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Taking a single pick-up guitar to the extremes < Back Matsumoku Monaco L78 Price £1,999 GBP Add to Cart Chat with Us A thoroughly disassembled black 1978 Aria ST-400 appeared one day in the workshop - I'd agreed to buy it off a chap in Brighton. To my amazement, L780016 featured a parrotbeak headstock - just like the Thor Sound range. I threw it to the forums - it seems there were a few leaving Matsumoku attached to Strat clones in December 1978. Most were old photos of long-dead instruments, so I guess this is a bit of a rarity and therefore I decided it would live on in style. This Monaco is one of a pair - it accompanies the SuperMonaco, and both are so much fun, and so adorable that I intend to make more of these offering different options for sounds. This Monaco features a single Haeussel Tapped 1956 P-90, wound specifically for this build, and a dummy coil hidden beneath the plate to offer various hum cancelling options for studio work. It is a brave move, or a decision made by someone with the budget for many guitars, to opt for a single pick-up guitar - Esquires are very rare compared to Teles. This single pick-up no nonsense guitar has 5 tone options governed by that 5-way switch. They are: 1) tapped P-90 (6.5k) with 470k pot value - rude and aggressive sound. 2) tapped P-90 (6.5k) with 220k pot value - warm and pleasant sound 3) full winding P-90 (8.2k) in parallel with dummy coil with 470k pot value - unique and addictive sound 4) full winding P-90 (8.2k) with 470k pot value - the traditional Gibson sound 5) full winding P-90 (8.2k) in series with dummy coil with 550k pot value - another unique and useful sound There is a sound in there to suit most requirements of a player with a yellow guitar no-one else has ever seen before. The bridge is a black Gotoh GE101TS providing ample sustain and great stability. High quality Aria tuners are rebuilt and ready for many years of reliable service. Like most of our guitars, they are not supposed to look brand new - neither do we intend to add flaws, or relic anything. The finish on this guitar is supposed to reflect the life it has led, but add a radiance; some excitement and new character to enjoy. Details The Look A radical new look and expression. Everyone needs at least one yellow guitar in their lives Headstock Rebuilt Aria Pro II (by Gotoh) black tuners on a black refinished headstock, but refinished over the scars. Neck New Dunlop 6100 frets on adjusted and resettled neck geometry. Pick-ups 1 x Haeussel 1956 P-90 (tapped) custom wound for this guitar by one of the finest pick-up creators in the world. Thanks Harry. (There is one of his secret dummy coils in there too) Bridge Gotoh GE101T in Black Controls 5 way selector, master volume and tone Gallery ← Previous Next→

1978 Aria Pro II ST-500, A rare Olympic White and Rosewood combination. < Back 1978 Aria Pro II ST-500 F780745 This ST-500 is 45 years old so has a couple of scars on the bodywork, but if you can live with that, you could have a friend for life here. The small headstock, Olympic White and Rosewood combination is quite rare - rosewood was a pricey option back then. The 3 PU-100 single coils are bright and punchy and work well clean and driven. The 7.25 radius board and shallow C neck will be familiar to MIJ fans, and a large part of the popularity of these Mats/Fuji models. Not everyone needs the hallowed name on the headstock - and the prospect here is a simple one: a really well built Strat from the 1970s, from the extremely highly regarded Matsumoku plant, in a timeless white/rosewood combo. Price £795 Availability Sold out - Contact us if you want us to find one for you Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1978 Pick-ups 3 x PU-100 Selector 3 way Bridge Vintage tremolo Board Rosewood Weight 3.7kg; 8lbs 3oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

Aria Pro II ST-600D, < Back Aria Pro II ST-600D L800038 L800038 is a very late production of the "Regular Line" traditional style guitars with the Aria name - the more modern and up-market Project Series dominating production until the "ST & Others" brochure brought the traditional products back. L800038 is the perfect sibling for D800066 - identical in spec aside from the Rosewood neck. We'll forgive the massive cigarette burn on the headstock, and the chips on the horn - this guitar has a very soft and easy feel to it. Price £995 Availability Sold Recommendation Perfect donor for DreamBuild or sensitive upgrade Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups DiMarzio FS-1 Selector 3-way Bridge Vintage tremolo Board Rosewood Weight 3.5kg; 7lbs 11oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

1974 GRECO TE-350, A perfectly preserved 1974 Matsumoku Telecaster. < Back 1974 GRECO TE-350 Pre-serial number model These Gneco Teles are getting very thin on the ground now - even more so in this condition. I constantly search for these guitars to stock as donors for DreamBuilds , but this particular example is in such great condition that it will remain original and a perfect example of the breed. Completely original, and having suffered only a tiny amount of parking damage in its 48 years, the Maxons retain their classic sounds. The bridge pickup does look a little weedy and slim compared to the classic Fender type, but it has a soul of its own - also a lot more power than you'd think. The characteristic that makes these old Grecos shine is the neck. This is a very late 3 (actually it is 5 if you study the headstock) piece neck - the construction changed to a single piece a very short time after this particular guitar appeared in the shop. The body is a pancake construction - the tell tale line bisecting the sides of the guitar is just visible. The simplicity of this guitar is refreshing - the top loading bridge is a little agricultural, but all the better for it. We have replaced a few of these original bridges with modern Gotoh units which add some comfort and refinement, but it's good to have an example of how they were. We would let this 1974 TE-350 go to a loving home - keeping it in this condition and with regular use and servicing, it is unlikely to ever lose value. The frets are quite low, but have that glorious run-in feel - the main thing is the neck (as they all are on these) is perfectly straight, and the frets are level. The guitar has had a luthier set-up - Joe always delivers that final 5% that makes a good guitar feel even better. We value this stage-ready guitar at £725, and know you could have a couple of new Squiers for the same outlay; but these old proper MIJ vintage guitars are built to different standards - I would say that this is half the price of a new MIJ JV Tele with which it shares significantly more DNA. Price £725 Availability Sold Recommendation Enjoy vintage feel and tones, or ideal donor for DreamBuild. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3-way Bridge Original Gotoh Board Maple Weight 3.88kg; 8lbs 9oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

Yamaha NTX-700, Solid and dependable electro-classical < Back Yamaha NTX-700 No Number The NTX-700 is a thin body electro-classical that features the ART pick-up system - 2 pick-ups under the saddle that focus on E-D, and G-E allowing you to tailor the signal from each to really micro-manage the tones. Together with the 3 band EQ , this guitar is very versatile and will cover all nylon string requirements from bright and snappy through to muted flamenco. This model has 14 frets to the body. The guitar has Nato (eco-alternative to Mahogany) back, sides and neck; a Spruce top and Rosewood board. The tuners feel very good and It has just been serviced and now wears new Thomastik-Infeld Classic S Rope-core strings, and is ready for everything from living room to the stage. Yamaha have always had a solid reputation for quality and are careful to take that quality to their non-Japanese production sites and have been making guitars for 20 years in the Hangzhou plant. This guitar has always been very well looked after and is a reluctant sale. Price £475 Availability Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 2015 Pick-ups ART twin piezo Selector N/A Bridge Rosewood Board Rosewood Weight TBC Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

Gritty Growly Yellow Super Strat < Back Matsumoku Frontman II Price £1,999 | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! I'll assume you have read the Frontman I page and so shan't go into the background save to say I deprived a band leader of a neck pick-up and so I made amends and threw in a middle for good measure. A sunburst 1979 Aria Pro II Stagecaster was about the correct weight for this anticipated build - light to medium weight, and snappy. Off came the hardware and out came the electronics - hey, off came the paint. Naked as the day it was sawn into a plank, several coats of our favourite yellow applied topped off with a black headstock. A new Gotoh GE101TS tremolo in contrasting black finish is topped by rebuilt Gotoh SG381, also in black. Having been impressed with a similar build with 2 hot P-90s, we decided to add a middle to that pair, and angle the bridge unit slightly for more gnarly aggression. A pair of Full Monty P-90s installed at the neck and bridge, we tried a few for the middle and settled on a Gotoh SC-STD unit - slightly less powerful than its neighbours, and therefore getting more of the quackiness for the parallel positions. A Master Volume and Master Tone always suffices on these guitars, so the lower tone control is a blender that fades the neck pick-up in with the bridge when the bridge pick-up is selected. Given the brief that this guitar will be the default for the neck pick-up requirements, the blender only functions on the bridge pick-up, enabling a varying degree of bass introduction to the bitey gritty bridge tone. It adds an element of airiness - some space between the top and bottom. Like a giant Tele Deluxe in the middle position. However the bridge tone is tailored, banging the pick-up selector to the neck gets you the undiluted unalloyed neck P-90. To use this guitar as a normal traditional Strat, there is a requirement to back the volume to 8.5 on the knob as wound all the way up, every tone in every position screams to get out. It isn't "angry", like Keiths Ibi#2, just energetic and keen. A very good quality PIO capacitor tames the aggression via the tone pot. This thing begs for an AC30 with a slightly past its best speaker. The P-90s will squeal at you at monster gain levels, but I think that's the whole point. You may move closer to the stack to make it more so. Our Frontman has more energy on stage than a man of his age has any right to have. Now he has a pair of guitars to match that. Details The Look Another one of our Signature Yellow guitars - big sounds need a big look. Already slightly stage-worn so no need to mollycoddle it. Headstock Black on black with black Neck Slim, but not too slim C - Stagecasters were always well known for lovely comfortable necks - this is no exception Pick-ups Neck and Bridge are Full Monty P-90s (7.8K and 8.6k), middle is a Gotoh SC-STD (8k). Black covered Soapbar size. Bridge Gotoh GE101-TS in Black Controls Master Volume, Master Tone and Neck Blender (the yellow knob). 5-way Selector Gallery ← Previous Next→

1974 Greco SE-500, Another truly great Matsumoku Strat < Back 1974 Greco SE-500 Pre-serial number model This is very late Gneco - the clarity of the spelling increased very soon after this was made. This mid-range model of Greco was a popular work-horse instrument and many arrive here with an amazing road worn patina, but still perfectly functional. This SE-500 has led a fairly charmed life - only a few signs of life on the finish, and the tobacco stained pick-up covers give away its age. The original Maxon pick-ups are in rude health - providing that slightly scooped yet biting tone - they sound amazing with a little crunch. As with all vintage guitars in original states, the potting may have deteriorated. We know that repotting these pick-ups will bring back some warmth - that is an option for the next owner; but until that decision is made, they stay as they are. They don't squeal, and we tried singing through them, but to no avail. Have a listen to how it sounds through a few of our amps here: By this time, Matsumoku was fitting a more accurate version of the vintage style tremolo , and producing them at 25.5" scale unlike many of the earlier versions which are slightly shorter in scale and have the earlier bridge design. Whilst this guitar is in fantastic original condition, we feel this guitar could be an ideal donor for a DreamBuild upgrade project - several previous projects have used a 74 SE-500 as a donor Price £695 Availability Sold Recommendation Great as it is but also perfect donor for DreamBuild Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3-way Bridge Original Vintage Board Maple Weight 3.71kg; 8lbs 3oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

An amazing combination of old and new where it really matters. < Back Matsumoku Monaco C78 Price ££££ Add to Cart Chat with Us Back in the mid to late 1970s, factories such as Matsumoku, Fujigen, and many others were working hard to produce viable guitars to be sold with the Fender name on the headstocks. A chap called Norikatsu Harayama had mastered not only the Fender style neck, but also designed and produced his own take on it - these guitars have a quiet but solid following and respect. Harayama worked at Matsumoku throughout this period before going out on his own - one of his prodigies was the very same H Noble whose name graces the headstocks of many collectible guitars from this era. H Noble (Nobuaki Hayashi) was in charge of Matsumoku when the Stagecasters and Strikin' Sounds models were in production. Ol' Lumpy started life in March 1978 as a tobaccoburst Aria Stagecaster ST-600 with the SP-1B Fat Strat pick-ups. It had been gigged relentlessly by a guitarist under the influence of Pete Townshend - this poor old ST-600 had battle scars that defied belief, but had a fretboard that indicated proper constant use. No relic'ing here - this is all real. Passing the guitar around a team of professionals and luthiers for their comment, the absolute consensus was that the guitar played brilliantly - absolutely worth saving. A plan was drawn up, a willing new owner found, the project began. We decided to produce a tribute to the Fender International range - the gorgeous Monaco model in particular. Yellow guitars are always great. We specifically tried to blend the new and old - the only perfection required was the hardware and electronics - the perfect sound and playability with the 'old friend' look. The look of the fretboard was retained beneath its new Dunlop 6000 frets, the lumps in the bodywork also retained under its new nitrocellulose yellow finish. A set of custom wound Häussel AlNiCo5 pick-ups configured in a Gilmour fashion - the bottom tone control acting as a blender for the neck pickup - are now fitted. The bridge is now a Gotoh 510TS in Cosmo Black with matching Gotoh SGS510 locking tuners at the other end on a black headstock. A new nut and matching Cosmo hardware elsewhere complete this fascinating instrument. We played the guitar for a few months to check the decisions made, and then gave it a master-luthier set-up. The brief achieved, we now move on to produce more of these. We have a stock of donor instruments, a mature list of options that work well, and have 2 more in production currently. There remains the option of using your Aria Pro II guitar as the donor - some basic fundamental checks on the instrument will declare it fit to proceed or not. Doesn't have to be yellow, but to wear the Monaco name on the headstock, it ought to be! The choice of pick-ups and configuration will depend largely on how you'll use the guitar - the mega-bucks Häussels are only one of the options. We have plenty of other recommended pick-ups to suit different budgets. Ol' Lumpy was commissioned for a close "friend of the show" and the guitar is often here at the Hall and available to be sampled. Attention left-handers! We have one remaining ST-500L in stock here - one of the very few left handed guitars produced in 1980. The perfect donor for an upgrade project. Details The Look Refinished over those scars and lumps with cheerful yellow nitrocellulose paint. Cosmo Black Gotoh hardware with black plastic parts. A nod to the Fender International range produced by Fuji in the early 1980s Headstock Matsumoku logo with Monaco model name in Japanese. Cosmo Black Gotoh SGS510 locking tuners for stability and fast string changes Neck New Dunlop 6000 frets on original neck. Gibson frets on a Strat was a thing back in the 1980s according to the members of the team here who are old enough to remember. There is no relic'ing here - this is natural and real board wear. Pick-ups 3 x Häussel AlNiCo5 custom wound (Desperado spec) with black covers. A great output - not too hot, yet the perfect amount of mids for clean and crunchy tones. A neck blender tames the aggression from the bridge if you need to dial it back. Bridge The Gotoh 510TS in Cosmo Black has smooth solid saddles - comfortable and ultra high quality. Controls Traditional 5 way selector blade working in conjunction with the lower knob to blend the neck pick-up into the mix. Master Volume and Master Tone controls - highest quality 250k. Gallery ← Previous Next→

1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic, Possibly the best Olympic on the planet < Back 1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic 13847 From the era when Epiphone and Gibson were direct competitors - the Emperor fighting it out with the Super-400 - this rivalry would bring the best out of each other. This is a genuine 1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic , with unusual but original block inlays (5) , full f-holes , the 15.25-inch body and original bridge piece . The pick-guard is a later replacement (most originals were replaced in the first few years), but everything else is original and in fantastic condition. The block inlays may suggest this is a Regal built Apollo or a Howard, but this is a bona fide Olympic; just an unusual specification. The cherished life that this guitar has led is obvious as soon as you pick this up. There are polishing marks, a few swirls from a dirty duster, nothing else. There is none of the normal wear on the rear of the neck, and no cowboy chord frets. There are 5 or 6 parking knocks on the upper bout of the body, but nothing else other than the discolouration of the label, to suggest that this guitar is 85 years old . These Masterbuilt Olympics have a well-deserved reputation of sounding amazing - this one doesn't disappoint. A full sound, slightly enhanced upper mids, and clarity from the lower register. It chords well at the upper end of the fretboard, and begs the question "should we put a pick-up on this?"; but realize that this is the spirit of the guitar, and we refrain from that. Although a K&K or a Benedetto would let this guitar reach the audience without needing to sit still by a mic. This Olympic has mahogany back and sides with an Adirondack Spruce top . Adirondack matures famously and after 85 years, this guitar proves the point - I doubt it has ever sounded better. This is the wood that makes the early 30's CF Martins so revered. Most Olympics, Triumphs, Spartans and Blackstones were busy instruments - bought my musicians who used them to earn a crust. Many were worked to death, most others are scarred battered survivors that have been under the knife, patched up and refuse to give up. They were made in quite large numbers and are not especially rare even today hence they remain fantastically accessible. This one must be one of the finest available today. It has been in hiding - a proud possession and safeguarded friend. It's not even on Wiedler, but we have submitted the details. The opportunity offered here is to acquire one of the best possible examples of a guitar that has matured so gracefully that the first assumption is that it is a re-issue, and not 85 years old. This guitar comes with a hard-shell case and will be restrung with either Light XL Chromes or GR-112s (or a specific type of your choice). Price ££££ Availability Sold Recommendation Collector's dream, or just buy it and play it. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1938 Pick-ups N/A Selector N/A Bridge Rosewood Original Board Rosewood Weight 2.2kg; 4lbs 14oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

Strattifying and unstratty Strat < Back Fender Custom Shop Free Consultation Book Now General recommissioning Many of our 'Friends of the Show' have a large fleet of guitars - always turning up with something different for me to marvel at. Many head next door for a quick fettle, but some need the third degree and consensus amongst a select few to plan a course of action. This Custom Shop Strat is a strange one. It's a glorious one, but not as Stratty as it appears. This fret gauge was probably specified to pacify a Gibson guy - the not-quite-stoptailed bridge doing its best to emulate a ToM. The challenge is to make this unstratty Strat more like a Strat, but without changing its underlying soul. Basically soften it a bit then. Some fret-work magic and bridge adjustment took place and as usual, we had a few nerves at the handover, but none were needed. The owner bonded with it as he originally expected to. A lovely guitar now made lovelier. Gallery ← Previous Next→

1980 Aria Pro II ST-500, Fine example of a Matsumoku-built Strat. < Back 1980 Aria Pro II ST-500 C801650 This is a fine example of a mid-range Strat built by Matsumoku. Many of the 500s we find end up being transformed into DreamBuilds with stellar specifications. We kept this one back to remind ourselves just how good they were and really enjoy the side-by-side comparisons with MIM and MIA 'real ones'. This surprises a lot of people. Instead of the usual SP-II or PU-100 pick-ups, this one was ordered from new with FS-1 pick-ups. They are 13.24k, 12.47k and 13.25k, and pack a real punch. Stealthily hiding under those standard white covers, they drive an amp beautifully. For many, an older MIJ "pretender" makes for a better playing experience than a brand new Vintera, or Player grade Fender - raw material quality control ethics and diligence was a great deal higher in Japan during this era than it is now. Body: Ash Neck: Maple Bridge: Vintage vibrato with arm Pick-ups: FS-1 (yes, really!) Controls: 3 way selector ; Master volume, Neck and Middle tones Weight: 4.01kg (8lbs 13oz) Price £££ Availability Sold Recommendation Perfect Donor for DreamBuild Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups 3 x FS-1 Selector 3 way Bridge Vintage tremolo Board Maple Weight 4.01kg; 8lbs 14oz Modifications None ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 04:37 Play Video Play Video 03:15 Play Video Play Video 05:58 Play Video Play Video 03:26 Play Video Play Video 02:27 Play Video Play Video 06:20 Play Video Play Video 02:28 Play Video Play Video 04:13

Get those ZZ Top riffs ready... < Back Matsumoku Junior Price £899 | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! We have a soft-spot for the simplicity of a single pick-up guitar, but also enjoy versatility. A single pick-up guitar needn't be the compromise you expect - OK, you're not going to be Wes Montgomery on this, but roll the tone back, adopt the Keith Richards strum position and there is more to this than meets the eye - and that is before you play with the push-pulls. This was a Korean Maison Junior - Maison were a very highly regarded small Korean manufacturer taking advantage of the stampede out of Japan in the 1990s. Not imported here in large numbers, you could be forgiven for hearing about them for the first time. They are solid, good quality guitars and beg for an upgrade. Out came the generic P-90 and in went a TV Jones PowerTron Plus - the hottest most vicious pick-up available from TV Jones. We hit the high gain channel and lost a few hours discovering how incredible this pick-up is. On a clean setting, we needed to take action. Action was taken with the addition of 2 CTS push-pulls - one to split the humbucker into a single coil, the other to give us both coils but in parallel. The coil split provides a very angry punk sound - tameable with the controls, but this is for those who don't want country twang, and don't need refined Marvin. In parallel, we calm things a little; add a tiny amount of scoop, and achieve a less aggressive tone but with no loss of presence. So many Juniors and their ilk are compromised for intonation - playing chords up the neck requires a little string bending occasionally to sound vaguely in tune. The addition of the Hosco adjustable bridge solves this issue very well and takes nothing from the tone (despite having plenty to spare!). At the other end, we have fitted a set of very premium Gotoh SE-770 - lovely high quality open back tuners to give a nod to unaffordable Gibsons, but indicating to Gibson how good an open back tuner ought to be on an expensive guitar. We have designed 2 scratchplates for this guitar, and the lack of neck pick-up makes swapping from one to the other a matter of minutes - just a few screws. We can't decide which one we like the best so include them both. The guitar looks, feels and plays as new - it probably could do with a few signs of life - over to the next owner for that. The weight is 3.95kg, 8lbs 11oz. This was an experiment - we used this guitar to test some crazy ideas, and however much we love it here, it really should go to someone who will use it properly. Details The Look A bit of single pick-up shiney style - 2 designs of plate included in sale Headstock A set of beautiful open back Gotoh SE-770 keep this in tune no matter how hard you play. Neck Chunky chunky! Not too much, but a proper handful. Pick-ups This is a TV Jones PowerTron plus - Tom makes these for Billy Gibbons Bridge To make the most of this guitar, the fixed stop bar has been replaced with a Hosco adjustable unit - intonation is now achieved. Controls Master Volume which when pulled up splits the PowerTron Plus to a single coil. Master Tone which when pulled up sets the Tron in parallel mode Gallery ← Previous Next→