Product: Teisco Unknown Semi-Acoustic
Price Paid: 330 (AU) used
Submitted
03/24/2005
at
12:47am
by
Martin Rotolo
Email: thatshorse<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
8
Made early/mid 60's i think - In japan, i also think
Only about 20 frets
Hollowbody 335 copy - looks great i think, lots of retro style
Controls - when i bought it, it didnt have a pickup selector and the tone knob was broken - so i got the tone knob fixed, and changed the 'out of phase' selectors to pickup selectors (i didnt even know what they did anyway)
It has 2 De Armond single coils (apparently) , which sound really good
NOt sure about woods, but i think the neck is handmade out of some australian wood (overheardheard my guitar tech mumbling) - but the wood on the body looks really nice
Bridge is a bigsby copy - but the tremolo arm is missing.....so i just move the actual bridge to get a slight tremolo dip, does the job!
Tuners are really old and crappy, and dont move too well (which can be a good thing!)
Neck is pretty thin i think, but a bit dodgy since it is handmade, not perfect in any way!
All in all, a stylish guitar too look at at the very least! a few dings and scratches, but thats what you expect from a 40 yr old guitar
Sound
:
7
When i first plugged this guitar in i was really dissapointed - firstly it had a grounding problem, so it buzzed alot, also the pickups squeal like all hell if you push the distortion, and i just couldnt find a way to really enjoy this guitar.......so i got the grounding problem fixed, and the intonation and neck angle sorted out - and plugged it in, and just mucked around for a while on it.
Turns out it is reallllly great for blues playing, you can get some wicked growl outta this guitar with just a little gain on my mesa - the pickups work really well, and if this guitar doesnt last, i will al least keep those!
Originally i thought it would be good for jazz, 'just because it is a hollowbody' (silly thought) - but now i realize its good for mild breakup sounds - blues, and white stripes kinda stuff, its got that really open, raw, vintage sound, i love playing it - even just acoustically.
So its really a one genre guitar, not versatile at all, but fun as hell to play if your in that kinda mood.
Might try re-potting the pickups to minimise feedback, aswell.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
4
Not setup well at all when i bought it, but i fixed that fine, neck had to be readjusted - lots of minor flaws, but nothing i cant ignore.
Oh yeah, also got the bridge screwed on - it was just floating before that!
Reliability/Durability
:
5
I dont think i will use this guitar live, it seems kinda unstable, goes outta tune a bit, and still seems to have some minor issues every now and then. But come on - its 40 years old!
I'll just use it for mucking around at home and recording - using that certain unique sound it has
Customer Support
:
1
Who cares - warranty wouldve well expired - i dont think theyre around anymore anyways
Overall Rating
:
8
Been playing about 5 yrs- own an epi les paul and a mesa studio .22 (great amp)
Wish i knew more about these guitars before buying it, if i knew it wasnt gunna be great quality, i probly wouldnt have bought it, but now i have, i dont really regret it! it is more a case of me getting used to it.
If it was stolen or lost, i'd probly go back to solid bodies, as they feedback less. But i would definately miss this guitar.
I like its original sound, its really raw, can be twangy, and country-ish, too - but good for early rock and roll, and blues. (i have already discovered myself making up more bluesy stuff since buying this thing!)
Chose this coz it was cheap, and looked nice/unique - and had a tremolo. (but no arm!)
Wish it had better tuners, better hardware/wiring, etc. but its fine just the way it is.
* If you see one of these vintage type bang up guitars for cheap, go buy one! theyre great fun, and its good to go back to where it all started!
Ps. you can see pics of her at http://photobucket.com/albums/v668/larry_emder/
Enjoy!
Product: Teisco Unknown Semi-Acoustic
Price Paid: 4000 (jpn yen) used
Submitted
05/25/2002
at
08:27am
by
spike
Features
:
6
it was made in the 50's...when i know not... it is a thick f-hole semi in natural wood.. it has black bacolite machine heads.. it looks a bit like a badly made gretcsh.
Sound
:
No Opinion
well...it has one though im not sure if its a good one or not.. i realy know nothing about this guitar and since i got it i never plugged it in to an amp.. it needs some restoration first
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
No Opinion
it is very old and looks it too
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
50 years old and still in one piece
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
hmmmmm
Overall Rating
:
8
i want to know more about this guitar.. i have looked on the net but found nothing.. i do not know the model or the exact year.. any help would be very helpful to me and you can contact me on the mail addy below. i am a collector and this guitar is a part of my collection, it is not for sale. i can send you a pic of it if you can help me .. thank you
