Was This the Prototype For the New Joe Maphis 6/12 ?

[Dennisthe Menace]

http://www.vintageguitars.net/images/pr ... 1232_l.jpg

Obviously, Guitar Centers Vintage Collection is a typo. It is DEFINITELY not a 1964.
With the aluminum Vibrato with the "Mistake Plate," non adusting p'ups,the "M"
Carved Headstock not cut at a slight angle, the non reverse body, and the glued
in Necks, to me, suggests this is most probably from around the '60-'62 era. The
actual Vibramute Bridge IS on there, and the Necks down near the p'ups are not
at the angle cut. You still have binding around the Headstock, which again IMHO,
suggests it's from '60-'62. Does anybody else on the Forum, have any info or
knowledge of this Beast? I have seen some early 6/12 J.M. Doublenecks, but not with
this Body Style......

[dubtrub]

You are correct that it is 'DEFINITELY not a 1964'. It appears more like a 59 or 60. The rounded home oven baked pickup covers, the hand made aluminum vibrato and bridge, the head stock. Everything suggest Semie's hand built one at a time in his shop on Minner Ave in Oildale Ca. This was his style of building guitars before he teamed up with Joe Hall and moved his shop to the Panama Road (or Lane, I forget) building. It was on Panama that Semie and Joe came up with the design later to be called the Ventures model. I'd like to have a large blow up of that photo.

[Dennisthe Menace]

One question still remains..Was Semie planning on this being the
New Joe Maphis 6/12 Model during that era of 1959-1962?