Joe Doe by Vintage ~ Salty Dog
Salty Dog owned by Bill Downey
At age 17, Bill Downey started his career in the US Navy deep in the bowels of the USS America Supercarrier as a boiler technician. Over the decades and throughnumerous conflicts, the Vietnam War (1955 to 1973), the Lebanon Crisis (1983), thePersian Gulf War (1990 to 1991), Downey rose to the rank of Chief Engineer. Dedicating his whole life to the Navy meant forfeiting the chance to start a family, butDowney was not alone in this world - his faithful companion was a white electric guitarwhich he won in a gambling den in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam in 1963.As well as being a slick guitar player, Downey was also an avid collector of sailortattoos, getting himself inked at every major port. When he finally ran out of space onhis body, Downey used his trusty electric guitar to provide extra real estate. My guitarsbeen with me so long, its part of me now. If my ship ever sinks, that guitar will either bea paddle or a float. In 1996 the USS America was decommissioned, which led Downeyto retire and settle on land for the first time in his life where he formed blues funk band, Howlin Albatross.
Body:American Alder body, finished in Albatross white and adorned with John Washingtonssignature sailor tattoos. Did you know the traditional swallow tattoo means a sailor hastravelled 5,000 nautical miles? And that two swallow tattoos means theyve gone over10,000? Were figure if you havent gotten your sea legs by then, you never will.
Bridge:The Wilkinson WVC Distressed Vibrato bridge is made from steel, just like the bows of the USSAmericana. Tough and reliable then.
Pickups:Trio of Joe Doe custom designed Single Coils with vintage magnets on the bridge pickupand hotter ones on the middle and neck, so you can go between calm seas ormountainous waves.
Controls:Single master Volume and two Tone controls with five-way pickup selector switch.
Machine heads: Wilkinson WJ55 E-Z-Lok machine heads providing superior tuning stability even after salt water damage.
Neck: One piece hard rock Maple neck and fingerboard with classic Vintage soft C profile and Davy Jones inlays. The back carve is comfortable and reassuring in the hand, like a bottle of rum.
Scale Length: 25.5" / 648mm.
Frets:22 Medium profile frets.
Nut:Slippery 43mm Graphtech nut, so the strings glide over easy like seagulls wheeling on thesea breeze.
Headstock:Unique Vintage Joe Doe Salty Dog headstock design.
Case: Joe Doe luxury hardshell case withcase candy.
Certificate:Certificate of authenticityincluded.
ProShop Set-Up:Each guitar is individually set-up by the Vintage ProShop team.
Limited Edition1 of 100'Salty Dog' is an original Vintage guitar, designed and created by Joe Doe Guitarsand the UK Vintage design team. Tattoos designed by John Washington.