When Gibson acquired Epiphone in 1957 they were mostly interested in Epiphone’s successful upright bass business. The guitar line that came along with the purchase was more of an afterthought. Ironically the upright basses didn’t sell well and production ended up being short lived. Epiphone guitars on the other hand ended up being hugely successful for Gibson and continue to be so today. Epiphone is basically Gibson’s line of affordable guitars built on classic designs. Nowadays most of the Epiphone guitars are made outside of the U.S., but back in the 1950’s and 60’s they were made in America along side their Gibson counterparts.

In 1958 Gibson released the ES-335 model. It was their first semi-hollow body electric guitar design. ES stands for “Electric Spanish”. That same year Gibson was reworking the Epiphone guitar line and introduced the Sheraton. Similar to the ES-335, the Sheraton was a semi-hollow body guitar. These new semi-hollow guitars featured a block of solid wood that ran through the center of the guitar. The ends or “wings” of the guitar body are hollow with F-holes in the top.

Solid body electric guitars like the Telecaster, Stratocaster and Les Paul were introduced in the early 50’s but they weren’t immediately popular. Many players still preferred to play hollow body, jazz style electric guitars. By the late 50’s preferences and music styles were changing. Guitar amplifiers were also getting bigger and louder. The traditional full hollow body guitars with single coil pickups were becoming less than ideal because they were prone to feedback with the louder amps. The new Gibson ES-335’s and Epiphone Sheratons solved for this by adding the center block to improve sustain and reduce feedback. The center block plus newly designed hum canceling pickups allowed players to play bigger venues at louder volumes while maintaining a warm, clean tone. Remember distortion wasn’t considered a good thing yet.

The semi-hollow guitar designs were innovative and players loved the look, but some still preferred a full hollow body and the tone that single coil pickups produced. To appease these guitarists Gibson offered a full hollow body version of the ES style guitar. The Gibson ES-330. It retained the thin body profile of the 335, but without a center block. It also had single coil P-90 pickups instead of humbuckers. The ES-330 was released in 1959. Three years later in 1961 Epiphone put out their version of the full hollow body ES style guitar with single coil pickups called the Casino.

The Casino’s first era lasted from its introduction in 1961 until 1970. The model saw several changes to the specs over that period, especially in the first few years. Gibson stopped production on them in 1970. New executive management was focused on “optimizing” the business and Casino’s weren’t selling well. They came back into Epiphone’s lineup in the 80’s. The versions from that time were made in Japan and are high quality guitars. Production eventually shifted to Korea in the 90’s and ultimately to China.

Casino’s are still made today as reissues and are one of Epiphone’s most popular guitar models. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison played Casino’s throughout the late 60’s. John was caught once on film complaining about how bad his Casino was playing that day, but from all accounts he did really like the guitar and used it regularly until his death.

This guitar featured here is an Epiphone Casino standard. Made in Korea at the Peerless factory in 1995. Epiphone made a higher end version of the guitar around the same time as part of the Elitist line. Elitist versions were made in Japan and cost 2x the price of a Made in Korea standard.

This Casino has a fully hollow, laminated maple top, back and sides with a 24.75” scale length and a mahogany neck. The finger board is made of dark rosewood and has parallelogram inlays. Sporting a traditional Epiphone headstock with 3 on a side chrome vintage style tuners. The neck has a rounded, 60’s slim profile with 12” radius and a 1.68” wide nut. The guitar came with a tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tailpiece, two “dog ear” chrome covered P-90 pickups, a 3-way pickup selector, two volume and two tone controls.

Many people feel that the Epiphones made in Korea out of the Peerless and Unsung factories during the late 90’s and early 2000’s are better quality guitars compared to the modern versions. After playing several Epiphones over the years including new models, I tend to agree.

I don’t think that the production process was any better in Korea compared to how they are doing it modern day, but I do think the materials quality was better. Wood and metal alloy quality in general is not the same as it was even 30 years ago. Made in Korea Epiphones have a reputation for having poor electronics. I do think that the pickups offered in modern Epiphones are better now compared to the late 90’s. A lot of people upgrade the pickups in the 90’s Epiphones. I don’t think that’s necessary, but I do think these guitars will benefit from installing higher grade 500k volume/tone pots and a higher quality 0.022μF capacitor. After making those changes, the stock pickups sound excellent. Casinos from this era also came in cool colors like this all black one or cherry red. Now they are only offered in sunburst or natural. The older ones also came with a nice hardshell case from the factory. Modern Casino’s have a soft gig bag.

After 30 years of being played this one is nicely broken in, but well maintained. They are great buys on the used market. Often times they come with upgrades from the previous owner. This one had a nice bone nut installed, a new pickguard, new Gibson style speed knobs and the upgraded pots and capacitor.

The fit and finish is very good. The full hollow body is light weight and acoustically resonant. It even sounds nice unplugged. The P-90’s produce excellent tones. Clear, punchy with a tight bottom end and sweet high end chime. I don’t mind the small amount of feedback that I get at higher volumes.. It adds a rawness and some harmonics to the guitar’s tone especially with an overdrive or a fuzz pedal. The guitar nails everything from classic Beatles tones to blues and R&B plugged into a clean tube amp. It does an awesome job with indie rock too. It’s great for getting into Interpol or the Strokes sonic territory. Sweet!

People will often ask, “Is this a good guitar”? Or “Is this guitar better than that guitar”. To answer that question I break it down into 6 points of evaluation.

1. How good is the design?

2. How good are the materials?

3. How much time, effort and skill went into the construction?

4. How does it sound?

5. Is the guitar easy and enjoyable to play?

6. Mojo. Does it have a cool or unique vibe?

The first 3 you can apply to any manufactured product. The next 3 are more specific to the guitar. You can rate how a guitar fares in each of these points on a scale of 1 to 10. While the first 5 have more established standards to measure by, the last one is really up to you.

This is the Harmony H-19 Silhouette. It was first introduced in 1963 as Harmony’s finest solid body electric guitar. The guitar was billed as truly a professional model. It featured a cherry red finish sometimes referred to as “red burst” or “cinnamon burst”. It sported an oval shaped neck with rosewood fingerboard and has inlays and binding. 7 pearloid position markers, corresponding side dots - 16 frets clear of the body. Two Dearmond made Gold Foil single coil pickups with adjustable pole pieces. The Silhouette had what Harmony referred to as a precisely engineered Type H Vibrato-Tailpiece. Marketing claimed that it would sustain your playing with beautiful vibrato effects. It had a 6-way adjustable metal bridge. 3-way pickup selector switch. One volume and one tone control dedicated to each pickup. Silhouettes were also branded as Silvertone and Holiday for distribution in the major department stores. The model was discontinued in 1967.

If we put it through our rating scale with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, here is how I would evaluate it.

1. Design is a 6

   • Harmony was clearly going after the double cutaway, solid body Stratocaster design which was hugely popular at the time. It has 6 in-line tuners and a floating vibrato. The neck and body are pretty good. These guitars were sold at about half the price of a Stratocaster. Harmony had to cut some corners and used scaled manufacturing efforts to made a good product for that lower price. It doesn’t feel as refined as a Strat. The vibrato is often referred to as a “Hagstrom Trem”, a design first popularized in the 60’s by the Swedish made Hagstrom guitars. It’s more of a vibrato than a tremolo and the tuning stability isn’t quite the same as a Strat.

2. Materials are an 8

   • That’s right.. This may surprise some, but Harmony was an American company that had access to the same wood as Gibson in 1963. They were also using Brazilian Rosewood on their fretboards. They had good quality Honduran Mahogany and Eastern Hard Maple. Metals quality was better in 1963. The steel and cooper available was just better than what we have access to today.

3. Time and skill spent manufacturing is a 5

   • While the craftsmanship and standards for workers were high in the early 60’s, these guitars were designed to be made quickly, at scale for an affordable price. Manufacturing technology was limited back then and they weren’t able to have the degree of consistency that we have today.

4. Sound is a 7

   • Original Dearmond Gold Foil pickups sound amazing. If you’ve ever played a guitar with them, you know. They are The Sound of blues and low-fi garage rock. They have a punchy growl and a true vintage organic overdrive tone that is truly unique. They can feedback a bit at high volumes, but that’s part of the charm. People today look for vintage sets of Gold Foils and modify a new guitar by adding them in order to get that tone.

5. Playability is a 5

   • While it is definitely an enjoyable guitar to play, if you haven’t played a vintage budget electric like this you might notice it feels rougher compared to a modern electric. This is mainly due to design. Neck angle, headstock angle, limited bridge design. The action can be a higher on them sometimes. A good setup performed by a professional can help to some degree.

6. Mojo is a 9

   • From surf or blues to garage rock and punk this guitar has a unique vibe that’s all its own. The red burst finish and tortoise shell pickguard scream 60’s. This guitar is as warm as it gets. There’s nothing sterile feeling or sounding about these. Even the original case is funky with its shape that’s molded to the body contours of the guitar and red plush interior that looks like something out of my neighbors van in the 70’s.

Like many made in the U.S.A. guitars from 60’s these are getting harder to find. There are several modern era guitarists that play vintage Harmony electrics like this Silhouette and know how special they are, especially on the Mojo and tone scale. Artists like Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, Annie Clark of St. Vincent and Jack White of the White Stripes. If you find one, play it, experience the awesomeness for yourself and you will see!

If you’re a fan of 90’s grunge music and you play guitar you may have first discovered Univox by learning about the Hi-Flier. The guitar was famously used by Kurt Cobain in the early days of Nirvana. For those that lived through the 70’s you might remember seeing Univox guitars at your local music store. Univox was part of Unicord, a Japan based musical instrument company that started importing guitars into the U.S. in the late 60’s. The Hi-Flier was their first electric. The company had good success with it and began importing other models shortly after. They primarily made copies of popular original designs from American guitar makers. This period in history is know as the “lawsuit era” which spanned through the 70’s and into early 80’s. At the time Japanese companies were flooding the U.S. market with copies of Gibsons and Fenders and were eventually sued by those companies.

Univox was one of the more prominent Japanese brands at that time. They made good quality, moderately priced electric guitars, amplifiers and effects. The secret with Univox’s and one of the things that made them special were their pickups. The company’s approach to copying other guitars certainly wasn’t innovative, but they were actually pretty creative with their versions of humbuckers and single coils. These pickups aren’t considered high output by today’s standard, but they were pretty hot for the 70’s and have an awesome, lo-fi vintage tone. Known for producing a warm, naturally distorted sound that you just don’t get with modern pickups.

By the 90’s Univox guitars had disappeared from stores and were relatively unheard of. They were thought of as lower end Japanese instruments that faded away in the early 80’s. You could find them for next to nothing at local pawn shops.

Univox had some wacky names for their guitars like the Hi-Flier, Gimme, Badazz, Lucy and Coily. Of all the models that they made, the one featured here is my all time favorite. The Ripper! Everything about it is kind of big and obnoxious including their name. The Ripper was a Stratocaster copy, but instead of having 3 single coil pickups it came with three of their high output humbuckers. If this guitar had a theme song it would be Godzilla by the band Blue Oyster Cult.

Other than having three humbuckers, the Ripper is basically a close copy of a mid to late 70’s Stratocaster. Right down to the large headstock, maple neck and bullet truss rod. It has an alder body, one piece maple neck with a 10’ radius, 21 vintage frets and a 1 5/8’ nut width. The neck has a vintage feel and is just a bit more narrow than a modern neck profile. It has rounded feel with some depth to it and is very comfortable. Frets are low and wide. The guitar feels very sturdy. The Hi-Flier and other Univox models can be a little smaller and feel more student grade, but not the Ripper. Body thickness, neck joint, etc…is very much on par with the original Fenders from the 70’s. I’ve found that Rippers actually tend to be lighter than many of the Stratocasters from that era. Univox started making Rippers in 1976 and stopped the line in 1978. They were available in white which is the most common finish, natural wood and gloss black. Black is the rarest. All had maple necks with a thick coat of lacquer. One thing I don’t love about the Rippers is that they only came with a three position pickup selector vs. five which seems like a total miss. That can easily be fixed though. For one year in 1976 Univox also made the Eagle to celebrate the American Bicentennial. The Eagle was basically a natural wood finished Ripper, but with an eagle carved into the body and they are very rare.

The Ripper plays great and has a real vintage feel to it. There is a video on YouTube that gives you a good sense of how the pickups sound. They are often referred to as Phase III humbuckers since they are most famously known for being in the Phase III Hi-Flier. Besides the awesome sound they produce, the pickups look very cool. They have a chrome trim ring around them and clear bobbins that make the copper wire wrapped around the oversized magnets visible.

California based custom pickup maker Curtis Novak, does a great job of reproducing the Univox Phase III’s. His versions are excellent and can be used to upgrade any humbucker equipped guitar.

If you’re looking for a unique vintage guitar that plays well, sounds amazing and has tons of mojo the Ripper is a great find. If you can get your hands on one you’ll want to act quickly. Prices are going up. Wish I could have found mine when they were unpopular and around for $100!

Every guitar player eventually finds the instrument that’s just right for them. For some people it’s the first guitar that they learned to play on. Maybe it belonged to their parents, an older sibling or neighbor. We all start out with what’s available to us at the time. Some guitarists get comfortable with that one that inspired them early on and that’s what they prefer.

But more often than not, the journey plays out like this. A guitarist learns the basics, becomes a better player, finds their style and ends up playing different kinds of guitars. They get a broader perspective on what they like, what they don’t and they ultimately find “the one”. The guitar that feels best in their hands, produces the sound they want and looks cool to them.

The fact that there is so much variety in guitar designs also means that many guitarists end up owning more than one. They find having an alternative guitar that is different from their main axe brings out a new approach to their playing.

One of the second or alternative electric guitars that I often see in guitarist’s tool boxes are Danelectros. Several of the greats have been photographed playing them. Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Perry and even alternative artists like Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth use them. The list goes on. None of those artists are particularly known for playing a Danelectro, but they all saw something in them.

Dano’s have been around since the 50’s, are affordable and look really cool. They are also a lot different than most of the other popular guitar designs. They have sort of retro and futuristic vibe all in one package. They play well and are really hard to put down. Danelectros have a vintage sound that comes from their lipstick pickups. They’re not great for Heavy Metal, but they are excellent for blues, country, rock and pop.

The famous Manny’s Music in NYC (now closed) had a Danelectro in the store that was nicknamed Old Yellow. Manny’s owner, Henry Goldrich talks about the guitar in this video. Manny’s was The Store where all of the famous musicians visited when they were in NYC back in the day. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Lou Reed and Bo Diddley just to name a few. Henry’s policy was, if you wanted to try out an amplifier in the store, you had to play Old Yellow. It was the only guitar he would let people use to test amps. It didn’t matter who you were. If you wanted to play an amp in the store you were using Old Yellow. The guitar was beat up, repaired and modified, but there was something about it that made it special. Everyone loved it. Many famous artists tried to buy Old Yellow off of Henry and he just wouldn’t sell it.

I’ve written about the history of the Danelectro company in a previous post. They started making guitars in the U.S.A. back in the 50’s. Eventually the company closed. Assets were bought and sold. In the 90’s Danelectro started making guitars again under new management. The guitars were reissues of their original models with some new finishes and small improvements. Production was out of Korea and eventually shifted to China and Indonesia where they still make them today. One of the things I really like about Danelectro is that the company releases new models constantly. They will also stop production on the models from previous years. They still stay true to their roots. Guitars made using lipstick pickups and Masonite bodies to retain the unique Danelectro sound.

This Danelectro was made in Korea in 1998 and is a reissue of their 1956 U-2 model. The single cutaway body is semi-hollow which makes it nice and light. It has a poplar frame with a masonite top and back. The neck is made of maple, has a C shape and is bolted onto the body. Fingerboards on these 90’s MIK ones were made of Rosewood. They use Pau Ferro now. Scale length is 25”. The neck has a 14” flat radius with 21 frets. Two lipstick pickups, a 3-way pickup selector, one volume and one tone control that is stacked and an adjustable wrap-around bridge with rosewood saddle. The finish is called Malt Shop Cream and it’s just perfect for this guitar. The “tolex like” tape that runs along the outside of the body (another Danelectro signature design) is a chocolate brown color.

The recent models are great and used ones are easy to find for just a few hundred dollars. They even make 12 strings, Double-Necks, Baritones, Basses and electric sitars. These make a perfect second guitar. Many of the best rock n roll artists in history would agree. Head down to your local guitar store and check one out.

Fender purchased Guild in 1995 and in 1997 also bought the Dearmond trademark name. In 1998 they decided to use those assets to launch a new line of Dearmond branded, affordable, import electrics based on the Guild designs. The line ended up being a success and included models like the Dearmond M-55, M-75, S-65 and S-73 . The guitars were made until 2002. At that point Fender had just acquired Gretsch guitars and wanted to avoid confusion with consumers. Some of the classic Gretsch’s used Dearmond pickups and Fender thought it be best to keep using Dearmond with the Gretch brand.

Even though they stopped making the Guild designs under the Dearmond name, Fender continued to make versions of the guitars under the Squier brand for a short period after 2002. These guitars were now called the Squier “Series 24” line and were manufactured in Korea from 2002 - 2004.

This is a 2002 Squier M-77. It’s based on the Guild M-75 which was made in the 70’s and features a single-cutaway, solid mahogany body with a carved maple top. It has a 24 3/4” scale length, set mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard and block inlays. The top of the guitar has a beautiful metallic cherry finish that’s a total throwback to the 70’s. The sparkle like finish looks like something you would see on an old motorcycle helmet, motorcycle gas tank or custom van from that era. The back, sides and neck are gloss black. The M-77 has nice, multi-ply binding on the body and along the neck. The guitar overall is very “Les Paul like” with a headstock featuring 3 tuning machines per side, a stop tail piece, 3-way switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls.

The neck has a 12” radius and slim profile that’s similar to a Fender modern C shape neck. The fretwork is nice for a guitar in this price range. Smooth and level with no fret sprouting on the ends. The M-77 set’s up easily with low, light action making chording and soloing a breeze. The Duncan Design humbuckers sound great played through my Marshall JCM2000. Normally I would consider upgrading pickups on a guitar like this, but I don’t feel that’s needed here. The neck position pickup gives off a warm, clear sound that’s not muddy. The bridge pickup has a classic, bright humbucker tone that cuts through the mix and isn’t harsh. Perfect for leads. It’s also fairly light for a mahogany guitar, coming in at 7.5lbs.

The Squier M-77 is a real gem and a good reason to consider buying a used guitar vs. a new one. It’s unique, different and cool. Very well made and a total bargain on the used market. It’s a solid all around electric guitar that can easily hang with all genres, but I think it has a real indie rock vibe to it.

PRS Guitars is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer founded by Paul Reed Smith in 1985 in Annapolis Maryland. Smith was inspired to build his own electric guitar designs at an early age. He made his first bass in 1972 while in high school. He then went on to college and built his first electric guitar at 19. Smith dropped out of college shortly after to open his own repair and luthier shop in Annapolis.

In 1976, he built a custom guitar for Peter Frampton that he took to some of his concerts. Smith would knock on backstage doors to try and show it to Frampton and was eventually let in. He did the same with other artists. Ted Nugent bought an early guitar from Smith. Al Di Meola ordered a 12-string model from him. Howard Leese from the band Heart bought Smith’s first maple-topped guitar, called the Golden Eagle.

Carlos Santana asked Smith to make a guitar for him similar to Leese’s which he delivered in 1980. The story goes that Santana said that the first guitar was an accident of God it was so good. He said to Smith, I bet you can’t make 5 more like this. By the fifth one Santana said “ok you’re a guitar maker” and he became one of the first early endorsers of PRS guitars. In 1984, Smith had refined his initial designs, creating his brand’s upcoming signature design elements, including its Strat-meets-Les Paul body shape, headstock design, unique fretboard inlays, and dual humbuckers with rotary, five-way pickup switching. Smith debuted his new guitar model, the “Custom,” at the 1985 NAMM Show, and afterwards traveled to retailers along the East Coast, collecting enough preorders to open his own Annapolis factory that same year.

Fast forward to today, PRS is one of the most successful guitar brands in the world with signature models and endorsements from guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Tremonti, John Mayer, John Mclaughlin and David Grissom.

PRS guitars are known for their high end, made in U.S.A. instruments built out of exotic woods with highly figured maple tops and necks that feature their signature birds-in-flight fretboard inlays. Over time PRS saw that demand was growing for more affordable versions of their Core models. So in 2001 they launched their SE line of guitars. SE stands for Student Edition. These were originally made in Korea by Cort. Production was eventually moved to Cort’s Indonesia and China factories in 2018.

Cort (now Cor-Tek) started by making pianos in Seoul South Korea in the 60’s. In 1973 they expanded into guitars. They are now one of the largest guitar manufactures in the world. While they make Cort branded guitars, the majority of their business comes from making Original Equipment Manufacturer guitars for other companies. They are known for utilizing a “SMART” manufacturing process in their factories, combining automated technology with skilled, low cost labor to produce a high volume of guitars for brands like Ibanez, G&L, PRS, Squier, Schecter and others.

The guitar featured here is a PRS SE DGT model. The DGT stands for “David Grissom Tremolo”. It is the SE version so it’s the more affordable, import guitar. The first DGT signature model was developed by PRS in collaboration with Grissom and released as a made in U.S.A. Core model. You can still buy those today. Due to the popularity of the original DGT design, PRS decided to make these less expensive SE versions as well. The guitar design is based off of PRS’s McCarty model which pays homage to Gibson’s legendary president from their golden era, Ted McCarty.

True to PRS’s blended approach, this is a 25” scale length which puts it in the middle between Fender’s typical 25.5” scale and Gibson’s shorter 24.75” scale. It has a double cutaway body like s Stratocaster, with the depth and body carve that’s similar to a Les Paul. The guitar sports 2 humbuckers, 2 volume, 1 tone control with push/pull pot, a 3-way pickup selector. It has a cool shaped headstock with 3 on-a-side tuners similar to what you see on a Gibson. The guitar has a string through body with tremolo, similar to a Stratocaster. The body is made of mahogany and has a maple top. The neck is made of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard and moon, pearloid dot inlays. You can also get these with the famous “birds-in-flight inlays”. The maple top on this guitar has a gloss Gold colored finish. The body and neck are black gloss. The SE models also come in vintage cherry and tobacco sunburst finishes.

The DGT has a set neck with rounded profile and 10” radius fretboard that feels more like a late 50’s Les Paul than the typical wide, flat neck type that PRS is known for. The humbuckers sound clear and well balanced. The coil splitting feature powered by a push/pull tone pot gives you a wide range of tones with a more single coil sound if you want it.

Admittedly, I’m pretty new to get on board with the “PRS thing”. I’ve known about them for years and mostly had dismissed them. I wasn’t sure about the look. I didn’t see myself playing one of their more ornate guitars with the bright colored, flamed maple tops and abalone bird inlays on the neck. My perspective changed once I played this guitar. It does look more understated than some of PRS’s other finishes. I like the 50’s Gibson Gold color, but the build quality, playability and sound is really what got me. So much so that I think this is possibly the best value in electric guitars today.

I repair guitars for a living and see imports in this price range come into the shop every week with twisted necks, poorly cut nuts, rough fret ends, cheap electronics and switches that break down after a year of playing. That rarely happens with the PRS SE guitars. Whether they’re new or have been around and played for a few years they are usually solid instruments. The nuts slots are cut well in production. Frets are level with smooth ends. Necks are straight. Hardware, tuners and electronics are very good. The core DGT model that’s made in the U.S.A. is definitely a nicer guitar than the SE. It’s designed to be and is considerably more expensive, but as far as value goes, this SE version is a great deal and is definitely more than just a student model. You can absolutely gig with it.

PRS must put more time into overseeing production and monitoring the quality of output from their overseas partner compared to some of the other brands and it really shows.

You can find these guitars on the used market in excellent condition for a very reasonable price. I really like the SE range. This DGT model is my personal favorite.

The Traveling Wilburys were the ultimate super group. The band was formed in 1988 and included some of the most successful rock and roll artists of all time. George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. During their time together they recorded two albums. The first reaching #3 on the U.S. pop charts. Roy Orbison died shortly after the release of that album. The remaining members stayed together for a little while and made a second record in 1990. The band went their separate ways after the second album. Mostly because of Orbison’s passing, but also because the Wilburys were never really meant to be more than a side project for its members. Just a couple of good friends writing and playing some songs together.

When the band first got together, George owned a guitar that was given to him by Tom Petty. A 1950’s Danelectro model U2. George was the most active in promoting the band. As part of his efforts, in 1988 he reached out to Fred W. Gretsch, gave him the Dano guitar and asked him to make some promotional electrics for the Traveling Wilburys based off of its design. This was before Danelectro started reissuing their guitars again in the 90’s.

The guitars were made in Korea by Cort under the Gretsch name. 6 models were produced. The TW-100 and 100T, TW-200 and 200T and the TW-300 and 300T. This guitar is the TW-100T. The T stood for tremolo. It has a single coil pickup in the bridge position. The TW-200 came with 2 single coils and the TW-300 had a single humbucker pickup in the bridge position.

They all came in an aged white finish and had custom graphics. The back of the guitar featured signatures of the band members. A few thousand were made. It’s hard to say exactly how many. Available information is pretty limited, but supposedly no two of the guitars had the exact same graphic. It featured a short, 24” scale length and had a small, solid wood body likely made of maple. The bolt-on neck was also made of maple with 18 frets, a rosewood fretboard and dot inlays. The neck has a U shape, 7.25” radius, a 1 11/16” nut width and a fairly slim profile. The headstock is very similar to the Danelectro that it was based on and features vintage style, 3 on-a-side tuners on ornate metal strips.

These TW’s were inexpensive, promotional guitars but are pretty good for what they were and are not bad starter instruments. I bought this one used. It looks like the fret ends were filed at some point to take out some sharpness and the nut was replaced. It has a truss rod in the neck which is something the original Danelectro did not have, but allows you to set the action and intonation up fairly well. The tremolo is very “Fender like”. It works fine and surprisingly doesn’t pull the guitar out of tune easily. The bridge position single coil pickup reminds me of a Gibson Melody Maker style sound.

Here’s George playing his TW-300T in the video for Handle with Care.

Each guitar came in a cool promotional, Traveling Wilburys box. These guitars sort of look like toys but they play and sound good for what they are. I like them for their nostalgia. They commemorate a time when rock and roll’s greatest talents got together and made some excellent music. Positive, upbeat and catchy songs about life and love. I remember watching their videos in the 80’s on MTV and thinking that they looked so happy playing together. It’s nice to have a guitar to remember them by.

In the 1960’s U.S. department store chains like Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward would purchase guitars manufactured by other companies like Kay, Harmony Valco and Danelectro to sell in their stores and in their mail order catalogs. The guitars were made under the store’s house brand. The Sears line of guitars and amps were branded Silvertone which was also the name that they used for their televisions and radios.

The guitar featured here is a 1963 Silvertone model 1448 electric made by Danelectro. The Danelectro company was founded by Nathan Daniel in 1947 out of Redbank, NJ. They started making amplifiers and eventually added electric guitars like this 1448. The guitar is constructed out of Masonite and poplar to save costs. The intention was to produce no-frills guitars with reasonably good tone for a low price, targeted towards beginners. The 1448 features a single “lipstick-tube” pickup. They were referred to as lipstick pickups because they stuffed the pickup components inside a metal tube that resembled a lipstick container of the era.

It has a short scale length at 21”. A maple neck and rosewood fretboard with 18 frets. The neck is slim with a flat radius and features a 1.75” wide metal nut. It has 1 volume and 1 tone knob. The design, construction and parts are all pretty basic. From the six-on-a-side skate key tuners to the metal trapezoidal bridge with a strip of rosewood on it for a saddle. The top and back of the body are made of Masonite which is a type of engineered wood hardboard, made from steamed and compressed wood fibers, often without added glues, using the natural lignin as a binder, resulting in a dense, durable board. The body panels have a black, sparkle finish. The guitar has a band of white, “tolex like” tape that wraps around the entire outside edge of the body like binding. The neck doesn’t have a truss rod, but rather a fixed metal rod that goes through it for support and to help keep it straight. The neck is a bolt-on construction and the tilt can be adjusted through a hole in the back of the guitar.

Everything on this guitar is really unique. The headstock shape, curved horns, “formica like” finish, pickguard and knob style have a space age, mid-century modern look that is totally representative of the time.

One of the most interesting things about this Silvertone is the guitar’s case which has a built in 5 watt tube amplifier inside. Danelectro wanted to give beginners the full package, guitar and amplifier in one easy to carry set. These are referred to as Silvertone “Amp-in-case” guitars. Danelectro used the design for other Silvertone models like the 1449 which was a two pickup version of this guitar, and also the 1451, 1452 and 1457, with the 1448 being the first.

The guitarist would take the guitar out, stand the case up length wise with the case open, plug your guitar in and you’re ready to go. You can’t get more of a 60’s garage rock sound than with this baby.

You always hear that kids were a lot tougher back then. This amp is a great example of what they had to deal with. They were built with a two prong plug like most electronics in the day and it wasn’t grounded well. The amp was know for giving you a good shock if you didn’t plug the prongs into their correct slot in the wall socket. God forbid you make the mistake of touching a microphone while the guitar was plugged into the amp.

While these were designed to be inexpensive beginner guitars, there is something about them that has made them popular with famous guitarists over the years. The lipstick pickup gives off a clear bell like chime that gets gritty and has some feedback when pushed. The semi-hollow masonite body is resonant and has an airy wolf like tone unplugged. Jimmy Page is known for using a similar Danelectro model on Kashmir and a few other Led Zeppelin songs. His Dano had a little more versatility than this 1448 with it’s 2 pickups and concentric pots. Beck has also been known to use a 1448 live.

The sweet sounding pickup and small body makes these so much fun to play. Whether your strumming chords or picking out licks this 1448 is a total blast. It’s a great guitar for blues players that use a slide. The flat neck and bridge design aren’t the best for doing a lot of bends or shredding. Not having a truss rod can also make the necks prone to warping if they weren’t well cared for so make sure to inspect them thoroughly when buying one. It’s not the norm, but I have seen a few twisted ones over the years and there’s not much you can do to compensate for it once they are. Usually if it’s lasted this long without twisting you should be good to go. The built in amp is fine for messing around at home and while it is a very cool sound it’s pretty limited. I definitely recommend having your local tech install a 3 prong plug for safety if you do plan to use the amp. Good luck!

The Gibson Les Paul is one of the most recognizable, classic electric guitar designs that has been around since the early 1950’s when the solid body electric was first invented. They’ve been at the center of rock and roll music for years and are still used widely today. Countless artists have recorded and performed live with them. When you walk into a GuitarCenter store, you’ll see a wall full of LP’s ranging in price for as little as $230 for a made in China Epiphone version to as much as $20,000 for a Gibson Custom Shop, signature recreation of a famous artist’s vintage guitar.

Les Paul’s made in the U.S.A. are still considered to be the best professional grade instruments that Gibson offers. They are excellent playing and sounding guitars built to a high standard with the best materials available, but that all comes at a premium. U.S.A. made Les Pauls are expensive and the prices continue to climb. Materials and labor costs are constantly rising and those increases ultimately get passed on to the guitarist. To help mange this, Gibson makes a range of Les Pauls starting with made in China versions under the Epiphone brand that look a lot like their U.S. counterparts. These Epiphone versions use lower quality materials, cheaper labor and fast, scaled production efforts in order to offer a more affordable guitar. While they aren’t as nice as the made in U.S.A. Gibson models, the import versions are fine. Some of them are actually gems, but even they aren’t immune to economic factors. Prices are expected to continue to rise on these imported models also due to the impact of tariffs on instruments and parts sourced from China.

Fear not fellow guitarists! There are still loads of used guitars available at your local guitar store and online for reasonable prices. Guitars like this U.S.A. Gibson Les Paul Special SL with humbuckers. These were made between 1998 - 2006. Specials often came with P-90 pickups, but this run was a modified version of the guitar that came with humbuckers. I see them often in mint condition for less than a new made in China Epiphone “Inspired by Gibson” Les Paul’ and I think that they are significantly better. The fit and finish is excellent compared to the imports and the materials used 20 years ago for a guitar like this are better than what is used on modern Epiphones.

It’s a striped down, no frills guitar. It doesn’t have fancy inlays on the headstock and along the neck like on a Les Paul Custom. It doesn’t have binding throughout or even a pickguard. It also doesn’t have a maple top like you would see on the more traditional Gibson Les Paul models. It has a solid mahogany slab body, a mahogany neck with dark rosewood fingerboard and block inlays. It comes with two humbuckers, a 490R in the neck position and 498T in the bridge. An ABR bridge, stopbar tailpiece, 3-way switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls and Gibson Deluxe tuners. The neck has a 60’s slim taper profile with 12” radius. The body has a “belly carve out” in the back for more comfortable playing. They were available in two finishes, gloss black and gloss natural mahogany.

It’s very lightweight for a Les Paul due to not having a maple cap and also because of the carve out on the slab body. The absence of binding also helps relieve some weight. These are such great playing guitars and are a real value for the average price of a used one. The fretwork, nut, fingerboard, U.S.A. hardware and pickups are fantastic. From classic rock, metal and blues to jazz, the pickups deliver a wide range of tones that can be dialed in with the highly responsive volume and tone controls. The neck has a modern feel that plays smoothly with medium frets and low action. The fingerboard has a surprisingly thick slab of rosewood and the block inlays are a cool throwback to Gibsons from the 70’s.

Many players will turn their nose up at these because of their plain look. Let’s face it, they don’t look as cool as a LP Custom with all the frills, inlays and binding, but they are killer guitars and a great value. If you’re in the market for a Les Paul and are the type of player that puts more emphasis on build quality, tone and playability than aesthetics, this is one of the best guitars you can buy. If you’re an experienced Les Paul player and would like to have something lighter to play on long gigs, these guitars are a great option.

Big name American guitar makers had their share of challenges in the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s. Demand for electric guitars had gone through the roof after the Beatles invaded the U.S. in 1964. Guitar was at the center of popular music. People from all walks of life wanted to buy a guitar and learn to play. It was hard for the manufacturers to meet the demand at the time. In 1965 Leo Fender sold Fender musical instruments to CBS. Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) who owned Gibson was acquired by Ecuadorian Company Limited and renamed Norlin in 1969. Towards the beginning of the 70’s both Gibson and Fender were running into quality issues as they implemented changes to scale their business profitably in order to meet the demand.

In 1965, Japanese manufacturer Ibanez began importing electric guitars into the U.S. primarily through a distributor called Elger Guitars. They had a few quirky “Teisco like” solid body electric guitar designs in their early line up, but they really gained prominence by offering quality, affordable copies of popular American models like the Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul and SG guitars. The Ibanez copies were very good guitars and were half the price of the Gibson and Fender models they were copying.

The guitar featured here is a 1975 Ibanez model 2350. It’s an exact copy of a late 60’s Gibson Les Paul Custom “black beauty”. Ibanez imported these into the U.S. from 1971 to 1977. Their early copies were so good and so accurate to the original design, Norlin sued Elger guitars for patent infringement over the Gibson headstock look in 1977. The lawsuit lead to an out-of-court settlement that prompted Ibanez to abandon copying and develop original designs like the Artist series.

The 2350 has a 24 3/4” scale length, 22 frets, solid mahogany body, one piece maple neck with rosewood fretboard and block inlays. Two Super 70’s humbuckers, a 3-way toggle switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls. The guitar has a slim C, bolt on neck vs. glue in. There is no logo on the guitar which adds to the mystique and makes it just a little bit better of a copy. The original tuners on this guitar were replaced with Grovers in the 70’s.

For me this Ibanez is a special guitar. It was my first electric, and was given to me by my uncle who purchased it used from Draper’s Music in Palo Alto California in the late 70’s. Draper’s was a famous music store in the SF Bay Area. They eventually closed down in the early 2000’s. It’s where Jerry Garcia bought his first Les Paul Custom.

My uncle was a California hippie who later became a Silicon Valley Exec. He saw Hendrix perform live and would often frequent “Days on the Green” at the Oakland Coliseum when he was younger. He used to plug this Ibanez into the Mic input on his Pioneer SX-850 receiver and play through his stereo. The combo actually produced a really nice clean tone. I visited California for the first time when I was 14. My uncle gave me this guitar on that trip along with 2 week crash course on classic rock guitar music. When I was a teenager in the 90’s this guitar saw a lot of play time through my Peavey Bandit 112.

The humbuckers deliver that classic rock tone so well. The neck is slim and fast. The original 1950’s Gibson Les Paul Customs are known as the “Fretless Wonders” because of the small and low vintage fret wire used on the guitars . This Ibanez copy also has very small/low frets. Partially due to some wear, but they really came that way. It sets up great with low action and light gauge strings (9’s). The guitar weighs considerably less than an original Les Paul Custom from that era.

You can still find different Japanese made Les Paul copies fairly easily on the used market. Guitars made by companies like Ibanez, Univox, Greco and Electra. Pre-lawsuit (1977) versions like this are getting harder to find. Unlike the made in China copies (Chibsons) that we see flooding the market today, these early Japanese copies were pretty special guitars in their own right. Here’s a great clip of Magic Sam playing Earl Hooker’s Univox Les Paul copy.

I’m pretty lucky to still have my first electric. I meet people every day that tell me stories about the ones that got away. Guitars they sold and wished they still owned. I’ve been taking care of this guitar and playing it for over 35 years. Someday I’ll find a good home for it with someone else who will play it and care for it. Be forewarned, this baby comes with a lot of mojo and cool stories.

John Henry DeArmond was a young guitar player who in 1935, at the age of 10 made a guitar pickup from the ignition coil off of an old Ford Model A car. His older brother Harold was impressed and thought they could make some money from John’s design. DeArmond imagined an add-on pickup that would avoid cutting a hole in the top of a guitar would be useful to musicians at the time. Most guitarists were playing archtops and acoustics and were just starting to think about amplifying their sound. Giving them a way to go electric without buying a whole new instrument would be really valuable. Harry teamed up with a Toledo, Ohio, company named Rowe Industries and the first DeArmond pickups were introduced in 1939.

They had great success with their “floating pickups” throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. They experienced some disruption during WWII like many companies, but came back strong in 1948. Dearmond & Rowe also manufactured pickups for Harmony, Gretsch, Guild and several other companies during the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The original company closed operations around 1984.

Fender acquired Guild Guitars in 1995 and in 1997 also purchased the Dearmond trademark. Fender then decided to leverage those assets and launch a line of affordable, import electric guitars based on Guild designs in 1998 under the Dearmond brand name. These guitars were made until 2002 when Fender stopped the Dearmond line in order avoid competing with their newly acquired Gretsch guitars. Gretsch had instruments that used similar pickups (the Dynasonic, originally the DeArmond Model 2000).

The guitar featured here is one of higher end guitars from the 90’s Dearmond line. The model is called the S-73. It’s essentially a copy of the Guild Polara S-100 from the 1970’s. These Dearmond S-73’s were made in Korea. They came with upgraded hardware, set neck construction and featured American-made Dearmond pickups. They also made a 12 string version of the S-73 and a less expensive version called the S-65 which was manufactured in Indonesia, had a bolt-on neck, cheaper hardware and electronics.

The S-73 has a solid mahogany, double cutaway SG Style body. Unlike the SG, the bass horn on the S-73 is longer than the treble horn just like the Guild S-100. The body on this guitar is also thicker than a Gibson SG. Otherwise they look pretty similar. It features a multi-piece mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, block inlays and medium sized frets. It has 2 volume and 2 tone controls along with a 3-way pickup selector switch. Guild S-100’s from the early 70’s had slim, narrow necks, however this guitar has a nice full neck profile with a 1 11/16’ wide nut.

These Korean made Dearmond S-73’s are excellent. They are lightweight and well balanced. The attention to detail and quality is very good for the price point. It feels nicer than recent “made in China” Epiphone SG’s and Les Paul copies. The U.S.A. made Gold Tone humbuckers have a distinctive sound. They are medium output pickups (resistance is around 7k ohms) and they have a clear and warm vintage tone. The tune-o-matic style bridge with stop tail piece makes it easy to intonate the guitar. The nut was cut perfectly and the smooth, close ratio tuning machines feel like they belong on a higher end guitar. It plays easily up and down the neck with low action.

Fender eventually sold Guild to Cordoba Music Group (CMG) in 2014 and in 2023 Yamaha purchased CMG. They still make Guild guitars under the new ownership. You can buy a version of the Guild Polara (S-100) today which looks very similar to this Dearmond S-73. Those guitars are made in China and Indonesia and go for about the same price as one of these Dearmonds on the used market, but in my opinion they are not as well made. The difference in quality and playability is noticeable. I love oddball guitars. Designs that stray away from the classic Stratocasters, Telecasters, Les Pauls and SG’s, but not all of the unique designs out there play as well as the classics. This one is an exception. If you want to play something with a slightly unique, but classic look at an affordable price these Dearmonds are great. They also made them with transparent cherry and green finishes. This natural mahogany look is my favorite.

I’ve been playing, buying and selling guitars for the last 35 years. About a year ago I decided to become a guitar tech full time and start my own business with the goal of eventually becoming a luthier. I went to school in upstate NY to learn how to repair and restore electrics and acoustics. I work as an apprentice at a local guitar store a couple of days a week. The rest of the week I work on other people’s instruments out of my home workshop. I also sell used and vintage guitars on eBay and Reverb.com. I’ve owned and have played several guitars over the years. Now that I work on them for a living I get to play even more.

People will often ask me, which of your guitars is your favorite? I usually respond with the same answer every time. “I love them all. It’s really hard to say.” This is true for me. No two guitars are the same. Each guitar make and model will play and sound different based on how they are designed. Even two of the same exact guitars made on the same day can sound or play a little different from each other.

Some are better suited for one type of music than others. For example, you can play heavy metal on a Rickenbacker 12 string, but why? There are guitars like the Jackson Soloists that are much better suited for that. Conversely, if I want to get a rich, chimey tone with lots of highs like Roger Mcguinn in the Byrds, nothing is going to get that sound like a Rickenbacker.

That said, there is one guitar that I would bring to a desert island. (Assuming I had an amplifier and an unlimited power source, but you get the point).

It’s this 1964 Gibson SG Special.

SG’s were first introduced in 1961 as the Les Paul model. Designed to replace the single cut away guitar that launched the signature line in 1952. Les wasn’t crazy about the new SG when it came out. He didn’t like the look. It was a much thinner bodied guitar with the double cut away horns. Having a long neck and thin body also made the early models prone to breaks. So he persuaded his friend and president of Gibson, Ted McCarty to rip up his contract. Despite Les removing his endorsement, the guitar design was popular and Gibson wanted to continue to make them so by 1963 they changed the name from the Les Paul model to the SG (SG for Solid Guitar). Similar to the previous Les Paul guitar, Gibson made a Custom with 3 humbuckers. A Standard with 2 humbuckers. This Special which had 2 P-90 pickups and a Junior with 1 P-90 pickup in the bridge position.

The SG Special has gone through several iterations over the years. They still make them today, however these early versions are really something.. They truly are Special! It was made during the end of the golden era of Gibson guitars which was from 1950 - 1965 when Ted McCarty was president. The early SG Customs and Standards came with P.A.F. humbuckers. Those guitars are very hard to find in original condition and go for the price of a car nowadays. P.A.F. pickups are considered by many to be The Holy Grail of all guitar pickups. The SG Specials like this one were a more stripped down, affordable version. Instead of the higher end appointments like a Tune-o-matic bridge or Lyre Vibrola and P.A.F.’s, the Specials came with a one piece wrap around bridge and P-90 pickups.

This guitar has a wrap around and also features a vibrato tail piece. The vibrato was custom order in 64 and became standard in 65. It has a solid mahogany body and 22 fret, set mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and dot inlays. 2 volume, 2 control knobs and a 3-way switch. The neck profile feels wide and flat, but full with a medium thickness. 1964 was the last year that Gibson used the more desirable 1 11/16” nut width. Around 1965 they changed to a narrower 1 9/16” which I find to be too narrow. In the late 60’s they increased the width to 1 5/8”. The P-90 pickups sound incredible. While not as desirable as P.A.F.’s, players will often say “P-90’s Rule!!”, and when you plug this guitar in you will absolutely understand what they mean. It’s also light as a feather.

I’ve played newer, Custom Shop reissues of the early 60’s SG Specials and while they are nice guitars they don’t hold a candle to the original. This is the only golden era Gibson that I’ve ever owned and prior to acquiring it I always wondered if Golden Era Gibsons were really that good or if it was just a bunch of hype. After owning one, I can say, they are for sure that good. Maybe it’s the materials available at that time.. Maybe it’s the time they were able to take to craft this guitar in the shop back then. I’m sure it’s a combination of factors. Watching my hero’s play SG Specials is what inspired me to seek one out. After seeing Carlos Santana play one at Woodstock and Pete Townshend play one at Leeds I immediately fell in love. No matter how many guitars I play, I always go back to this one as being the best playing and sounding instrument I’ve experienced. I’m lucky enough to have found it a long time ago when they were still somewhat affordable and don’t see myself ever parting with it. So there it is. I hope everyone reading this can find your own desert island guitar someday. Good luck!

If you love electric guitar as much as I do, you’ll likely agree that Leo Fender was a genius. He was a brilliant inventor who designed many of the important aspects and components of the electric guitar and guitar amplification. Most of his designs are still driving the industry standard today. Leo created the Fender Bassman amplifier in the 50’s from a circuit that was featured in the vacuum tube salesman’s handbook. The Bassman circuit design became the archetype for amplifiers made by Marshall, MesaBoogie and so many others. He along with George Fullerton created the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar. The Telecaster and also the Stratocaster. Leo invented the Fender Precision Bass which set the standard for electric basses. All that and he wasn’t even a guitarist.

Leo played piano and saxophone as a kid, but his true passion was working with electronics. He loved to work on radios, repairing and eventually making them out of spare parts. He went to college for accounting and afterwards opened a radio repair shop in 1938 in Fullerton California. Musicians would bring him amplifiers and PA’s to repair in addition to radios. It was there that he developed his ideas for amplifiers. His guitar designs came later.

The Telecaster was his first solid body electric (originally named the Broadcaster). Then came the Stratocaster. One of the many design aspects of the Stratocaster that has made it so successful is the modular nature of the guitar. They have bolt-on necks that make them easy to remove and replace. They have a fairly open pickup cavity with electronics that are screwed into a plastic pickguard. That makes it easy to remove the electronics, replace and upgrade them.

Guitarists have been modifying Fender guitars since the 70’s. Replacing the necks with ones that have a different shape or different fingerboard material or different fret sizes. Swapping the original single coil pickups with higher output versions or even humbuckers. In the late 70’s and 80’s, companies like Charvel, Jackson and Kramer built successful businesses by modifying Strat designs to create what are known as Superstrats.

Today we call these modified designs “Partscasters”. Altered Stratocasters with all sorts of different parts that you won’t typically see on production models. Guitarists often become obsessed with trying to build and play a guitar that is unique.. one that you won’t see anyone else playing. Guitarist might really like the shape and feel of a Stratocaster, but want the higher output and warmth that you get out of Gibson guitar equipped with humbuckers so they will swap out the pickups in the Strat.

Some people just want to build their own guitar and the modular nature of the Stratocaster design is a great place to start. You can go to Warmoth for custom bodies, necks and parts or places like eBay where you can find endless parts, new and old. Some guitarists start their project with a lower priced Squier guitar body, upgrade the electronics and hardware to make it play and sound better. These projects are a lot of fun and not that hard if you’re a little handy. If you’d prefer to leave it to the pros, your local guitar tech will be happy to build your vision for you using a Stratocaster template.

The guitar featured here is a great example of a Partscaster. It is a 2012 Fender Highway One Strat. Made in the U.S.A. It’s original for the most part with the exception of the electronics. It came from the factory with a Fender single coil in the neck and middle position and a humbucker pickup in the bridge position.

I loved the black glossy body with black pickguard and controls. I wanted a rosewood fretboard and I really like the large 70’s style Fender headstock. The stock pickups were just so/so. I decided to try a Lace Sensor blue pickup in the neck position for a noiseless humbucker sound. A Lace Sensor Silver in the middle position with reverse wound/reverse polarity and a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position. I was a teenager in the 90’s and was going for a Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Weezer grungy sound. These mods definitely deliver that. I didn’t have to alter the guitar much.. no routing needed since I stayed with the original pickup configuration and didn’t change the neck. I had no experience with any of the pickups that I chose, but they surprisingly ended up working well together. I used 500k CTS pots across the board. It was important for the middle single coil pickup to be Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity so that positions 2 and 4 on the 5 way switch weren’t out of phase.

Now there are traditionalists out there that hate the idea of a Partscaster. The thought is, “a Stratocaster should sound like a Strat.” If you want a Les Paul sound, buy a Les Paul. I generally agree with that. If you are really trying to nail Clapton’s “woman tone” from Cream or Jimmy Page’s live sound, a Les Paul through a Marshall is what they used.

A Partscaster might put you somewhere in between a couple of classic guitar designs which isn’t necessarily bad if you want versatility in one axe. It’s your guitar, you paid for it, you’re the artist… Do whatever you want with it. Try something new. It will either give you the changed sound you were going for or you may need to make adjustments. Learn from the experience. Play the guitar and have fun with it.

In the late 1970s, Fender was facing competition from lower-priced Japanese-made guitars. Higher priced Fenders were made in the United States and were struggling to compete directly with Japanese-made Fender copies. In Japan, Fender was also losing sales to Japanese guitar brands like Tōkai, Greco and Fernandes. Since Japanese labor and production costs were substantially lower than in the U.S., Fender decided to move their lower-priced Fender guitar production to Japan and began negotiations with several Japanese musical instrument distributors.

In March 1982, Fender Japan, Ltd. was officially established as a joint venture between Fender, Kanda Shokai, Yamano Gakki and Fujigen Gakki as the major share holders. The new partnership was responsible for making Fender licensed guitars for the Japan market and also special lines made for import.

Fender ended the joint venture in of March of 2015 and launched Fender Music Corporation (Japan) taking over the Japanese business effective in April 2015 with a Fender-manufactured product line.

Fender’s U.S.A. made guitars are generally considered their “top of the line” with the Custom Shop and Masterbuilt instruments being the pinnacle. Variations of those guitars made in Japan are thought of as the next best, followed by guitars made in Mexico and then the more affordable Squire guitars made in Indonesia and China. The ranking is based on the quality of materials used to make the guitar and the time spent in the building and finishing process.

I’ve spoken with many players that feel guitars made in Japan by Fender are every bit as good as the U.S.A. made versions. After playing the guitar featured here, I can see their point. This Fender Stratocaster 1968 reissue was made in the November of 2015, just after the formation of FMC Japan. It’s referred to as the ST-68 TX. The “ST” stands for Stratocaster. “68” for 1968 reissue and “TX” for the Texas Special pickups that were offered in the guitar.

It’s built true to the 1968 Stratocaster specs. Similar to one that Hendrix played at Woodstock, but with a black finish instead of white. The guitar features a slim maple cap, C shaped neck with 7.25 “ radius and a large headstock. Truss rod adjustment is at the base of the neck where the neck joins the body. This Strat came with the same high end electronics and hardware that were being used on U.S.A. models like the Texas special pickups and vintage style tremolo.

It came new from the factory set up with 9’s and has by far the lightest action that I’ve ever felt on a guitar. The fit and finish is flawless. The vintage frets are done perfectly. The staggered pole Texas special pickups sound excellent through a Deluxe Reverb. They put out true single coil, vintage Strat tone with bell like cleans and a nice break up when the amp volume is turned up past 5.

If there is one thing about this guitar that I’m not crazy about is it’s thin neck. To some players, that’s a plus, but I personally find it a bit too narrow. Japanese made Fenders in general are known for having slimmer neck profiles, however this guitar being made to 1968 specs features a nut width that is close to the “A spec” necks used in the mid to late 60’s. (about) 40mm(1.57 inches)

Kudos to the Fender Japan team for their focus on quality and attention to detail. These are very well made guitars and more affordable than their U.S.A. made counterparts. Especially on the used market.

In 1955 Gibson offered 5 different Les Paul signature model guitars. The Les Paul Custom, often referred to as the Black Beauty was the top of the line guitar in the range. It featured an all mahogany body with a carved mahogany top, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, two P-90 pickups, gold hardware and decorative inlays. It was the first Gibson solid body to have the Tune-O-Matic bridge. The next in the line was the Les Paul Standard which was more of a mid-range guitar. They came with a Gold finish and had a mahogany body, carved maple top and mahogany neck. The Standard also had two P-90’s and a Tune-O-Matic bridge, but it was a bit more plain looking compared to the Custom. At the lower end of the range, you could buy a Les Paul Junior or TV model. These guitars had a solid mahogany slab body and mahogany neck with no carved top. They came with a single P-90 pickup in the bridge position and a wrap around bridge.

Just above the Junior and below the Standard model, Gibson offered the Les Paul Special. The Special had the same body, neck type and bridge as the Junior and TV models, but featured two P-90 pickups instead of one.

Gibson produced the Les Paul Special as a single cutaway design until 1958 when they changed it to a double cutaway. The double cutaway version was made until 1961 when Gibson decided to redesign the Les Paul as the SG body. It’s well known that Les Paul didn’t like the sharp horns and overall design of the SG so he decided to part ways with Gibson. In 1963 his contract ended and these guitars became the SG Special.

Les eventually renewed his contract with Gibson in 1968 and in 1974 the 1955 Special reissue was released. They were made them from 1974 - 1981.

This particular guitar was made in 1976 and has a single cutaway slab mahogany body, mahogany neck, 23-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, black headstock overlay with pearl logo and "Les Paul Model" script, three-per-side tuners with plastic keystone buttons and tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece. It has 2 “soapbar” single coil, P-90 style pickups , four knobs. (2 volume, 2 tone) and a 3-way switch. They were offered with a wraparound bridge/tailpiece from 1974 - 1976, true to the 55 design. Gibson made a slight change in 76 and added the TOM upgrade to improve intonation. You could get them in Sunburst or Wine Red from 74 - 81. Natural Mahogany finish was offered from 77-81.

The 55 reissues were made during the Norlin era of the 1970’s which is often considered to be a dark time for Gibson. Gibson had been acquired by Norlin (CMI) in 69 and started adding cost cutting measures to improve profitability. That meant finding ways to cut corners in the manufacturing process, using lower quality parts and woods. Guitars made during this period especially towards the late 70’s were known for being heavy. Fender also had a similar reputation during this time. Because of this, some people will often under value Norlin era guitars.

Personally, I’ve played great guitars and terrible guitars from every era and that includes Norlin era Gibsons. Don’t forget, some of the greatest rock songs of all time were recorded and performed using Norlin era Gibsons. You really just have to play a few and search for the good ones.

This guitar is definitely one of the good ones. It weighs right in at 8lbs. The neck is wide and flat, but not thin. The original nickel frets are also somewhat wide and low. This one has a little fret wear, but still plenty of life left on them. The guitar plays beautifully up and down the neck. Bends are effortless across the dark rosewood fretboard. While some vintage collectors and purists might turn their nose up at the tune-o-matic bridge for not being historically accurate to the 1955 design, as a player I appreciate having the ability to make needed adjustments for improved intonation.

The original soapbar single coil pickups sound excellent. I’ve talked to some people that found the pickups to be nothing special and they end up upgrading them with aftermarket pickups. While a pair of Lollar’s will sound excellent in this guitar, you may not need to go that far. One of the changes Gibson introduced during this time was to put 300k volume and tone pots in their guitars. I find that the 300k pots tend to choke the pickups so I swapped the originals pots for CTS 500k ones and it made a massive difference. The pickups sing now with amazing clarity.

These late 70’s, 55 reissues can often be found for the same price or lower than a newer version. If you play one that’s been well cared for and compare it to a newer 55 reissue at your local GuitarCenter, you’ll feel and hear the difference. In my mind there’s no question the vintage one wins hands down.

Harmony in its heyday was the largest musical instrument company in the United States. They started in 1892, were acquired by Sears in 1916 and broke away from Sears in the 1940’s. They were know for making high quality, professional and affordable acoustic guitars throughout the 30’s and 40’s. They were produced under the Harmony brand name and also sold through larger mail order companies and department stores like Sears under the store’s house brand name. In the case of Sears that was Silvertone.

Harmony made big bodied arch tops and started to electrify those guitars by adding pickups around the late 40’s and early 50’s. Some time around 1952 - 1953, Harmony broke away from its typical big-bodied, hollow, archtop designs and introduced the this guitar. The solidbody H44 Stratotone. The Stratotone was billed as an "easy-to-handle" Spanish electric that was lightweight and thin-bodied. At just three-feet long and 10 5/8" wide (with a scale length of 25 1/4"), the Stratotone bridged the gap between the popular Hawaiian lap-steel guitars and full auditorium-sized archtops. At that time there was a natural evolution between lap-steel guitars and some of the original solidbody electrics of the early 1950s, because guitars like this Stratotone were so small in size. One of the major appeals of the Stratotone was that it was affordable for blossoming baby boomers at a time when rock 'n' roll was really taking off. The name Stratotone and its space age headstock logo reflected the era’s fascination with space exploration.

The first time I saw one of these was in the 1987 movie La Bamba, the story of Ritchie Valens played by actor Lou Diamond Phillips. I was familiar with Ritchie’s music, but I never saw footage of him. Ritchie had played a H44 Stratotone, especially earlier in his career. (Kudos to the filmmakers for the historical accuracy)

I remember sort of laughing at it, like, what was that little mini-guitar. I thought it looked like an electric ukulele or something. As my music tastes and guitar playing evolved I started to trace my rock influences back to the blues and would see Stratotones appear more in rare photos. They were actually quite popular for their tone and playability. The small size and affordability made it easy to buy one and carry it around. They went for about $65 in 1954 compared to $250 for a Stratocaster.

It’s an awesome little guitar. All you need is one of these and a 50’s Fender tweed Champ and you are on your way to Blues tone heaven. I’ve heard a number of guitar dealers refer to it as “The Blues Peanut” due to its size and shape. The lone single coil pickup is known as a Hersey Bar pickup. It has a fairly low output true vintage, low fidelity sound that you just can’t get out of a new guitar. It has one volume and one tone control along with a slider switch that lets you bypass the tone control circuit when switched on. By the mid 50’s Harmony introduced a dual pickup version call the H88 Doublet.

It’s a neck-through design, with a very large neck that fills your hand. The fretboard is made of Brazilian Rosewood and has fairly low profile vintage frets. Most were finished in a copper-bronze color, although there were a small number of them made in gold and some in black.

The Stratotone is a fun little guitar. They sound great for blues, slide and older styles of music. They are easy to carry around. Easy to take on flights, in campers and on road trips. If you’re looking for something that’s different than most of your guitars, this is it. Very cool history and vintage all the way.

The Gibson Flying V is one of three futuristic body designs that Gibson president Ted McCarty pushed to have developed in 1957. Like the Explorer and Moderne, the initial run of Flying V’s weren’t that successful. Fewer than 100 were manufactured and sold when they first came out. Years after blues legend Albert King and rock artist Dave Davies of the Kinks started playing Flying V’s because of their unique design. The visibility helped popularize the model after the initial run. Demand started to increase and Gibson released a small number of Flying V’s in 1963 made from leftover parts from the original guitars. The guitar then reentered regular production in 1967 and has been reissued numerous times since then. Jimi Hendrix was also known to play a Flying V live on occasion during that time.

By the late 70’s and early 80’s Heavy Metal music was gaining a bigger following and the Flying V became a popular guitar, wielded by many of the great Metal guitarists in that genre. Brian Tatler of Diamond Head used one. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield of Metallica also played them. The Flying V became associated with hard, fast distorted rhythms and loud searing leads by the mid 1980’s. That led to the birth of the guitar featured here in 1984.

This V was part of the Gibson Designer Series guitars that were made in 1984 and 1985. The range included mostly Flying V’s and Explorers. There was also a Les Paul style version and a bass. You could order one of the series Custom Graphic Designs.

They also made one-of-a-kind artist original designs that you could order through your Gibson dealer.

This Flying V is one of the Custom Graphic Designs and was referred to as model 321 in Gibson’s brochures. It’s my personal favorite design. It has subtle, 70’s style green & gold pinstripes over a black gloss body. There was a version called the Rebel Invader and also a Union Jack Explorer. Those particular Designer series guitars are extremely rare. Especially the Rebel Invader.

All models have rosewood fretboards although it’s rumored that a few were made with ebony. Designer Series guitars were offered with either a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece or Kahler locking tremolo for serious dive bombs! All versions came with Dirty Fingers high output humbuckers.

While a Flying V isn’t my first choice of body shapes, I literally can’t put it down once I start playing it. It’s extremely light weight and balanced. The guitar sets up well with perfect intonation and low action. The original Dirty Fingers humbuckers scream. The neck has a medium fast profile with a thick slab of rosewood and low/wide frets.

This 321 model is one of the more scarce Designer Series guitars. When they do come up for sale, they are always beat up. Every one of these has been played…a lot. They are usually in a state of being well maintained but also really worn out at the same time. The stories this guitar could tell, the places it’s been with its cigarette burns, scratches and scars throughout. It’s the perfect old school metal guitar when played through a Marshall head and surprisingly it sings the blues with sweet sustain when played through a Fender amp. You just need to roll the volume back on the guitar. The only artist that I’ve seen play this particular model is Ryan Adams when he was on the Fallon show in 2017.

You can’t help but smile when you play it unless maybe when you’re sitting down, but who buys this kind of guitar to sit down anyway?!?!

This 1947 Silvertone Aristocrat was made by Kay Musical Instrument Company. Kay produced guitars for Sears who sold them in their catalog under the Sears house brand, Silvertone. It was the first non-electrified version of the Aristocrat and was made from 1946 - 1950 immediately after the WWII.

The Aristocrat guitars evolved throughout the 1950’s as Kay made different variations of them with single and dual pickups installed. Single cutaway versions were also introduced along with changes to the neck inlays, headstock veneer and pick guard emblems over the years.

It is a full 17" jumbo archtop and while the top is solid spruce (press-arched) with tonebar bracing, the back and sides are plywood with figured-maple veneer. It has a maple neck, Brazilian rosewood fretboard and bridge, and the extra-long 25 3/4" Kay scale length. These were often referred to as the "Master" size archtop (42x17) and was the top of the line offering from Silvertone at that time.

It has binding throughout the top and bottom as well as the neck and “Split-Rectangle” inlays for the fret markers. The original pickguard and headstock are very cool with their coat of arms emblems painted to look like a celluloid inlay.

The neck on this guitar is huge! When people throw out the phrase “baseball bat neck”, this is one of the first guitars that comes to mind for me. It has a C shape with 12” radius fretboard and a bone nut with a width of 1 11/16”.

It’s really a joy to play. The guitar has amazing clarity when picking out individual notes and chords. The projection and presence is warm and full. The guitar while considered a more economical option back then, was definitely designed with the professional in mind.

This particular guitar is in excellent condition especially for a 78 year old instrument. It appears to be all original with the exception of the tuning keys. The original rounded keys dried up and crumbled apart and were replaced with modern, vintage style kluson tuners. It’s a fairly common problem for guitars this old.

The neck angle is great and has never been reset which is unusual. The need for a neck reset is pretty common when you’re dealing with vintage acoustics like this. Especially those that do not have a reinforced neck. Even higher end guitars made by Gibson and Martin often require it. Not this one! It’s also still very straight.

There are other issues that can be common with guitars like this Silvertone. Luckily this one has been able to avoid a number of them. The neck heel often will crack or break up. Also the binding on these can shrink and crumble over time. This guitar hasn’t shown signs of binding issues yet.

It’s the oldest guitar I own, a part of American history and it makes me happy that it has been so well cared for over the years. She still plays and sounds great. I currently have it set up with light gauge, flat wounds. I wouldn’t recommend using 12’s or heavier gauged strings on theses due to the non-reinforced neck and long scale. I’ve used a DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000 floating pickup with is and it also sounds amazing plugged in.

Kay Musical Instrument company was started in 1931 in Chicago Illinois and initially manufactured traditional folk instruments such as mandolins, tenor guitars and banjos. They eventually grew to make a wider variety of stringed instruments, including violins, cellos, double basses and several different types of guitars, including electric, classical, lap steel and semi-acoustic models.

In addition to manufacturing instruments for sale under its own brands (like Kay Kraft and Kamico), Kay was also a prolific manufacturer of guitars for retailers across the nation who would order instruments with custom branding to be resold as "house brands” similar to Harmony and Valco.

Kay also made guitar amplifiers, beginning with designs carried over from the old Stromberg company. They eventually subcontracted their amplifier production to Valco, one of their biggest competitors in the 1950s.

Kay had been bought and sold several times over the years. By 1955, they were taken over by Sidney M. Katz. After the acquisition, the product line of Kay was shifted toward electric musical instruments based on demand for that time. In the early 60’s Kay started to face pressure from the Japanese manufacturers and in order to stay competitive they decided to start making solid body electric guitars.

This Kay Vanguard model was released in 1961 and continued through 1966. It’s a striped down, basic design similar to the Telecaster in many ways. Plank body and bolt on neck. It’s a small, lightweight guitar, but it actually has a 25 3/4” scale length. The body and neck are made of poplar with a thick rosewood fretboard and 1 11/16" wide nut. It has a 12” radius fretboard and medium wide, D shaped neck. The neck is attached to the body with 3 bolts. It has a Gibson style headstock with 3 open gear tuners on each side. The bridge and tailpiece are a bit crude, but they work. The bridge is made of rosewood with string grooves filed in. Bridge height can be adjusted at the posts. The tailpiece is a small block of metal with a couple of screws holding it down to the body. Both bridge and tailpiece are housed under an “ashtray” style cover.

The Vanguard was offered in single pickup and two pickup variations. Pickups were made by Rowe-DeArmond. The version featured here has a 3-way selector switch, two volume and two tone controls. The pickups are often referred to as Pancake pickups. They sound incredible, producing clear vintage tones at low volume and awesome breakup when pushed. They have an amazing, low-fi but raw bluesy crunch sound to them. The Vanguard was a budget guitar and it definitely plays that way. A good setup and new nut will help playability, but keep in mind that the design is very basic.

These guitars are excellent for slide. Paired with a Fender or Valco tube amp and you can really nail the electric slide tones of Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor. Kay sold a lot of Vanguards through their department store partnerships and the production numbers were high. They eventually released more sophisticated solid body models like the Vanguard II and others throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s, but these light weight, simply designed early versions are the most fun in my opinion and are the best value.

The Fender Bullet was first introduced in 1981 as a line of “student” guitars to replace the outgoing Mustang and Musicmaster models. They were designed by John Page and built in the U.S.

The Bullet went through various design changes before the U.S. made version was discounted in 1983. Production of the Bullet range then moved to Japan, under the Squier name, and then Korea. Squier introduced a new Chinese-made Bullet Stratocaster in 2005. By 2015, Fender was using the Squier Bullet name as a line of their lowest-priced guitars.

Fender initially marketed two models in 1981, the "Bullet" and the "Bullet Deluxe. They had a single cutaway body style similar to that of the Fender Telecaster, but they were a bit smaller—closer in size to the Mustang and Musicmaster that the Bullet replaced. Offered in two colors, red and ivory. They had a 21-fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fretboard, Telecaster-style headstock, and Kluson Deluxe tuners. The Bullet Deluxe had a plastic pickguard with a separate, traditional hardtail bridge while the standard model featured a steel pickguard-bridge-tailpiece combo. Both models had two single coil pickups with a three-way selector switch.

The version featured here is the standard model with the metal pickguard and built in bridge-tailpiece combo.

The smaller sized telecaster body is great. It is a solid, nice piece of wood. The two single coil pickups have flat alnico magnets and closed covers. The sound and output of the pickups is pretty typical for Fender single coils from the early 80’s.

The metal pickguard-bridge-tail piece is a unique design that didn’t last very long. It was likely first tested as a way to reduce costs, but by 1982 the pickguard was replaced with a plastic one and a top loader Fender bridge was added. Having the metal saddles integrated with the pickguard gives it a pretty bright, glassy tone. It definitely cuts through the mix and produces a nice twangy sound.. Great for country or even funk. Laurent Brancowitz from the alternative rock band Phoenix plays a beige one.

The real star on these guitars however is the neck. It feels like a 58 Telecaster, D shape with rosewood fretboard. I can’t get over how comfortable it is. It’s kind of big.. and kind of awesome. The first time I played the Bullet, I wanted to take the neck off the guitar and put it on my Telecaster Standard body, but I just couldn’t bring myself to “part out” the guitar. I have a feeling many a Bullet met their fate that way unfortunately.

If you like Fenders, this is a definite must have for your collection. They’re still pretty affordable for an American made, 44 year old guitar, totally unique and a lot of fun to play.