Topic: ok all you guitar experts, we have a mystery to solve

[bucky katt]

i was on the way home from the range this afternoon when i spotted what i thought was the body of an electric guitar. well, i did a u turn and drove up to the curb where all this yard waste was and sure enough, it was an electric guitar. it looks like hell, but when i put some new DR extra light strings on it, it has just fantastic action. very VERY smooth fingerboard but the electrics suck. before i start tearing it down to re-finish and re-do the electrics i wanted to see if anyone here might know what it is? there are no markings of any kind on the headstock or the neck plate. nothing under the pickguard either, which is chrome metal. a free home made sicilian dinner with handmade everything for the person that can tell me what in hell it is. i plan on a nice nitrocellulose finish and beadblasting/powder coating the metal pickguard. the homemade dinner is redeemable either ay my house or yours, whichever of us gets to the others place first, and we're talking top quality fooodage here, not chef-boyardee either.

[IAmCitizenMe]

It resembles an old Fender Jaguar, but I know that isn't it. Hmmmm, a real brain buster.

[mlinder]

It aint a Jag, I have one. First thought was Califone, but it isn't. Looks kinda like a copy of a teisco or silvertone. My guess is a copy of one of those. With a 'custom' pick guard

[bucky katt]

definetely not fender. thats a chrome metal pickguard on it too

[mlinder]

It's not the original pickguard though, I'm pretty sure.

[bucky katt]

it does somewhat resemble a teisco doesnt it? maybe once i start tearing it down something will show up

[martino1972]

take the neck off ,might be something written in the slot or back side of neck....

[Retro Rocket]

It looks Japanese, it should have that written on there somewhere. The pots will also have some info on them and most japanese guitars have something written in the front pickup cavity or in the neck pocket. I have seen that shape before on a Japanese guitar forum i frequent, i wil post pics and see what comes up.

Mick

[Hush]

Similar neck an controls to my Peavey but that chrome scratch guard is random.

[bucky katt]

defintely not peavey, it looks almost like the body is 3/4 size with a full length neck. well, i'll take the neck off when i get back from atlanta this evening

[azuredesign]

I also think it's Japanese. There were a bunch of factories back in the 60's and 70's that made guitars like yours. Collectively they were referred to as Teisco guitars, but there were many other brands and different styles abound. Many were sold through department stores with or without branding on the headstock. I have one with a chrome pickguard like yours that was made with the Kawaii label, and have others with no label. Some are completely made of laminated materials, and some are completely solid, with all variations under the sun. They appeared to have almost resellable value before the lending disaster, but now are once again very good guitars for trying all sorts of modifications. (I did my first fret job on one.)
For myself, I like the low impedance pick ups, but I use heavier strings than you're working with.
Ry Cooder, David Lindley, and probably many others have used these guitars very successfully for playing slide parts on.

One thing you might do is search on ebay for Teisco guitars, and see if you find one like yours that has more information about it. There's also quite a few websites about these guits. Good luck!!

[Inigo Montoya]

You know what type of pickup would look good there? A lipstick tube style!

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/specialized/vintage/sld1_lipstick_t/

something like this.

[Frankencake]

 That guitar is a mid to early 70's Japanese guitar.  It is probably a Harmony judging by the headstock or maybe a Kay which is to say that it was made in the Teisco factory who made all of the guitars from Japan back then.  I think that the pick guard is something someone made.  Since stainless was pretty expensive back then, they wouldn't have put such a costly piece of metal on what was other wise an inexpensive guitar.  I am guessing that once you remove that pickguard, you will find another pick up cavity routed in the body.  You can sometimes find a manufacturers name written on the back of the pickup but most times not.  Sling it up and shred some tunes on that bad boy piece of history. 
Incidentally, early Ibanez guitars were made in the same factory. 
I have a beautiful Penco es335 copy that came from the Teisco factory.  Penco was the name of The Philadelphia Musical Instrument Company from Limerick, Pa.  The pickups and tuners sucked so I put a set of aftermarket tuners and Gibson H'buckers.  It has a plywood constructed flame maple body and figured sitka spruce top that, if you look at it just right, you can see what looks like a face.  Simply gorgeous and very playable!

[Caaveman82]

Looks like a human leg or a television to me.. I'm no expert however.

[Retro Rocket]

That guitar is a mid to early 70's Japanese guitar.  It is probably a Harmony judging by the headstock or maybe a Kay which is to say that it was made in the Teisco factory who made all of the guitars from Japan back then.

Your on the right track 78ss, its a Jedson which is a kay copy made by Teisco in Japan in the 60's and early 70's. I haven't found another picture the same but i guy i know had one a few years back, he bought it for 5 pounds in England and said it was a cheap POS. Even so, they are now considered collectible even if they are not worth much.

Mick

[bucky katt]

i have an old teisco neck and when i put it up next to the guitar, theyre IDENTICAL. so i now know it's a teisco, just not sure what moodel now. as far as the lipstick pickups go, my danelectro hodad has those and they sound killer. i have a set of pickups from an hss strat and i'm thinking about using the bridge pickup (double coil style)

[333]

How you found it is exactly how I got all 3 of my acoustics.  2 were no names, but the 12 string is a Fender.

[Retro Rocket]

so i now know it's a teisco,

Sorry to be picky but it is made by Teisco but that is only the maker, the guitar is a Jedson and like i said earlier it is a Kay copy which were also made by Teisco. Teisco made plenty of its own guitars but also it made a lot guitars for other distributors.

Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Jedson, Kent, Norma, Kingston, Kimberly, Tulio, Heit Deluxe and World Teisco. Likewise, they were imported in the U.K under such labels as Arbiter, Audition, Kay and Top Twenty. While guitars manufactured by Teisco were ubiquitous in their day, they are now very collectable. In fact, highly sought after models are now being reproduced.

Here is a similar Kay guitar, also made by Teisco



Mick

[bucky katt]

so i now know it's a teisco,

Sorry to be picky but it is made by Teisco but that is only the maker, the guitar is a Jedson and like i said earlier it is a Kay copy which were also made by Teisco. Teisco made plenty of its own guitars but also it made a lot guitars for other distributors.

Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Jedson, Kent, Norma, Kingston, Kimberly, Tulio, Heit Deluxe and World Teisco. Likewise, they were imported in the U.K under such labels as Arbiter, Audition, Kay and Top Twenty. While guitars manufactured by Teisco were ubiquitous in their day, they are now very collectable. In fact, highly sought after models are now being reproduced.

Here is a similar Kay guitar, also made by Teisco



Mick

i have a body just like the one you have pictured (bare body)  was thinking about a 12 string neck and lipstick pickups for it.

[bucky katt]

i'm thinking that this is going to be my "travel guitar" if it gets damaged or stolen, i wont be quite as upset as if my Danelectro Hodad or my Les-Paul got hurt or stolen

[IAmCitizenMe]

I was thinking about getting a small parlor acoustic and a light case that i could strap to my motorcycle when i go on trips. ive im camping, there is nothing i desire more than my guitar and harmonicas. anyone know where to find a cheap'n?

[azuredesign]

Taylor makes a series of "Baby" guitars that seem to go used in the $200-300 dollar range. If you really want cheap and small, how about a baritone uke strung like the 4 highest strings on a guitar?

[bucky katt]

martin makes the "backpacker" guitar too. i meant using this as a travel guitar because if it gets damaged it wont upset me like losing my 500 dollar hodad or my les-paul. this guitar has cost me a total of 7 dollars........for the new 9-42 DR strings. i went past the same place on the way home from dropping Norton the kitty off at the foster home and there was ANOTHER guitar out there. this time a Johnson strat copy. looks like the only thing wrong was the holes for the screws in the neck were wront out from removing-reinstalling the neck. i sank 4 time-serts into the neck and all is secure now. this makes 5 electrics and an acoustic now. guitars are getting to be like cats, i keep on accumulating them without trying to.