Monday, 31 December 2012

Teisco, Guyatone, Maestro, etc...



A couple of days ago I posted about  a 1957 Ibanez Hi-Tone guitar, about which I knew almost nothing. I inquired since, with a little help from our readers, and though I don't know much more about the Ibanez (but that the model should be a EG-1580), I found many guitars that are very similar (with different headstocks, pickguards, control plates, bridges, stoptails, cutaways, one or two pickups, in bridge or neck position, different woods, etc...)  - if not identical - under various brands: on top is a Teisco, on the right is a Guyatone LG 50 H, down are a Maestro LG 50 and a Guyatone LG 40

There were also Star and Antoria models, and I also found out that there's been a vintage Japanese Hi-Tone brand... So this is another  complex cross-branding story for a cool guitar!

And let me wish you all a happy new year for 2013! 



Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Prestige early pointy guitar


This Prestige has everything of the 1970s plywood Japanese cheapos you still find everywhere for a few euros (or pounds, or dollars) under various brands (and often assumed to be Teiscos): plywood body in redburst finish,  mahogany neck (I sanded off one one day, it really feels like mahogany), faux-tortoise pickguard with too many cheap switches, rudimentary bridge and trem, standard single-coil pickups (the very same Robert Smith put on his Fender Jazzmaster to keep the Top 20 sound he used on The Cure's first album, you remember that story?) 

These guitars usually copy classic designs - mostly stratocasters, but also Mosrites -, but this one I've never seen before, and it's surprisingly announcing the pointy superstrats of the following decade - doesn't  it have something of a classic 1980s Ibanez? The back part even has this strange twist reserved for eccentric models... And the metal control plate is cool too!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Saturday, 29 December 2012

1957 Ibanez Hi-Tone early Japanese solid body


This 1957 Ibanez Hi-Tone is a collector's dream (if its eBay seller is right about it - I couldn't find any other information source). One of the first Ibanez ever built, it also has an original though very simple design, and quite special hardware with a compensated bridge and a stoptail that I'm surprised didn't become a standard (must have a flaw, though I cannot guess what) -  and it has a maple body.

Thanks to David for sending a link to this guitar! 

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Tokai Talbo B-135 Bass Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:






































The seller of this great looking bass must be among the coolest Ebayers out there. Nothing seems to excite him. Not even the prospect of getting a pile of cash for this first class instrument. This guitar really deserves selling up, I think.

To me, this a superb contemporary instrument. It absolutely looks the business, from it's smooth metallic surfaces to its roundy/spiky contours, to it's individual string pickups. I can imagine thumping those strings and it sounding like slamming the lid on a grand piano. Wow! This Tokai Talbo Bass just oozes class!

The Talbo Blazing Fire, to give it it’s full name, was made from the same aluminium alloy (AC-4B) that racing car engines were made of and were first produced in early 1982 but the B-135 bass wasn’t introduced until 2000.

The long, 24 fret, neck and that stretched top horn combine to create a very elegant looking instrument.

One of the quirks of the guitar is that the neck angle adjustment is achieved by a hex nut on the side of the neck at the 20th fret. The, however, bass seems to use the more common, heel adjustment, accessed through a hole in the pickguard, which seems pretty archaic these days.

According to Wikipedia:
The Talbo Bass featured a stylised aluminium body (which featured internal cavities), and the TB-8AL circular pickup. Combining active circuitry with the metallic body, Tokai claimed that the sound was both unique and versatile.
The seller says nothing about this beautiful instrument beyond listing its spec as follows:
Tokai Talbo B-135 Bass Guitar.
Specifications:
Body: Cast Aluminium Alloy AC-4B
Finish: Nickel plated
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood 400R
Scale length: 34" - Long Scale, 24 frets.
String spacing at bridge: 19mm between string centres
String spacing at nut: 30mm E-G
Weight: 4.6kg
Single TB-8AL pickup with active volume, bass and treble controls
Wilkinson WBG-4 bridge


David in Barcelona


© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Friday, 28 December 2012

1966 Mosrite Gospel Mark-I - Model 600


When I think Mosrite I think mostly about the iconic double cutaway solid body with a longer lower horn, a slanted neck pickup and a German carve, but though this Gospel semi-hollow is more classic, it still has the special hardware of its more famous sibling that contributes to the Mosrite uniqueness - also the classy headstock... 

The 'antigua' finish is most unusual for a Gospel and makes this guitar probably a one-off. I love the shape of the scratchplate, it really improves the otherwise quite dull outline of the ES-335 template. 

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Vintage 1960s Teisco Bizarre Guitar Amazingly Cool Violin Shape Rare Mod Rocker

guitarz.blogspot.com:

A rather breathtaking title for a nice little "phew" (sharp intake of breath or appreciative whistle as is your wont) guitar. A Teisco violin shaped guitar currently languishing in post-celebrationary haze over on Ebay.com. Now, we have featured these guitars TWICE before on Guitarz, here and here but I hope we can be forgiven for showing one again. These violin shaped guitars were only made for about a year (1968) and so are pretty uncommon (if not downright rare) and they were sold under at least two different badges, just to confuse things even more. This one is badged with the Teisco Crown logo (my own one is blessed with the Satellite brand). If one turned up with a Guyatone, Silvertone or Kawai logo, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.
This guitar was produced in red-burst and green-burst colourways and with varying scratchplate (pickguard) combinations of white, black and tortoiseshell (based on my own observations). This one has a typical Teisco tremolo that can be seen of lots of other models, a fairly standard bridge for Teisco, nicely yellowed nylon tuner bushings and absolutely typical Teisco pickups.
I'll include an excerpt from the sellers description as I think it does warrant the re-telling;

Ahh don’t you love these guitars?? Really nice green burst paint job here. Cool shape looks very mod and neat. Great for garage rock or you retro rockers out there. Also this guitar is perfect for people with smaller frames or you lady rockers out there. Its a little bit smaller than a normal guitar. The guitar is great cool shape. A few scratches here and there and the guitar could use some new strings. This guitar is very rare and difficult to find. It plays nice and sounds amazing!

So, those Guitarz readers of diminutive stature and/or of the diminutive sex, this guitar may well be the one you've been waiting for...
I will agree that they do play (very) nice(ly) - my own one has an excellent neck and an action that no one would be ashamed of - and, even if those pickups do only sport an output of 4-5K, they produce a decent rich sound that anyone, who was attracted to the vibe of these kinds of instruments, would be more than content with.
Anyone still feeling flush after the Xmas excess or who woke to find a nice little wad of crispy banknotes in their stocking from Santa on Christmas morning, this little treasure is yours for 850 US Smackeroonies (plus the usual).


Just to illustrate Marshall Will's remark in the comments, these guitars are pretty sleek. That keeps it light and comfortable to play. The only downside is that the lower "horns" can dig in your thigh when playing sitting down. But, this is a guitar for standing up and showing off with so no problem really, eh?

David in post-Christmas, pre-Tres Reyes Barcelona




© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

unidentified customised German guitar

I have no idea what this guitar might be... It's much likely German from the 1970s, though the shape makes me think of a Defil - a Polish brand. The pickups look quite Musima - or one of the many Markneukirchen guitar brands -, but the pickguard could be from Höfner, and I've seen this kind of bridge and trem on many German guitars. 

It has obviously been refinish in this quite peculiar glitter khaki green and the knobs probably come from a radio, so I bet it's a Frankenstein, still something tells me I should recognize the original model - am I not a double florentine hollow-body guitars fan?

So, anybody has an clue?

Bertram D

Edit: I was wrong all along, it's an Egmond 2ES1 Colorado!

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Electra X-730 MPC


Back to vintage rarities, with the Electra X-730 MPC (we've seen already the 720 version), a guitar that comprises two changeable on-board effects modules (Modular Powered Circuits). At first sight, it has the serious  pro look of the Japanese guitars of the 1970s but it has many unusual details - from the abalone inlays to the knobs in line, via the stoptail, the selector, the pickguard...

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Monday, 24 December 2012

Teuffel Tesla: Perfection on Earth


I feel all holiday-ish so I decided to make myself the gifts of posting about my favorite guitars, even if they've been showed already, as it is the case for the magnificent Teuffel Tesla (here and here, with all the information you need). 

To me, this guitar has one of the best design ever, superior to many classics and standards... The first time I saw it, I was suffocated, and I was more when I checked the price - it's a very limited hand-made model, the kind you can never have... One could copy the outline, but it will never be the same, it has so many carefully designed, conceived and manufactured details!

Anyway, I'll never play good enough to deserve to put my fingers on its fretboard, so I'll just go and make some brutal noise on my Musima!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Sunday, 23 December 2012

Ovation Breadwinner Limited - the one and only!


Yes, I know you've seen an Ovation Breadwinner Limited on Guitarz already (here and here - there's everything you need to know on these previous posts), but come on, who can stop contemplating this marvel? 

I'm very in love with this guitar, as I am with its older sister the Breadwinner that I have the honor and pleasure to possess since 20 years - I still feel lucky to have had the opportunity to buy it as a young guitarist and use it on stage as my main guitar for many years!


And it's only after GL Wilson invited me to write for his blog that we figured out that we were both Breadwinner cultists, and we knew we would get along!

OK, enough blah-blah, kneel down and adore!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

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