cool mystery guitar

[daan]

I saw this (the middle one, not the Epi or the Grabber!) at a little guitar store near my new job. It was waaaay up on a wall behind a bunch of PA stacks, so I couldn't get any closer to it than this and the guy working there was more interested in his phone call than moving the 9000 objects between me and the bass. Anyway I've been thinking about it since I saw it, so first of all does any of the geniuses here know what it is, and second, should I go back and bring it home? (Like I need any more basses) The 3+1 headstock says "Teisco" (maybe) and the goofy shape says "Asian" to me but other than that I have no idea what it is.

Thanks in advance.

[Michael Ambrose]

Oh, man, this one was racking my brains... until I realized where i'd seen it!!

A die-hard collector of Japanese odd-ball guitars recently posted a mess of photos and links to his collection on a Facebook group to which I belong... which led me, of course, to spend a night (and then some) obsessing over these wacky-as-holy-hell designs...

That there is an Ibanez bass. It can actually be found in a 1966 catalog here on this site.

[daan]

Well I went back and looked at it, they want $800 for it despite the literally inch-high action (the neck is super super warped) and the non-working electronics. Oh yeah the headstock label says "Hy-Lo" if that means anything. It still looks super cool though.

[Spud1950]

Michael nails it.It is a re branded Ibanez. Here's a picture from the Sixties Ibanez Page. Same bass, different headstock shape.



Checked out Hy-Lo since I never heard of them.No info on the company,but the few pictures of their guitars that I found show re branded Ibanez, Zenon, and Teisco made guitars so it's a pretty safe guess that they were another of the many import and distribution companies of that era. It is a cool looking guitar,but that price is really laughable,even if it were in good working and playing order.

[daan]

Yeah it's unfortunate that they won't let it go. I even asked if I could make some measurements/tracings so I could maybe make a copy of it (or at least the neck since the headstock is so cool looking) but they wouldn't let me. I was there again (they literally have PILES of instruments all over the floor since it's a tiny little store that has enough "product" for something the size of a Guitar Center) and got a couple more crummy cell phone pix. A different guy was there and offered to take half off the price "seeing as how it's better to look at than actually play". Anyway thanks guys for ID'ing it for me.

[Michael Ambrose]

Not to be a vulture or anything, Daan, but... uhhh... whereabouts is this shop???

haha!

[cheepaxes]

The description of the store reminds me of Chicago Music in Tucson...

-Scott

[Michael Ambrose]

Hey, I went in there while on tour a few years back! Left with an Aria Diamonds Strat/Jag-ish kinda thing!!

I don't remember it being that well-lit though haha!!

(Not that thats a bad thing... I absolutely love the dark and the dank of old mom-and-pop stores with piles of gear!)

[DeMontGuitars.com]