Aria Diamond 1832T ca. 1971

This Matsumoku built guitar is Aria’s interpretation of a Fender Duosonic. This example is in VG+ untouched condition. The body is one piece, beautifully grained and quality finished in a rich tobacco burst There are a couple of small peck dents on the front and back and a little rub wear on the sides but overall you will be hard pressed to find a guitar of this age in this condition. The rocker switches are on-off switches for the pickups and the slider switch appears to be a tone filter. The chrome is immaculate and the whammy bar is original. The rosewood fretboard has MOT round inlays and virtually no fret wear. I’m not really familiar with the Duosonic’s neck profile, but this neck feels just like my Fender Strat. The open back tuners are tight and hold tune well. If you are interested in an Aria 1832T you can look for years and not find one in better condition than this example. No Case, but will ship in a Fender padded gig bag.

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Aria Pro II Urchin 60T ca. 1982

Introduced in 1982, the U-60T Urchin was one of the first B.C. Rich inspired pointy copy guitars on the market. The U-60T has an alder body that came finished in either Black or White. The finish on this guitar is in excellent condition with three chips on the tips of the back wings. The white finish has yellowed a bit over the years infusing this instrument with plenty of vintage vibe. There are two stress cracks in the finish on either side of the neck (typical for these instruments) but the cracks are not structural. I know this because I pulled the neck when setting it up to make sure everything was OK. The three piece maple neck is fitted with a 25 1/2 scale rosewood fretboard that shows little wear. The back of the neck has a bump in the finish behind the first fret. The frets have moderate wear but still have plenty of life left in them. The action is low and even up the neck. The headstock is fitted with chrome plated die cast machines and a bone nut. The humbucking pickups are two Protomatic-V's selected by a 3-way switch and controlled by one master volume and two tone knobs. The pickups are great shredders at high gain and clean up nicely at lower volume. This instrument is missing the vibrato bar that looks like a longer and less bent Fender Stratocaster bar. Really, the only noticeable defect with this instrument is that someone has moved the strap button from the back to the upper horn leaving a hole in the back (see back picture). The Urchin was only made from 82-84. It is a rare and very cool pointy guitar that is currently undervalued in today's market. You won't be able to get one this nice at this price for very much longer. Comes with a good condition original hard case which is worth over $100 on it’s own.

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Columbia CSG-631 ca. 1964

Most Americans do not know much about the Japanese company Columbia since they were overshadowed by Teisco and Kawai imports in the mid 1960’s. Columbia was a smaller Japanese builder that produced guitars of similar quality to Kawai. This Columbia is branded Orpheus. I’ve also seen them branded Sorrento which was a name used by Boothco located in Milwaukee on their Japanese import guitars. This guitar is a very nice original example with red to black burst finish and chrome pickguard. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood fretboard, I’m not sure about the body wood. There is a ding on the front near the upper body contour but the back only has a few light scuffs and some random peck marks. The chrome is clean and bright but it is missing the whammy bar (typical). This is a clean, cool and well-made guitar. Priced with no case, but I can include a 1980’s molded Fender strat case that is somewhat beat but functional for $50.

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EKO 500-4V c.a. 1962

Thanks to the careful research of Jack Marchel (Fetishguitars.com) we know this is one of the first EKO 500’s imported into the US in early 1962. The guitar displays all the transitional features seen between EKO’s first electric model the 400 and their newly introduced 500. It has the same black pickups, eyebrow style logo and tailpiece as the 400. These transitional features were gone by mid 1962. But besides being a rare, early EKO collectible, this guitar is a great player. The push button switches offer a wide range of tones, the pickups produce strong output and the lacquered neck feels great. This guitar has the pearl finish front making it an eye-catching stage instrument since the pearl reflects whatever light hits it. The back and neck are finished in glossy black lacquer. The condition of this guitar is fantastic. It’s only flaws are that there is a stiff spot when turning the tone pot and there is a spot where the chrome is rubbed on the tailpiece. No chips, no cracks, no bumps, no problems with the body or neck. The original (and somewhat beat) two tone hard case is included.

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Fiama c.a. 1966-68

Not sure who made this solid body Fiama but it is definitely 1966-68 Japanese. The finish on the body is in decent shape with light scattered bumps on the front and light surface scratches on the back. There are a few dents around the back edge of the body. The MOT pickguard is a little worn along the bottom edge but the chrome is bright and clean with only minor surface scratches. The Gibson speed knobs are replacements. The neck is thin and straight with a nice rosewood fretboard. The headstock has been chipped and repaired. The repaired joint looks strong but cosmetically leaves much to be desired (see headstock picture) It would be pretty straightforward to make right since the damage is in the black area of the finish. The tuning pegs are tight and hold tune well. The Guyatone style pickups are controlled by two on-off switches, two volume knobs and a tone knob. No Case.

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Framus Strato Super Model 5/155 c.a. 1966

The serial number on this Strato indicates it was made in March of 1966. The original advertising for this guitar touts the following features: hand contoured body, adjustable trussrod, low action, four way adjustable bridge, feather touch vibrato and ultra high-sensitive pickups . This example is in the cherry red finish. The neck is laminate with a rosewood fretboard. The action is indeed low for a guitar of this era. Condition is good with the epoxy finish on the body exhibiting several very tight stress cracks which is typical for these instruments. The chrome is bright and clean except for the pickup mount on the bridge pickup (sweat related I'm sure). The tremolo bar is missing along with a truss rod cover screw. No Case.

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Hagstrom 1 ca. 1965-66

According to the serial number, this Hagstrom I was one of 2,497 guitars produced in 1965-66. The Hagstrom I was introduced in 1962 as Hagstrom’s budget model. The body is made of laminate board covered in vinyl. The front is made from acrylite and contains the pickups, electronics and controls all in one piece. The neck is birch with a teak fretboard (24.5 inch scale). The trussrod is Hagstrom’s proprietary “H” expander-stretcher. The two single coil pickups are controlled by a single volume control and 4 switches. The switch marked mute is actually another tone modifier, not an on-off switch. The “cheese grater” between the pickups is gold plated aluminum and has a small bump to the front lower edge (not noticable). This example is in Excellent condition. It has two small surface scratches in the paint on the back of the neck and some rub wear on the edge of the headstock. The vinyl back is tight and clean with a small chip out of the vinyl on the lower bout and slight vinyl shrinkage on the lower edge (see side picture). The front is clean. The electronics function normally and are shielded in foil. The action is low and even up the neck with good intonation. Comes with no case but a moden fender style case can be supplied for $60.

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The Side 1
The Side 2

Harmony H47 Stratotone Mercury ca. 1958

This is a nice example of a 58-59 Stratotone Mercury. The clearcoat has overall crazing and the finish on the front and sides has faded to a warm amber antique burst. There are a few small chips on the front at the lower bout and a couple of clearcoat scratches on the back. There is also some finish loss on the side near the upper bout that you can see in the side picture. The electronics are good and the DeArmond pickup is warm and strong. The guitar does need to be more properly grounded if you want it to be perfectly quiet. Adding a ground wire would not be too difficult since you can access the body cavity through an opening under the pickguard. The tone selector knob is a replacement. The neck is straight and the frets still have plenty of life. There is some finish loss on the bottom side of the neck in the cowboy chord position (see neck picture). High quality hardcase included.

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Harmony H45 Stratotone Mars ca. 1960

This Harmony Stratotone was distributed through Aldens department stores, hence the “A” logo on the headstock . From what I’ve seen, Harmony never marketed black Stratotones under their own brand name so this guitar must have been part of a custom order from Harmony by Aldens. The “tone chamber” body on this instrument is very clean with only one noticeable finish scratch on the front (see body picture) and some rub wear to the clearcoat on the back. The fretboard is ebonized maple and the action is fairly low (4/32”) at the 12th fret. The tuners are smooth and the guitar holds tune well. The knobs are replacements off of a Kay of the same era. In my opinion the Kay knobs look better than the original cupcake knobs given the black finish on this instrument. The electronics are fairly quiet for a guitar of this era but it is noticeably noisier when the tone switch is in the treble position compared to the bass position. Retrofitting a proper ground will eliminate this issue. The "hershey bar" DeArmond pickup produces great blues tone. If you like Stratotones and you like black this is definitely the guitar for you. The cool headstock logo design is just an added bonus for this unique Mars model. No Case.

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Hondo H-775 Star ca. 1983

This star shaped Hondo has a bound top and metallic red finish. It is all original except for the spring cavity cover on the back. The neck is maple with a bullet trussrod and Hondo brand closed back tuners. The single humbucker pickup makes operation simple, turn both knobs to 10 and go. Condition is good with a small dent and 3 small chips on the front and a little paint loss around the body contour on the back. This little screamer is a load of fun to play. I especially like the feel of the top back horn where you can maintain contact with the guitar with your elbow. It feels nice. Add it to your arsenal for the price of a stompbox. No Case.

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Kawai 4013 ca. 1968

This stratish shaped late 1960’s Kawai is in good original condition. It has a beautiful 3 ply tortoise pickguard with three late 60’s style Kawai single coil pickups controlled by 3 on-off switches and 3 volume and one tone knob. There are a couple of flakes of chrome missing from the trem unit as well as the tremolo bar (easily replaced). The front of the body is clean with only light scratches in the clear coat. The back is also in good shape with only a few small chips along the back edges; the worst being near the back of the body contour. It has a bound neck with rosewood fretboard and a truss rod. It does look like the nut has been replaced sometime in its’ lifetime. Priced without a case but I can supply a 60’s Vox hardcase that fits the guitar nicely for $65.

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Kawai SEN-140 ca. 1968

This guitar is a very high end Kawai product although it is branded Silvertone indicating it was sold through Sears. It has a Mosrite inspired body with an Italian inspired headstock shape. The body has a quality burst shading with four ply binding and hand worked German carve (pre CVC). The pickguard is two ply tortoise with that great vintage depth that they don’t seem to be able to copy these days. The neck is laminate maple with a bound rosewood fretboard and MOT block fret markers that are almost as bright as real mother of pearl. It has tight and smooth closed back tuners. Condition is Excellent with a few light bumps on the front and some surface clear coat scratching on the back. There is some moderate paint loss along the lower edge of the body contour on the back. I guess it’s been played!! The chrome is clean and the electronics are quiet and strong with a variety of tones available between the three pups, tone knob and phase switch? It needs an intonation setup to be gigable but the quality and adjustment possibilities are all there. Priced with no case but if you want one for shipping we have some new, high quality, blem cases available for less than eBay prices. Just ask. Much better than shipping a Guitar and Case seperately.

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Kay Vanguard II ca. 1967

The Penncrest badge on this Vanguard II indicates it was sold through J.C. Penny. This example has red burst slab body with two De Armond pickups and a quality vibrato system. The single ply pearloid pickguard has shrunk pulling away from the screws in a couple of places. This is typical for these instruments, in fact I don’t think I have ever seen one without a shrunken pickguard. There are some nicks and dings on the body commensurate with age but overall the finish is in pretty good shape. The chromed hardware is bright with no pitting or corrosion. The tone knobs are original. The open back tuners are tight and hold tune well. I just had the nut replaced on this instrument so it is all set up and ready to play. Overall, this is an excellent example of this short-lived model and a lot of fun to play for very little money. No Case

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Kay K-2T ca. 1970

This is a Japanese built Kay. WMI of Chicago bought the Kay name in 1968 in order to gain access to the department store distribution relationships enjoyed by Kay. It is likely this Teisco made guitar was one of the first Japanese Kays imported by WMI after purchasing the Kay brandname. This instrument is essentially a Teisco Spectrum body and neck with a Kay “steak knife” style headstock profile. The body on this instrument is extremely clean with virtually no dents and only a few light scuffs around the edges. The neck is laminate and has a truss rod. The two pickups are controlled by on-off slider switches and single volume and tone knobs. The clamshell tremolo tailpiece is missing the whammy bar and spring but replacements are easy to obtain if you want to put it back in working order. It has what appears to be an original chipboard case.

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Kingston ca. 1967

Kingston was the brand name used by the prolific Japanese guitar importer Jack Westheimer after he severed ties with Teisco and switched to Kawai for sourcing his instruments. This guitar has a laminate body composed of two thin pieces of maple on the front and back around a three piece core. In this case, rather than try to hide the laminate construction with paint which was Kawai’s company policy, they celebrated it (like the Gibson V-2) by using a natural stain that highlights the layers. It’s unique for this period and I like it. The neck and head are one piece of maple with a rosewood fretboard and tight (in a good way) open back tuners. The hardware and pickups are typical Kawai with a nice vintage tortoise pickguard and chrome accents. The electronics are quiet and have strong output. It looks all original except the knobs that look like Kay rather than Japanese to me. If you want Japanese knobs, sell the Kay knobs for $30 and buy vintage Japanese knobs for $15. Condition is very good with the body clean both front and back with a few finish scuffs around the sides. As usual it is missing the trem bar but since this tremolo system was used on many Kawai models it will not be difficult to find a replacement if desired. This is a very unique Kawai built instrument, I’m old and I’ve never seen another like it. No Case but we can provide one at a reasonable price if desired.

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Rickenbacker 360 Copy ca. early 1970's

This Japanese copy is a loose interpretation of the Rickenbacker 360. The build characteristics of this guitar indicate it was built at the Matsumoku factory. The top is made from a nice piece of straight grained spruce and finished in the Japanese version of Fireglo. The headstock is unusual since Rickenbacker only used slotted headstocks on their 12 string models. The neck is fully bound with a rosewood fretboard and MOT inlays. The neck has been shimmed so the action is decent even up the neck. The electronics are quiet and both pickups have strong output. Condition is good with a few dents around the edges and a stress crack in the upper cutaway (see pic). I’ve shown this crack to my luthier and he says it is cosmetic only. The chrome is clean with only light speckle pitting on the tremolo bar. Hardshell case included.

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Teisco TRE-100 (aka TRE-1) Amp in Guitar ca. 1964

The TRE-100 came in three different headstock styles: the point (early 1964), the stub nose (late 1964-65), and the hook (late 1965). This guitar is an example of the first model offered in early 1964. The body is a very dark brown metal flake with around 4-5 bumps on the front and about the same on the back (no buckle rash). The gold foil pickup is missing one pole screw but this has no influence on the sound. The built in amplifier works and runs on two 9 volt batteries. The battery cover on the back is a replacement. The three piece neck is virtually dent free and has a trussrod. The rosewood fretboard has signature Teisco sidebar position markers. The open back tuners operate smoothly. Inspired by his friends Ry Cooder and David Lindley, Jackson Browne used a TRE-100 on tour although he didn’t rely on the onboard amplifier for sound reinforcement. Give the TRE-100 a try, you’ll like it. Period non-original hard case included.

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Teisco ET-200 ca. 1965

This is a very clean example of this Teisco model. The warm antique burst body is virtually dent free and the back is fairly clean with only a few scattered light dents. The side bar fret markers are very cool as is the fish hook headstock. The electronics are quiet and the pickups are strong with good tone. Really, the only issue with this instrument is the missing tremolo cover which can be obtained on eBay if you are willing to spent time looking. Comes with a hardshell case that is missing a latch but will protect the guitar.

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Teisco ET-210 ca. 1965

A nice example of this classic Teisco model in a beautifully aged blue finish. The paint on the front is clean with just a couple of whiskey dents. There are a couple of stress cracks in the clear coat on the upper horn but the paint is fine. There is buckle rash on the back and some light-moderate moderate paint chipping on the back edge of the lower butt end. The back of the neck has a few impact dings but the paint is intact. All hardware is intact, original and works fine. The controls and switches are quiet, and the pickups are strong. There is light speckle pitting on the tremolo unit but the rest of the chrome is clean. The neck is straight and the frets are generally evenly worn with no fret-out anywhere on the neck. The intonation is quite good for a Teisco and it is very playable as is, however, it does go about 1 cent sharp on several strings at the 12th fret. It’s missing the headstock logo and the whammy bar. Finding a replacement whammy bar isn’t a major problem, in fact there is a company reproducing these bars out of chromed stainless steel so you can get a reproduction bar easily. This guitar is a tone machine, and looks as cool as it sounds. No Case.

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Teisco ET-230 Shark Fin ca. 1966

This is the two-pickup version of the "shark fin" style in a red metallic finish with an anodized aluminum pickguard with stripes. It features a roller bridge, two single-coil pickups, a "zero" fret at the nut, and a spring-loaded tremolo. This example could benefit from a little TLC but it is all there and has a great red finish. The paint on the edges shows moderate chipping and some paint crazing. There are scattered dents and some chiping on the back. The back of the neck and the headstock look as if they have been sanded and then resprayed with clearcoat. All knobs/switches are intact and work fine. The tone knobs are of the period but probably not original since the tone knob has a gold foil insert and the volume knobs have silver foil. The controls and switches are quiet, and the pickups are strong with a lot of tone variety offered by all the switching options. There is light speckle pitting on the tremolo unit but the rest of the chrome is clean. The tremelo bar is an accurate reproduction. The neck is straight and the frets are generally evenly worn with no fret-out anywhere on the neck.This guitar is a tone machine, and looks like a road warrior. Priced accordingly. No Case.

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Teisco ET-440 Spectrum 4 ca. 1970

Most guitar historians consider the ET Spectrum series guitars the last of the original design Teiscos. Emerging in late 1969, early 1970, these guitars represent the movement from the old Teisco line to the "copy era" of Japanese guitar making. This ET-440 has a stratish style body, four "spectrum sound" pickups, a laminated maple neck (Framus inspired?) and a wood grained faced strat style headstock. The condition of this guitar is very good, but it does have two issues. It is missing the pick up selector switch tip. I see this issue on about 8 of 10 of the Spectrums I see so there must have been some issue with the durability of this tip. The switch is still easy to access and works fine. The second issue is a couple of tight cracks in the headstock veneer around two tuner pegs. Not particularly noticable, but they are there. They may be weather related or the result of someone futzing with stuff, I just don't know since the issue occured before my time. The finish on the body is in good condition with a couple of scratches and bumps on the front. The back has a paint chip and a few little bump trails that must have come from a belt buckle. Paint on the floral pickguard is generally good although there are moderate pick scratches in a couple of areas. The frets are solid and do not show much wear. The laminated neck has stood the test of time and is straight with good intonation (it was originally advertised that the neck could support 1,000 pounds). The back of the neck has some wear and a couple of dings near the headstock, probably from spending time in an old hang stand (see Tuners pic). The dents are not in a playing area so the neck feels great and is otherwise in excellent condition. Both the Teisco logo and whammy bar are intact. The original chipboard case is included.

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Unknown LP jr. ca. early 1970's

I really don't know much about this early no-name Les Paul Jr. Based on the hardware I would say the guitar was made in Japan since the bridge and tailpiece are typical Japanese parts used in the late 1960's- early 1970's. The body is stained walnut with a glossy poly clearcoat. There are several chips around the edges of the body, mostly on the back side. The neck has been stained to match the body so I'm not sure what type of wood is used. The fretboard has been stained to look ebony, it's not. The guitar has 3 on side open back tuners. Comes with a chipboard case, no handle.

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