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Eye catching upgraded 1973 Greco TE-350 < Back Matsumoku TE-350 Price £1,450 | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! This Tele is obviously a fine looking prospect with a modern reliable high specification, and being a 1973 model gets you one of the supreme 3 piece necks coupled with a medium weighted body. Evil Sheep premium leve pick-ups, ObsidianWire 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 always stand up to modern equivalents in a band or gig setting. This TE-350 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 - each of the 3 positions are outstanding. These are bright sounding pick-ups in keeping with the original character of the Maxons, but without the microphonic issues, and with a bit more punch and power in the mids. 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. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. This is another pretty Tele upgrade, a comfortable 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 Aside from the scratchplate and the bridge unit, this guitar retains a lot of its original look. Shiney new chrome Gotoh hardware always looks good on these models. Cherished in its original form, a few of its battle scars have been patched - still plenty of patina though. Headstock The tuners are brand new SDS510 units - top of the Gotoh range. New string trees too. Neck An original Harayama 3-piece maple neck - ready to provide comfortable and free playing in every style. 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, titanium saddles retain the Tele brightness, and replace the "clang" with enhanced definition. Controls Traditional 3 way selector for classic Tele sounds; standard volume and tone controls using the highest quality parts. ObsidianWire Vintage controls. Gallery ← Previous Next→

Underrated and rarely seen Tokai rescued from previous fretwork < Back Tokai LS70GT Free Consultation Book Now General recommissioning We are lucky enough to have some really talented guitarists pass through our rooms here - none more talented than Ron Sayer Jr. A proper gent too. His lovely LS70GT was suffering from a previous re-fret attempt - it played OK, but not as it should. Our job was to restore his trust in the instrument - allow him to unleash the P-90s live on stage without holding back. The key to succeeding here was to make sure the neck geometry was perfect before improving the frets and ensuring they were correctly shaped and finished to suit the player. A very comprehensive set-up perfected the intonation, and a subtle tidy up of the wiring ensured the earthing was correct, and that lovely but heavy Bareknuckle APO capacitor remained connected. Re-united with its owner, there were nerves, but the beaming smile on his face as he played it was reassuring. We take enormous pleasure in not only restoring lovely old guitars, but also owners' confidence in them. Check out Ron's music - https://www.deadbeatcats.co.uk/ and https://www.sayermusic.co.uk/ Gallery ← Previous Next→

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. Price £795 Availability 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 Weight 3.67 kg; 8lbs 2oz 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

That perfect combination of 1973 Harayama neck, and sensational look. < Back Matsumoku DB-500 Tropical Price £1,595 | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! I write about Harayama elsewhere (most places!) on this site - his influence on MIJ output is rarely appreciated, but without him companies we know today such as ESP and Fender Japan wouldn't be what they are today; and Prince probably wouldn't have had his MadCat Tele. You can have a bit of Harayama magic with a lot of our DreamBuild guitars - this is another fine example. Based around a 1973 Matsumoku built Greco (the original Gneco decal stays) SE-500, this already fine guitar has traded its electronics for a modern and vastly improved specification. The glorious neck now has fresh Jescar Tall Narrow frets - close your eyes and you could be playing a astronomically expensive Masterbuilt Fender '62 Jazzmaster - that's the nearest equivalent we have experienced. We have focussed our modifications to the aesthetics for this guitar - the condition of the hardware determined this guitar should live on with it for another 51 years - we can make further upgrades if required, but we love this guitar as it is, and the price can be kept as friendly as possible. The Burgundy Mist nitro refinish is paired with a fabulous scratchplate. Sonny Crockett could have had this as a bit of practical art on St Vitus' Dance - did an episode of Miami Vice influence this I wonder? I lived in Miami for a while - I guess this episode of life influenced me a little here. The Excel pick-ups are held in high regard for a reason - very little benefits are required from upgrading them. These pick-ups are from a 1979 SE800 that received a very special upgrade. This guitar plays deliciously, sounds fantastic, and looks good enough to eat. Details The Look A continuation of the Floral theme, this guitar is one of 2 guitars we have refinished in the early 60s Custom colour Burgundy Mist, this one is combined with a striking and perfectly matched scratchplate. Headstock A highly regarded 1973 large headstock style with its original Gotoh tuners and new Gotoh barrel trees. Neck The infamous Harayama 5 piece full C neck with new Jescar 55090 Tall Medium frets on a gracefully aged maple fretboard Pick-ups 3 Maxon Excel single coils - probably the most favoured iteration of the Maxon single coil with their characteristic airy brightness and clarity. The neck pick-up will likely worry your blues bandmates as they just know you'll make them go around again. And again. It's that addictive. Bridge The original Gotoh vintage tremolo unit remains and its steel block gives amazing sustain and it sounds so delightful acoustically, you'll play it for ages before even plugging it in. Controls Upgraded to a 5-way switch, and tone control for the bridge pick-up. Glorious soft-touch knobs feel very premium. Gallery ← Previous Next→

Gretsch Penguin - Stephen Stern Masterbuild, Rare chance to acquire a Stern Masterbuild < Back Gretsch Penguin - Stephen Stern Masterbuild UC22032277 Custom Shop Gretsches are usually very special, and this one was commissioned to be very special indeed. This is a Stephen Stern hollow body Penguin, in an extremely dark metallic green - almost black until it catches the light. Sparkly silver binding and cream sides and rear really makes this one stand out even amongst other Sterns and Madrigals. There are 3 Dynasonic pick-ups - these are 10.33k, 10.57k and 10.45k from neck to bridge, and all 3 sound phenomenal at any level of gain, and their character transforms from a warm clarity with low levels of gain right up to aggressive brightness as the drive increases; but they always feel in control - a more refined version of the original DeArmond 2000 on which they are based. Thanks to the crystal clear clarity on offer, mixing the pick-ups offers enormous versatility with tones you may not expect from a Gretsch. The control layout assumes a normal twin pick-up Gretsch in that the pick-up selector offer neck, neck and bridge, and bridge in its 3 settings, and each pick-up has its own volume control. The neighbouring toggle switch will activate the middle pick-up in any of the settings and its own volume control is the bottom knob. The middle can be heard on its own by turning the other pick-ups' volume down. On its own it is a very pleasant tone and pleasingly different. A third toggle switch feeds the signal through a pair of Squeezeboxes to give you the usual Gretsch tone pre-sets. A Master Volume with a treble bleed completes the control layout. The Bigsby provides the normal wobble of the pitch, but stays firmly in place at all times - no chance of tuning instability with this one. Almost unplayed since new, this joined a large collection and shows no signs of use. It comes in its original case complete with all the paperwork including CoA. This beautiful guitar has one tiny cosmetic flaw in that the paint has minor cracks in 2 places - one at the heel and the other at the bottom below the strap pin. The binding and paint have expanded at slightly different rates and this occurred a few weeks after delivery and has not changed since. Some have suggested this occurred in the aeroplane, but we can't commit to that. We have captured this in the photos and please contact us to let us show you over a videocall if this may be an issue. That tiny flaw aside, this is an outstanding guitar with an interesting and useful specification - Stephen Stern models are perhaps the most sought after modern Gretsches and chances to own one are few and far between. It is here at the Hall and can be viewed and played by appointment - thanks to recent UK politics, the exchange rate may well suit overseas buyers - we will ship worldwide, pack to extremely high standards and guitars are despatched with full value insurance. Price £7,450 Availability Sold Recommendation Be quick... Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 2022 Pick-ups Gretsch Dynasonic Selector 3-way Toggle Bridge Bigsby Board Rosewood Weight 4.06kg; 8lbs 15oz 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

Versatile old warrior < Back Greco DB-600N Price £1,275 Add to Cart Chat with Us 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 ← Previous Next→

Aria Pro II ST-600D, DiMarzio equipped mid-range heaven < Back Aria Pro II ST-600D D800066 By 1980, these traditional Strats had stopped featuring in the catalogues as the Project Series' had really started to take off. They reappeared in the 1981 "LS and Others" brochures. We have found a few traditional models on 80 plates and this Strikin' Sound 600D is a great example. The D denotes DiMarzio pick-ups - this 600 featuring a set of fully functional FS-1 (Fat Strat). With an Inductance of 6.7 Henries and 13.4KOhms, these pick-ups have characteristics very different to the SP-II of the more junior ST ranges. Not to be confused with the ST-600 from the late seventies with their single volume single tone configuration and SP-1B pick-ups, this single owner guitar (prior to us) guitar has had a gentle life - just a little wear to the fret board and a few knocks to the body. This guitar is in the queue for a very special and completely reversible upgrade project, but is such a great player that it will reside in the studio to be enjoyed for the time being. Price £850 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 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

Greco TE-600 1974, One that worried Fender < Back Greco TE-600 1974 Pre-serial Number Our love for Matsumoku built TE-280s and 350s is well known - we rave about them all the time, and for good reason. Fujigen were quite keen to get in on the act too, and from the mid-70s onwards, produced some incredibly good quality Teles and Strats, culminating in a partnership with the big boys themselves to form Fender Japan. Matsumoku were always keen to impart their own personality onto Fender ideas - it is what makes them so special, and relevant alongside the attempted facsimiles, that are now often and genuinely considered to be as good, or better than USA made originals from these years. That's controversial, obviously. This particular guitar is a Greco TE-600 model - the top of the range Tele from Kanda Shokai's range. The idea here was to make an absolute identical copy of a Fender - this is an early 74 build and came with the familiar Maxon tele pick-ups of the time. In the past, a previous owner has replaced the neck unit with a 2-conductor Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails - a very nice low output unit that retains the single coil sound with a little more clarity. The bridge unit puts a smile on your face with its snarly aggressiveness - back the volume down to smooth it out a little. The woods (ironically sourced from the Matsumoku conditioning plant) are top drawer - you can see the gorgeous grain under the blonde finish. The top-drawer star-tuners remain, and are a reminder that this was the top of the range model. A previous owner had grand plans for this Tele - behind that little white string retainer plate on the reverse, are a few further modifications that were either given up on, or mind was changed half way through. Just a few holes drilled for a reason we can't fathom. You can't see it, feel it, hear it - it is simply a bit of the guitar's history - we can forgive it, hope you can to. Price SOLD Availability Sold Recommendation Enjoy the quality Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Vintage Rails and Maxon Selector 3-Way Bridge Original Board Maple Weight 3.58kg; 7lbs 14oz Modifications Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails ← 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

1983 Bill Lawrence Challenger 1 BCOR-55, The charm of simplicity < Back 1983 Bill Lawrence Challenger 1 BCOR-55 B30548 This is a really great example of a Bill Lawrence BCOR-55 which features a solitary S3 Black Label pick-up. Bill Lawrence's heart was in pick-ups and he had Moridaira host them in their fine quality instruments.We are putting this one at early 1983, and all original including the Lawrence stamped saddles. The maple fretboard is unusual - most are rosewood. The location of the volume control is also unusual - most catalogue photos show it close to the pick-up, but there are no signs that this is not how it left Moridaira. The neck is super skinny and has a slight V to the profile. Very unusual but perfectly comfortable. At 3.29kg (7lbs 4oz) it is as light as it is simple. Under that empty scratchplate are routings for HSS should the mood take you later, but who could argue the charm of such simplicity? Price £££ Availability Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1983 Pick-ups Bill Lawrence S3 Black Label Selector N/A Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Maple Weight 3.29kg; 7lbs 4oz 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

Nothing on this bass hasn't been refurbished, rebuilt or sensitively replaced. < Back Hofner 5148 Verithin Bass Free Consultation Book Now Full repair & restoration to original specification Carrying the serial number 682, this is the last known 5148 Verithin Bass produced . Despite leading a busy life, and slightly less than optimal storage conditions for such an instrument, it is adored by its owner. The initial brief was fairly simple - reset the neck and try and make it playable at the lower end of the fretboard. That brief soon expanded... Disassembling the guitar for checking and cleaning soon produced a seemingly never-ending list of "do while we're there" , and as a result, nothing on this wonderful bass hasn't been refurbished, rebuilt or sensitively replaced. The pick-ups were intermittent in their behaviour. The windings had all but perished . The new replacements for these pick-ups are significantly hotter than the originals and so these originals were re-wound to exact specification . Now we have the original tones, and they are so characterful. The selector switch had thrown a leaf and so was replaced by a modern equivalent albeit identical on the outside. The potentiometers were in poor shape, but we rescued them (they don't build them like this anymore). Via this exercise, I can reliably assure a skeptical world that there is a noticeable change in tone when running these pick-ups through CTS pots, although renewing capacitors made no difference at all with the original pots. I think we'd need to find a Tupolev TU-104 cockpit on Ebay to find a suitable replacement for these. The obvious issue with this at the outset was of course the neck . Half in half out of its pocket, major surgery was required to release it fully, and get it back where it should be in order to compensate for the bowed neck (way beyond truss-rod correction). A second round of work may take place in the future that removes the fretboard and deals with the ski-slope at the upper frets, but for now, the guitar plays perfectly well between the 1st and 13th fret . Until this work takes place, a Viola style bridge saddle replaces the original item due to having more adjustment potential therefore allowing an appropriate action working together with the revised neck angle, and getting over the ski-jump. This Verithin is now back in service, looking and sounding glorious, playing comfortably and most of all reliably. (Photo credit to Andrew V., owner of the Verithin Bass) Gallery ← Previous Next→

The ultimate spec in an International Series tribute. The best, everywhere. < Back Matsumoku Monaco H79 Price £2,395 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! The Monaco H79 is a re-finished and re-imagined 1978 Greco SE-800 - the top of the range instrument of the day, and a tribute to the 54 Strat. During this time Fujigen were trying so hard to court Fender and this was how they did it. Refinished, but not polished, in yellow nitrocellulose, a little of the grain makes itself known, the rest of this guitar is a nod to the International Series Monaco. The original International series had the big headstock, the bullet truss rod; as did the MIJ re-issues and so does the current reissue (did I start a trend?). Our Monaco tribute has the small headstock and the C profile neck. Instead of Vintage Fender pick-ups, I decided to explore the delights of D Allen pick-ups and ordered a set of Echoes for this. These are not a simple copy of the Seymour Duncan SSLs - they are essentially his celebrated 69 VooDooBlues set but with an extra gear on the bridge. The volume knob sports an S-1 switch which will bring in the additional winding (7.6k to 12.5k). Coil taps on Strats offer a very useable alternative to resorting to a humbucker installation with coil split. This is also a lot less complex and convenient than adding a boost facility via pre-amp and 9V. It retains the fundamental soul of a Strat, and doesn't give you the hassle of massive volume changes between settings. The S-1 really lets you make the change quickly and precisely - Comfortably Numb has never been more convenient! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. We have given this a Master Volume, Master Tone arrangement and assigned the lower tone control to neck blend function via a CTS 250NL potentiometer. It provides that wider in between sound - not exactly a Tele, but offers you a huge variety and finely adjustable tones. Clean and driven, this is a very versatile guitar. You may not have heard of D Allen pick-ups, but plenty of professional session musicians have. The bridge is a new Gotoh GE101 unit - stability and sustain improved, and no messing with the looks. The neck has been re-fretted with Jescar 55090 (Tall Medium). After a couple of years making tributes to the Monaco Strat, Fender must have seen Steffie's amazing photos and wondered why they aren't making these. They always cheer people up, they seem to be impervious to fashion trends, and you are unlikely to lose it on the stage. The difference between a new re-issue at £1,200 and this one at a fair bit more, is essentially due to this one being a genuine 1978 high end Greco at heart, and having very expensive and top quality components. The late 70's and early 80's is commonly considered to be the MIJ golden age for quality. Here is a yellow one with pro-session musician spec and quality. This one is already built and serving as a demonstrator - we can build one to suit individual criteria and specs. We have many fantastic guitars here ready for a transformation and will source the one you want if it isn't already here. Details The Look Vibrant yellow, shiny chrome and black plastic make this a faithful tribute to the original International Series Monaco. Headstock The smaller version of the classic shape therefore timeless. Neck A typical slightly slim C - this is what made the SE-800 Greco so great. Familiar, yet oddly better. New frets. Pick-ups The Echoes set by the legendary D Allen. The bridge is 12.5k with a tap at a more traditional 7.6k. Bridge New vintage style Gotoh GE101 in Chrome. Controls Master volume with S-1 for coil tap, Master Tone (Centralab 0.022) and Neck Blend. All CTS/CRL. Gallery ← Previous Next→

Maximizing a Tele < Back Pelicaster Free Consultation Book Now Full Electrics Upgrade A Tele with disappointing pick-ups won't stay in your rack for long - they need to be good, and occasionally you need to fill a gap in the tonal palette it offers. We usually wind a set of Tele pick-ups to suit - we can do any output and character, even add dual output on an S-1; but the simplest most useful upgrade is to add a bit of beef without reverting to the traditional reverse phase or series option. Neither of these options really keep the character and soul of a Tele so we have a solution. We have a 4-way switch in these - the neck tone and bridge tone where you want them to be on the switch sweep; and 2 middle positions. One is the traditional both together setting, the other is a tone that fills in the mids, and does a fairly good impression of a decent filtertron, but we really don't think we have heard this tone before on anything solid bodied before. Judge for yourself in the video. What's with the name? Because we developed it for Pelican Tom. If you come to us chasing a sound and we manage to achieve it, the chances are we will name it after you! Gallery ← Previous Next→