Got my first greco, need help.. it's my first Les Paul

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Funkstylez

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Joined
Jan 19, 2008
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Hello ladies and gentlemen, pleased to make your aquaintance.
I'm new to these forums, so first of all i'd like to introduce myself.
My name is Adam, i'm 23 years old.. and i live in the Netherlands.
I've been playing guitar for about 1-2 years, using an Ibanez GRX40 that came in a beginner's set. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, it's a decent guitar for the price (stratocaster clone) but i wanted to try something new. A Les Paul came to mind, however as "the real deal" was a bit too expensive for me i stumbled upon a Greco les paul on ebay. From some articles about Greco and other japanese brands like Burny i kind of concluded it would be a smarter purchase for me than a Epiphone or a comparable guitar. So, soon i will be the owner of the following guitar:

http://cgi.ebay.nl/ORIG-GRECO-VINTAGE-1983-LES-PAUL-CUSTOM_W0QQitemZ300190242205QQihZ020QQcategoryZ148626QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's the first time i've bought a guitar on ebay, the price seemed right (epiphone version costs the same/more where i live!), please tell me more about this guitar if possible. For example how does it compare to it's Gibson counterpart, both modern and old? Was it a good purchase or have i been ripped off? I'm kind of nervous to be honest, i can play guitar but on the other hand i'm not much of a high-end gear expert.

Best regards and may peace be with you,
Adam
 
Translation of auction description (courtesy of babelfish translation):

ORIG. GRECO JAPAN VINTAGE LES PAUL CUSTOM MINT COLLECTION MODEL EGC 58 - 100 SERIAL H830382 BUILT IN JAPAN 1983 IN PROCESSING AND SOUND THE "ORIGINAL" EQUAL KORPUS AND NECK OUT MAHAGONY COVER FROM MAPLE ROSEWOOD GRIFFBRETT WITH BLOCK INLAYS 2 ORIG. GRECO "SCREAMING DEMON" OF HUMBUCKER PERLMUTT INLAY IN THE "LAW SUITE" HEAD END PLATE GOLD HARDWARE LARVA BY GOTOH ORIG. GRECO DE LUXE MECHANISMS 2 CLAY/TONE + 2 VOLUME AUTOMATIC CONTROLLER 1 x TOGGLE SWITCH (3 - WAY) FOR PICKUP CHOICE FEDERATIONS IN THE GOOD CONDITION (90%) GOOD ONE TAPE-BAR HAS CUSTOMS TRACES (SCRATCH, MACKEN) A SMALL DAMAGE OF LACQUER AT THE UPPER PROPERTY PIN THE NITRO LACQUER IS STRONG YELLOWED ONE THE GOLD HARDWARE STARTED (PHOTOS) THE GUITAR IS IN THE ORIGINAL CONDITION TECHNICALLY 100% OK ONE/NO DEFECTS NO BREAKS OR REPAIRS WEIGHT AROUND 4,5 KILOS GOOD CLEAN GENERAL STATE JAPAN VINTAGE WITH SAFE INCREASE IN VALUE
 
Hi Adam and welcome, Mate as far as i can see this definately not an EGC 58-100 it is a RR 55, 2 piece top 2 piece back and screamin pickups, i have the catalogue with this guitar in it and i also own a RR 65 , it has the dry 1982 pickups in it. I would contact the seller and inform him of his mistake and see if you can get a bit taken off the price. I paid a lot less for mine and it has the better pickups in it. It is an august 1983 built guitar. These are great guitars but i think he has charged too much thinking that it was a higher end model.

Cheers mate
Mick
 
Hmmmm, i just noticed it has fret edge binding which could possibly make it an EGC 1000, except it says its all original and it has the lower end pickups in it, i have also seen RR55-65 from this period with left over super real necks with the fret binding. I'm still confident it is an RR-55 because it has the cream toggle surround, the EGC 1000 has a black one. The RR series of guitars all had the cream toggle surround. I only paid $450 US for my RR 65 but it has a few scratches on it {still a great guitar} but for an RR-55 i wouldn't pay any more than $600 US and that one works out to about $1000 US dollars before shipping.

Mick
 
Hmm.. i'm slightly confused because this EGC1000 has a cream toggle surround and i barely see any difference between it and the one i won besides the pickups.. :oops: Also what makes the EGC 1000 better/worse than a RR? Just the pickups? If there is something wrong with this guitar that i can change, like the pickups i could live with it. All i basically want is a guitar that as accurately as possibly captures the sound/weight/looks/feel of its overpriced Gibson brother. =)

ps. if possible someone please some catalog pictures that i can send to the auctioneer in case this guitar truly is a RR.

best regards,
Adam
 
What leadguitar_323 says looks right to me.

If it's got Screamin pickups then it isn't one of the Greco top models.


1983 pickup prices
Dry 20,000 Yen
Double Trick 18,000 Yen
The Groove 16,000 Yen
Screamin' 14,000 Yen

EG58-120 DRY
EG-59-70 DOUBLE TRICK
EG-56-60 HOT LICK
EG-59-50 SCREAMIN
EG59-45 SCREAMIN
EJR54-50 HOT LICK
SS63-70 DOUBLE TRICK
SS63-50 HOT LICK
EG59-65 SCREAMIN
JP-55 SCREAMIN
EGC95K DRY
EGC68-50 SCREAMIN
JS-98K DRY
JS-65 DRY
JS-55 SCREAMIN
RR95K DRY
RR65 DRY
RR55 SCREAMIN
EGC58-100 GROOVE
EGC68-80 DOUBLE TRICK
EGC57-60 SCREAMIN
PC-98K DRY

http://forum.japanaxe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=768
 
Ok so i understand it isn't a egc1000 then, but is it still a mint collection guitar?

Also, all i'd need after i get this is some new pickups and then basically it would be one of the big boys?

Best regards,
Adam
 
Hi Adam, yes it is a mint collection guitar and also you might like the pickups, my point is that he has sold it to you as a high end model and charged you as such. If i was you i would contact him and inform him of his mistake and negotiate a cheaper price. Don't get me wrong these are great guitars but i think because of what he thought the guitar was he's charged you too much.

Cheers Mick
 
Leadguitar, Japanstrat and Villager, thank you guys for all your help so far. I've told the seller i offer 600 usd max for the guitar, for reasons stated above. I hope he accepts this. If not, you will hear about it here. :lol:


Anyways, any suggestions regarding upgrading this guitar myself to a higher end model? Those "Groove" pickups must be pretty rare :eek:
 
Did you explain why you were making an offer ?? he has to understand why.
Post a link to this thread maybe that will help. As far as greco pickups go the best mint collection pickups are thr "dry 1982pickups" They are the pickups in mine and i absolutely love them, their clean tone is outstanding and they are excellent distorted , the front pickup lead tone is pure cream.. :p And also i'm surprised Mark is still advertising that guitar as a egc 1000, weve spoken about this in another thread and that guitar is exactly yhe same as mine, it is a RR 65. General unrest is also known as forum member "villager".

Cheers Mick
 
When i told him about his guitar being a different model he left me negative feedback and said i was on drugs... i have linked him to this article but could one of you (Mick?)perhaps send him a private message explaining the situation? It's the first time i'm buying a guitar on ebay and it seems i'm getting burned.. :-?
 
Funkstylez said:
When i told him about his guitar being a different model he left me negative feedback and said i was on drugs

That is well out of order, if all you did was question the authenticity of the guitar. I was only thinking earlier that yours was one of the most polite introductions to the forum I've ever read! To go straight into negative feedback like that shows he's a c***.

And I hope he reads this!

I guess the moral for next time is to check thoroghly before you buy....

Mike
 
Funkstylez, I feel for you bro' as I have also been on the receiving end of some unwanted & unwarranted negative feedback on eBay.

I sold a reissue Strat neck but the buyer never sent payment.
I left the non paying buyer a negative for non payment, then I got a negative from him.

I purchased an item but the item was not the item that was pictured in the seller's listing.
I gave the seller a neutral, then he gave me a negative.

I purchased a guitar with undisclosed damage.
I left the seller a negative, and then the seller gave me a negative, even though I paid for the item.

With eBay, there are going to be buyers that do not pay, and there will be sellers that are not honest.
It's a pain in the a** when you try and do the right thing but still get burned by negative feedback from a dead beat bidder or a lying seller.

I suppose the moral to the story is that on average, most eBay transactions are good but every once in a while some a**hat ruins it.

Welcome to the Tokai Forum, and best of luck with your future eBay dealings
 
I will do my homework from now on. I'm sorry i'm taking up so much of all you gentlemen' time but i'm finally starting to get real serious about playing guitar and i want a superb quality les paul.

Please correct me if i'm wrong but from what i've read so far i should be looking for a les pauls that has these (most desired in a vintage?)traits:

Greco/Burny/Tokai
Carved Maple top, Mahogany back (don't know how many pieces)
Set neck, long tenon
Solid Body
Bound fretboard
Rosewood? fingerboard
Gold hardware
Medium(?) fretwire
Tune O matic bridges
Nitrocellulose finish
tulip style tuners


Feel free to add or correct things on this list, i want a superb vintage guitar that will stand up to many years of playing.
 
Greco/Burny/Tokai

You can add Orville by Gibson & Navigator to that list. If you are looking at older (1980's) guitars Greco & Burny in particular made some cheap & nassty guitars in that period as well as some really good ones.


Carved Maple top, Mahogany back (don't know how many pieces)

1 piece back is nearly always a sign of a high-end guitar, but there are some great guitars such as nearly all Orville by Gibsons with 2-piece backs. A 3 piece top is nearly always a sign of a low-end model.

Set neck, long tenon


Dont worry too much about the tenon.


Solid Body

Yep

Bound fretboard

Cosmetic and plenty of great guitars without this


Rosewood? fingerboard


Brazillian RW on high-end models but makes no difference to the sound.

Gold hardware

Only on LP Customs

Medium(?) fretwire

varies

Tune O matic bridges

ther all have these

Nitrocellulose finish

Again, only found on better models

tulip style tuners
You see quite a lot of old Japanese guitars where these have been changed to Grovers
 
Sorry to hear that he replied in such a manner, i've sent him a very detailed e-mail but i don't think it'll help. If he replies i'll let you know. Why don't you contact forum member "Villager" and negotiate a price for the RR 65 he has, i'm sure he will be very reasonable, it has the better pickups as well.

Mick
 
I hope i'm not going off-topic by asking this, but would Burny not be a better deal for me? I am a player, not a collector and i want fret bindings, best pickups, neck and everything else 100% like gibson etc and the greco's seem to have less features overall for the same price, but are simply more rare..
 

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