Abbotts and GP Matthews, 2 very nice interesting old banjos for restoration < Back Abbotts and GP Matthews No number We are not famous for our banjos here, or have very much to do with them beyond fixing them and identifying them for folk. We do need to find a new home for these two - both a little bit special and not the type you will find at car boot sales. We have decided to offer them as restoration projects as banjo specialists and players will have a better idea of how they wish to do it. First up is the Abbotts - a 5 string banjo but with the drone peg and nut absent. It has a tremendous tone and stays in tune as we bang out Wild Horses a few times a day. This is an 11 inch skin, a fairly recent replacement. From my scant knowledge, I assume this to be a Chalton Street model, therefore 1930s or slightly before, by all means chime in and correct me. It'd make a decent plectrum banjo as it is, or a sensitive restoration could get it back to best. This one has a hard case to accompany it. Next up is a very rare fretless George P Matthews. This requires a great deal more recommissioning, and we know about the one in Justecordes in Paris at 1475 Euro, but it has been for sale for years, so remain realistic! Jacken Elswyth has a few videos of a restored model - they sound great fun. We would dearly like to find a new home for these as a pair or individually if that is required, and have a Clifford Essex Popular in a similar state that can go with either or both of them. We are open to offers for these - 100% of the proceeds will be given to the widow of the recently deceased owner of these instruments. Price Availability Offers Welcome 1 at Ketteringham Hall Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1928 Pick-ups n/a Selector N/A Bridge N/A Board N/A TBC Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

John Le Voi, He doesn't just do Gypsy Jazz < Back John Le Voi No Number John Le Voi is a UK luthier most well known for his amazing Selmer Maccaferri style acoustics - most Django Reinhardt festivals will feature Mr Le Voi and several of his guitars. No grande or Selmer style petite bouche on this model - he will produce a more traditional style of acoustic guitar when asked. This guitar was part of a larger Le Voi collection - gypsy jazz was not the only style playing style the owner enjoyed, and this guitar was commissioned out of loyalty to a great luthier. The Maccaferri hints are still there with this model - the wide hips and substantial neck feel very familiar. With 14 frets to the body and a substantial and unusually styled cutaway, all styles of playing are accommodated nicely - a proper high quality all-rounder. Acoustically, this guitar has a big but well balanced sound - a set of Manouche-Tone or Savarez Argentine strings may set your inner Django free, but this is a supposed to be a standard flat-top with no way to fit a resonator. This guitar has a very nice rounded bass response but retains that trebly tone as you venture up the neck. The nut measures just short of 47mm, so a lot of fretboard, and the familiar Le Voi neck profile - more D then C, but manageable and easy to familiarize with. The guitar features the normal Big-Tone pick-up under the saddle, and this does an adequate job of transmitting the character of the guitar into the PA, and any tone adjustments or colouring needs to be done externally as we have a simple plug and play, no need for batteries, system which suits the guitar perfectly. Le Voi guitars are already rare and hard to separate from their owners, but a standard flat top is even rarer and this is an opportunity to have some Le Voi quality without nailing your colours to the Gyspy Jazz mast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rtPVK5tOnk It is in very good condition - it has seen a lot of playing, but the wear and tear is limited to lower frets which you can see, but not feel or hear; some strum marks where you expect to see a scratch-guard, and the occasional parking knock. No splits, no wear to the wood, binding and hardware all perfect and functional. It comes with its hard case, and following a thorough service. It is part of a deceased estate, the only circumstance apparently that the owner would have parted with it. Price Availability ££££ Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1996 Pick-ups Big-Tone Selector n/a Bridge Standard Board Ebony Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

Red Rooster Rodster 52, Incredible Tele with sounds to match its looks. < Back Red Rooster Rodster 52 No. 42 A very very rare sight outside USA, this Red Rooster was brought to UK by the original owner. Like every guitar in the owner's collection it is immaculate - I have put more hours on this fretboard in recent days than it has had in its entire life. This is the Rodster '52 and number 42 off the line, this Hugger Orange/Racing White Rooster was one of 4 made (the others blue, green and yellow) in 2015 and sold through Rebel Guitars in Alabama. The body is single piece solid pine and the 0.88 to .095 neck is maple with Dunlop 6150 medium jumbo frets. Can it sound as good as it looks? It has Lollar pick-ups, so yes. The El Rayo at the neck is perfect for this - very little compression and through the 250k pots, it hits the mark perfectly. Mixed with the Alnico 3 bridge pick-up, we get an in-between tone that starts bright and sustains warm - it's pretty addictive - and the A3 bridge on its own begs for chicken-pickin' (I wish I could do it!). Clean, crunchy or driven, these pick-ups are very versatile and should get you through a full set without compromise. None of Margolis' creations were made in great numbers, and this is a very rare opportunity to get hold of one. It comes with a Gator TSA hard case and its sale tag with the spec sheet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap1uHS0tW_c Price Availability £1,615.50 Sold Recommendation Turn up to the Red Rooster Festival with this… Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 2015 Pick-ups Lollar El Rayo (neck) and Lollar A3 (bridge) Selector 3-way Bridge Joe Barden Board Maple 3.34kg, 7lbs 6oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv6ReSk9iA0 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→

Taylor 150c 12-String, No need to go up the range - this is the ideal workshorse 12 string. < Back Taylor 150c 12-String 2202280470 This Taylor 150c is a no-nonsense decent quality electro-acoustic that covers all bases from Wish You Were Here through to Love and Affection - the bass and treble controls covering just about all your glisten and shimmering needs. Hardly used, it was bought for one gig, and then stored. Lots of acoustic volume, and when the 100 series is as good as they are, it seems unnecessary to venture up the range and spend a fortune unnecessarily. This one comes with a Taylor padded gig-bag. The video uses a Loudex Mini amp with gain at 3 out of 10 and a dab of reverb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxhKlbUdMCg Price Availability £650 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 2020 Pick-ups Expression 2 Selector n/a Bridge pin Board Ebony TBC Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

1979 Greco Esquire, Timeless simplicity < Back 1979 Greco Esquire A793402 Most guitars that we find and ship over from Japan put healthy smiles on our faces and provide immense satisfaction whether we upgrade them to stellar specifications or leave them as they were when they were first built. Occasionally, a guitar can be unboxed and stun the room to silence. This is one of them. Simplicity as its finest, and a timeless aesthetic that will still appeal in precisely the same way in 45 years time. Even though in 1979, anyone could have walked into Ishibashi Music Store and asked the staff for a Custom Order form; sit in the corner and fill it in; pay a deposit and wait impatiently for a few weeks. As soon as the balance is settled, a canvas sack would be handed to you with your ideal guitar in it, and you would spend a few more Yen on a hard case instead of the canvas sack, which whilst being a nice-looking thing, was not the best way of getting your pride and joy back home. Greco did not formally offer an Esquire as part of their range. It would have to be a Custom order. A quick look under the control plate reveals contemporary components and wiring which seems to verify the Custom Order status. A close inspection of the lovely body reveals evidence that someone has removed a polyester finish – having done this myself with varying degrees of success, I know the signs. I doubt the guitar left Fujigen without paint, although we still haven’t found any clues to an original colour. Teles were available in Lacquered Natural, Blonde or Black. I suspect this guitar was a Natural guitar and someone has decided to remove the clearcoat. The Spacey Sounds Decal indicates this Esquire started life as a TL500 – these guitars are still very highly regarded today. If we manage to get one here, it tends to find a new owner before we even advertise it. This is a true Esquire spec – front position on the selector providing a jazzy boomy tone, the middle position brings in the tone control knob, and the rear position just allows volume control. The chances are that this (and most Esquires!) will stay in the rear position but it is nice to have – it is traditional. We can’t bring ourselves to mess with this guitar. We know its limitations tone-wise, and also that the Maxon pick-up is great for ice-pick punk; but not maybe as accomplished and suitable for any other styles of playing without a serious pedal board and an unaffordable amp. The idea of an Esquire is simplicity and obtainability. Maybe it is enough to look as good as this – everything else will be forgiven. If so, marvellous. If not, then we can make changes and bring this glorious guitar up to date. We really want to keep the single pick-up philosophy (there is routing for a Brad Paisley thing) and would look to upgrading the pick-up and building in versatility with the controls that already exist, or add an S-1 switch or push pulls. Either a carefully designed tapped Tele pick-up (we recommend Evil Sheep, Creamery, or Tony can wind one) with the two outputs either governed by the 3-way switch, or we ditch the switch and change gears with an S-1. If the budget can withstand, Harry can wind us an amazing dual rail Tele sized humbucker which we can offer in split, parallel and series modes either with the switch or push-pulls. We have to set limits to how far to go before we simply suggest producing a new body – therefore if we can’t manage to install a pick-up either into the original bridge plate, or a new Gotoh equivalent, we draw the line. P-90s, TV Jones, regular humbuckers we wouldn’t undertake. We can get the tones with appropriately sized pick-ups. We can offer this one as it is, or we can put it in the DreamBuild schedule. Or, as so often happens, offer it as it is, then see it again in 6 months for a DreamBuild upgrade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSfAkZb9mY Price Availability £795 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as is or sensitive appropriate upgrade Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1979 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3 Way Bridge Original Board Maple 3.67 kg; 8lbs 2oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

Another perfect combination of 1973 Harayama neck, and modern everything else < Back Matsumoku TE-280 Price £1,450 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! I give the Harayama speech elsewhere on this site - it is worth a read - but this Tele gets you one of his supreme 3 piece necks coupled with a medium weighted body. Part of the trilogy, the upgrades follow the same basic concept - Evil Sheep electronics and Gotoh hardware. The odd shaped and sized Maxon pick-ups that came with this guitar are surprisingly good, but of a time where they don't stand up to modern equivalents. This TE-280 is equipped with Evil Sheep 5225 pick-ups - 5.6k at the neck and 10.5k at the bridge. That clever mixing of magnets delivers a remarkably good and useful set of tones - especially the bridge. Modernisation continues with a 4 way switch enabling a series connection of the pickups in the front position, then a standard Telecaster arrangement from there on. The Gotoh bridge piece is a cut-down ashtray for increased comfort, and features titanium saddles instead of brass. The effect this has is difficult to describe, but you may find yourself enjoying the bridge pick-up even more as a result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1RSvIK8cbQ This is a pretty guitar, a comfortable guitar and most importantly, a great sounding guitar. All the original parts and components for this guitar are safely stored in our archive and would come with the guitar either stored with us, or with you. All are in working order and could be returned to the guitar at any point in the future. The bridge would require minor surgery, but nothing particularly difficult. Details The Look Part of the floral trilogy, and the scratchplate design aside, this guitar retains a lot of its original look. Shiney new chrome Gotoh hardware always looks good on these models. Headstock The tuners are rebuilt originals - in perfect working order. New string trees improve stability Neck An original Harayama 3-piece maple neck with beautifully dressed frets - ready to provide comfortable and free playing in every circumstance. Pick-ups 2 x Evil Sheep 5225 (Tele set) with mixed magnets to enhance what should be enhanced. Neck is 5.6k and bridge is 10.5k Bridge Gotoh Ti-TC1S semi-cutaway ashtray, new control plate and vintage knobs Controls 4 way selector to include a series option; standard volume and tone controls using the highest quality parts. Gallery ← Previous Next→

1976 Greco EB-500, A proper survivor < Back 1976 Greco EB-500 C760577 A very rare opportunity to obtain a Greco EB-500 bass in a great condition. This is a March1976 build and both pick-ups are fully operational and sound great. The neck is as good and straight as we have seen on an EB, and is wearing new strings. These are Maxon built PU-114 and PU-115 pick-ups, and both are humbuckers and are in fine health - the mudbucker making the Hall shake. The bridge unit has a fair bit of punch too - together they sound fantastic. Whilst looking pristine from the front, it does have a beauty spot on the top edge of the neck where a small patch of finish has met with an object that removed it. A lovely old bass, in great original condition - fully serviced and ready for service. I am not, never have been, and will never be a competent bass player - the demo video is limited to proving it works and what it sounds like. Price Availability £895 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1976 Pick-ups Maxon PU-114 & PU115 Selector 3 way Toggle Bridge 2 point with mute Board Rosewood 3.55kg; 7lbs 13oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

1975 Westminster SE-420, Forget the sub-£100 drop-shipped stuff, start your journey here. < Back 1975 Westminster SE-420 701848 This recently arrived Westminster SE-420 completes the trio of Mustang, Tele and Strat, and for the UK audience, these were the domestic market and Australian export versions of the Kimbara - an entry level Matsumoku produced guitar aimed at folk who wanted to start their journey or improve their basic skills on a full scale grown up electric guitar. Not to be confused with the SE-330 which was contracted out by Matsumoku to the Chushin Gakki plant which was the equivalent of the Columbus models - a good few mm thinner bodies. The SE-420 received more powerful versions of the original Maxon coils from the early 1970s models. This guitar has more power than you'd expect and you may find yourself backing off the volume a little for super clean requirements. A classic 3-way switch gives you the 3 basic tones you'd expect from a Strat of this age, and judicious positioning of the selector will locate the in between tones, but as this is a classic 3 position Strat, the middle is not RWRP and therefore the carefully selected neck and middle is in reverse phase, and through a wound up OD-3, this sound will get you a gig in a punk band. Unlike today's entry level guitar, the controls on this SE-420 are the same units as you'd see in a range topper from Greco - large body pots with great positive movement, not the tiny mini-pots that fail very shortly after anyone takes a soldering iron the base. As with its Tele brother, the tuners are the most basic ones available without resorting to strip tuners, and they are showing a little signs of their age, but they do keep tune and the teeth are all present and correct. Costs were saved at the tremolo bridge too, as the block is a strip of bent plate, not the solid resonant steel you would see on a Greco or Aria, but it still does the job well - the powerful pick-ups making up for the differences in sustain. The body is, we think, Alder and not Sen ash so there is a slight tonal difference between this and higher spec models. It is less noticeable on high gain settings, and that completes the spec differences between this and an Aria ST-400. Real MIJ-geeks will know that the Aria Pro II ST-480 from 1976 was a continuation of this SE-420 model and the ST-400 offered an improved spec for a little lower price in 1977. So confusingly, this Westminster was the premium entry-level model. Matsumoku catered for a lot of levels. We have both SE-420 and ST-400 models here side by side at the moment - playing them one after the other will justify why the 400 is a bit more expensive than the 420 - they are different evolutions of how Matsumoku was getting closer to Fender standards. The 420 offers that early MIJ feel in that you know it is different to a real Strat, but none the worse for it. This guitar has bags of character and loves being played hard through a practice amp. We prefer playing this through the Fender 15 watt Mustang amp than we do the bigger stuff in the studio. It is just great fun, and not a guitar that you will grow tired of playing - callouses will form quicker with this and you'll spend more time with it than you'd perhaps planned. As well as a brilliant practice guitar, this SE-420 wold make a cheap addition to a bigger collection of more prestigious instruments just to remind yourself of more innocent and care-free days. It will put a smile on your face. It tips the scales at a featherweight 3.18kg (7lbs exactly) and please try and forgive the signs of life around the edge, the mismatched neck tone pot, the sticker rash and the fact that I got carried away snapping the top E moments before the photoshoot. As I said, care-free days... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SL5NfU5f3Q Price Availability £495 Sold Recommendation Perfect starter guitar Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1975 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3 Way Bridge Vintage tremolo bridge Board Maple 3.18kg (7lbs 0oz) Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

Greco LGB-700, Versatile and eye-catching gig monster < Back Greco LGB-700 B029478 With the Fender joint venture gradually being usurped by Ensenada, Fujigen were able to breathe again, and return to making great guitars on their own terms and to their own standards. Controversial perhaps, but Fender had interfered with the legendary Japanese belief in quality. We would soon see Fujigen producing their good stuff again with CoolZ and History brands, then a little Greco revival before FGN bedded in and Japan got their mainstream guitar maker back again. This is an example of the revived Greco brand - a fascinating Les Paul Bass with 3 Thunderbird style humbucker pick-ups either doing solo work or working together seamlessly. No need for a tone control here - just 3 volumes. Nothing more needed. If we can't see obvious and good value improvements, we leave guitars alone. We're leaving this one alone as it just works as it is. It sounds powerful yet with great definition. We have the JPJ range to go crazy with - this one gets the job as a work-horse - the colour scheme may challenge a few mindsets, but many bass players do that anyway and rightly so. Sufficient power from these pick-ups to avoid the complexity of active pick-ups - not as muddy and compressed as a big-mag Musicman style unit, these Thunderbird units can thump, they can drive and growl, or they can clean up magnificently with a little balancing across the units. It's a blue Gibbo style bass, highly likely to be the only one your audience has seen; sufficiently different to make you stand out but coming with no compromises for quality or sound delivery. Assuming blue can be tolerated, what's not to like here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUH49-rmzyQ The last photo displays the original black metal knobs just in case the yellow ones are a step too far. Price Availability £695 Sold Recommendation Get noticed and sound phenomenal Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 2002 Pick-ups Maxon TB-9 Selector n/a Bridge Hipshot B Board Rosewood 4.14kg; 9lbs 2oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

Greco Vee-Strat, Fun curio from Fujigen < Back Greco Vee-Strat G846359 1984 was a revolutionary year for Fujigen - the Fender JV was in full swing; the Boxer range was moving beyond tradition; Greco were heading into their hair-metal phase, and Fernandes catalogues were 130 pages long. The world was on fire and buying a tradional Strat was difficult as the shop windows were rammed with the future. This flyweight oddity is not seen in catalogues of the era (tell us if we're wrong) and matches a super dinky slim-line strat body with a Flying Vee neck. 22 frets, bolt on for convenience, 1980s Blueburst finish. super skinny neck and so light that it floats away. The SQ3 pick-ups found their way to the Greco-Guitar Device (with Spirit Energy) production lines from the JV area and have that bright spanky sparkle that the Squiers of the era were so well known for. Not a ceramic shove, just a bright hi-presence tone, fine on their own, but lacking a lot of punch in the parallel positions. This thing has a Flying V neck, and so needs some proper punchy tones to back that up. In went a Schaller Mega-switch (Type M) and the pick-ups linked in series instead of parallel. The middle position connects the neck and bridge coils into series for a really lovely alternative lead tone. This guitar gives you the single coils you use the most, and 3 more useful and interesting thicker tones begging for a huge helping of drive. Then the killswitch comes into its own. It is 3kg - it almost floats away, but has a set of tones that defy the featherweight nature. Fans of 80s and 90s MIJ super-Strats will recognize the super skinny neck profile and medium jumbo frets. a 41mm nut feels familiar - never crowded, and the 9.5 radius gets you close to shredding comfort if that's your thing. This is good enough to be your only guitar - it isn't a toy - the designs coming out of Japan at this time were brave, modern and massively better quality that "budget guitars" today. Probably suiting a heavier style in general, the trad Strat sounds are also there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-LPmHjOOs Price Availability £495 Sold Recommendation Have lots of fun with it Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1984 Pick-ups SQ3 Selector Schaller M SuperSwitch Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Rosewood 3.0kg; 6lbs 11oz Modifications Series tones and killswitch Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08

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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V97Q00ufxQI 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 Availability £725 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 3.88kg; 8lbs 9oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:33 Play Video Play Video 06:07 Play Video Play Video 07:01 Play Video Play Video 02:33 Play Video Play Video 03:30 Play Video Play Video 07:44 Play Video Play Video 02:41 Play Video Play Video 03:08