Greco APW-500

Have you seen the price of the Dan Armstrong see-through guitars? As with many catastrophically expensive odd-ball niche guitars from the last century, there is a good chance that Fujigen or Matsumoku probably made a tribute version of it, and they are affordable; and probably equally or better built than the originals. In the heady days of the 1990s, Japanese guitar catalogues were literally 100 pages long packed to the gunnels with signature models for popular pop stars - this is an example of such a guitar. As far back as 1971, Kanda Shokai had a see-through model available - the EG-380 is not a typo for a Les Paul model, it was a proper Dan Armstrong copy. These are rarer than the originals so we need to whizz forward in time to 1990 for another one from Fujigen. The see-through one was mega-bucks as expected, but a more obtainable wooden body version accompanied it, and remained in the range for nearly a decade. Endorsed by a few household names in Japan, they were quite popular, but never exported.

Here's one - an early version that has seen a lot of use (good sign), and blew us away with how it played. The original pickup looks mean and nasty, but is "of its time", and a little underwhelming. The bridge unit was in fine condition, but give me a chance to install a Gotoh 510FX6 unit and I'll take it. The blower switch is a bit gimmicky and not really offering a great deal. So in went a 3 way mini-switch, and an Irongear SteamHammer humbucker. This Irongear pick-up really delivers what the 1980s ceramic humbuckers tried to deliver. It also gives me the flexibility to provide 3 distinct lead tones from that miniswitch.

In the middle, we get the north coil of the humbucker only - enough power and bite to cut through anything - much hotter than any Strat; only Harry's Hot Chillies get close to this. Push the switch away and the two coils join in parallel to provide a hint of hot Tele, but enough scoop to clean up beautifully. This is the clean sound setting. Bring the switch towards you and the full fat shred tone makes clean playing impossible, and unnecessary. A Master Volume and Tone with 2 easy to see chicken-heads completes the specification.

The Gotoh 510FX6 bridge facilitates the harmonics and provides a deep rich sustain that the standard bridges just can't do. They are worth the high price - they do the job brilliantly.

The finish has a few dings and chips - all of our best player grade guitars do. These were never supposed to be case queens. Add some more and it won't mind - colour them in with a Sharpie if they offend. It is definitely the lightest guitar we have ever had here - 2.5kg (5lbs 8oz). Have a listen to the demo to get an idea of how this guitar now sounds - from heavy rock to punk - it's all possible.

In the even that the value of an original APW-500 suddenly joins the same trajectory as the acrylic ones, I shall include the original Rock-Bullet (yup) pick-up which works, but just doesn't do what the SteamHammer does. You may recognize them from some Fernandes/Aria models where they had an equally as amusing name - Dog Fighter. It is a 2 conductor unit so you will lose the flexibility of the tones, and will have to return the switch to blower duty and add a killswitch function for the 3rd position.

This guitar would make a really fun and useful addition to an armoury - they don't come along very often  and it will cost quite a bit of money to achieve the specification of this one.