Framus 5/118-54 Television, 1963

Instrument:
The Television, Atlantik, and also New Sound TV-type models represent perhaps the most beautiful, independent Framus design, perfectly balanced and simply well done. At the same time, the Television models are always the highest quality of the model range. The date stamp on the soundhole label reads 63 H, so the guitar dates from August 1963, making it one of the first Televisions ever built.

Material:
Heavy quality from the best Framus era reigns here! The guitar has a spruce top and maple sides and back. The body is transparent high gloss lacquered in the then very popular color Black Rose. It is hollow without a center block, so the Television is a true thinline. The neck is made of the indestructible and complex to manufacture beech multi-laminated wood, stained brown and with black lacquered headstock. It has an ebony fingerboard with genuine mother-of-pearl inlays and side dots in nine frets. Of course, it also has a truss rod. Thick, creamy white, up to five-ply bindings around the body, soundholes and neck. Solid and nickel plated hardware. The individual tuners have beautiful nickel-plated covers. The four-ply pickguard made of creamy white celluloid "floats" above the top.

Electrics:
The guitar is extensively equipped. It has three P90 single coils arranged in a straight line, each with its own on/off switch and its own volume and tone controls. This is easy to understand and - once you have memorized the knob position - an intuitive basis for practically infinite sound variations.

Instruments history:
Unknown. The guitar came to us as part of a larger Framus collection and stood there probably for decades completely unplayed. However, it must have seen some action, because the body has quite a few traces of playing. The black varnish of the headstock was heavily weathered and cracked, the old metal logo had fallen off. Four of the six knob handles were missing, one of the three slide switches was broken. But the guitar had a very nice sound and was overall in very good condition.

Restoration work:
We have completely cleaned the Framus and blown out the body. The lacquer surfaces were carefully retouched and then extensively sealed and bale polished. Since the headstock finish was unrecoverable, we refinished it and also applied a new logo and lacquered it in. The original frets, which were in good condition, were polished, and the fingerboard was sanded and oiled. The tuners were disassembled, cleaned and re-oiled, and the bushings were polished. All hardware was also refurbished and polished, as well as the pickguard. From our inventory, we installed six new-old-stock control knobs from the early sixties and replaced the one defective slide switch. To do this, all the controls were de-resinized, cleaned, and made operable. Finally, the Television got a new set of 10" Pyramid pure nickel strings and a basic setup.

Current condition:
The sixty-year-old, early Television has a vintage flair all over it. Upon closer inspection, the body shows quite a few tiny scratches and the smallest dents, while the neck, fingerboard and hardware are almost flawless. Of course, the guitar is structurally and technically in top condition, completely odorless, all glue joints are bombproof. The subtle patina of the body fits perfectly with the sixties style, the elaborate decorations, the ebony and the genuine mother-of-pearl fingerboard inlays make a very high-quality impression. The enthusiast can immediately see that this must be a very early Television - we have never seen an older one. The electrics work perfectly again, all three pickups have full power and offer different sound worlds. The range goes from soft, woody jazz to reverberant Shadows sounds and even to a banging beat. Country fans get cleanly differentiated chicken picking with the bridge pickup, and slightly overdriven rockabilly is also at its finest. An extremely versatile guitar, here three pickups are not one too many. Thanks to the extremely low string action and the modern slim contoured neck, the Television plays like a new electric guitar. Due to its 100% original condition, this Framus is a rare collector's item and a valuable investment, because 63s in this condition are hard to come by. But also the ambitious player will have his pleasure, the Television has what it takes to be the ONE with its range. Compared to any 63 Gibson ES or Gretsch, it is also a bargain.

Measures:
Overall length 105 cm/41.3”; body length 50 cm/19.7”; lower bout width 38 cm/15”; waist width 24 cm/9.4”; upper bout width 32 cm/12.6”; body depth 5,5 cm/2.2”; scale length 63 cm/24.8” (zero fret to saddle); fingerboard width 4,1 cm/1.6” at zero fret, 5,1 cm/2” at 12th fret; overall weight 3.480 g; string action on 12th fret 1 mm/0.04” (adjustable).

Purchase and payment:
Just send us an email to info@german-vintage-guitar.com and you will receive your invoice immediately. Or simply order here through the shop.