Welson Vedette and the like

1964 – Welson Professional, 4 Pickups

This model is in some way the missing link between Welson’s early solidbodies and the subsequent Vedette series. In 1964 the fashion of sparkle finishes was heading to its end, sunburst was more and more in demand. Welson was one of the first makers in Castelfidardo to grasp the new trend.

On the other hand the neck is still glued-in. For Eko, Crucianelli o Bartolini, the switch to bolt-on necks preceded by nearly two years the introduction of conventional painted finishes. Welson was definitely on a timetable of its own.
As often happens, the red shade has faded to leave a nice almost-two-tone sunburst. The Van Ghent tuners with teardrop covers are supposed to materialize the higher status of the instrument. There is an issue with the (non original) bridge, it seems that some previous owner inserted the bushings a bit too far. Not really professional…

This ‘Professional’ version must be extremely rare. I remember I saw one in a second hand instrument shop in Paris, in 1998. Maybe was it just this one.