions. I know the guy who helped Nokie design the HH. He was suppose to get a HH as payment for his services. It never happened.
I also met a guy at a guitar show a year or two back. We got on the subject of the HH guitar. Mine need some minor luthier work - his needed major surgery with the neck-thru construction. Nokie had it for over two years (shipping it here and there) and the guy got it or a different color substitute back in worse shape and with a damaged case to boot.
Maybe I'm just a hard nose New Yorker, but I'd never hand over my hard earned cash for a "promise".
"Quid pro quo" - a philosophy to live by.
I hope the best for you. Figure Nokie is in the hole for at least a quarter million with all the hospital bills. Your guitar most probably and realistically is not high on his list of "to do's" right now.
J Mo'

Rogdodge -
Allow me to relate a real life sobering experience. This one involved the late, great Bill Gruggett (RIP). In 2000, I went to Los Angeles on business. I brought along a valuable cache of Mosrite parts. This included an expensive (even then) VIBRATMUTE tremolo and bridge, a half round nut, stock "no-'R'" stamp pickups, and N.O.S. smooth knobs.
I drove to Bakersfield with the parts - and a case - and ordered a custom setneck 1963 Ventures model in white with black binding. I supplied all the parts, Bill was to do the body, neck and paint work. I was given a 4-6 month time-to-complete.
4-6 moths elapsed...no communication from Bill ... when 12 months elapsed, I got very concerned. Phone calls weren't returned. (That, incidentally, just pisses me off) I finally tracked down Bill's son and he got Bill on the phone.
A litany of health problems/reasons/excuses... you name it, followed. I didn't think any the less of Bill but I was thinking "If this guy passes on, I'm going to be standing in line as a creditor to his estate - 3000 miles away."
I had to keep pressing him for completion time. No harsh words spoken, but I had to know that Bill was focused on completing my guitar. Payment was half down- the remaining half on completion + shipping costs.
I finally got the guitar 16 months after ordering it. I'd never go through that again. No one was being dishonest, things happen, people get anxious when there is no communication and one gets the sense that time may not be on their side when completion is not imminent.

I still have the guitar. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do all I've related again? Absolutely not.
J Mo'

The OP did answer my question, but chose to do it via PM, so I will assume be has his reasons for wanting to be discreet. I will just say, it's nothing like the nightmare scenarios posted here. It's not panic time yet.

Rog,
I'm a bit curious.. Nokie's web site looks like it hasn't been updated in months..no mention of he Hitchhiker on it. I also can't find any website for U.S. California made Hitchhiker guitars via google or yahoo. All I see is the ARIA website. Did you happen to ask Nokie where your guitar is being made and by whom? I'm thinking a company without a website today is like a car without an engine.
Nokie was very secretive 10-12 years ago when the first Hitchhikers were made by the Charvel custom shop. The guitar cost $2,000.0 at the time but, in speaking with Nokie at a charity event back then, cynical- careful-with-his-money me sensed a red flag when I couldn't get a straight answer from him as to who was building the guitar. So I declined to commit the funds. I only found out later it was Charvel. I got my model only years later from someone else who took the gamble.

So who is making these now in California? Big mystery?
J Mo'

Man, giving $4300 to someone upfront? And still nothing? You have to track him down and either he gives you a promised date within the next few months with paperwork, or refunds your cash ASAP. This is too sketchy, especially when you're dealing with that much $$. Hope everything turns out okay for ya.

Rog,
Thinking realistically, thinking the worst - take your pick:
Don't be surprised if your guitar doesn't materialize from California and Nokie or Judy tells you that ARIA guitars will be building it instead -possibly at additional cost(to you).
Hope I'm wrong.. keep us posted.
J Mo'

Just to close the loop on this:

A HAPPY ENDING

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

I want to let everyone know that HitchHiker is alive and well. I received mine in March from the company that handmakes them in Camarillo, CA so they are definitely USA made. I have been waiting for a while, mine was ordered before there was even talk of Nokie's new tremelo. I would include a pic if I new how...I am new to this forum...I also own a 1986 USA handmade Mosrite Ventures Model re-issue signed on the back of the headstock by Semie. That I just keep in a case for display. Nokie and Judy say that they should have a page up on their website sometime in April or May, and will also sell the HH at performances. Like I said I am very happy, and the case that comes with it fits it like a glove! If I can figure out how to attach a picture (may need some help) I will. I can answer any question if you'd like....

Hi Friends,

Mel from the Phantom Surfers here. I don't check this forum often, and I noticed this thread today. Glad to hear the new owners of the HH are pleased.

I started making these guitars for Nokie right before he got sick last year. It's been a lot of work, and a lot of fun. More HHs on the way, so stay tuned.

Mel
Von Bergmann Guitars

I too am new to this forum and only joined to add my 2 cents about Nokie after reading all the negative about him.
I don't know him well but was honored with the privilege of meeting and talking to him a few times. One of those times convinced me that the rest of the world would be a better place if everyone's moral integrity was even close to Nokie's.....period!
8 years ago my brother did exactly what some of you did,...he handed Nokie a handful of money for a Hitchiker and waited,...and waited, then waited some more. He no doubt view the wait differently than most, ... he saw it as an opportunity to develope a dialog with his guitar idol that once never dreamed he'd even meet let alone get in loved with! I have to believe most of you feel a little that way too or you'd have spent your money on someone else's guitar. Anyway, I think my brother was actually a little sorry when he finally got his guitar, ... not because he didn't love it, talk to it and probably slept with it, but because he cherished the dialog just as much.
I was with him the day he received his guitar and that is why I can say without reservation that Nokie is the most stud up guy I've ever met. After waiting the same approximate time as the rest of you, Nokie called my brother and informed that not only did he have his guitar but as luck would have it, he'd be playing near his home town and could band deliver it!
Nokie showed up on schedule and after the show I accompanied my brother into Nokie's motorhome!!! Nokie disappeared into the bedroom to retrieve "the HitchHiker. My brother and I sat in Nokie's chairs, petting Nokie's cat,Jake, and giggled like 2 teen girls meeting Elvis, while we waited for Nokie to return.
Life could never get any better than that right? ....wrong!
After my brother and I had driven back to our respective homes I got a call from my brother. He was now even more exited than when we were in the motorhome! He said,... bro! ... You'll never guess the serial number of this guitar!... NE 0001, Nokies very own personal guitar! The one he toured the world with for years, the one he played on countless instructional videos, etc. Nokie himself understood he was keeping my brother waiting too long and at probably great pain but without reservation, gave him his own personal guitar! Ater witnessing that, anyone is going to have a tough time convincing me that Nokie is anything less than a stand up guy.
My brother and I jokingly had an agreement that if he "goes first" I get his guitars, and if I go first he gets mine.
A few months ago I took possession of NE 001, along with a couple of his mosrites and I'll be forever grateful to Nokie for honoring my brother with his friendship while he was here.
RIP bro.

Wow, Great story. Sorry for your loss. I'm sure you'll think fondly of your brother whenever you play it.

6stringfogger, I am sure there are a thousand ways you would have preferred to come into possession of NE 0001. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Thank you for sharing the story of your brother and his relationship with Nokie Edwards. It also explains why Nokie suddenly started touring with a different guitar.

Back when Nokie got sick, many members of sg101 expressed great concern and sincere wishes for his recovery.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Dec 15, 2014 13:42:18

6String,
The glass half full:
Your brother finally got his Hitchhiker.
The glass half empty:
It's a used guitar. - a cool used guitar but it isn't your brother's new Hitchhiker. Nokie really couldn't come across with your brothers guitar after what I presume was an extended period of time. And refunding a payment was probably out of the question. Did Nokie give your brother a choice? i.e. a refund or #001?

From what I've gathered from other purchasers, I have to think Nokie realized your brother's guitar wasn't coming around for the foreseeable future.
It was very upstanding of him to give your brother #001.
But I wonder what he'll do if there were any other deposits before or after your brothers.

If I sound a little jaded, it's because the facts as I know them temper one's view.
I personally know the man who designed the Hitchhiker with Nokie. He was to receive a Hitchhiker as payment for his services. It never happened. No payment; no Hitchhiker. That's called getting screwed where I come from. No one is completely good or bad. Such is life.

Hang onto that guitar.. only about 50 or so of the first batch made it out the door before Fender shut it all down.

Realistically - given Nokie's age (80 next May) and health issues, I doubt few, if any, new Hitchhikers will materialize. He's essentially on his own now to make a living. I've read and heard his Ventures days are passe.

The giddiness you describe when in Nokie's RV is - well - a bit foreign to me. People are people - that fact that they are famous, rich.. whatever doesn't make them any better a person. If I met Nokie as a teenager, I'd probably be gushing, too. But I'm an adult with some "people mileage" and I've met my share of "famous" people with "issues" - people with character flaws. It's just the nature of being human.

But I'd very much like to be wrong - someday.
J Mo'

JohnnyMosrite wrote:

It's just the nature of being human...
But I'd very much like to be wrong - someday.
J Mo'

It's illusions that make life liveable and sometimes fun. The electric guitar is as much about illusions as music, and that's why we care about its appearance. Does angling a neck pickup change anything but illusions, especially when we mostly use the bridge pickup?

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Dec 15, 2014 19:54:23

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