Help Identifying Memphis guitar

[knigel]

[Spud1950]

Can't find that exact model,but on page 1 of the of the 1982 Memphis catalog in the Vintaxe collection there is a guitar with the same body construction,although a different body shape,different headstock shape,but the same pickups.Yours must date from somewhere around the same time. They are referred to as "double fire power blade pickups". That style humbucker pickup,with steel blades instead of individual pole pieces was first made in the 1970s by legendary pickup maker Bill Lawrence. Those are a very obvious copy of his design.The blade design,both humbuckers and single coils is still common and popular today. I'll keep searching for your exact model.

Edit - Looks like Memphis is another one of those brands of mysterious origin. This is pretty typical of what people have to say about it.



Being that Memphis is just a brand name,I think the key would be to figure out who actually manufactured the guitar. Maybe others have some ideas as to who that might be.

[knigel]

Yeah, the pickups remind me of the Peavey super ferrites (well, the ones on my T-30 anyway). Peavey may have borrowed that design too.

I read somewhere that this guitar is an Alembic...tribute? copy? but I don't know much about Alembics either.

Well, good hunting. I'll keep looking too...

[knigel]

It could be this guy, the MG300...

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... ?t=1861885

(scroll down)

wrong headstock though.

[knigel]

Now I see on St Louis CL a Memphis MG100--right head, wrong pickups. Hmmm....

EDIT: and Atlanta

[Spud1950]

[Bassassin]

[Spud1950]

Bassassin beat me to it. I found This Vantage catalog page and as you can see,the Phantom,except for the pickup style, is almost a twin.

[knigel]

So Memphis is a Vantage copy made in Japan, or are they just children of the same parents?

[Spud1950]

As of yet I don't see any absolute proof that the Memphis was made in Japan like the Vantage. I was just comparing them as that might have been a possibilty,but since according to some of the posts in Bassassin's link saying they were made in Korea I guess that's also a possibility.

[Bassassin]

[knigel]

[knigel]

[Spud1950]

Also a Strat shaped body.Not the same body style as yours.Different models with different variations.Nothing crazy or unusal about it.

The body shape of your model is based on a Gibson body style, as seen on the double cutawy versions of the Melody Maker and Les Paul.

Melody Maker



Les Paul

[Bassassin]