Canora Vintage (?) Les Paul, 'onboard FX'

An oddity off Ebay, and couldn't resist it. Quite cheap for what turned out to be such a quality guitar, too.

I have no idea how old this thing is, and, it gives conflicting clues as to its age. The story goes that these were made by Korean Kay, or, Japanese Univox and Fresher way back in the late 70s; but badged as Canora in Australia and I think Canada too. All these companies went out of business yonks ago; and it seems Canora somehow went on into the 90s with some pretty dodgy guitars.

This thing certainly isn't dodgy or low quality - it's rather beautifully made. The things that suggest that it may be 'the real deal', and quite old, are:

- the general quality of it, suggesting MIJ, or at least before Korean was mostly garbage

- the electrics in the FX unit look very old, and identical to all the old pictures I'd seen of other-badged-brand guitars like this

- it weighs an absolute ton! Well over ten pounds. Modern cheapies don't. And it isn't just the electrics that cause the weight

- the pickups look old, that 70s sorta Jap humbucker; slightly more rounded/bubble-like at the edges

- it's solid, real mahogany, body and neck (bolt on neck, like the old Ibanez Pauls in the 70s).

What confuses me as to whether it may be its suggested age:

- the tuners were absolute ***** (replaced with Gotohs now, thanks to the seller). MIJ rarely did that. Well, at least in the early 80's Jap/Korean quality tuners were the norm. In the 70s they were a bit dodgy at times. Maybe this is an example?

- the strap screws were miniscule and inadequate

- the thing is in absolute pristine condition; and I mean pristine.

However, the other reviews under 'Kay/Fresher Onboard FX Pauls' like this one say the same things.

She has all the usual Paul bridge setup (which looks substantial, not diecast cheapy stuff like nowdays), and three knobs only. On/off/volume (preamp), tone and speed (for the FX) It has a big black scratchplate on the bottom, that looks like Robby the Robot. But, it doesn't look out of place on a Paul either. Oddly.

Very nice looking guitar actually, red sunburst, quad binding even on headstock, black scratchplate.....did I say it feels and weighs like a real Paul? Thought I might have. Get to know your chiropractor again!

Here's where it gets more interesting. First, its intrinsic sound, and then discussion of the onboard FX.

It sounds like a Paul alright; big, fat, warm. The body is real mahogany, as is the neck. With an arched cap. It looks like mahogany too, strangely. Another funny thing is that there is no toggle for the pups; they are always both on. But, you can split them. It's called 'phase on/off' on one of the several million switches on the black plate. When it's switched 'in' it sounds like that real fat Paul sound, on 'out' it sounds like single coils that really bite.....nice! Strange, but nice. I like this thing!

Now, the onboard FX. They are not going to change your life; and little wonder the idea didn't take off if this baby is an example. To be fair, the electronics were dirty and needed spraying/cleaning. They often respond to that, and the more I cleaned the clearer they became. And, it needs a 9V square battery to run 'em. New one went in.

The 'fuzz' is useful, a nice distortion on both the fat and thin phase settings. Quite useable. The 'echo' is, um, pretty lame, the 'tremolo' is just a cut above lame, 'wah' ditto, and 'whirlwind'(oooohhhh, scary!!!!) is reasonably useable to colour the fuzz; funny sound, not really a modulation, but it is. Colour, at best. So, FX? pretty lame. No-one was going to throw out their stompboxes or racks on this effort!

But, it's a great sounding guitar, despite not being able to switch neck and bridge individually. Might wire something up to do that.

There is also a 'headphone' jack as well; but it hasn't worked for me yet.....more fiddling to see if it can be used for something.

If you want to play typical Paul lines/sounds, this will do it and do it quite well. Impressed, as an oddity purchased only by curiosity off Ebay (the seller was an absolute gentleman, and described it exactly as it is).

It was set up OK from the seller I bought it from; but have tinkered it to my tastes. It is quite good. Harmonics good now, action to my taste, no real buzzes. The nut may not be the best though; high E rings a bit, but it could be the V groove in the bridge saddle too. That'll get sorted easy enough, and can happen to any guitar. Brass nut may be warranted, we'll see.

The neck is chunky, but not overly chunky. Nice, well made, neck. Good frets (had hardly been played by the looks of it.....hmmmm, how old is this thing really?), bound nicely, nice fretboard that responded to a light linseed (prefer that to lemon oil, but go easy on it, let it get in for an hour or so, and wipe off excess throughly).

Haven't adjusted pup height to any great degree yet...sounds pretty good as it is.

Overall, it is every bit as well-made as a modern Gibby Paul. Very nice.

Feels pretty tough. She'd cut it on the road. The hardware, if it is as suspected, is yonks old. The other hardware seems tough and durable. New tuners keep it in pretty good tune so far.

The strap buttons, or more precisely the tiny screws, were the first thing to be replaced on this heavy plank.

No one would not use a backup on the road; foolish part of the template guys.

Canora? Who? Who actually made it in the maze of Asian factories?.....and when?

Forget it!

For a pittance I got a very interesting, and useable, guitar. A collector's piece.

Looks like a Paul, feels like a Paul, sounds like a Paul, and the cheesy/lame onboard FX are quite amusing. I would have paid three times the price for this one for the collection; so, it's triply satisfying.

If you ever see one for a good price, you won't be disappointed by the quality and oddity of it. Don't be fooled though, apparently the 90s plain Pauls with no FX were absolute dogs.

It's a keeper for the collection.