Opinions on this ebay guitar

[Bob K]

This is the one I'm interested in:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

I know it's associated with Houndog Taylor, but the reason I like it is because my brother gave me his guitar back in the late sixties and it was the two pickup version of this one. It actually had the name "HOWARD" on the headstock if I remember correctly .

Naturally, that guitar is long gone . It would be kind of nice to get this deluxe version and restore it (if it stays reasonable).

Typically, how difficult is it to get one of these back in playing condition? I notice it doesn't seem to have a truss rod (at least no tr cover that I can see). Pictures of Houndog Taylor guitar show his did have a truss rod.

Any advice? More trouble than it's worth?

Thanks,
Bob

[wietse]

teisco's have the trusrod adjustment on the body side, and sometimres you even need to remove the neck to get to it. if the neck is straight and all the electronics work, the switches tend to give some problems but those are easy to fix, not hard at all to get it playable again. al stands and falls with the condition of the neck, it's almost impossible to find a good replacement neck for guitars like these.
nice guitar for a nice price i suspect it's going up the coming days.

[Bob K]

So the question is, "Do I feel lucky?".

[VintAxe]

Hi Bob,

I sold a 1964 Kawai S-170 like this one about a year ago. I have pictures that you might be interested in under "Guitars Sold on VintAxe" but the links are messed up at the moment since I'm shuffling a few directories around. I'll get the page fixed shortly.

Here are the issues I had with this guitar. The main problem was the bar bridge that didn't allow for intonation adjustment. Mine had a Schaller replacement bridge that solved this issue but required that I make a small plate to cover some of the routing associated with the original setup.

The plastic flip switches were also not very reliable. My guitar had replacement toggle switches that I thought looked pretty good as replacements. The neck was reset and the action was even and low, a very nice player. The best news was the tone. I loved the sound of those single coils.

FYI, there is no truss rod so it's mandatory you get one with a good neck. The neck is as big as a baseball bat but is actually pretty comfortable once you adjust to it.

Good luck with your purchase, sb

[Bob K]

Steve - I don't think I can risk it without playing it first. It's not as if it's going for $50.00 and I could just take my chances. The "no truss rod" thing is a problem for me.

I'd love to grab one someday, though. I still may have a bunch of parts from my brother's two pickup version.

Bob

[Bob K]

By the way, Steve - what is that guitar in your avatar?

[VintAxe]

It's a Dynacord Cora made in Germany in the mid 1960's. I figured if I was going to run a "Bizarre Guitar" site I'd better use my bizarrist guitar as an avatar. It's long on cool looks but short on tone . I figure I'll pose with it on a record cover some day. If you want to see a better picture check out the Guitar Gallery under European Guitars. sb

[Big Beat]

Yes, these guitars were sold under a variety of obscure names, including Howard and Roxanne. Howard & Roxanne had a baby and named it Zim-Gar, that's what it says on mine. The parent co. was of course Kawai. The Hound Dog Taylor thing is vastly overrated. In fact, he played another Kawai model, the Bison, far more often than the 4L, but this one made it to the LP cover and now everyone wants it. People also confuse it with the earlier Teisco SD series, which has a similar shape. It's a total mess, actually, with vastly inflated prices on models that Taylor never even played Most people don't even have a clue who Taylor was, they just use the name because it makes the guitar worth more

These are in fact pretty cool guitars. But indeed, NO TRUSS ROD, so beware.

[Michael Ambrose]

If you're still looking for one, Mike's Music in Cincinatti OH had one last time I was there for under two bills. They should have a website... it played pretty well not to long ago, though it had some pot issues. Only thing was it wasn't branded Howard... just an average Teisco.

(For anyone wondering why I keep spurting out tese random shops... I'm on tour right now, and every city I hit as many music shops as I can.)

[cheepaxes]

[quote="Michael Ambrose"]...(For anyone wondering why I keep spurting out tese random shops... I'm on tour right now, and every city I hit as many music shops as I can.)[/quote]

Interesting. On tour with whom? Inquiring minds...

My touring has been limited but I never got much chance to go to music stores on the road. Closest I can remember is a friend buying a cool Mosrite bass for $75 at a yard sale somehere in Louisiana in 1989. (Diving from Jackson, MS to Little Rock, AR.

-Scott

[Michael Ambrose]

I'm on the road right now as the keyboardist for Dave Wakeling and The English Beat... every now and again I get a free minute to check out a shop or two.

Those two Guyatones were tempting, but I ended up leaving with a St George/Massie 'Squire' 1263 head.

There was also a GREAT basketcase Mosrite copy... "Osborne," anyone? (Crazy piece, definately Greco- or Teisco-ish, with the square pole pieces on the one remaining bucker)... for some reason I'm madly in love with basketcase guitars.

[cheepaxes]