What do the SE model numbers mean? Newbie post...

[Potsy]

Hi there,

I have got it into my head that it would be nice to have an old Greco strat. No rush but I'm thinking of something like this '76 SE500:
ebay item 320999025751.

I've looked through the catalogues and done a bit of reading, but I'm still not sure what I'm looking at. It seems the '79 to '81 "Super Real" is the high end guitar. Up till then there were "spacy sound", "super sound", "sparkle sound" and "super power" etc but I can't quite see the difference between them. The model numbers seem to go SE500, 600, 700 and 800. Is it as simple as the higher the number the better the guitar?

If so, what's the difference - (maybe quality of fittings, one piece body etc)?

Or is an SE500 just a fine axe and I should go for it?

Cheers
Potsy

 

[JVsearch]

This is right on the edge of the transition to vintage accuracy - late 76 but has the normal width neck plate and presumably truss adjustment at the neck heel.

Mid 70s ones tended to have narrow neck plates, and often a quite narrow neck as well. If that might be an issue for you, try and get the seller to measure the nut width.
I'm only saying this based on what the back of the neck heel looks like - it's closer to the earlier Greco necks rather than the Fender clones, so this could mean that this neck has not quite transitioned to exact Fender spec
and therefore may be narrower than expected.

What I really like about this guitar is the mixing of specs: large headstock but a nice looking slab rosewood fingerboard.

One thing to note is that the headstock is 2 piece. Generally a sign of a lower model, but it has nice sealed tuners on it.

Not sure about the originality of the scratch plate and/or pickups, or maybe the pickup covers have been changed. I'd guess it has a pretty thick poly finish on it.

I like the guitar for some reason (don't worry I'm not in the market).

You're correct about the ascending numbers indicating higher models; the numbers are basically the price in Yen: SE-500 would have cost 50,000 Yen when new, so not an insignificant amount in 1976.

Personally, I would probably take a chance on this guitar as a first vintage Greco Strat. However, if money is no object then searching out a high end model wont be a problem.

 

[Potsy]

Hey thanks heaps for taking the time to reply in such detail. I think I'll go for it. I'm a bass player so I only gig with guitar once every couple of months. So I just want a simple guitar that feels good and sounds good, but I don't want to buy new because I like my instruments to have a story. I'm playing a Levinson Blade at the moment. Nice guitar, but I'm just in the mood for change... maybe it will pass!
Potsy

 

[Russian Vadim]

Want to extrapolate on the OPs question: what appointments would '79 Super Sound SE600 have for example?