early Teisco branded Silvertone hollowbody?

[mike_C]

hi friends,
this'll be here next week.
any thoughts? i'm stumped.
thanks!
m

[daan]

Either that's a really small-bodied guitar, or that's the longest tremolo arm I've ever seen.
Either way, that's such a cool looking guitar. THanks for sharing!

[mike_C]

loong tremolo right!?

trying to figure if this was an actual production Teisco/Silvertone or what? i do seem to recall seing pics of an early Teisco like this but can't seem to find anything on the web.

it has a set neck btw.

best,
m

[Jimmy_noise]

What you have here is a Teisco EP-8. It has a lot of modification. Looks great tho. It dates between 1958 to 1962. As a quick estimate. I have not got the set neck archtop necks sorted by dates yet. Maybe next year I’ll have it worked out. Still need a few more photos to calculate it. Anyway, the EP-8 came in several versions. This model was the only Teisco to feature the slide switch on a plate, for the pickup selector. Before this was a rotary switch. After this was the well know plastic toggle switches.

Modifications include;
• Non original paint. They only came in a tobacco burst;
• Non original logo. This model has not been recorded being supplied to Silvertone / Sears. Should have a silver disc logo with white or red Teisco on it. There should be a round model tag nailed to the back of the headstock.
• It has an ARIA Tremolo unit from the late 60’s. Generally used on Conrad hollow bodies. This model was a hard tail with a standard looking tailpiece;
• The pickups are not original to this model, but are later Teisco pickups (1964?) The correct pickups were a gold foil in this particular model, but it is the version with big opening and a slant piece across it;
• The bridge is a new replacement, as Teisco didn’t used a compensating bridge on this model;
• Knobs also look like newer replacements.
• Also the truss red cover is not original. These didn’t have adjustable truss rods, hence had no covers.

This guitar is a classic case of typical restoration of an old Japanese guitar. Generally they are restored using any made in Japan part that seems to fit or look good. I’m not saying it is a bad job or not a good guitar as it is. It’s just lost its originality. And in time that will become increasing important to its value.

Ta
Jimmy Noise

[mike_C]

that's what i'm talking about!

thanks, jimmy!