Finally caved and picked this up on Reverb after seeing the price drop a few times. I definitely splurged on this one a bit, but based on the color and neck, it was just something I had to have.
And I don’t regret it one bit, this is an exceptional instrument. The neck is a bare/oiled finish and in truly incredible shape - not a nick on the back or anything (that always bugs me). The body is a gorgeous color greenish blue, and it kind of changes color a bit in the light which looks really awesome - hard to see in pictures. Overall it’s in great shape and has all of the original parts, bridge, pickups - nothing missing. It’s very rare that I get a guitar and it doesn’t need some kind of setup or restoration but other than a quick adjustment to the neck (due to a bump it took in shipping, not anything with the guitar itself), I was up and playing this guitar as soon as I got it - nothing extra needed.
And wow is that color a looker - and the original case and warranty card too! This is definitely one of my top guitars now, and it more than deserves to be in the top few of anyone’s collection.
This is also the same kind of neck replicated for the 2008 Pacer Imperial reissues made by Gibson in Nashville TN. Originally, they based the neck on those guitars on a sample ‘83 imperial sent to them with a rosewood neck and oil finished back - just like this one. I generally prefer the glossier necks but I have to say, this neck feels very special and it is easy to see why so many guitar players from this era fell in love with this style of neck (whether from Kramer, Charvel, Jackson, or others).