This Zenta looks like some 70s brandless Japanese plywood cheapos I recycled for bizarre projects - same bridge, same neck, same finish... The pickups look more serious though, but it's hard to tell if they are humbuckers, P90s or neither - and the trem looks a little bit more complex - maybe it even works!
The Mosrite-like shape is much cooler than anything I've seen before and makes it almost attractive and worth the price for which it's sold!
There's almost nothing about Zenta on the Internet - that is only questions and the suggestion that it's Korean rather than Japanese, and you'll find that they produced mostly bad telecaster copies... These guitars were branded by and sold in US and UK department stores and are found nowadays in many attics, and sometimes people try to sell them on eBay as expensive vintages rarities...
bertram
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
It's only taken me five years to find this one, though! My first guitar was. Zenta Mosrite Ventures model copy in three-tone sunburst. Different to this one as it had the German Carve scooped edge. Sadly, no pix remain. Never seen another. Played like shit so I strung it with 006's which also helped the awful tone tremendously.
ReplyDeleteLoving your site. You probably won't like mine as much (rockbeare guitars.com) as it mainly features the expensive guitars you love to hate. All the best.
Zenta is a brand produced by manufacturer Guyatone (exclusive producer for Suzuki). They produced for the following brands: Barclay, Broadway, Coronado, Crestwood, Futurama, Guyatone, Howard, Ibanez, Ideal, Imperial, Johnny Guitar, Kent, Kingston, Lafayette, Marco Polo, Montclair, Omega, Orpheus, Prestige, Royalist, Saturn, Silhouette, Silvertone, Vernon, Winston, Zenta. I own Zenta SG (made in early 1970s) and it is really nice guitar. Good mahogany wood in body and neck, properly working trem and amazing, really vintage microphone pickups, which give incredible sound. So, maybe they used to sell bad tele copies, but they did also some nice guitars.
ReplyDeleteZenta is a brand produced by manufacturer Guyatone (exclusive producer for Suzuki). They produced for the following brands: Barclay, Broadway, Coronado, Crestwood, Futurama, Guyatone, Howard, Ibanez, Ideal, Imperial, Johnny Guitar, Kent, Kingston, Lafayette, Marco Polo, Montclair, Omega, Orpheus, Prestige, Royalist, Saturn, Silhouette, Silvertone, Vernon, Winston, Zenta. I own Zenta SG (made in early 1970s) and it is really nice guitar. Good mahogany wood in body and neck, properly working trem and amazing, really vintage microphone pickups, which give incredible sound. So, maybe they used to sell bad tele copies, but they did also some nice guitars.
ReplyDeleteZenta is a brand produced by manufacturer Guyatone (exclusive producer for Suzuki). They produced for the following brands: Barclay, Broadway, Coronado, Crestwood, Futurama, Guyatone, Howard, Ibanez, Ideal, Imperial, Johnny Guitar, Kent, Kingston, Lafayette, Marco Polo, Montclair, Omega, Orpheus, Prestige, Royalist, Saturn, Silhouette, Silvertone, Vernon, Winston, Zenta. I own Zenta SG (made in early 1970s) and it is really nice guitar. Good mahogany wood in body and neck, properly working trem and amazing, really vintage microphone pickups, which give incredible sound. So, maybe they used to sell bad tele copies, but they did also some nice guitars.
ReplyDeleteThis was my first electric guitar. I got it from my parents on my 14th birthday (1973). Ofcourse I asked for a Gibson but their budget was only 100 dutch guilders. I played and learned a lot on it. Combined with a cheap distortion pedal and an old Eko amp I could even get a better, fatt sound than a friend with his Les paul playing on a Faylon amp. The pick-ups were silver (chrome plated plastic?) and I sometimes think about that guitar. Did several performances with it. I kept it for about 10 years and sold it for 100 belgian francs. Despite it wasn't a famous branded guitar, I loved it and thank my parents they gave me such a nice present that brought me many hours of happyness and even a little bit fame.
ReplyDelete