El-Degas Telecaster Copy

Traded a warped neck Aria Pro II in a broken case even up for this with the original hardshell case. The walnut finish is solid, the ashtray piece is still complete and the knobs are all original. I (like most everyone else) replaced the tuners with Grovers, and, like some of the rest of you, absolutely love the neck, to the point that I have loaned the guitar to a luthier who is making me 2 guitars, so he can duplicate the dimensions.

LOVE this guitar, I play rockabily, and blues, and this is the real deal. I like it better than most of the Fenders that I have played. I use 1973 Fender twin, a Roland JC 120, and have also played straight through the board with an amp modeler, and all have sounded great.

I have done nothing but have the nut replaced, and had Willie's Guitars here in Minneapolis set it up. The action is low, and the frets, while a bit worn (still original) don't buzz. I have replaced, as I said, the tuners and the output jack.

As tough as nails, stays in tune, handles temp changes well (probably due to the plywood body) and just plays true every time

Never had it, never needed it.

I have played for about 20 years, have some custom pieces, 2 Kretzmanns, a six and twelve string (think Rickenbacker), a Kramer strat copy, an Alvarez thin-line acoustic and a Martin jumbo acoustic. GK, Roland, Fender and SKG amps, Lexicon and Roland effects. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would be heart-broken, and would probably have to drop $1000+ to buy the Fender Custom deluxe copy, to even get close. This was love at first sight and play, nothing more to add...

1973? 74? El Degas Telecaster lawsuit clone. Some of the other reviewers think that El Degas was a Canadian make, but I'm positive this was made in the Fuji Gen-Gakki factory in Japan, the same factory that Ibanez guitars were born, making this a re-badged Ibanez (for the Canadian market.) As far as the features -- she's a straight foreward Tele copy in most respects: Maple three-piece neck, lacquered maple fretboard with 21 medium frets, six-on-a-side tuners (came with no-names, I switched them for Grovers.) Two tele-style pickups, master volume and tone, three way blade switch and stamped steel tele-style ashtray bridge. What sets this El Degas apart from a lot of other Ibanez-made clones I've seen/played is the bridge and bridge pickup. Most 70's Tele-style guitars I've seen have a bridge which is shaped like the ashtray cover, and houses a lipstick-style chrome-covered pickup, just like the neck. Mine is different in that the bridge is a simple pressed steel unit, exactly like the original Fender, and what's more, the bridge is a top-load (not-string-thru,) just like the sought-after '59 Fender Esquire. The Bridge pickup is also a straight Fender tele copt, down to the brass shielding plate. Rare, rare, rare. I gave it a '5' for features... just what you need, nothing more.

This beauty kills. Great for blues / rock, classic rock, modern / alt rock and noise-rock (think Radiohead...) I've turned her into an Esquire, removing the neck pickup and rewiring the circuit using vintage capacitors... but all the original pots and jack are in place.. never had any reason to change them. They rock. Pure Tele Twang from the stock pickup, which readds 8.4 k-ohms. Nice and hot for a s/c. I've thought about getting a Fender custom shop Nocaster bridge pickup... but why fix what isn't broken?

I have no idea how this machine would have been setup from the factory... I do my own setups... and I've never had any problems. Nice, low action... and I'll agree with a former reviewer... strings seem to last forever on this one! The neck pocket isn't especially tight, but I've never had any problems. Three brass saddles = not the best possible intonation... but it's a Tele, right? As for finish... this guitar has seen a lot of abuse. When I got it, the finish had been stripped off to bare wood (badly.) I'm guesing that the body is mahogany, made of what I've termed 'butcher-board' -- several pieces of wood glued together and capped, top and bottom, with ash veneers. Originally, this would most likely have been Sunburst. (that way, the butcher-board wouldn't have been seen from the edges, just the ash veneers.) I refinished it in Olympic White nitro lacquer, and while the body might not be of the highest quality, it outplays any Telecaster / Esquire I've held. Originally a 3 when I got it... now I give a 9.

A tank. I would gig it without a backup without a second thought. Even so, I usually have three guitars on-stage with me (different tunings, and a backup 'E' -- just in case.)

Non-existant. Unfortunately, El-Degas ceased to be around the same time that Ibanez stopped making lawsuit guitars, so... '75 or '76.

I've been playing about six years. I gig through my El Degas Esquire / Tele, or an Ibanez Jazzmaster copy (with Gibson Burstbuckers) or my Supro Arlington. Very few effects: a homemade reverb unit, Boss BD-1 Blues Driver (always on) a Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator, Visual Sound Route 66, and a Phase 90, into my Peavy VTM60 head and '67 Fender 2X12 cab. It's a nice setup... one that I might switch up in the future, but it serves me well for the time being.
As for the El Degas... I wouldn't change a thing.

this guitar's main feature is that it's a big, beefy telecaster copy with huge tone.
i have yet to pick up any vintage fender, including 50's strats & teles, that has
the big, resonant, twangy presence of this guitar. in this respect, it does have something
in common with the very best, most acoustically resonant Les Pauls. And this with a plywood body! Maple neck laminated in strips (great shape) refretted with 6100's.

feature downsides are that the control knob action (on mine at least) is extreme, ie it goes from quiet to loud in a fraction of a turn and the same for tone. also the pick-up covers are chrome and 'tick' audibly when the pick hits them (i may replace the pick-ups). finally,
i replaced the tuning keys as the originals were crap (again, on mine at least).

huge sound. and strangely, strings seem to last forever on this guitar, maintaining their
detail and twang.

i play Blues (love Jimmie Vaughan) and Johnny Cash 'I Walk the Line' style through a 59 bassman reissue with Weber P10Q speakers (a bit bigger and tighter than the stock Jensens) with a Demeter Tremulator and an old Peavey Digital Delay pedal (these are great by the way.) This guitar just sounds so BIG, tune down to D and I haven't heard a Fender that can get there, amp notwithstanding.

Mine had a rough history before I got it (see below) I've seen a few other Fender style El Degas', though, and the action, fit & finsh were good overall, except for too-small frets.

The fret job made a big difference, and the neck is now GREAT for my hand.

Mine was a loner guitar at a funky guitar store before I got it, and appears to have actually been hit against something at one time, the plywood being visable around the jack, and
there being a repair at the base of the neck where it bolts on. that said, it survived and
plays, tunes, sounds great. This guitar is tough, both sound wise and literally.

Not applicable, factory wise.

Guitar techs seem to get a kick out this guitar, though, and like to work on it.

I do think these guitars can be a fantastic value. Like any other 'bolt together' guitar,
you have to play them acoustically first to see how fundamentally resonant they are,
and then take it from there in assessing everything else.

I always have my eye out for these, but won't pay more than about $125 unless SUPER
cherry. $250 would be tops for one of these (already refretted?)

Another good thing about these is it's hard to picture it being stolen, both because it's not valuable resale wise, and because if anyone played out with it you could ask around and you'd probably hear about it (players are always curious about this guitar.)

Finally, and maybe most important, these guitars are different, funky and soulful like the music I like.

70s' vintage Japanese Tele copy. Old style ashtray bridge - no string thru (plenty of sustain) with the greatest maple neck I've ever had the pleasure to play. Standard 3 way switch with excellent PUs (much fatter sounding than fender). Body is solid (not ply) and appears to be ash. Stays in tune!!!

As I said this sound is fat - great lead instrument. Bridge pu is twang city and the neck is almost Les paulish (equal power to bridge, unlike Fender). This thing is blues deluxe like a cross between a fender tele, a Les Paul and the bluesiest of all the Harmony Silvertone. I also own an old 80s vintage mexican Fender which is much thinner sounding (great for country, and chord driven rock) and this is the perfect compliment and a little preferred.

Incredibly I buy this 30 year old dinosaur on Ebay for a song. Throw on some new strings and it plays like buttah, not a buzz to be found, perfect action and intonation. When it arrived it had a cheap soft jack in it which was changed out in minutes thanks to my good friend Bob (pretty common on this vintage Japanese guitar). No static in the pots or body (well shielded). One thing that kind of bothered me at first (psychological) is that the neck comes in almost flush to the body for very low string clearance, almost one eighth inch lower than my fender. Thought about a neck shim for an instance, but why? I have nine and they all play a little different.

These vintage Japs are the best value on the market, solid and built to last. Very dependable. Like many other quality Jap guitars, El Degas went under when Fender and Gibson went on the warpath (lawsuits).

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So anyway I had $500 to spend recently and had my mind set on buying a US Hamer T-50 or 51. Well I tried on Ebay and couldn't even meet the reserves. Then I found a mint Dillion Strat buy it now for $225 and after reading the Harmony Central reviews, bought it. What an incredible guitar that is, as good as any Fender Strat I've had the pleasure to play, same glassy sound. As good as the Hamer? I can't say, never played one, but can't see how it could be much better. Anyway still had a couple hundred to spare and spied this El Degas and boy am I glad I did. Thanks y'all for guiding me thru with your splendid reviews. And thank you Japan and Korea for turning out some quality guitars at affordable rockbottom prices. But most of all I thank you guys with the Headstock fetishes that keep paying those over-inflated prices so I can get my stuff cheap.

i bought this guitar at a mom and pop store about ten years ago when bought finish had been sanded off and looked like crapsince then repainted light blue metallic everything else is originalselector switch needed cleaned tuners are excellent better than my strat the neck has been well played and still has excellent action and speed

we play southern rock and hard driving country with a sunn SL260 amp and zoom effects swuth still pops when switching sound is classic tele it is lead guitar players choice and he has many for lead or rythm

i have had this guitar apart to paint and reassembled it the same way it came apart with no additional shimming etc and it plays excellent

again we/i use this guitar with complete confidence if the finish does wear off i will paint it again

until i came upon this site i knew absolutely nothing about el degas except that it is a good guitar ps thanks for the site

been playing about 15 years but have bought traded and sold guitars about 10 have went thruogh numerous guitars and this one and my candy red strat have stayed

An addition to my review above or below wherever it comes out.
Made in Japan, excellent Telecastor copy. Standard Tele features
1 vol, 1 tone knobs and two pickups (lipstick for the neck)
My guitar has all the orginal parts. Neck is maple, I'm not sure what
the body is made of. If you want a Tele these are all the features
you would expect. From what I've heard El-Degus was sued out of existance by either Fender, Gibson or both. From the quality of this
Telecastor copy I can see why.

A Tele suits my style perfectly from Jazz to Country to Rock (old
classic rock). The neck pickup alone gives an excellent Jazz sound,
the middle position (neck and bridge) prvides a nice thick balanced sound, and the bridge alone gives the classic Tele twang. Telecastors
are very versatile, that is why so many players have one. I would
suppose this guitar's sound could be enhanced with new pick-ups, but
the old single coils seem to do the job just fine.

I re-soddered the wires so that the three way switch no longer gives
me problems. All works well, although the selector is a little noisy.
The action is medium to low, which i find to be perfect, not a buzz
to be heard. The guitar is fairly heavy but is built like a rock.
There is slight gap in the pocket where the four bolt-on neck joins
the body. The original finish is white and still looks good for a
25 year old guitar with only a few chips where I've run into things.
The maple neck is fantastic, very fast and smooth, fretwire is excellent, no problems here. There is no rust or oxidation, the bridge
does need to be cleaned, next time I change the strings. I'm sure the tuning pegs are not expensive, but the guitars stays in tune. All of the controls (tone-volume-toggle switch) now work fine after a little bit of maintainence ( to be expected after 25 years).

This guitar is 25 years old and still going strong. Obviously everything has lasted and I've never had it serviced and I've never
replaced anything on the guitar with more expensive parts, everything
is orginal.

Out of business since early 1980's?

I believe El-Degus made great quality copies of Fender, Gibson and
other's. If this guitar was stolen or whatever, i would have no choice
but to replace it with at least a Standard American Telecastor, unless
I could find another El-Degus.

I purchased this guitar in 1977 from Hudson's Music in Toronto and have been playing it ever since. It has all the features of a standard tele. Body style and bridge style are obviously tele. It still has the original pickups and tuners (non locking). The neck looks like maple. I believe these guitars were made in Canada, although I could be wrong. EL-Degas made excellent copies of Fenders
at this time, and this one is no exception. I believe that Fender
bought out El-Degas and incorporated these products into the "Squire Line" in the late 70's or early 80's.

This guitar has the beautiful country bright sound that you expect from a tele. It is very versatile guitar, adaptable to many different sounds.

This guitar has a great neck with excellent action, easy and comfortable to play. I have never had the neck adjusted, so the orignal factory settings are still in place. The tone adjustment
knob was loose for years, i tightened it and now it doesn't seem to work. Also the patch cord conector ocasionally loosens and needs to be tightened. The toggle switch also has a loose connection- but you know this guitar is 25 years old and has never been serviced.

This guitar has been reliable enough, especially for the hobby player.
One of these days I will have the guitar looked at to check the wiring, change the pick-ups ect. The finish has lasted very well, with only one small crack (at the bottom where the neck meets the bridge) and one chip, like i said it is 25 years old. Just a great guitar, that can be even greater with a little service.

El-Degas no longer exists.

I have been playing guitar for 25 years. I also own an Ovation Applause accoustic and a Yorkville am100 acoustic amplifier. I also
own an El-Degas accoustic (Martin Copy) from around 1979.
The best thing about the El-Degus tele is the neck, still one of the
best I've ever played, including real tele's. The worst feature is the wiring and controls.