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| Known Production Shergold Models |
Other Shergolds made on special order (the prime example being Mike Rutherfords
superb splitable double-neck) are known
to exist, but below I have tried to make a full list of the generally available
production models.
If anyone reading this has a model or configuration that is not mentioned, I would
love to hear about it. Please email me
the details...
I am also trying to gather original pricing information for the models.
| Body Shapes |
Cavalier outline to come when I've got some suitable photos....
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| Masquerader | Custom Double | Modulator | Modulator Bass |
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| Marathon Bass | Meteor / Nu Meteor | Activator | Trojan |
| Descriptions and Variations |
| Masquerader / Custom Masquerader / Limited Edition Masquerader | |
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6 string and 12 string guitars. 25½" scale length |
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The most common of all the Shergolds in its "Custom" guise.
These guitars are very solid and have the characterisiticly
superb neck that all the Shergolds share. The versatile electronics make these
ideal general purpose guitars, but they are especially popular with rhythm players as the
output from the pickups isn't over-powering.
Early examples (prior to early 1976) have Hayman necks fitted (distinquished by a more "waisted" headstock design with extra "German" carving around the headstock edges) and a large scratchplate which the pickups are mounted on, a style that continued until about 1977/1978, when the Custom model started to appear with the pickups fitted on individual mounting rings. A "Mark 2" model appears in adverting literature around 1980/1981 (along with the Nu Meteor and Mk 2 Marathon). This version has a mahogany or ash body, no scratchplates, through-body controls, and a rosewood fingerboard. One of these has recently come to light and can be seen in the gallery. When Shergold briefly restarted manufacturing in 1991, the Masqueraders had "Limited Edition" engraved on the the scratchplate, but despite looking nearly identical to the earlier Custom models, the Custom tag was dropped from the name. The evolution of the Masquerader can be traced through these pictures in the Gallery: Trivia Spot: In earlier advertising material, the name "Masquerader" is commonly mispelt as "Masquerador" - even on some Shergold produced advertising. As far as is known, this spelling never made it as far as appearing on a guitar. |
| Custom Double | |
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4 string bass / 6 string guitar 4 string bass / 12 string guitar 6 string guitar / 12 string guitar 25½" scale length (guitar) 34" scale length (bass) |
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The only double neck within the financial reach of mere mortals, and definitely worth having!
Essentially this is the double neck fusion of the Custom Masquerader guitars and
Marathon bass. Some other true custom versions were made, such as two
bass necks (8 and 4 string, 4 and 6 string, fretted and fretless etc). Usually the bass neck is fitted lowermost, and the twelve string uppermost, with the 6 string neck taking the other position where appropriate. Alternate arrangements of the necks could be had on custom orders - as on this example... Two output jacks are fitted, one for standard mono signal, and the other for stereo. Trivia Spot: The Custom Double was introduced to satisfy the demand for Shergold Double Neck guitars created by the prominent use by Mike Rutherford of a Shergold Double. However, Mike was "guaranteed" a unique instrument, so along with concerns of final item cost, and weight, the concept of splitting the body into two guitars was dropped. A standard Custom Double was subsequently used by John Goodsall of Brand-X. |
| Modulator | |
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6 string and 12 string single neck guitars. 4 string, 6 string and 8 string single neck basses (all available fretless). Double Necks to custom order. 25½" Scale length (guitar) 34" scale length (4 and 8 string bass) 30" scale length (6 string bass) |
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Similar in design and general appearance to the Masquerader
but with a removable and interchangable electronics module in place
of the normal fixed control plate. This concept continues from the Hayman "Modular",
which was also designed by Bob Pearson just before the collapse of the Hayman company,
which also had interchangable electronics. The basses tend to feel headstock heavy when compared to a Marathon or J-Bass, but are more versatile basses thanks to the two 16 pole pickups and the interchangeable electronics. More information on Modules |
| Marathon Bass | |
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4 string 34" scale, 6 string 30" scale (both available fretless) Occasional 8 string 34" scale basses. |
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Evolved from the Hayman 4040 bass which was built by Shergold for the Dallas
music company. There are two main versions of the Marathon, known unofficially as the Mark I and Mark Ia. The Mark I has a larger plastic pickup mounting plate in the style of the Hayman 4040 whereas the Mark Ia has the normal Shergold mounting ring pickup mounting. The Mark I also uses a single output socket, requiring a stereo plug and splitter cable, unlike the Mark Ia that has two separate mono output sockets. Early examples also have a lever switch on the control plate to control the pickup. The Marathon is better balanced for strap playing than the Modulator bass (earlier examples less so, as the upper body horn is shorter), but with a single split pickup and stereo controls and wiring. The pickup is in effect two mini-humbuckers in the same casing. The stereo effect is derived by putting the pickup coils under the first and second strings on one channel and the third and fourth the other half of the pickup. The main drawback with this arrangement is that in mono mode, the two halves of the pickup are connected in parallel, giving very low output. Common owner alterations to the electronics are to add a toggle switch to flip between parallel and series connection of the windings, and a second switch to bypass the tone and volume network. Six string Marathons, and occasionally the four string Marathons, were fitted with Modulator style 16 pole pickups and mono wiring. A small toggle switch is provided between the volume and tone controls to give single coil, humbucker and phased arrangement of the pickup coils. The 8 string basses are arranged in the same way a 12 string guitar is, with 4 courses of octaved string pairs over a standard width bass neck. The 6 string bass necks are about 5mm wider than a standard bass neck throughout the scale, and also have 24 frets and a brass nut. A small number of Marathons officially designated as the Mark II were designed and built shortly before Shergold stopped full scale production in 1982. These feature a single 16 pole pickup (in mono), mahogany body using through body mounted controls, and a glued in neck with a rosewood fingerboard. |
| Cavalier | |
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6 string and 12 string single neck guitars 4 string basses (Unconfirmed). Available as double necks. 25½" scale length (guitar) 34" scale length (bass) |
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These otherwise seemingly normal Shergolds have one major point that makes them stand apart from
the others - the neck. The neck joint on the Cav is hybrid of bolt-on and through-neck.
A large rebate (the width of the fingerboard, and about 15mm deep) is cut into the back of the body from the neck pocket right down to below the bridge plate. The rebate is cut deep enough for the pickup rebates from the front of the body to have come right through. At the front of the body, a shortened neck pocket is cut into the body. Across this pocket, just below the level of the fingerboard, a 10mm tenon projects forwards by about 5mm. This mates firmly with the rebate cut into the heel of the neck. Two large screws pass down from the bridge base plate, through the body and fix into the end of the neck extension once slotted into the rebate on the reverse of the body. Norman Houlder has drawn this sketch of the neck arrangement that he designed, and has the final word on it: "The Cavalier was conceived through frustration at Jack's inability to get away from those lumps of functional wood. I was always looking for some new innovation, and listening to player's comments about sustain and the accessibility to the sharp end of the scale, I devised the neck with a heel which made it possible, and connected it through to the bridge so there was no sustain loss (the spring box of the Hayman was always in my mind, albeit that was a pain to install). I think I found it. Also I wanted to sculpture the body, I can't remember if I got away with that? [Ed: I'm afraid not Norman - purely functional slab sides!] Jack overpriced it so it never really got off to a decent start!" |
| Meteor / Meteor Deluxe | |
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6 string single neck guitars. 25½" scale length |
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Similar in shape to the Cavalier but with a normal bolt-on neck joint.
Unusally for a guitar that was the baby of the range, and hence cheaper than the others,
the controls on earlier examples for pickup selection, tone, volume and phasing are mounted through the body
from the back, rather than being fixed to a front mounted scratchplate. As well as requiring
routing from the reverse of the body, the controls need holes drilled through from the back,
and the back needs an inset cover plate. The normal option of controls on scratchplates is far
simpler as only a single routing operation and an oversized scratchplate is required. Later Meteors used the normal (and cheaper!) scratchplate mounted controls. To keep this model in its position as the "entry level" option in the range, some corners were cut. The machine heads are cheap, no-name, unadjustable units, the four headstock string guides fitted to all other six string models are left off, and the fingerboard is left unbound with the fret ends exposed. That said, the same care has still been given to the profile of the neck and the overall finish of the guitars, as on the other models in the range. The electronics are on a par with those of the Masquerader, and it actually has a better G*bson style pickup selector that its big brothers would really have benefited from having. A single pickup version is also known to have been produced in some numbers. These were Shergold badged Hayman Comets, which look very similar to the Meteor including the simplifed (compared to the other Haymans) Shergold headstock. See the Hayman Gallery for pictures of the various models including the Comet. Trivia Spot: The emergence of the "Deluxe" name is believed to have been the result of an over-eager advertising copy writer. The original Meteor is described as a "Meteor Twin Pickup Deluxe Guitar" in Shergold advertising from 1976. For later advertising a copy writer threw away the "twin pickup" bit and used the remainder in the new adverts. Subsequently, when customers and dealers began asking for "Meteor Deluxe" guitars, Shergold decided to add the "Deluxe" tag permanently. |
| Nu Meteor | |
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6 string single neck guitars. 24¾" scale length |
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Identical in shape to the Meteor, but with a large white Str*t style
scratchplate, rosewood fingerboard, three single coil pickups, one volume and two tone controls,
Str*t style five-way selector switch below the bridge pickup, and a Masquerader style bridge. The output jack is fitted flat onto the scratchplate. The electronics are in traditional Str*t arrangement (the only production Shergold to use single coil pickups - Kent Armstrong units), but it is the centre pickup that is slanted, instead of the more usual bridge pickup. The scale is ¾" shorter than the standard Shergold necks fitted to earlier models, carries 24 frets, and has a laid back headstock unlike all other Shergolds that have a dished, flat headstock. The necks are believed to be reshaped Ned Callan left overs (see the illustration of the NC "Cody" in the "Ultimate Guitar Book"). It is believed that only 40 Nu Meteors were made following their introduction in late 1979 until 1981. Trivia Spot: The "Nu" part of the name is a thinly veiled reference to the Shergold heritage in Burns guitars, where redesigned models or parts were often prefixed with "Nu". This tradition continues with the new Burns London company, and their "Nu Sonic" model. |
| Activator | |
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6 string and 12 string single neck guitars. 24¾" scale length 4 string 34" scale single neck bass. |
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One of the last guitars designed by Shergold, prototyped in the end of 1980. They
are the rarest of all the "production" Shergolds, and the numbers made
are believed not to exceed 20 units in total. The "active" tag comes from the internally fitted boosted parametric equaliser circuit - a mould breaking move into integrated circuits for Shergold! The two controls for the EQ are used to give around ±14dB of cut or boost, and a frequency sweep. The on/off switch is an unusual latching push button with a mechanical indicator visible through a transparent plastic window (still available from RS Components in the UK, stock code 339-897). This unit is powered by a pair of PP3 batteries in their own cavity in the rear of the body. The body itself is another departure for Shergold, featuring contouring on the back and front, in addition to the "scalloped" shaping at the tail of the body. The neck has 24 large frets on a rosewood fingerboard. The rest of the hardware is pretty traditional Shergold stuff - the perspex block bridge as fitted to most Modulators and the usual Re-An pickups fitted directly into the body reccesses instead of mounting rings or a scratchplate. The control fittings wouldn't look out of place on a L*s Paul guitar - three proper control knobs, a large three position toggle switch, and the active circuit switch mentioned above. |
| Small Production Runs and Prototypes |
This section describes the models that have been confirmed by myself or factory contacts
as having been made in small quantities either as prototypes or limited runs.
Jack Golder often made "one-offs", but usually made six of them (why six? I have no idea
and neither has anyone else...), even if only one was required!
| Shergold Trojan | |
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6 string single neck guitars. 25½" scale length |
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Six of these Burns Marvin inspired single neck six string guitars were made in 1978.
They were designed by Peter Robinson as a Shergold alternative to the Str*t and T*le,
and share many visual features with these two models, as well as the Marvin - the
body outline being roughly the same. The neck is the usual pre-1978 Shergold unit
(truss rod adjustment at the neck joint end) but without the normal Shergold chromed
neck plate - a plastic cover conceals the four bolts tightened directly onto the wood
instead. Pickups are from Kent Armstrong, instead of the usual Re-An units, mounted to a large white scratchplate all but identical to that on the Nu Meteor 3 years before that model would emerge. The overall usability of the guitar is slightly marred by a cheap and inefficient bridge design that takes careful adjustment to get working correctly. It is also notable also for being the first Shergold to display a maple/mahogany centre section to the body, and the first to wear the "tobacco sunburst" (as Peter calls it) or "brown glow" (as Jack Golder named it) finish. The number produced is believed to be six with normal "Shergold" badges on the headstock, and six with "Trojan" badges instead. |
| Shergold Triumph | |
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6 string single neck guitar. |
| Shergold badged variant of the Rosetti 'Triumph', seemingly identical in every way. Some versions have an asymmetric twin cutaway body design compared to the single lower scoop cutaway on the original Rosetti version. The Rosetti "R" headstock badge is replaced with a Shergold "S", and the pickguard engraving is also suitably altered. Detailed photos are now in the gallery. |
| Shergold Cavalier / Modulator Hybrid | |
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12 string single neck guitar. 25½" scale length |
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Pictured in several reviews, this guitar is identical to the normal
Cavalier in every way
(including the intermittently unstable neck joint) except that it is fitted with
a Modulator module. The reviews show what appears to be the same stock picture of a dark colour finished hybrid (Cav-ulator? Modul-ier?) with a twelve string neck. Transcripts of the reviews and scans of the pictures coming soon... |
| Shergold Upright Electric Bass | |
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Upright 'mini' Double Bass 41" scale length See this article from Melody Maker reviewing this strangest of Shergolds, and some pictures of the beast itself... |
| Shergolds that aren't Shergolds? |
The first mass-produced "Shergolds" made were not labeled as Shergold but were produced for the
Hayman music company. These guitars and basses often bear a remarkable resemblance to later
Shergold models, which often used remaindered parts during the early part of their production runs.
Additionally, Shergold produced a number of "clones" of these commissioned guitars once
production had ceased, for customers desperate to get a discontinued model. Work in this vein continued
at the factory for some time, with replica Burns guitars being very popular.
Other part or whole rebadged Shergolds are:
| The Rumour Mill... |
This section details those models (mostly custom order one-offs) that I have heard of from normally reliable sources. If anyone actually has anything close to one of these I would love to hear about it.
