1973 Greco EG-380B, The ultimate bolt-on < Back 1973 Greco EG-380B Pre-serial Number Here is a great example of an early Fujigen built model, the gold metalwork has aged as gracefully as possible; aside from one corner of the headstock, the binding is still in one piece and faded to that perfect cream colour. The original Maxon humbuckers deliver the creamy warmth at the neck, and the growl at the bridge - full of the character they are renowned for. No need to upgrade these. Double bound with the 3 ply binding continuing around the fretboard, this really has the Custom look. At 3.7kg (8lbs 4oz) it is neither a boat anchor nor a super flyweight - just the right weight and balance to hang off the shoulder for a long set. The world is waking up to these magnificent copies - the Greco models feeling like the real thing when compared to the cheaper export models such as Columbus and other shop-branded models that we saw in the UK and Europe in the mid-70s. Grecos were mostly domestic market models when import taxes put real Gibsons out of reach for most people. It has a chunky neck, not a super skinny one as found on the 360s and many 420s, and this has put a smile on a few faces of folk who have "real ones" from this era. It is of course a bolt-one neck, so of no interest to purists, but that is not what this guitar is for. It isn't trying to be a £5,000 Black Beauty, but for the values these have, they punch well above their weight. Perfect for gigging - the sounds are spot on, the looks are spot on - no-one sees the neck plate from the audience. A good 53 year old guitar will almost always feel more friendly and be more soulful than a new Chinese one. If a guitar this old has made it this far in this condition and with this playability, you know it is a good one and not even half way through its life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrfPYopGN5A Price Availability £££ Sold Recommendation Bring a bolt-on into your life... Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1973 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3-Way Bridge Original ToM Board Rosewood 3.7kg; 8lbs 4oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1995 John Le Voi S-Style Dreadnought, Very high quality British made acoustic heaven < Back 1995 John Le Voi S-Style Dreadnought 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. This model is the S-Style Dreadnought as you can find on John's web-site. With 12 frets to the body, there is slightly warmer tone, and a much slicker feel - the nut is 43mm unlike the colossal neck on the other one we have for sale. This guitar has a very nice snappy finger-picked sound, you'll struggle to be Paul Gilbert up the neck, but that isn't the point of this one. Purely acoustic, possibly a singer's dream partner, it seems to have a sound similar to smaller body parlour guitars. More delicate and defined than our Taylors and never overpowering bass, but people will always hear it 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. It is in very good condition - it has seen a lot of playing, but has minimal fret wear - it feels a lot newer than it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swdbOV-XxO8 It comes with its hard case, and has had a thorough service. It is part of a deceased estate, the only circumstance apparently that the owner would have parted with it. Price Availability £1,995 Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1995 Pick-ups n/a Selector n/a Bridge Std pin Board Ebony n/a Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1974 Greco SE-430, Last of the 430s < Back 1974 Greco SE-430 Pre Serial Number This is a very rare opportunity to have an early Matsumoku Strat with the engineered neck and the added bonus of new Jescar 55090 frets - another 10-20 years of just routine servicing for this one. If you haven't experienced one of these Harayama necks yet, I urge you to give them a try - people of all tastes in neck seem to love them. Even Caleb likes them, which is a relief as he bought 2 of them. Obviously this looks amazing - timeless faded white with 20 a day Marlboro Red stained plastics. No wheezing and wheeling around an oxygen tank for this one though - the Maxons are still doing their thing - bright and airy, and cutting through in all positions. There has been a DM-50 out of an Early Sixties SE-700 on my desk for about a year - waiting for a worthy candidate for retro-fitting. This is it. No doubt. So we have all the traditional Strat tones, and you can quack and cluck as well as bite and snarl. The 9.5 radius neck feels a little flatter then it is, but that is the neck shape making itself known. The rest of the hardware is original and in rude health. The tremolo bridge may look a little pre-historic, but it works every bt as well as the Fender style ones that followed. Great looking, great sounding, fastidiously restored and prepared for another 51 years. Maybe more. These were made to last. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JCHPRHbEao Price Availability £995 Sold Recommendation Find a place in the rack for this one Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 5-way Bridge Original Matsumoku Vintage Board Maple 3.76kg (8lbs 5oz) Modifications Re-fret (Tall Narrow) and 5-way switch (DM-50) Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Greco SE-600 (Electrics Upgrade), Taking Maxons to the limit < Back Greco SE-600 (Electrics Upgrade) Pre-serial number 1974 was the year that Matsumoku really started to emulate the Strat. This one comes with its original 'star' tuners and Maxons - the latter having an unmistakeable set of tones. We are always so smitten with the Maxon sounds - bright and airy, always cutting through even amongst the humbuckers. We also adore the Maxon humbuckers on the early EG range - they have a remarkable growl. Therefore, with a minor modification, we can have both, and we are delighted with the results. This is the 3rd 1974 SE-600 we have had since we started and they have all been super heavy-weights - you'll have lighter Les Pauls in the rack. If a heavy, and I mean really heavy, Strat doesn't put you off, read on, as this is a guitar that will cover a lot of bases that previously required 2 guitars, or a mega-bucks one with huge headstock tax. When I say heavy, I mean 4.6kg - that's over 10lbs in old money. It's sen ash, so nothing exotic - there is no gold stashed in it. It is just a dense bit of ash. All the better for it. I have converted this one to a 5-way selector (we have cut a new plate for it but retained the little truss rod adjutment hatch as this is a solid good idea), and replaced the pots with new premium CTS items - the lower tone control being a push pull that engages a different pick-up configuration with the 5-way. Pushed down, we have a traditional Strat configuration - the 3 magic Maxons and the parallel tones too. Pull this up and position 3 will engage the neck and middle Maxons into series - very similar to that lovely neck Maxon humbucker on an EG Les Paul model. In the bridge position, the bridge and neck Maxons are joined in series and we get a really nice ES335 middle position tone with a bit more bite - a very decent lead tone indeed - much more mid-range than the bridge Maxon on its own. In between these 2 positions is the neck and bridge in series; that in parallel with the middle. If you like the "in-between" parallel tones on a Strat but always lose yourself a little in the mix, then this is the position that brings you back in no uncertain terms. In the remaining selector positions, you get the neck on its own - always a glorious option with a Maxon. Versatility without too much complexity, and this is very quick to familiarize yourself with. 1974 SE-600s had a slightly slimmer neck than the lower order models, and they do have a premium feel to them - the tuners and tremolo also being higher spec. Star tuners on the back of the headstock meant you had the top of the range. We have never seen a broken or worn Star tuner - they will outlive us all! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlgAjU-qK4M Of course it has a couple of knocks and scrapes to remind you it is 50 years old, but it still feel like it has another 50 plus ahead of it, and now you have a hugley more powerful set of tones to accompany your vintage Strat. Either get down to the gym and prepare yourself for this guitar, or wear it instead of going to the gym. Either way, you'll end up up better off! Price Availability £845 Sold - another one coming Recommendation Leave the Gibson at home Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Original Maxon Selector 5-way Bridge Vintage Fender-style tremolo Board Maple 4.6kg; 10lbs 2oz Modifications Series options with push-pull Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

You can hide a packet of JPS on it < Back Matsumoku Frontman I Price £2,895 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! The person at the front of the show needs an instrument that really stands out. David Rusan put the Cloud into Prince's hands. Auersfeld too. Didn't do any of them any harm! Bono looked better with Waller's green Gretschercaster than he did with a standard Gretsch. Göran Malmberg was single-handedly responsible for Waterloo winning Eurovision 1974 (in my mind). But back in sleepy Norfolk and scaling this inspirational stuff down to what makes the most sense and money is in fact an issue, and cheques are not blank, we set about deciding what our particular Frontman needs instead of a pair of Peavey EXPs and a (admittedly beautiful) Tokai Love Rock. At the time, his guitarist was rocking a salmon pink Gibson and an iridescent PRS so we had some headroom. Our Frontman stood at the front of a fair few bands and covered a multitude of styles - always the vocals and waving the microphone stand around, but still a guitarist - the Frontman does the intros a lot. The few gigs I saw to get the measure of the man revealed he's only at home to the bridge pick-up and its volume control. The man needs an Esquire. So much more timeless and adaptable than a LPJr and a Kramer puts too much pressure on him from guitarists in the audience. They are all EVH-heads and demand a lot. Keeping Prince in mind, I sourced a very special Esquire from the workshops of Toshio Moridaira - a tenuous but nevertheless bonefide link to Prince as his HS Anderson MadCats came from him. Hohner was later. Out came the Bill Anderson pick-up (I know, sacriledge) and off came the rather generic tremolo (this Esquire was routed for a vintage tremolo - this concept eventually evolving into the Bill Lawrence BTOR range). Our Frontman likes a super skinny neck and they don't get much skinnier than 1980's Nagano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RUOu7EUgNc On went a new set of Jescar 55090 frets, and talks started with pick-up chaps and tremolo manufacturers. After 2 failed attempts at getting an A8 Dual Rail from Germany (if anyone finds them, please send them to me and I'll share some of the 400 quid with you) we turned to UK and an Evil Sheep tapped Tele unit. We had adored the ones we had put in Floral Teles, and therefore settled on a fairly hot wind with a really hot wind via an S-1 switch on the single volume knob. Begging the master luthier and game-changer Frank Deimel to flog me one of his proprietary bridges came to nothing (still friends though). Wales then, and a Wudtone unit. I had to keep the brass barrels, but our Frontman needed an occasional warble, so a suitable unit was ordered. As Black and Gold as a JPS Lotus, an eye-catching scratchplate was produced here in the workshop to suit the guitar. Gold Gotoh SD91 tuners, trees and boat in place, the Matsumoku Frontman I was finally and slightly belatedly born. Clang. KerLANG. It won't get lost in the mix! Take a man's neck pick-up away because he never uses it soon evolves into missing a neck pick-up. A Frontman II then... Details The Look If Vertu made guitars... Headstock Glossy black parrot-beak - personalized decal Neck Super skinny - only the Japanese can make them this slim and still be comfortable Pick-ups Evil Sheep Tapped Tele - wound for this build 7.4k and 11.3k really makes sure it is heard Bridge Gotoh haven't got around to making such a device - Andy from Wales to the rescue. These units are big cost options on Custom Shop Fender and PRS. The Frontman gets one. Controls Master Volume with output switch on the S-1. Gallery ← Previous Next→

1980 Aria Pro II TS-500, Matsumoku began to go its own way < Back 1980 Aria Pro II TS-500 004263 The TS-500 is the mid-range model with all of the toys, but the regular grain woods. An extra 10,000 Yen would have got a choice of the premium woods, but still you needed 80,000 Yen to get the thru'neck version. Of course we all want one of these, but they are very rare and expensive now - the 500 with the set-neck gets all the functionality, and a pair of excellent Extra III (aka Protomatic III) humbuckers. These were evolutions of MMK53, and we know them the best from Westone Thunder II models. And Noel's Epiphone Riviera. Many children of the 1970s will probably have drooled over these in a guitar shop, up there on a hook next to a Westone Prestige, and sadly way way out of our price range. Even though they were actually pretty affordable compared to the big US brands, most of us needed to slum it with a Westone Concord, or in my case, a Satellite G65 from Woolies. 40 years later, and that opportunity re-appears! The specification on these is vast. The two humbuckers can be split into single coils with dedicated mini-switches; a third mini-switch will reverse the phase of the bridge pick-up when both are selected. A final mini-switch will activate an active booster circuit which has its own volume control. You'll make good use of this control as the boost is enormous. We have a master volume and a tone control; and the final control is a type of Varitone function with a variety of high and low passes to get some interesting tones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9e9ZmcKO90 There is an enormous array of tones once the switches, the varitone and the booster is configured - so much to play with, and lots of genuinely useful tones. It's a guitar to be creative with. The neck is a double octave affair with a nice thick rosewood board on a maple neck. The body has a strip of maple flanked by wings of ash. The matching headstock gives this a real 80s look. This is an earlier 6 in a line model - the TS range became 3 by 3 as the earlier headstock migrated to the more expensive RS range. While the general direction for most of the big guitar plants in Nagano was to emulate as closely as possible the Fenders and Gibsons, Matsumoku never lost the spirit of adventure and looked in more exciting directions such as Alembic for inspiration. This example has just arrived from Japan, and has just been serviced, and now we can offer it for sale in excellent condition. Price Availability £875 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups Protomatic (Extra) III (Alnico) Selector 3 way Toggle Bridge Matsumoku Design Board Rosewood 3.53kg; 7lbs 12oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

The iconic Thinline, built on the same line as the Fenders, but with added luxury < Back Greco TE500N Price £1,600 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! By the time this 1979 Greco TE500N was being produced, the Fuji factory was producing MIJ Fenders. Lawsuit shenanigans were avoided by restricting Fuji to marketing Greco versions in the home market only - these are legitimate and non-contested models; built to the exact same standard as export models. So this is a Fender without the decal. This one is better though. The wide-range pick-ups produced by Maxon were, in their time, good sounding units. Current Fender wide-ranges sound pretty good too, but Monty has taken them to new levels with these - launched to an eager audience and long waiting list in 2021. I managed to get a set for this TE500N. As expected, they take the guitar to a whole new level. No re-issue, or even original issue Thinline is going to sound as full, as warm or be a versatile as this one. Anyone familiar with MIJ Fenders of this era will recognize the neck profile, and the balance of the guitar - they are delicious and dangerously addictive. Now this one is at a supreme level - watching blues virtuoso Ron Sayer Jr bonding with it a few weeks ago was unforgettable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouk6yJaWZ9Y Replacing the saddles with solid billet brass units adds a new dimension to the way the sound emanates and decays - the original bent steel saddles are here and can be restored to their positions if need be, but the combination of saddles and pick-ups here is a sweet spot I feel deserves to be a fundamental characteristic of the guitar. This is a rare sight outside Japan - this one was a loyal servant to a busy musician from new, and is in perfect condition to continue on for another 40 years. The patina is real, not confected; the original tuners are rebuilt and in rude health. It has recently received a very in depth luthier and master builder set-up. It's glorious. Details The Look All original Headstock All original Neck Perfectly dressed and prepared frets on original board Pick-ups 2 x Monty's Guitars Wide Range humbuckers Bridge Gotoh Solid brass saddles Controls 3 way original selector, master volume and tone controls Gallery ← Previous Next→

Greco SE-500B, Sweet spot of sweetspots < Back Greco SE-500B G750607 In the final months of Strat production before Greco shifted across to Fujigen, Matsumoku produced some absolute stunners. Now with single piece necks, a more faithful radius, and less of a shoulder than the Harayama laminate necks, these still feel sublime – especially when they have been played in like this one. The maple fretboard on this one has a lovely visible grain, even a little bit of birdseye on the upper frets. The frets are still in abundance – slick and level. There are one or two dents and nicks on the black body but nothing through to the wood. The scratchplate is gloriously faded to cream and the original PU-100 pick-ups are typically bright and snarly – very articulate and love a decent valve amp clean or driven. Maxons are becoming more and more respected as more folk discover their charms. A 3-way switch on this one, but the parallel sounds are very easily found, the DM-30 switches are very forgiving and don’t require matchsticks for this. At 3.5kg (7lbs 11oz), the SE-500 feels like a premium model – a universally popular weight for these. A 9.5 radius, 41mm nut and lovely C profile neck. The weak point of the 500 models was always the tuners – they were the equivalent of the Economy Tuners today, and these ones were a little tired after 50 years. In their place is a set of brand-new SD-91 Gotoh units – solid and dependable, the main characteristic of these SE-500s. The ciggie burn is a sign of a good guitar – so good that you forget about it until you smell the over-heated lacquer. Different days… Imagine the cost of a lightweight mid 1970s black Strat with the word Fender on it – it will be a good one as the bad ones were skipped in the 80s. If it has to be a Fender, then spend the necessary thousands, but if you want a genuine vintage guitar that feels like it has been your best mate for 40 years, then spend hundreds instead and welcome this one into your life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqO3O5l7JNY Price Availability £795 Sold Recommendation New friend for life Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1975 Pick-ups Maxon PU-100 Selector 3-Way Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Maple 3.5kg; 7lbs 10oz Modifications SD-91 tuners Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1974 Greco TE-350 (Upgraded), Sensibly upgraded war-horse < Back 1974 Greco TE-350 (Upgraded) Pre-serial number These Gneco Teles are getting very thin on the ground now - even more so in this condition. This one dates from early 1974, and has the famous laminate neck that if you've yet to discover, I highly recommend you have a go on one to find out what the fuss is all about. We alternate between keeping these totally original, or treating them to subtle but sensible upgrades to get the absolute best out of them. We always leave the neck pick-up wherever possible - these Maxons are divine. We have upgraded the bridge plate to a new Gotoh unit with the titanium barrels - the flat edges allows more comfortable playing, and the aperture allows a modern pick-up to be fitted. For this TE-350, a Monty's Guitars 50's Broadcaster unit was fitted, and it gives the old girl a proper set of lungs. This is a Matsumoku built Greco (Gneco) , these skipped across town to Fujigen 1 year later. Keeping it in this condition and with regular use and servicing, this TE-350 is unlikely to ever lose value. This one has had a recent re-fret so has many years ahead of it without that requirement. Fresh frets on these necks give them the feel of a much more expensive guitar. It has a few little scratches and dinks, but nothing unusual or out of place on a guitar that has seen this much life. We often get the question "how does it compare to a real one?", and for some folk, unless the Fender name is present, it just won't do. These old warriors beg to differ and in our experience, sit alongside "real ones" and are called for duty usually for their neck pick-up. A 50 year old Fender is likely to cost a small fortune and unlikely to be used for live work. None of this stress exists with these Grecos. They are still sensibly priced to be obtainable, and relish being put to work. OK, so this one was sold before it even hit the market, but I have more on the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfj1Ex-OKmg Don't knock them until you try them! Price Availability £1,295 Sold Recommendation At least another 50 years in front of it. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Maxon & Monty's Selector 3-way Bridge Gotoh Ti-TC Board Maple 3.88kg; 8lbs 9oz Modifications Bridge plate, pick-up and electronics Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

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? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAZvA_uV4lw 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 3.29kg; 7lbs 4oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Aria Pro II JPJ-3, Massive versatility from these great pick-ups < Back Aria Pro II JPJ-3 4030032 Back in 1983, ESP were making signature models for contemporary rock stars - Masayoshi Yamashita was one such chap - the ESP PPJ-160 was a special order from ESP for a few years. Matsumoku produced their own version of this configuration - the JPJ-3. The first appearance in any brochure was in 1986 by which time the pair of Precision-style pick-ups were angled. This is an early model These basses were the spiritual successor to the Westones that had ceased production, but were still in demand. The JPJ-3 was the proper wild one - using the same pick-ups as the older Concord II and Thunder basses - amusingly but accurately titled Hard Puncher, this one punched and kept kicking. 3 pick-up basses are rare - a few boutique builders offer them with Strat control philosophy and a few folk have customised their favourite basses to try and just need one bass for a gig, and ended up with a scratchplate full of switches and a good memory to remember how to get sounds on the fly. This is the original evolution of the JPJ-3 and benefits from a significantly more intuitive and useful control philosophy - 3 Volumes and 1 Tone; therefore all the possible combinations and everything in between. Tipping the scales at 4.37kg (9lbs 10oz) this is a medium weight but well balanced bass; in fantasttic condition and ready for work. We use early iterations of the JPJ-3 as the basis for a dramatic rebuild with modern upgraded components and switching options, but this one is perfectly fine to to live on as Matsumoku designed it first time round. We can upgrade it if the next owner prefers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdBrOc97nDs Price Availability £575 Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1984 Pick-ups 2 Hard Punchers, 1 Super-Boomer Selector N/A Bridge High Mass Board Rosewood 4.37kg (9lbs 10oz) Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Greco TL-500N, Proper no-nonsense Tele - before the Fender accountants arrived... < Back Greco TL-500N D801328 Telecasters from Matsumoku and Fujigen from this era are always hidden gems. They were slightly in the shadow of the exciting new designs emanating from Hayashi and Toshio at this time - but there is always demand for a traditional Tele and so these models continued in production. It could be said that the less you write about a Tele, the better it is - these Fujigen built guitars from 80 and 81 are the last they built without the oversight of Fender management and bean-counters. The build quality of these TL guitars is as good as it got. They will oulast us all. The pick-ups in this are Maxon PU-T5 - the vintage output, and to our ears slightly sweeter than the high powered DiMarzios that were often fitted to these 1980 Teles. I have the original bridge plate here, but have decided to fit a new Gotoh semi-cutaway unit as they always improve the playability. The original plate will be included in the sale, but unless the next owner objects, the new Gotoh unit will stay on the guitar. The semi-cutaway design is so much kinder on the palm muting. I have also changed the knobs to Charles Guitar items which feel great and are a better pairing with the new bridge unit. The finish is still sound, but has had a bit of rough handling - we see evidence of a previous respray in the wrong type of black, but the right type for removing again. This is no mint factory fresh model - it has seen some life, but most importantly, plays perfectly, and is set to do so for another 45 years at least. We have other mintier Grecos here if that is important - this one just wants to be played. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHxXdLYuvzg Price Availability £995 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is; pick-up upgrade feasible, but not necessary Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups Maxon PU-T5 Selector 3-way Bridge New Gotoh In-tune Semi-cutaway Board Maple 3.60kg; 7lbs 14oz Modifications Bridge plate, and knobs (Charles Vintage) Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38