Ratt Robbin Crosby Owned Guitar Being Sold On eBay
Ratt Robbin Crosby Owned Guitar Being Sold On eBay
July 19, 2010
A Gibson Firebird 7 guitar previously owned by former Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby is being sold at this eBay.com location. Robbin Crosby passed away on June 6, 2002.
According to the auction, “What you are bidding on here is a RARE one off custom made Firebird V11 for ROBBIN CROSBY, original member of the famous rock band RATT. I purchased this guitar from Robbin after he left the band and was living in Hollywood Ca. around 1993. This is a one of one only guitars that was made just for Robbin. Gibson used some early Gibson parts on the guitar, such as the older volume and tone knobs, and the long gold Lyre tail piece and vibrato bar that Robbin gave to the custom shop to put on the guitar. Also, the guitar has the older gold banjo tuning pegs. I never pulled out the pickups to see if they are early 1964 pickups or not, I didn’t want to slip with a screwdriver and hit the finish. They could be early pickups, but not sure unless they are taken out. I prefer to leave them untouched. The next guy can take the guitar apart if he likes to see what year the pickups are. That really doesn’t matter anyway because the guitar sounds incredible. The guitar is what it is and its a rare one off custom made for a rock and roll star.
The guitar comes with its original brown case with the fuzzy purple liner from the 1980’s. The combination lock is broken but that is how it was when I purchased it from Robbin. Robbin had several vintage tobacco yellow guitars in his collection because he liked that color, so he had Gibson do this bird in that color as well. This is the only Gibson Firebird VII ever made in this tobacco yellow color according to Gibson. All the pots date from 1984 and the guitar was made on Feb 19, 1985 at the Nashville plant. The serial number is 80505571.
When I purchased the guitar from Robbin he also gave me the video that he played the guitar in. It is their 1986 video for the song “DANCE” made by the Berle company and RATT and ROLL enterprises. This video also comes with the guitar. That item alone is worth some money since it is rare and it was Robbin’s copy. Copies of the DANCE video were made for the band and promo for the band and a few friends. I put some pictures from the dance music video showing Robbin playing this guitar on stage.
The guitar still has the same strings on it that when I purchased it. I haven’t played it that much the past 17 years, so Robbin most likely played it way more than me. In fact it still has the same old strings on it when I bought the guitar way back when. No neck breaks or cracks, just lacquer checking on the whole guitar from being 25 years old. The checking actually makes it look very cool.
I have known Bobby Blotzer and Juan Croucier since the late 1970’s when we all grew up in the Redondo Beach area and played in local rock bands. The now famous Don Dokken and myself played in a band together called Airborne, and when our drummer left we asked Bobby Blotzer with his double bass drum kit to play drums. That was around 1978-79. After I left the band to open up a vintage clothing store Juan Croucier joined the band with Dokken and Blotzer. After the Airborne band split up, Dokken went his way and Bobby and Juan joined up with Robbin and Ratt and the rest is musical history. I still talk with Dokken once in awhile and I saw Juan at a corvette car show a few years ago and we talked about some of the early days of Redondo and a club that all the local bands played at back then called the SMOKESTACK.”
For more information and photos of the guitar visit this eBay.com link.
Courtesy of www.sleazeroxx.com and www.ebay.com