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Hey all, newbie here. I have two grecos at the moment one is a standard EG-700 (which i absolutely love) and i just picked up an lp custom model but cant work out the id. Here's a pic of the inside neck pickup cavity. It reads: S-68 EGC-7(UNREADABLE) i THINK IT'S A 5. Also has the funky headstock logo and slimmer neck. Can anyone help me date this custom? I'll get more pics of it up soon. I left all of my gear at my drummers house....doh! Heres the pics:
GRECOSERIAL.jpg

Headstock looks just like this one....
greccust80sfront.jpg
 
It should have a serial number like the 3rd image from the left at
http://www.cosmikdebris.co.uk/grecopics.htm#serial

logo is the 3rd image from the left at
http://www.cosmikdebris.co.uk/grecopics.htm#logo

The Greco open book headstock models were stopped before 1994 and probably before 1992.
The lower priced Grecos with no serials seem to be made by Cort in Korea and are from the late 80s but some no serial Grecos don't seem to be from Cort.
 
interesting. Thanks for your responces. Do the Korean models have fret edge binding? I thought i read that they didnt. It also has the "made in japan" tuners as well. Whatever it is it's really a nice guitar. Well made and pretty heavy like it should be. Heres a couple of pics. The person i bought it from changed the pups to dimarzio PAF pro's but i plan to change them out later. Thanks again for responding.
greco1.jpg
 
Does it have a serial number.
The no serial Grecos that seem to be made at Cort in Korea have shielding paint in the pickup cavities and have a yellowish tinted headstock binding on the customs and some apparently have cor-tek (Cort) on the pots and some have a separate headstock piece glued on to the neck and they have a nut with no back slope which looks rectangular and they don't have fret edge binding.
I've been comparing these no serial Grecos LP's to the late 1980s Cort branded LP's and there are a lot of similarities like the shielding paint and the yellowish tinted headstock binding and the nut with no back slope which looks rectangular.
I've just been having a look at a Cort made Greco SG and it is a bit rough and not the same as a low end Japanese Greco SG or a low end K Orville SG.
There are noticeable differences between the no serial Grecos and the serial numbered Grecos.
The no serial Grecos have a different looking headstock shape and the Greco logos are different and they have strange shielding paint and yellowish tinted headstock binding and nuts with no back slope which look rectangular.
The pieces of wood that make up the SG body I looked at had a sloped join whereas it should have been straight and the headstock is a separate piece of wood glued on to the neck and the neck heel join is pretty rough.
They seem to be made from African Mahogany and have Japanese bridges and tuners which would have been shipped from Japan to Cort in Korea.
Hoshino was getting Ibanez low end models made at Cort in the late 80s so I suppose when FujiGen didn't want to make a lot of the low end Grecos in the late 80s Kanda Shokai did what Hoshino were doing and had some low end Grecos made in Korea by Cort.
Corts 80s LP's are not that bad and not that good.
They were making their own Cort branded LP's in the late 80s and they aren't that bad, maybe a bit rough.
 
The problem is some models mix no serial but japanese tuners and long tenon,etc...

it's a bit difficult to find your say in all this mess. :-?
 
Cort late 80s LP

cortlpux5.jpg


Cort yellowish headstock binding and non sloped rectangular nut

cortbindingdu3.jpg


Greco no serial yellowish headstock binding and non sloped rectangular nut

greconosnbinding2qh7.jpg


more Greco no serial yellowish headstock binding and non sloped rectangular nut

greconosnbinding3rv4.jpg


Greco no serial shielding paint similar to Cort LPs from late 80s

greconosntenonbu5.jpg



Greco SG no serial multipiece neck back (this is not a technique Japanese makers tend to use)

grecosgheadnosnlo8.jpg


Greco SG no serial multipiece neck front with non sloped rectangular nut

grecosgnosnheadfrontrl7.jpg


Greco SG no serial shielding paint similar to Cort SGs from late 80s

grecosgtenonnosnkc0.jpg


Greco SG sloped body pieces join

grecosgnosnslopefy6.jpg
 
Thanks for all the info again, So, i figure my custom was made in japan. It has fret edge binding, as well as no shielding paint in the pu cavities. In fact the pickup cavities are cut different from the korean ones youve shown. Also, the nut is not squared off like those korean ones. I would like to know around what year it is though. Does anyone know about what years the may have used that whacky headstock logo?
 
So is this correct.
It has no serial number, it has a wacky torch? like logo, it has no shielding paint, it has fret edge binding, it has a regular sloped nut.
I think the wacky torch? like logo is from the 80s and early 90s but others might know more.
If it has no serial number I would say it's Japanese.
The no serial Grecos that I think are made in Korea by Cort are the ones with the shielding paint and non sloped brick shaped nuts and multipiece necks.
 
that is correct. :wink: I've also noticed from your photos that the pu cavities on the korean models also differ in the way they're routed. Perhaps thats a giveaway in distinguishing between mik and mij. Just a thought. The pic of my neck pu cavity is on the previous page and shows the japan type routing thats the same on my 1980 japan standard. Again....im a novice when it comes to vintage japan guitars but perhaps thats another way to tell between the two.
 
Yeah the pickup routing is different.
There seems to be 2 types of Greco no serial guitars.
The no serial Grecos with shielding paint, brick shaped nuts and scarfed headstocks and sometime have COR-TEK pots are from Cort in Korea.
The other no serial Grecos are EGC-75 models with fret edge binding and have different routing and other features to the lower model Cort made Greco no serial guitars.
 
Here is a no serial Greco with the shielding paint and brick shaped nut with Cor-Tek pots.
http://forum.japanaxe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&p=7602
These no serial Grecos are definitely from Cort. Cor-Tek=Cort.
 
japanstrat said:
Here is a no serial Greco with the shielding paint and brick shaped nut with Cor-Tek pots.
http://forum.japanaxe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&p=7602
These no serial Grecos are definitely from Cort. Cor-Tek=Cort.

Then you can add the Burny from the end of the 80's to the list. I have a Burny EB-3 and 2 Burny Firebird non reverse with that kind of pots and caps. The 2 firebirds have the painted cavities.

But the pots from my mid 70's Burny doesn't look different. Only the cables are shielded in the 70's Burny and not on the non reverse. The last Greco firebird ( the FB-700, the ones without the neck binding) are also similar.

BUt I see no marking on the pots. How to know it's from Cort?
 
I used a magnifying glass.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319/leahcerv/P8110028.jpg

COR-TEK is printed on the pots and not just this one either there is the one from the other thread http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9226&start=0.
 
ho ok, mine are unbranded so maybe not from CORT. But same cables green and red on the Greco late firebirds. On the Burny it's white and grey.
 
Well I don't know about the Firebirds or the Burnys but if a Greco has no serial and has shielding paint and has a non sloped nut and maybe has a scarfed headstock then those are things Cort was doing so any Greco with those features would be made by Cort IMO.
Seeing that some of the no serial Grecos have those shielding paint etc features and also have COR-TEK pots makes them Cort Grecos and if a Greco has the same shielding paint etc features and doesn't have COR-TEK pots well they still would be made by Cort IMO, just with different pots.
 

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