G L Wilson
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Friday, 21 June 2013
1960s Greco Model GR-960 electric XII semi in Greenburst finish and with those wacky V-shaped pickups
guitarz.blogspot.com:
We've previously looked at these Greco semi-hollowbodies with crazy V-shaped pickups before on Guitarz (see here and here) but the example pictured above is all the more rarer for being a 12-string. This guitar differs from the 6-string Greco Shrike in that it doesn't have the same contoured - almost German carve - top, plus the pickup selector switch panel is located on the upper horn rather than on the lower bout. Note too the body and neck binding and proper f-holes rather than the Shrike's diamond-shaped soundholes.
I'm not sure if technically it is a "Shrike" - the eBay seller lists it as being a Greco Model GR-960. The neck plate of the guitar mentions that the pickup design is U.S. patent pending, SH0-42-12136. I do like the single volume control. I often think that's all you need.
Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,595.
G L Wilson
© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
G L Wilson
© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
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Correction, L-shaped pickups. Apparently, the coils pick up 2 and 4 strings per pickup.
ReplyDeleteIt's not at all clear to me how pickups and switching work here.
ReplyDeleteIf the pickups are indeed split 4+2 strings, and since they're mounted oppositely, that would mean that the neck-lows-bridge-highs combination would miss the middle two strings. Maybe there's enough overlap so that's not a problem in practice, I dunno. And I would think that would be a mighty sudden timbral transition across the middle strings as you go from the neckiest edge of the neck pickup to the bridgiest edge of the bridge pickup.
Also, the switches appear to be regular slide switches, as opposed to radio buttons where you can only choose one at a time. So I'm curious what the switches do and how they work in combinations.
Very mysterious.
One possibility: perhaps the pickups are 3+3 strings and not 4+2 strings, and they are mechanically arranged inside the case to look like an "L". (Ie., the shorter side is three strings, and the longer side is three strings, but placed atop the shorter side).
ReplyDeleteCompare these pickups to the Boomerang pickups on the Gibson Flying V2, and how thick those are at the center.
but the example more rarer for being a 10-string, MODEL Nº 961
ReplyDeletebut the example more rarer for being a 10-string MODEL Nº 961
ReplyDelete