Zemaitis Guitar Company

Different one:
Zemaitis Guitars BMF-MC2 SOLD!

And another different one:
Not familiar with either, but here's my man Greg Lake with a custom made Zemaitis double neck. He got rid of it after the Get Me a Ladder Tour for BSS. Apparently it weighed a ton, but it sure looked cool! No idea who owns it now, but supposedly it has quite a high value today.



Greg Lake’s 
Zemaitis Doubleneck

Mr. Lake also had a Zemaitis Electric Guitar

A six string Zemaitis Acoustic Guitar


and a Zemaitis 12 string Acoustic Guitar.


Mr. Lake supposedly destroyed the six string Zemaitis acoustic because it would not stay in tune. He had Gibson custom make him a J-200 with a heart sound hole

 

Zemaitis was just Tony Zemaitis for a long time, working with the guy who engraved all those metal tops. Boutique in the '70s, with a roster of big-name players. Looks like proprietary pickups in the basses, but the guitars sometimes had Gibson pickups (from memory).

They looked good, and sounded good as well. The UK had other builders like John Birch and Dick Knight, and while their products looked good the results didn't always sound as good.

You can't mention Zemaitis without discussing Ronnie Lane, who died 22 years ago today and is still very much missed.



Ronnie had a few of these, including a big-bodied acoustic bass (and a couple of electric basses with engraved metal plates on the front).

Peter Cruickshank used one with the Groundhogs. A lesser known player in a lesser known band, and rarely photographed:



This bass was used in action on this BBC recording:



Sounds like a nice warm but grinding, overdriven tone.

 

Kern Brantly a Detroit Bass player whose played with Alliyah, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga among others owns one.

 

I'm not familiar with their bass line, but Keef from the Stones sometimes favors a Zemaitis. Must be some good stuff.

 

Tony retired in 2000 so anything made after that was produced under license in Japan.

 

Watch the faces live from the BBC video to see and hear Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood playing these - amazing.

 

"I'm Losing You" is brilliant.

 

These 'Zemaitis Guitars' are built with a license from Tony's family by Greco, one of those OEM guitar builders (like FujiGen) who besides building lots of guitars for the majors, also sell a lot of guitars in Japan and elsewhere, but not in the US where their various Fender and Gibson clones are lawsuit-bait. Grecos can be extremely good guitars, or can be built to a price depending on the customer requirements. The metal-fronts can be quite heavy. . . . . . Tony was one of those small English builders like Wal or Jaydee that got interest from those 70's acts. I loved his box guitars and basses with the heart-shaped soundhole.

Ronnie Wood has played a custom Zemaitis for years; it's a black Tele based axe with a big engraved disc running three humbuckers. You see it occasionally with the Stones, and lots of pics of him with it back in the Faces.

I miss the Faces. Ronnie, and Ian both gone to their just rewards, and Kenny Jones took an unfair drubbing for NOT being Keith Moon. He was put in the impossible position between a raging Townshend and Daltrey, and Entwistle really didn't know what to do with a drummer who didn't need to be chained down. An excellent, under-rated drummer.

A shame those three got caught in the ascension of Rod's solo career and Woody's move-out to the Stones. They always had a feel like a car going around a corner just a bit too fast and up on two wheels . . . . . but they were very good when they were good. Songs like 'Bad and Ruin' still hold up, and Ronnie's long intro to 'Memphis' is one of my favorite slide-guitar outings.

 

I had heard somewhere that the one Geddy Lee has was sold to him by Bob Daisly, who played with Ozzy. What I read was Ged had wanted one, but that there was a waiting list for one, and it didnt matter who you were, a plumber or GLee...you waited your turn. So he bought that one used. I guess the book would explain it all...

BnB

 

Not bass-relevant, but Pete Seeger's acoustic 12 string guitar was a Zemaitis

 

Paul McCartney has a Zemaitis acoustic bass guitar.

 

Bowling Trophy Basses (ducks head).

 

Considering what it must take to build one of those, the price tag is surprisingly reasonable.

 

I think Bob’s website said that was the one Ronnie Lane played on that bbc show but I may be remembering incorrectly.

 

Each to their own. They were passive J or PJ basses, with a huge amount of the hand work going into the scratch plate engraving. That particular construction detail may or may not matter, depending on player prefs. But, FWIW, their cost was about the same as Alembic or Fodera. So, if the scratch plate is worth that investment to you, then rock on.

 

You could be totally right about that...

BnB

 

Well, that settles that then! And thanks for letting me know I'm not totally crazy...

BnB

 

Wait, what?? Macca plays an ABG?? Jack plays an ABG?? But, but...we keep getting told they're useless!