Southpa Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I just think they are really cool.I guess the designers were pretty stoned back then to come up with such outrageous shapes (eg. Mosrite copies like the Tokai Hummingbird). I am ashamed to admit that I own a few and actually enjoy playing them! The one on the left is a recently repaired and upgraded Kawai. The right one is a Teisco 6-string short scale bass. Both guitars are fully functional. The rocker switches allow any pickup combination possible. Some weak points when comparing to modern designs are in neck structure (undersized truss rods w/ thick, fat necks) and weak pickup outputs. But I like the variety of materials used for decoration mostly and overall sturdy construction. And I have yet to see one from that era with a plywood body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 i had a small collection at one point - the highlight was a 66 teisco spectrum bass this was teisco's attempt at something original and higher quality than their usual stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 mine was much abused. refinished a few times, made fretless all before i really knew what i was doing - but when it finally left me it was back to a reasonable state of repair and looked like this at the other end of the quality scale i had a pair of teisco made Top Twentys - horribly cheap and nasty, but still sounded rather fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) i know there on the lower end of the spectrum but i didnt pay much and the one came with a real Vox case thats problaby worth more than the guitar. but there cool atleast to me. Edited August 1, 2011 by Tim37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 i know there on the lower end of the spectrum but i didnt pay much and the one came with a real Vox case thats problaby worth more than the guitar. but there cool atleast to me. Love them, do you know what brand they are Tim? Are you going to make the one on the left playable again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 the one on the left is a kay i paid like 15 bucks for it so its not big loss the one on the right is a Teisco. as far as making the one on the left playable when i got home i did realize there where a few diffences the kay doesn have a truss rod so at the most i may buy a bridge and tail piece and make a wall hanger out of it. but this thread kinda rekindled soem intrest i have a Schecter neck laying around i was thinking about pulling a tempate off the body and doing a retro build. but right now its in the 100's out side and since i hate house work theres no way im gonna do it inside and make that big of a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted August 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 (edited) You can always pop the fb, take out the steel rod (it should have a steel reinforced neck) and install a proper adjustable truss rod. Thats what I did with the Kawai. The original truss rod was adjustable but about the diameter of a coat hanger. You can turn these old guitars into real players, they are made of good materials but have some design flaws. Your Kay could probably use some new frets anyway...its good practice! Edited August 6, 2011 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 You can always pop the fb, take out the steel rod (it should have a steel reinforced neck) and install a proper adjustable truss rod. Thats what I did with the Kawai. The original truss rod was adjustable but about the diameter of a coat hanger. You can turn these old guitars into real players, they are made of good materials but have some design flaws. Your Kay could probably use some new frets anyway...its good practice! What a great project, I am keeping my eye out for one of those babies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 (edited) there all over ebay you can get a pretty nice one for 150 or so dollars. i think mine was 100 but they guy had a high shipping and he lives just a few miles from me so i picked it up and so i saved a bunch on shipping. some of the others like wez and southpa have are a little pricier but that because they where more expensive new mine are kinda bottom of the barrel. Edited August 6, 2011 by Tim37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted August 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 (edited) Ya know, I'd say there are probably about 14 guitars built for every person on this planet. Every time I walk into a pawn shop I have to laugh, all those sh*t copies on the wall ...everyone's first guitar, selling for ridiculous prices. I'm not talking about the 60's vintage Japanese built guitars like in this thread. I mean the guitars that were made cheap INTENTIONALLLLLLY. I deal with that stuff too, just bought an Academy acoustic off the local buy & sell board for 20 bucks. I'll clean it up, set it up with new strings and sell it to someone for 50 bucks. Thats about what anyone wants to spend on their kid's first guitar. The difference is when I sell them they are PLAYABLE. The Japanese stuff is out there, you just have to be vigilant. I like shopping for guitars thru online facilities like Kajiji, Craig's list, "Used *yourtown*" etc. I'm not hardcore like getting up early on weekends (GAH! only to go fishing) to hunt thru garage sales. Pretty slim odds that someone is selling a guitar and you pretty much have to be first in line. But those old guitars are still out there, sitting in people's closets and attics...waiting for YOU! I find it can be very habit-forming but extremely educational. I check the Used Victoria ads every day and have this year's copy of the Vintage Guitar Price Guide handy. Yeah, I love guitars that much. Edited August 7, 2011 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amx05462 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 I just think they are really cool.I guess the designers were pretty stoned back then to come up with such outrageous shapes (eg. Mosrite copies like the Tokai Hummingbird). I am ashamed to admit that I own a few and actually enjoy playing them! The one on the left is a recently repaired and upgraded Kawai. The right one is a Teisco 6-string short scale bass. Both guitars are fully functional. The rocker switches allow any pickup combination possible. Some weak points when comparing to modern designs are in neck structure (undersized truss rods w/ thick, fat necks) and weak pickup outputs. But I like the variety of materials used for decoration mostly and overall sturdy construction. And I have yet to see one from that era with a plywood body. the one on the left is not a kawai. its a st gerge i had one of those back in the 80s. its heavy . nice player though good luck with it. there was ared one on ebay recently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) The guitars in this link are dead ringers for my guitar and they are Kawais! Show me one that says St. Gerge on it and I'll believe you. Edited October 23, 2011 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amx05462 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) The guitars in this link are dead ringers for my guitar and they are Kawais! Show me one that says St. Gerge on it and I'll believe you. aparently the manufacturer made those under numerous names. look it up st george guitars / kawai/ teisco http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX6Hi6ROHHoA5OqJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dst%2Bgeorge%2B%2Bguitar%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26b%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic&w=800&h=600&imgurl=i.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FVintage-St-GEORGE-guitar-4-pickups-teisco-vox-eko-case-%2F00%2F%24%28KGrHqQOKpUE3t01dJi%28BN9r%29p8BKg~~_3.JPG&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FVintage-St-GEORGE-guitar-4-pickups-teisco-vox-eko-case-%2F260801074245%3Fpt%3DGuitar%26amp%3Bhash%3Ditem3cb8f49445&size=111.8+KB&name=Vintage+St.+GEORGE+guitar+4+pickups+teisco+vox+eko+case+|+eBay&p=st+george++guitar&oid=01c7da89ce0d30a2d40742bd611c3459&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=Vintage+St.+GEORGE+guitar+4+pickups+teisco+vox+eko+case+|+eBay&b=31&ni=54&no=32&tab=organic&sigr=13uschrre&sigb=1368upn39&sigi=13ik6pjm8&.crumb=8.rvgQu/jZ0 Edited October 23, 2011 by amx05462 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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