Here's a guitar that I didn't end up buying, despite it being right up my street.
I collect unusual, rare, unique and downright weird Greco SE Strat copies. I have amassed about 15 of them by now, and I've developed quite a keen sense for which oddballs actually came out of Greco's "Order Made Guitar" system and which are exotic owner mods. But with this one, I just wasn't sure. I couldn't think of a reason for anyone to neither order nor mod a guitar to these specs.
It's a Sept 1975 Matsu-made guitar, probably based on a SE-600. It's in Dakota(ish) Red with matching headstock. And a Les Paul Junior-style "lightning" stoptail bridge. That's right, not a Strat hardtail, not even stoptail + ABR, but the most primitive electric guitar bridge out there.
Looking at it, I found it hard to believe it was modded. It just seemed too well-made, with no trace of a trem bridge rout having been filled in and painted over, which is actually pretty hard to do, even for a pro. The matching headstock with the period-correct logo could have been achieved using aftermarket decals, but how long have they been around, like 15 years? This thing looked old, and anyway, most people would have slapped a Fender decal on it after going to all this trouble.
But most of all, it seemed unprecedented. Most guitars with really unusual specs are based on some rockstar's modded instrument or a seriously obscure original model, but I'd never seen anything like this one. So, I kept cool, thought of the possible resale value (basically nil if it turned out to be a modded guitar) and backed down when the bidding went too high.
Aaaand the other day, a friend of mine sent me a scan of an ad (or possibly a poster) promoting Rick Derringer's debut solo album "All American Boy" from 1973. In which he is holding a red Strat with matching headstock and a stoptail bridge. It's actually the same guitar he holds on the record cover, but both the headstock and the bridge are obscured in that photo. It has Tele barrels, not Strat knobs like the Greco, but close enough.
So, it seems likely some hardcore Rick D fan ordered a copy of it. It could also be part of a small batch made for some retailer, but I can't find another, or even a reference to one, anywhere else. Since the minimum order seems to have been 40 instruments, you can usually find more if you dig deep enough.
And sure, it could still have been a owner's mod. But would it really have said Greco on the headstock if it was?
Either way, I'll keep looking. And I'll take the risk and buy the next one. I mean, I need to find out, right?
I collect unusual, rare, unique and downright weird Greco SE Strat copies. I have amassed about 15 of them by now, and I've developed quite a keen sense for which oddballs actually came out of Greco's "Order Made Guitar" system and which are exotic owner mods. But with this one, I just wasn't sure. I couldn't think of a reason for anyone to neither order nor mod a guitar to these specs.
It's a Sept 1975 Matsu-made guitar, probably based on a SE-600. It's in Dakota(ish) Red with matching headstock. And a Les Paul Junior-style "lightning" stoptail bridge. That's right, not a Strat hardtail, not even stoptail + ABR, but the most primitive electric guitar bridge out there.
Looking at it, I found it hard to believe it was modded. It just seemed too well-made, with no trace of a trem bridge rout having been filled in and painted over, which is actually pretty hard to do, even for a pro. The matching headstock with the period-correct logo could have been achieved using aftermarket decals, but how long have they been around, like 15 years? This thing looked old, and anyway, most people would have slapped a Fender decal on it after going to all this trouble.
But most of all, it seemed unprecedented. Most guitars with really unusual specs are based on some rockstar's modded instrument or a seriously obscure original model, but I'd never seen anything like this one. So, I kept cool, thought of the possible resale value (basically nil if it turned out to be a modded guitar) and backed down when the bidding went too high.
Aaaand the other day, a friend of mine sent me a scan of an ad (or possibly a poster) promoting Rick Derringer's debut solo album "All American Boy" from 1973. In which he is holding a red Strat with matching headstock and a stoptail bridge. It's actually the same guitar he holds on the record cover, but both the headstock and the bridge are obscured in that photo. It has Tele barrels, not Strat knobs like the Greco, but close enough.
So, it seems likely some hardcore Rick D fan ordered a copy of it. It could also be part of a small batch made for some retailer, but I can't find another, or even a reference to one, anywhere else. Since the minimum order seems to have been 40 instruments, you can usually find more if you dig deep enough.
And sure, it could still have been a owner's mod. But would it really have said Greco on the headstock if it was?
Either way, I'll keep looking. And I'll take the risk and buy the next one. I mean, I need to find out, right?
