After loosing a white spider web graphic beat up needs-a-lot-of-work guitar more than a year ago, I found THIS little beauty.
Instead of a 8 hour drive it was a mere 40 minutes away. It had been listed for 3 days when I discovered it, and my work schedule was brutal – 46 hours in 3 days, so no chance to peel away and look at it. I waited and sweated it out…
And then a blessed day off. Met the seller. A nice older guy who actually has gigged at Smugglers’ Notch!
His wife bought him this brand new – from Building 19 no less!
No how in the heck did that store have this guitar?!

When I met him, he said a music store had a flood and Building 19 bought it all out. One of their stores was loaded with music instruments, his wife bought this on a ‘fire sale’.

Original condition, superb condition. 1986 Hohner Professional EX Artist

Now here’s the secret about this model and why I wanted to get my hands on it so badly…
It’s a neck thru body construction. No set neck here, no clunky ugly bolt on.

There’s a German guy who stripped the finish off his spider web version and published it and the fact that these are neck thrus.

The seller said it was ‘plywood’. I asked him why he thought that, and he said ‘when the pickups were out you can see the layers”. Didn’t want to get into that with him. I think he got it ‘sideways’ and saw the layers going vertical not horizontal on the neck and was confused.

Seller said a Gibson Dirty Fingers pickup was installed in the neck by a guitar tech from a Gibson Flying V.
It’s not marked, but I know some of the older ones weren’t marked on the pickup covers.

Tremolo system:
Locking after nut setup with all original parts still there and functioning!
‘Kahler’ style tremolo – only marking is ‘Korea’ stamped on the bottom under the fine tuners.
The springs were shot so he locked the trem with two small aluminum bits after trying to replace the springs unsuccessfully. The springs were included.

Original stock neck pickup. 1-2 of the knobs were recently replaced by the seller as they went missing.

Brass nut 1 + 10/16″ width, original.
24.75″ scale
Strung with 9s.
This guitar weighs in a 8 lbs 15 oz. It’s not the big fat pig I was expecting. I’ve read they are crazy heavy and 10 pound pigs. Not so, not this one at least. Very nice weight / heft / feel to it.

The other thing I was worried about was the neck. Was it thin shredder style or reasonable or thick?
I found out it’s not thick. It’s very thin or ‘fast’ according to the shredder types.
This may not sit well with me, we shall see. I really only like playing thick necks.

Edit: Dec 23rd:
Spent a bunch of last night figuring out I really do have a vintage early 80s Gibson Dirty Finger in my newest guitar that was pulled from a Gibson Flying V. Apparently the seller was spot on in his thinking.
So. just played my Dirty Finger EX Artist. Sounds quite nice. Played my Aria ZZ Blueburst, sounds perhaps even better. Played my first ‘real’ guitar I bought – the made in Japan mystery ‘Gig??” guitar huge heaviest guitar I own, bolt on neck (yuck) and 25.5” long Fender scale… sounds great. Go figure eh?
I would have been the HAPPIEST clam in the sea if I had had that ‘Gig’ guitar in the 80s. Oh my gosh I’d be living in van for all the wrong reasons today.