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My story is like all the other Venture fans. My brother and I were teenagers in the sixties when the Ventures broke out and we immediately bought cheap guitars and attempted to sound like them. My brother was good, I was not. He played lead, I irritated him via rhythm guitar. He started collecting Mosrites, I took up drums.
Fast-forward 50 years, ... by now he has met and befriended Nokie, and purchased 2 guitars from him to add to his Mosrite collection.
I was there in Nokie's motorhome when Nokie presented him with, and signed the electric. Neither of us knew until 4 hours later when we got home, that "the electric" turned out to be Nokie's personal guitar, serial # NE 0001. I am so grateful to Nokie for doing that as it was the highest honor that could have been bestowed upon my brother and (arguably) Nokie's number one fan.
My brother passed away 3 years ago and left all those guitars to me, a drummer, who now mostly just polishes them.
Even though I don't play so well, I have to admit that it is pretty cool to go to you-tube once in a while and watch Nokie playing "I've Got a Woman" on what is now, my guitar.
As I said, I could never repay Nokie for his kindness to my brother but I did attempt to a couple years ago. I was in Nashville and attended Earl Scruggs' funeral, and brought home a couple extra memorial brochures. Nokie's wife Judy said Nokie was upset that he couldn't attend the funeral. I asked if he might want a memorial brochure and she got real exited saying their anniversary was coming up and if I could send her one she could frame it and give it to Nokie. Finally!... after all the years of pleasure Nokie had brought to my brother and I and the rest of the world, I was so grateful to be able to do just a tiny little thing for him.

Thank you bro, thank you Nokie.
Hitch-rite

Interesting story, welcome to the forum !!

Welcome, great intro, got any pictures you can post up?
FYI dropbox.com seems to work for image hosting.

Wonderful story!

I also own two of Nokies HitchHikers, one that he ordered from Aria for me in quilt maple, and the second being the candy apple red guitar he played for the Ventures 2008 Japan tour. We have had many wonderful visits with Nokie and Judy, and intend to visit as often as possible in future.

Nokie is not as mobile as he would like now, so I understand why he felt he could not attend; your thoughtfulness was greatly appreciated, I am certain.

Nokie is a great guy. I still have one of the two Hitchhikers I built for him. I have not heard much about him lately, I hope his health is well. Welcome to the forum!

Hi Folks, I'm new to this forum. I'm from western Canada and I have (what I've been told by the seller), is one of the prototype Hitchhikers. It's beautiful and has a maple & Walnut neck (thru construction), quilted maple top, swamp ash body, ebony fret board, 15 tonal variations with the three switches, gold plated hardware etc. etc. ........ basically it's identical to the guitar you see Nokie playing and it matches perfectly to the look of and the description he gives on the YouTube Interview. I was also told by the seller that the bridge, (signed by Nokie) was at the time of the build, (paten pending). One more thing I remember the seller saying, is that there wasn't any serial numbers on the prototypes and a very limited number of them were built. He said he believed that the one I purchased was number eight. I have no way to know that for a fact as there was no case candy or providence. I would appreciate more information on the original prototypes (if there are any readers out there in the know.....key).

I saw this one, or one very like what you describe on Reverb.com. Nokie has commissioned many "prototypes" from various builders, two of which I own, built by Aria in Japan. Both of these have serial numbers. I surmise that the smaller builders he has approached may have not bothered to add a serial number, but they are in the minority I would believe. You definitely have scored a unique guitar; however, without any form of providence you will have trouble proving your case to a potential buyer.

Both of my guitars have certificates of authenticity, and lots of case candy, including photos of Nokie and I playing them. I bought the guitars from him personally, and have maintained our friendship since then. He is definitely God's gift to guitar music!

With Nokie in the condition he is now, it is unlikely you will be able to gather any more information on your guitar. Since collector guitars are generally losing value, I suggest you play it regularly, and enjoy the fabulous instrument that you have purchased!

Sad to hear Nokie isn't doing so good (I'm assuming that's what you meant "by the shape he's in now".

Thanks for your input, your information is really helpful and I look forward to checking this forum regularly. I saw that Reverb post you mentioned last night. That guitar looks identical to the one I have.
I believe because of the astonishingly beautiful build (especially the detailed quilted top),the high end gold plated hardware and the unique Nokie signed bridge that the origin would be determined to be an original (as you say commissioned by Nokie guitar).

Last I heard, Nokie is suffering from complications from a hip replacement. He developed an infection. Please send prayers for Nokie, this can be a very serious situation.

Dan