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Recommissioning old warriors gives us great satisfaction. This particular iteration of the 600 survived in the range from 1974 until 1978 after which the nut width increased by a few mm and the headstock shrank to the vintage style. This one personifies the 1970s - no nonsense, no need to hide the grain, 3 way switch and 4.17kg (9lbs 3oz) of heft. This is no boat anchor; just a little heavier than those before and after the 1970s.
We have given this one a few extra things to warrant its place on the DreamBuild wall - firstly the frets. As with many hard-working Strats in the 70s, a fresh set of Gibson jumbo frets are set into a restored and unfinished neck. The lacquer on this one had perished to the point of getting painful, so we took it off completely. Now it really has a new guitar feel. The nut on these early 600s is just shy of a B spec, but nothing as narrow as a Jag. The nut is 40.2mm and the 12th fret is 49.7mm. It doesn't feel crowded, and nothing like the 'A' nut - the nearest equivalent we have had here would be a Custom Shop Bonnie Raitt.
Sound-wise this has a few tricks up its sleeve too. The neck and middle pick-ups are original PU-100 Maxon single coils - very bright and plenty of guts in the output; and a 9.5k rewound bridge unit to provide a hotter tone than you'd expect from a 70s Strat. The 3 way switch remains, and careful fishing will get you the in-between sounds; there is the normal Master Volume, a Master Tone and now it gets interesting. We have re-purposed the lower tone control to add growl and punch from the bridge and neck pick-ups. There are no batteries in this guitar - no voltage addition, just changing the way the pick-ups behave. Rolling off the lower tone control alters the bridge pick-up tone from hot single coil to a calmer and less intense treble at the mid-point, then onto a growly P-90 type tone and then finishing with a big boost in the mids. This works on the neck pick-up in a similar fashion starting with the glassy airy blues tone through subtle jazz, then finishing at a Gibson-like howl - very reminiscent of the early Maxon humbuckers.
No batteries, no booster pcbs, just making the best use of the magnets and wire in those pick-ups. If you play through a variety of different amps, or have a complex signal path on the floor, this control will allow you to tailor the guitar output immediately. You may end up ditching some of those pedals.
Obviously I am always going to melt over an older vintage guitar, and I continue to do so here with this 50 year old Greco. With no headstock tax, this is a vintage guitar that won't cause anxiety when it is unattended while you're at the bar, and won't mind a few additional knocks and scrapes. I recommission these oldies to be tools and pals, not assets to monitor the value of. As normal, old and new where it matters most.
Details
The Look
1970's Natural - plenty of signs of life and ready for more
Headstock
CBS big headstock with original MH-803 tuners in great condition
Neck
Refretted with Jumbo frets like so many were in the 70s. Lacquer-free now, and a lovely natural feel to the slim C 7.25 radius neck. The nut is just shy of 41mm - a real 60s feel.
Pick-ups
2 vintage PU-100 at the neck and middle, and a 9.5k hotter P-100 at the bridge.
Bridge
Original Greco vintage tremolo
Controls
3-way switch, Master Volume, Master Tone. The lower Tone control dials out some treble, then boosts the mids as you roll down to 0. No mud, just useful power. No batteries, just making the best use of the pick-ups
Gallery
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