Greco SE-500

Always a firm favourite here, a white Greco SE-500, this one with the added bonus of a Rosewood board so a proper 1960s look! The necks on the Fujigen guitars are a much slimmer C than the earlier Matsumoku models from across town. The pick-ups are original to the guitar and by mid 1977 had evolved to PU-100s, retaining the snappy and airy brightness of the older units, but delivering a slightly more defined and controlled set of tones. We are a little excited by the serial number under the scratchplate - it starts with a 1, which can mean the experimental line; and these pick-ups are wound a little hotter than most of the PU-100 we have seen here. What is important though, is that these sound amazing - take a listen to the demo.

At 3.74kg, it is right in the middle of the range we see from Fujigen for these years - there were some absolute beasts as well as some featherweights. The handshake says there is plenty there, but won't give your shoulder a hard time.

This is the type of guitar that will hook you in before you even plug it in - it has an acoustic ring we only experience with either expensively upgraded models, or very high end Fenders. This guitar has been well used, and on arrival we thought it best to replace the pots that had a reluctant scratch between 0 and 1. In their place are now 3 brand new CTS pots hooked together with proper wire, and good for decades to come. Maybe the slightly faded White finish gives away its age, but that would likely be a premium feature on a new guitar!

This is a prime example of a mid range guitar competing admirably with premium models. If you are a serial guitar buyer, I expect this one will be a keeper.