Oh man! At 11:50 in the Decca is a twin to the one I bought as a kid. In 1968 I bought it at a Colony department store for $39. Wish I could find one. Good video, thanks.
Came for the guitars, stayed for the incredible playing and tones. I've stumbled on your channel for a while but I finally subscribed, thanks for the insight!
I really loved the tone the Sakai had. I bet that would sound amazing through a fuzz pedal. Those low output pickups just have that "something" i love.
My first guitar was a Teisco E-110 handed down from my dad. His mom got it for him at K-Mart back in 1972, but the guitar seems to be one of the last ones under the Teisco brand from about 1970 or so. Either way, that kind of dirty, but sparkly sound is hard to find these days, and I crave it so much.
I know they do. I'm more of a Gilmour type slide player, really. Not so great at bottleneck blues. Doesn't stop me from trying here and there, but I'm not a natural at it.
I love all your videos, whether its trouble-shooting and repairing/restoring an old tube amp or sound testing pickups on little-known guitars, and showcasing your nifty guitar skills, I always learn cool stuff. Looking forward to another great year. Cheers
I know this is a blast from the past, but you really are a good guitar player. I appreciate ALL your posts and sharing some of your knowledge and old Japanese guitars. My #1 guitar (favorite to play) is a Teisco e200 that was my first guitar 40 years ago. Still plays great and I bought another exact guitar for parts etc. but play them both because neither one needs anything. My e200 guitars have silver pickups, the first incarnation of the tulip guitar.
Agreed on that. Excellent point! A compromise is to put just a tad of wax in there and melt that, without saturating the entire pickup. That can stamp down microphonics just enough where they won't squeal, but will still have that edge.
@@TheGuitologist hello i want to ask you a question and may be you could help me. ive found a blue teisco del rey spectrum (called 2 because of the 2 pickups) for my searching this is the 3rd series whit the gold hardware, whit the word spectrum in the neck side, its from 67, 68 or 69 i guess from the information that is in the web. it sound fantastic!!! althoug the vol pot was changed and 3 missing screws, its all original. but the pickups squeaks a lot and have microphonic issues (actually the hole pickguard and switchs make a lot of loud noise), i feel and know in a way that there is the charming of these vintage sound. So here is my question: what do you think that i can do to solve the michoponic issues whitout changing the tone and spirit of true vintage sound of the pickups? hope made myself clear about what im asking because english is not my lenguage, also hope you might help me to get an idea of what could i do whitout changing for bad the guitar, because you have a lot of knowledge about all of these guitars and pickups. un saludo desde Argentina. : )
hey mate, i really like you channel! I use an iphone 5 for my videos and i've got good audio results with a zoom iq6 microphone. check one out online! (check it's the right plug version. there are 2!)
Cool video! I learned a lot. UA-cam brought me here searching for my Teisco SM-2L, it has the same pickups as the last one you showed after the Kawai merge so I guess mine is one of the latest from Teisco. Fully agree on their original design being quite innovative. Mine has a very thin body, it is very lightweight and has an incredibly low action and thin neck for those days
Gretsch is now owned by a group based in Japan. I have been using higher end Yamahas for years. Half the price of some USA guitars. Lots of bang for your buck. Hardware is always decent. Craftsmanship sound. There made to mod. Easy to fit aftermarket upgrades, parts. Really gives you scope to do your own custom shop. Get things to your own liking. That in-between guitar sound!
Good vid here. I love those old Japanese guitars. I wish I would have kept mine, and my younger brothers. We started to play in the mid sixties with these things.
I got rid of mine after my dad and I reset the neck pocket to drop the 3/8” action,... but it never intonated. Got lucky and bought a Guild Starfire V custom blonde with Bigsby delete, just a few months old. That was early 1967 and I still have it.. I don’t even remember how I got rid of the “Woolworth” cheapie... It was similar to this Hoshino... I feel no nostalgia for it. It would be nice if it still existed, but its been over 50 years.. who knows... Nice playing! Interesting comparisons, and trippy to be remembering my first guitar.
@@jenniferwhitewolf3784 awsome story. Guitars hold a place in my heart. When I first saw one as a young boy.i was emphatuated with them ever scince. I'm just barely getting past power chords and starting to get better
we are all older now! . . yes, slide would work on these 5Os-60s twang monsters . . also, why play blues rock all the time!! . . maybe move on to smashing pumpkins! . . pixies! . . cannibal corspe! is worth a try with an ok-awesome (1-12 andy soho or princeton) amp! . . sublime! . . beatles! . . surf! . . rockabily! . . cream ish! . . punk 1981 ish!
Brad, in any of your videos, or online somewhere, do you explain where or how you learned your amazing scope of knowledge and skills? You're an encyclopedia, and one helluva teacher.
+Adam Robillard Thanks for watching, Adam. I intend on making a series out of this concept. In each video I'll take an American guitar we all know and put it up against a few Japanese vintage guitars. Should be fun.
wow been searching for parts for those PickUps, "1970 Kawai Kay SG Copy w/ non-adjustable chrome pickups 4-slits" mine has Black Plastic Surrounds that are designed to break.
I have a Silver-tone Guitar with those pickups with the black center adjust screws chrome around the outside it is shaped like a violin bought it when I was in Canada in the seventies. Haven't seen another like it, don't know how old it is.
I used to have this really cool Maya SG. It had a beautiful setting thru walnut brown on a nicely grained ash body. The humbucker covers has only a single coil in but sounded like a humbuckers. I sold it to get a real SG that I sold because I didn't really play it that much. But I do miss the Maya 😑
Brought back nightmares watching this. My first guitar was a Sakai Strat copy. A guitar that wouldn't stay in tune, if you got lucky enough to get it in tune to start with. Had absolutely no sustain, and would squeal in pain at the thought of overdrive.. They do make great collectors items though. :)
Yep, everyone looked down their noses at these back then. The major problem they had was they were terribly set up from the factory. I can get these old Japanese guitars and spend an hour or so on them getting the intonation properly set, string height, dressing frets, shimming necks, adjusting truss rods, cleaning electronics, etc. and they actually make for cool little players. The pickups often have their own thing going on, they sound like nothing else, so if you're going for a specific type of bite on your pick attack, these are the ticket. Listen thru til the end and check out that last guitar especially and you'll see what I mean. You can't get that tone anywhere else, and in a mix, it would sound super.
Brad, when I contacted you about my Kay you didn't mention this video. That Kay K-2 at the end is a dead ringer for mine (from the factory at least, the color is different now). Not sure how my previous searches for Kay electrics missed this video.
My uncle gave me one of these I can't think which make but it was an older Japaneese made guitar. Sadly the neck and body were badly warped. So recently I have the idea of making a strat or something with the pickups and switching from it. Just want something weird and different. I've been trying to decide what guitar would be best and I have a clapped strat body to use as a test bed and a neck off a jazzmaster. Not sure if the idea is stupid or not but, I'd like to make use of the pickups.
Im thinking of doing the same... bought a 60s unknown copy and the pickup is one of the best sounding ones i heard... but it has a bad neck and a body im not fond of... i might just get the loaded pick guard and transferred over...
Good and precize video. I'm played s couple of made in japan guitars Teisko , Auditione Kavai. Somehow evrywone with too fets neck for my taste,but the pickups are very well done it .Courrently I have two gold foil Teisco and I can not wait a good guitar to fit them in.
+Damir Avdic The best ones I've found so far when comparing them objectively like this are those chrome ones with no adjustable poles you see at the end of the video. Those are hot and nasty...in the best way!
That truetone hoshino has a nice fat sound. I have that exact guitar model that i have put off fixing up for years (needs replacement tuners). I think it's time to fix it!
+Civil Joe Yeah, the last one especially was perfect for raunchy blues. Gotta remember, most of those early electric blues guys were poor. They didn't have the money for a Fender Super Reverb and a Strat. That's why, to me at least, they always sound so organic and real.
I have a 60's something Teisco Del Rey. It was my grandfather's. I screwed up and let this guy talk me into putting active pickups in it about 25 years ago. I've lost the original ones and have been looking. Don't know what they are but they said Bass/Treble on it. Only one in the neck position. The guitar is a Strat copy with the Teisco Del Rey logo on the head stock. No serial numbers or dates at all on this guitar. I have put a p90 in it just to play around with till I find the original. Love your videos man!
I have a Tele clone from like 68-72 (not sure) with a Sears and Roebuck space age style logo and a zero fret that has a G&L pickup on the top position and the original pickup in the bridge. It's a LITTLE microphonic but it's not TOO bad, the screech stops when you start playing anyways :P I paid $50 for it a decade ago and it's my favorite. It totally fits my playing style, especially through a Champ cranked up to 10 or an AC clone :P
This is very cool.I am seriously thinking of getting one of these.....The bridge pickup on the Decca has a fat mid sound because so far from the bridge....Very interesting about the microphonics and potting.... It would have been cool to hear that SG styled one with amp on 10 myabe with a booster pedal for slightly more gain and hit an A power chord....and let it sustain.....
Thanks, Rob. Much appreciated! If you're interested, there is a video I made explaining my picking because I was getting a lot of questions about it... ua-cam.com/video/EZE0CTiuMn8/v-deo.html
Love your videos.Im really happy to have a few of these guitars.My japanese guitars are a 2 pickup kent polaris(guyatone),single pickup sakai,three pickup guitar that is built by a small manufacture and a fujigen vn4 and vn2 baritone guitars.Really like the sakai and decca.
I had one of those japanese guitars as a kid .wish I still had it. So sad. I forgot the name but the one you demoed with the single red sparkly pick up...I had a clone black beauty that I got rid of to..sux .now I got one guitar .but when I was thirteen I collected about ten
I hear many of these old MIJ guitars dont have truss rods? I remember seeing some on ebay for around $150 about 6 years ago, and I was reluctant because I thought they didnt have truss rods, and I didnt want to have to deal with trying to straighten the neck through other means.
I just bought a guitar just like the first one after the strat.. The only differences are mine is unbranded and the scratchplate is aluminum and the knobs are white, pickup has black in it instead of red.. Do you think it is the same factory? It looks exactly the same but i thought kingston made mine? If it sounds as good as yours when i get it I'm gonna get it refretted with ss frets! I got it because i can't afford a fender and i always wanted a jaguar.. But now you got me excited!!
My first guitar was that Truetone Rockstar . I hated that thing, it would make my fingers bleed. horrible action,a couple of high frets. 2nd guitar was another Western Auto Japanese "SG" copy with tremolo, I still have it! In 10th grade, I was finally able to afford a decent guitar. I went to buy a Fender Mustang but the music store was out of them and I ended up buying a Duo Sonic II. This was in 1973, a few years ago I took the neck off to confirm the age according to the serial number and was pleasantly surprised to find that the guitar was not a '73 but a 1966 model!
Nice Tool shirt! I thought you seemed like more of an old-school rock guy, but I'm pleasantly surprised! You kinda look a bit like Paul D'amor, their original bassist.
Oshino. That's what it was mwish I still had it .I painted it white as a kid .looked rad with the tortice shell and red sparkly pickup.. wasn't cool enough for me as a kid but wish I had most of the stuff I let go for the new and mostly worse gear. If I only knew what I had
The Guitologist can you tell me more about Decca guitars possibly? My dad gave me his old one. I don't know much about them and would like to know more about them. Mine doesn't really have a model number or anything anywhere from what I can tell but it's a hollow body with a knock off bigsby on it.
Decca was a record label back in the 50s and 60s and I think even further back into the 30s and 40s. I've seen 78s labeled Decca. Anyway, at some point in the 60s, to capitalize on the guitar craze, they began labeling Japanese guitars with their name to be sold in record stores alongside their Decca Records.
were any of the japanese guitars from the late 50s to 69 ish used for/on any famous-semi-famous usa bands/songs?? . . in the studio?? . . ive seen the asian guy from smashing pumpkins use a gorgeous blue guitar on stage!
It appears evident that the strat inspired you to play better .which explains why the Japanese guitars did not really sell or gain the popularity of the strat...your playing is bluesy..which perhaps does not lend itself well in terms not only of sound but probably also in terms of comfort and feel .great video thanks
I have a Japanese ES type guitar with these pickups, bolt on neck, it has “coronet” on the headstock, jazzmaster style bridge, and a very simple tremolo...anyone know anything about this guitar?
what do you know about cameo electric guitars from the 60's? ive read that theyre japanese or korean made and teisco aquired them at one point. How true is any of that information and what is really known about these guitars?
Throughout this video there are ad breaks. There was 2 ads for each break, the last break was for a 4.20 and a 3.11 ad. I left the ads to make coffee on previous ads. You said you cannot control the length of the ads, how about the number? Politely suggest that we're now watching more ad content than your video content. UA-cam is losing its purpose.
Your guitars are in incredibly nice condition for their age! If I'm not mistaken, those old Japanese guitars are really going up in value, aren't they? I have a chance to get an old Teisco for $175 seems in nice shape from the pictures. Not sure if that's a good deal and investment or not?
Thanks Brad. I have the exact same strat, 94 anniversary, absolutely the finest guitar I have ever owned.I have taken much heat over the years for suggesting that these guitars had any merit whatsoever. I have a set of low output pups from an old harmony.Despite being cheaply made they have a unique tone and vibe that has gone unnoticed and unappreciated since high output pups are all anyone seems to care about nowadays. Fun to experiment with.
My first guitar was a domino Californian can't remember what it sounded like. But I can remember thinking the truss rod was the way to raise and lower your strings LOL. But it did have a mute bar. So we could do mrs. Brown you have a lovely daughter LOL.
for me, i dont r really dont like the dirt dirt! . . 5e63?. . i have a 1963 super clean-spanky gretch amp! . . maybe you could get a twin reverb or deluxe or ampeg gemini?
Nice video ,I have Japanese guitar ,have no idea of the brand ,has adjustable pickups like taisco , and square switches .Its a cross between Domino and Taisco . I'm having problems with setting intonation. There is so many points of adjustments ,I'm all over the place.The screws are old and hard to turn.It took me few years to find out pickup hight is adjustable and now I learned from your video that my pickups not only go up and down but might be adjusted on individual strings by turning corresponding screw. Thanks.
+tv1canada The bridges on Japanese guitars are often NOT set properly. You may find the high E string is in the correct position, but the lower strings may get progressively sharp in intonation. In this case, the only thing you can do is move the bridge to a different position.
Great tone especially the black foils Cool video- I have had 2 Teiscos, one with black foil pickups like your second one and last one, another that had something that looked like surface mount P90s. Both sounded great but I didn't like the neck profiles and neck pickups fouled the strings in the high frets. Had to shim the necks.
These were the kinds of guitars those old Miss., Tenn., and Ark. delta blues men were playing at the time. They didnt have the cheeze to buy any of those high filutin Gibson's and Fender's. Lol
Thank you, I really enjoyed watching your video. I'll share it with Dutch guitar enthousiasts. Greetings, Eugène Kanters, the Netherlands (www.GoedeGitaren.nl)
ha! every one of these probably cost about $40.00 U.S. back when they were made. every one of these produced a tone to rival that american strat. at least coming thru the computer.
Thing is, for recording certain tones, you can't make any Strat or Tele sound like that. Nice to have a couple of these in a studio for tracking dirty blues-inspired licks.
Just got a sekova bighorn. S/n 841. Doesn't work. I originally responded to a post about what I thought was a fender clone for $50 but I saw that it wasn't what I wanted and it didn't work but thinking this might be something special I paid $30 for it because I know Robert Smith had a guitar like this and he kept the pickup out of it when he got a Fender guitar after he started making money and had the tiesco pick up put into it
Damn that some fat bluesy tones out of those Japanese guitars. You sound old, black and famous.
Haha. Thank man!
The Kay is made in Taiwan I think...
Oh man! At 11:50 in the Decca is a twin to the one I bought as a kid. In 1968 I bought it at a Colony department store for $39. Wish I could find one. Good video, thanks.
Just wanted to drop in and say that your playing made my day! Amazing!
Came for the guitars, stayed for the incredible playing and tones. I've stumbled on your channel for a while but I finally subscribed, thanks for the insight!
I really loved the tone the Sakai had. I bet that would sound amazing through a fuzz pedal. Those low output pickups just have that "something" i love.
I agree. The bite of the note, the attack is different than with anything Fender or Gibson.
My first guitar was a Teisco E-110 handed down from my dad. His mom got it for him at K-Mart back in 1972, but the guitar seems to be one of the last ones under the Teisco brand from about 1970 or so. Either way, that kind of dirty, but sparkly sound is hard to find these days, and I crave it so much.
You sir need to get into some slide. Those nasty microphonic pickups work extremely well for Slide.
I know they do. I'm more of a Gilmour type slide player, really. Not so great at bottleneck blues. Doesn't stop me from trying here and there, but I'm not a natural at it.
I love all your videos, whether its trouble-shooting and repairing/restoring an old tube amp or sound testing pickups on little-known guitars, and showcasing your nifty guitar skills, I always learn cool stuff. Looking forward to another great year. Cheers
+August Lyons Thanks for watching and keeping up with my videos. I always look forward to your comments, August.
I know this is a blast from the past, but you really are a good guitar player. I appreciate ALL your posts and sharing some of your knowledge and old Japanese guitars. My #1 guitar (favorite to play) is a Teisco e200 that was my first guitar 40 years ago. Still plays great and I bought another exact guitar for parts etc. but play them both because neither one needs anything. My e200 guitars have silver pickups, the first incarnation of the tulip guitar.
The hoshino with the middle pickup sounds soo good
You know I love them all but those last two......wow! The SG copy should be in my collection.
+ajp33green The pickups in that one are really awesome...and you can still find those cheaply because they don't have any gold foil in them! ;)
Cool video. I recently gave my 1969ish "Audition" probably made by Teisco. Still sounds great.
18:00 I have one of these pups and I'm building a DIY homebrewed lap steel around it....not completed yet but it sounds pretty good already.
the secret ingredient is no wax potting
Agreed on that. Excellent point! A compromise is to put just a tad of wax in there and melt that, without saturating the entire pickup. That can stamp down microphonics just enough where they won't squeal, but will still have that edge.
@@TheGuitologist hello i want to ask you a question and may be you could help me. ive found a blue teisco del rey spectrum (called 2 because of the 2 pickups) for my searching this is the 3rd series whit the gold hardware, whit the word spectrum in the neck side, its from 67, 68 or 69 i guess from the information that is in the web. it sound fantastic!!! althoug the vol pot was changed and 3 missing screws, its all original. but the pickups squeaks a lot and have microphonic issues (actually the hole pickguard and switchs make a lot of loud noise), i feel and know in a way that there is the charming of these vintage sound.
So here is my question: what do you think that i can do to solve the michoponic issues whitout changing the tone and spirit of true vintage sound of the pickups?
hope made myself clear about what im asking because english is not my lenguage, also hope you might help me to get an idea of what could i do whitout changing for bad the guitar, because you have a lot of knowledge about all of these guitars and pickups. un saludo desde Argentina. : )
Noise canceling tape, and adding wax around the cavities of the pickup.
Dayam! That SG copy has something going!
I know, right! I liked that one too.
cool info, nice tones, great playing
Nice vintage camera too
Heh, yeah this is the vintage iPhone 4.
hey mate, i really like you channel! I use an iphone 5 for my videos and i've got good audio results with a zoom iq6 microphone. check one out online! (check it's the right plug version. there are 2!)
Cool video! I learned a lot. UA-cam brought me here searching for my Teisco SM-2L, it has the same pickups as the last one you showed after the Kawai merge so I guess mine is one of the latest from Teisco. Fully agree on their original design being quite innovative. Mine has a very thin body, it is very lightweight and has an incredibly low action and thin neck for those days
Gretsch is now owned by a group based in Japan. I have been using higher end Yamahas for years. Half the price of some USA guitars. Lots of bang for your buck. Hardware is always decent. Craftsmanship sound. There made to mod. Easy to fit aftermarket upgrades, parts. Really gives you scope to do your own custom shop. Get things to your own liking. That in-between guitar sound!
Good vid here. I love those old Japanese guitars. I wish I would have kept mine, and my younger brothers. We started to play in the mid sixties with these things.
Might be worth picking one up again for nostalgia, if nothing else.
Tall Dude Theyre still quite cheap. get one!
I got rid of mine after my dad and I reset the neck pocket to drop the 3/8” action,... but it never intonated. Got lucky and bought a Guild Starfire V custom blonde with Bigsby delete, just a few months old. That was early 1967 and I still have it.. I don’t even remember how I got rid of the “Woolworth” cheapie... It was similar to this Hoshino... I feel no nostalgia for it. It would be nice if it still existed, but its been over 50 years.. who knows...
Nice playing! Interesting comparisons, and trippy to be remembering my first guitar.
I wish I had mine too. Young me was into shiny new things.i DNT hold on to stuff untill about twenty yrs old lol
@@jenniferwhitewolf3784 awsome story. Guitars hold a place in my heart. When I first saw one as a young boy.i was emphatuated with them ever scince. I'm just barely getting past power chords and starting to get better
we are all older now! . . yes, slide would work on these 5Os-60s twang monsters . . also, why play blues rock all the time!! . . maybe move on to smashing pumpkins! . . pixies! . . cannibal corspe! is worth a try with an ok-awesome (1-12 andy soho or princeton) amp! . . sublime! . . beatles! . . surf! . . rockabily! . . cream ish! . . punk 1981 ish!
viva diverstity yeah & pixies surf rhythm soul et alia...
BUT here context is not a _music performance as such
His focus is pure >> pickup COMPARISON
@@JasonCunliffe 7 nation army on a teisco 67 guitar is sure to rock out.
I had a may queen with a goldfoil bridge pickup that was so glassy and cool sounding loved that guitar
Brad, in any of your videos, or online somewhere, do you explain where or how you learned your amazing scope of knowledge and skills? You're an encyclopedia, and one helluva teacher.
Great video!! Thank you for all the fantastic content.
+Adam Robillard Thanks for watching, Adam. I intend on making a series out of this concept. In each video I'll take an American guitar we all know and put it up against a few Japanese vintage guitars. Should be fun.
Always dig your vids, great playing. Peace, B.
+BrainDetail2020 Thanks for that. I appreciate you watching and taking time to comment.
wow been searching for parts for those PickUps, "1970 Kawai Kay SG Copy w/ non-adjustable chrome pickups 4-slits" mine has Black Plastic Surrounds that are designed to break.
I have a Silver-tone Guitar with those pickups with the black center adjust screws chrome around the outside it is shaped like a violin bought it when I was in Canada in the seventies.
Haven't seen another like it, don't know how old it is.
I used to have this really cool Maya SG. It had a beautiful setting thru walnut brown on a nicely grained ash body. The humbucker covers has only a single coil in but sounded like a humbuckers. I sold it to get a real SG that I sold because I didn't really play it that much. But I do miss the Maya 😑
Brought back nightmares watching this. My first guitar was a Sakai Strat copy. A guitar that wouldn't stay in tune, if you got lucky enough to get it in tune to start with. Had absolutely no sustain, and would squeal in pain at the thought of overdrive.. They do make great collectors items though. :)
Yep, everyone looked down their noses at these back then. The major problem they had was they were terribly set up from the factory. I can get these old Japanese guitars and spend an hour or so on them getting the intonation properly set, string height, dressing frets, shimming necks, adjusting truss rods, cleaning electronics, etc. and they actually make for cool little players. The pickups often have their own thing going on, they sound like nothing else, so if you're going for a specific type of bite on your pick attack, these are the ticket. Listen thru til the end and check out that last guitar especially and you'll see what I mean. You can't get that tone anywhere else, and in a mix, it would sound super.
That Strat and little amp sound good good !
Brad, when I contacted you about my Kay you didn't mention this video.
That Kay K-2 at the end is a dead ringer for mine (from the factory at least, the color is different now).
Not sure how my previous searches for Kay electrics missed this video.
My uncle gave me one of these I can't think which make but it was an older Japaneese made guitar. Sadly the neck and body were badly warped. So recently I have the idea of making a strat or something with the pickups and switching from it. Just want something weird and different. I've been trying to decide what guitar would be best and I have a clapped strat body to use as a test bed and a neck off a jazzmaster. Not sure if the idea is stupid or not but, I'd like to make use of the pickups.
Tyler do it!!
No idea is stupid untill it doesn't work so you'll never know until you try it
Im thinking of doing the same... bought a 60s unknown copy and the pickup is one of the best sounding ones i heard... but it has a bad neck and a body im not fond of... i might just get the loaded pick guard and transferred over...
Good and precize video. I'm played s couple of made in japan guitars Teisko , Auditione Kavai. Somehow evrywone with too fets neck for my taste,but the pickups are very well done it .Courrently I have two gold foil Teisco and I can not wait a good guitar to fit them in.
+Damir Avdic The best ones I've found so far when comparing them objectively like this are those chrome ones with no adjustable poles you see at the end of the video. Those are hot and nasty...in the best way!
Love your playing, Brad!!!
They all sounded thin except for the sg looking guitar, time to bring out the gold foils!
That truetone hoshino has a nice fat sound. I have that exact guitar model that i have put off fixing up for years (needs replacement tuners). I think it's time to fix it!
Nice work, I enjoyed hearing them. If I see a 60s Japanese guitar now, I'll consider buying it. They all sounded decent for raunchy blues.
+Civil Joe Yeah, the last one especially was perfect for raunchy blues. Gotta remember, most of those early electric blues guys were poor. They didn't have the money for a Fender Super Reverb and a Strat. That's why, to me at least, they always sound so organic and real.
I like the mirror pickguard on the sunburst guitar.
The SG and the first one blew my mind.
Killer chops!!!
I have a 60's something Teisco Del Rey. It was my grandfather's. I screwed up and let this guy talk me into putting active pickups in it about 25 years ago. I've lost the original ones and have been looking. Don't know what they are but they said Bass/Treble on it. Only one in the neck position. The guitar is a Strat copy with the Teisco Del Rey logo on the head stock. No serial numbers or dates at all on this guitar. I have put a p90 in it just to play around with till I find the original. Love your videos man!
Thomas Campbell thanks man. This guitar only had one pickup. I really wish I hadn't screwed it up. Kicking myself
Can I send you a picture and see if you can tell me what teisco I have?
I like the format, Thanks.
very cool japanese guitars!
Please keep em coming!!
WOW
Brad The Guitologist
Has Come Along Way.
Those sound better than the strat!!! Had a guitar with 4pu teisco/kawaii!
I have a Tele clone from like 68-72 (not sure) with a Sears and Roebuck space age style logo and a zero fret that has a G&L pickup on the top position and the original pickup in the bridge. It's a LITTLE microphonic but it's not TOO bad, the screech stops when you start playing anyways :P I paid $50 for it a decade ago and it's my favorite. It totally fits my playing style, especially through a Champ cranked up to 10 or an AC clone :P
This is very cool.I am seriously thinking of getting one of these.....The bridge pickup on the Decca has a fat mid sound because so far from the bridge....Very interesting about the microphonics and potting.... It would have been cool to hear that SG styled one with amp on 10 myabe with a booster pedal for slightly more gain and hit an A power chord....and let it sustain.....
What's the song you played on the third guitar? Also, is like to ask some questions about a guitar I recently inherented that is a tesco.
Pretty much everyone in the UK started out with a Kay 'SG' in the 70's/80's
Boogiewoogie Tom Morello of rage against the machine did too
Boogiewoogie I had a Columbus les paul ☺
Really like your playing...unique
Thanks, Rob. Much appreciated! If you're interested, there is a video I made explaining my picking because I was getting a lot of questions about it...
ua-cam.com/video/EZE0CTiuMn8/v-deo.html
Love your videos.Im really happy to have a few of these guitars.My japanese guitars are a 2 pickup kent polaris(guyatone),single pickup sakai,three pickup guitar that is built by a small manufacture and a fujigen vn4 and vn2 baritone guitars.Really like the sakai and decca.
the last one (red ) , is a Kent with Teisco pick-ups . I have one with 4 pups and two with 2 pick-ups .
The last one is a 1970 Kay labeled Kawai. Built in the Kawai factory. I am not aware of that model with a Kent label, but it's possible.
I meant Kay . Teisco pick-ups though
I have one with 4 pick-ups . Also SG shape .
Got a link to a pic?
Are the pickups the same as those on this one?
I had one of those japanese guitars as a kid .wish I still had it. So sad. I forgot the name but the one you demoed with the single red sparkly pick up...I had a clone black beauty that I got rid of to..sux .now I got one guitar .but when I was thirteen I collected about ten
Nice PLAYING on that strat dude 👍😃
Great video and guitars! I need your opinion: can I get Nirvana sound in one of those guitars? Like bridge pickup style?
man that hoshino and that last SG copy sounded great. what do these guitars normally go for?
They’re cheap. The rarest ones go for $500-600 or so, but the common ones barely crack $150 on the used market even today, nearly 60 years later.
I hear many of these old MIJ guitars dont have truss rods? I remember seeing some on ebay for around $150 about 6 years ago, and I was reluctant because I thought they didnt have truss rods, and I didnt want to have to deal with trying to straighten the neck through other means.
I just bought a guitar just like the first one after the strat.. The only differences are mine is unbranded and the scratchplate is aluminum and the knobs are white, pickup has black in it instead of red.. Do you think it is the same factory? It looks exactly the same but i thought kingston made mine? If it sounds as good as yours when i get it I'm gonna get it refretted with ss frets! I got it because i can't afford a fender and i always wanted a jaguar.. But now you got me excited!!
i bet anything would sound good through that amp
My Korean SG I think it is a Kent but anyways the hum-buckers on it are perfect. Kind of a grungy bluesy sound which is perfect for me.
That sg copy was killller. Think that one is my fav from this vid.
My first guitar was that Truetone Rockstar . I hated that thing, it would make my fingers bleed. horrible action,a couple of high frets. 2nd guitar was another Western Auto Japanese "SG" copy with tremolo, I still have it! In 10th grade, I was finally able to afford a decent guitar. I went to buy a Fender Mustang but the music store was out of them and I ended up buying a Duo Sonic II. This was in 1973, a few years ago I took the neck off to confirm the age according to the serial number and was pleasantly surprised to find that the guitar was not a '73 but a 1966 model!
Nice Tool shirt! I thought you seemed like more of an old-school rock guy, but I'm pleasantly surprised! You kinda look a bit like Paul D'amor, their original bassist.
Oshino. That's what it was mwish I still had it .I painted it white as a kid .looked rad with the tortice shell and red sparkly pickup.. wasn't cool enough for me as a kid but wish I had most of the stuff I let go for the new and mostly worse gear. If I only knew what I had
My first guitar was mid 70's Japanese 'Savoy' brand.
The Guitologist can you tell me more about Decca guitars possibly? My dad gave me his old one. I don't know much about them and would like to know more about them. Mine doesn't really have a model number or anything anywhere from what I can tell but it's a hollow body with a knock off bigsby on it.
Decca was a record label back in the 50s and 60s and I think even further back into the 30s and 40s. I've seen 78s labeled Decca. Anyway, at some point in the 60s, to capitalize on the guitar craze, they began labeling Japanese guitars with their name to be sold in record stores alongside their Decca Records.
were any of the japanese guitars from the late 50s to 69 ish used for/on any famous-semi-famous usa bands/songs?? . . in the studio?? . . ive seen the asian guy from smashing pumpkins use a gorgeous blue guitar on stage!
It appears evident that the strat inspired you to play better .which explains why the Japanese guitars did not really sell or gain the popularity of the strat...your playing is bluesy..which perhaps does not lend itself well in terms not only of sound but probably also in terms of comfort and feel .great video thanks
I do like the unrefined sound better. Soulful.
yeah man thay kwaiai SG cooks there electic pianos are heaven
I have a Japanese ES type guitar with these pickups, bolt on neck, it has “coronet” on the headstock, jazzmaster style bridge, and a very simple tremolo...anyone know anything about this guitar?
what do you know about cameo electric guitars from the 60's? ive read that theyre japanese or korean made and teisco aquired them at one point. How true is any of that information and what is really known about these guitars?
What nut do you recommend for those zero fret Tiesco tulip necks? I have a cut down Airline nut and it works but I want something else on there.
I custom cut bone nuts from blanks.
@@TheGuitologist I suppose i needed fret files sooner than later anyways haha
well enjoyed Brad. your so personable in all your vids. continued Blessings to you and all your family and and, and . Merry CHRISTmas. !!! Halaluja!!!
Throughout this video there are ad breaks. There was 2 ads for each break, the last break was for a 4.20 and a 3.11 ad. I left the ads to make coffee on previous ads. You said you cannot control the length of the ads, how about the number? Politely suggest that we're now watching more ad content than your video content. UA-cam is losing its purpose.
It’s a 20 minute video and is old
Well, this was fucking interesting. Binge watching all of the episodes
I was watching this thinking, Why does this guy seem so familiar. Then I realized it was Brad 6 years ago.
Good video, great shirt!
Your guitars are in incredibly nice condition for their age! If I'm not mistaken, those old Japanese guitars are really going up in value, aren't they? I have a chance to get an old Teisco for $175 seems in nice shape from the pictures. Not sure if that's a good deal and investment or not?
Thanks Brad. I have the exact same strat, 94 anniversary, absolutely the finest guitar I have ever owned.I have taken much heat over the years for suggesting that these guitars had any merit whatsoever. I have a set of low output pups from an old harmony.Despite being cheaply made they have a unique tone and vibe that has gone unnoticed and unappreciated since high output pups are all anyone seems to care about nowadays. Fun to experiment with.
My first guitar was a domino Californian can't remember what it sounded like. But I can remember thinking the truss rod was the way to raise and lower your strings LOL. But it did have a mute bar. So we could do mrs. Brown you have a lovely daughter LOL.
Guitar ocd you can use the truss rod to alter the distance between string and fingerboard.
lol, your chops back then, not bad just compared to today august 2021.. lol
These guitars though useful for specific tones in no way in my opinion compare overall to the stratocaster tone that was the control subject.
for me, i dont r really dont like the dirt dirt! . . 5e63?. . i have a 1963 super clean-spanky gretch amp! . . maybe you could get a twin reverb or deluxe or ampeg gemini?
Nice video ,I have Japanese guitar ,have no idea of the brand ,has adjustable pickups like taisco , and square switches .Its a cross between Domino and Taisco .
I'm having problems with setting intonation.
There is so many points of adjustments ,I'm all over the place.The screws are old and hard to turn.It took me few years to find out pickup hight is adjustable and now I learned from your video that my pickups not only go up and down but might be adjusted on individual strings by turning corresponding screw.
Thanks.
+tv1canada The bridges on Japanese guitars are often NOT set properly. You may find the high E string is in the correct position, but the lower strings may get progressively sharp in intonation. In this case, the only thing you can do is move the bridge to a different position.
I might have to reverse screw other way to get more room for adjustment.
Great tone especially the black foils
Cool video- I have had 2 Teiscos, one with black foil pickups like your second one and last one, another that had something that looked like surface mount P90s.
Both sounded great but I didn't like the neck profiles and neck pickups fouled the strings in the high frets. Had to shim the necks.
These were the kinds of guitars those old Miss., Tenn., and Ark. delta blues men were playing at the time. They didnt have the cheeze to buy any of those high filutin Gibson's and Fender's. Lol
90% of the reason those guitars don't sound like a rabbit with its nuts in a vise is the player.
oh ya! . . james brown! . . funk sun!-prince!-prince! . . and eith some skills . . yes! or rush!
Tool t-shirt. Good man
A tool in a t-shirt. :)
I have a 1965 daimaru
Ya
That amp 😛
Thank you, I really enjoyed watching your video. I'll share it with Dutch guitar enthousiasts.
Greetings, Eugène Kanters, the Netherlands (www.GoedeGitaren.nl)
That Strat into that amp is to die for man,and should shut up the s/c haters.But it won't.
John Iain McFarlane how you going to get the real Tone If you don't have single coils????
some of them receive radio broadcasting
ha! every one of these probably cost about $40.00 U.S. back when they were made.
every one of these produced a tone to rival that american strat.
at least coming thru the computer.
Thing is, for recording certain tones, you can't make any Strat or Tele sound like that. Nice to have a couple of these in a studio for tracking dirty blues-inspired licks.
Noice
Do those Teiscos have truss rods?
Just got a sekova bighorn. S/n 841. Doesn't work. I originally responded to a post about what I thought was a fender clone for $50 but I saw that it wasn't what I wanted and it didn't work but thinking this might be something special I paid $30 for it because I know Robert Smith had a guitar like this and he kept the pickup out of it when he got a Fender guitar after he started making money and had the tiesco pick up put into it