Greco SE-500B

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.