Electra Omega

My Omega is from 1977. It's a cherry sunburst set neck model#220. It has a beautiful flamed top with the "Spectrum 5" selector switch. (The 5-way switch only works well in two positions, I should just try to re wire it?)

Everything on the guitar is original and in very good shape. It has the feel of a Gibson only a little lighter, due to the hollowed cavity, however it has a mahagony body and neck.

The sound is wonderful, just like a Les Paul should sound. Some folks have complained about the microphonic pick-ups. I agree, before I fixed the pick ups I was a little dissapointed in the feedback, no matter what I did with the sound.

How do you fix the microphonic pick ups? Waxing the pick ups took care of the problem! Just dip the pick ups in hot wax for a very short time (1 min) and the wax will solidify the wiring inside the pick up, sealing it to play at higher volume, it was that easy!

Overall sound is close to the Gibson, although an Electra has it's own personality.............. I have to say that I play a 1972 Gibson gold top and without lying, the Electra is very close in performance and sound.....

The action, fit and finish is top notch. There really is nothing more to say. In fact I think the Electra book matched flame tops are better than many Gibsons. Enough said.......

I have played my Omega live in performances and had no problems what so ever. I would use another guitar as a back up during performances, only because I like to change guitar sounds and tones for the music I'm doing. Other than that, you can trust the Omega...

N/A ( I wish St.Louis Music would dedicate a website to answering older Electra questions, specs, identifications, etc.)

I've been playing for 24 years and I build and repair guitars as well.

I am proud to own the Omega Electra as part of my collection.
I have considered buying another Electra someday, as I think these guitars will hit an even higher price tag in the next decade or so...

In closing, if you have the opportunity to pick up an Electra for a reasonable price, buy it!

I didn't have the history for this guitar, but my research shows it's probably late '70s or early eighties. 22 frets with an unfretted 23rd - typical for japanese guitars. Two piece archtop, not bookmatched. Looks like mahogany, with a tobacco sunburst.

This guitar was altered before I got it. It originally had a gimmicky five position dial that both selected pickups and added resistance to the signal. This has been replaced with a three position pickup selector and two phase toggles.

The bridge is a dead copy of a Les Paul and seems to work as well. My main guitar is a Gibson Flying V and I tend to use pinched harmonics quite a bit - I had no problem finding the pinched harmonics the day I got it. Mine's been altered, so I'm going to assume the original features weren't so hot and rate it a 6.

I read the other reviews and I have to agree about the microphonic pickups. The bridge pickup has been replaced. Personally, I don't mind oversensitive pickups and control my volume with a pedal - I can use my V like a megaphone. I'd give sound an 8.

This is where this guitar kicks. As far as action and setup, this is as good a Les Paul copy as an Ibanez. With the alterations, I think this is as good a guitar as my V. On top of that, it's absolutely gorgeous to look at, the inlays on the neck are very good, probably better than a Les Paul (although I don't understand why the inlays are so good, while the archtop's not bookmatched).

My advice for this guitar is, if you bought because you collect guitars, keep the gimmicky dial. If you want a guitar for work, rewire it. What I have now is a surprisingly good guitar, in my opinion. It's getting a 9 here, only because I don't give 10s.

I haven't had the guitar long enough to form an opinion of reliability, but it ain't a new guitar and it still works. Still, I won't rate this.

I've been playing for about 20 years. I've got a Gibson V and a bunch of other geets. If this guitar were stolen, I'd be bummed, but I suppose I'd settle for something similar. Like I said earlier, I'd rewire it. Otherwise, it's a very good guitar - a Les Pau copy on par with an Ibanez. As I said, it looks freakin' gorgeous. This is a much better guitar than it seems to be at first. Overall, I'm giving it an 8.

1970'S Japanese built Les Paul copy.Cherry sunburst finish with a flame maple top.Mahogany back.22 fret, 25.5" maple neck with rosewood fretboard and trapezoid pearl inlays. "Gumby" headstock with electra peace sign inlaid. 2 Electra humbucking pickups. 1 volume, 1 tone, 5 way rotary pickup selector, coil taps.Stopbar and tune-amatic. Electra tuners. Brass nut. Original molded case.

Imagine the archetypical Les Paul racket, and you'll be hearing this guitar in your head. Great for Zeppelin style raunch or T-rex boogie. I've used mine to play punk/glam and 60's mod rock and have found the 5 way switch, with its clangy out of phase settings, to fit in nicely. The coil taps are also useful as they can thin out this guitars tendencies towards bass and midrange. I've played it through my '68 Bassman, Sovtek tube midget combo and stack, Carvin x100b, Ampeg V4,and Laney VC practice amp with good results.The only caveat emptor I must add is the microphonic pickups. Anything past mild overdrive causes sqeals and shrieks. The tone control is very musical though and can smooth out a lot of this. Fans of high gain histrionics should beware as the only sound you'll get will be "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

Excellent playability. Very comfortable to those who find Gibson necks too wide. Finish quality above average. My example has a mild flametop. Others I have seen range to mild to very,very figured. Fretwork and neck angle are up to most American standards. Inlays are better applied than any recent Gibson "little bit o pearl,lotsa filler" technique. Brass nut tends to catch strings and cause tuning issues, but a little lube fixes anything.

As solid as you expect a Les Paul to be. Finish still looks decent after years of use. Hardware compares favorably to Gibson stuff it copies. Brass nut tends to snag strings and cause tuning issues. Strap button screw holes stripped out. Volume knob has been replaced along with the repair of a few shorts. Neck maintains straightness with different strings.

N/A

I've owned this guitar for 3-4 years and have used it often for recording and as a back up live. I own several guitars including a 60's sg junior, a Les Paul gold top, 3 or 4 teles, a coupla Strats, a Gibson V and various other sundry makes and models. Tis guitar compares well with all of them and beats many of my high priced Gibsons in playability,sound and construction. It does the Les Paul Boogaloo well but can also do head in bucket racket. The pickups sound wonderfully full and almost compressed but are way too microphonic. The brass nut is sometimes problematic. I am one of the few that loves the goofy 5 way and coil taps. They make for some very non-gibson/fender noisemaking. At the current market prices of $200-400 I'd buy several.

1974 Electra Omega
22 Med. Jumbo Fret'z
Laminated top, with Creme Binding.
Came with volume, tone, and 5 way p/u selector, 2 single coil sw.
2 Humbucker's.
Passive Electronic's.
Mahogany neck and body.
High Gloss solid Black finish.
L.P. Style.
Tune-O-matic Bridge.
16 to 1 Electra Gold plated Tuner's. Non-locking.
22 Med. Jumbo Fret'z on a Rosewood fretboard.

I bought the guitar used, off E-bay, I could not play it because it had been stored for maybe 25 year's, The fret board had dried out and it had high fret'z, once tne fret board had been properly oiled and the high fret'z tapped down and checked with a straight edge, the action needed an adjustment for the correct action for me,Finally plugged into a Twin and cranked it fed back no matter which way I turned, turning the volume down I did find some useful setting's, but not what I wanted to hear, and it had only to do with the guitar wireing.

The physical finish on the guitar was outstanding for what was considered to be a " COPY " The guitar needed a total checkout and tuneing.After rewiring with Silver coated, sheilded wire and better
pot'z I decided on a regular style L.P. wireing schematic,a total shielding of the body with shielding paint.Hooked up to a 50 watt Mk II I found no more Feedback unless I turned and forced it to feedback, and great tone, I was very pleased with the result's, now I had a Cheap guitar that sounded as good as my Gibson's but for many buck's less.I was able to cover many copy tune's with just a few pedal's, a fulltone Deja-vibe II, a Experience by Prescription Elec.
A 535 Q Wha, and a TS-9 pumped through a 4x12 Marshall cab with Vin. 30's, No wonder guy's like Frampton, the Outlaw's,And Jimi had played these guitar's.

I've been playing this guitar for my main Sqweeze for 3 or 4 month's with 12 gauge Nickel Rocker's by the Everly String Co. and I can't see any reason to think you would ever need a backup, I'm totally pleased with my labor and investment. The result's were well worth the effort.from ZZ Top to Frampton this guitar KICK'S Major ASS !

N/A

Ive been playing off and on for about 40 year's, I'm 53 now and I guess an OLD DOG can learn a new trick ever now and then, I would for sure be lookin for another if somthin happened to this one, I'm not crazy about the factory wireing and shielding but what do you expect for what I payed for it, the Body is as good as any, the plating on the hardware better than today's crop of cheap guitar's, even though I do know these were not cheap in thier day, I now can now leave my
collectible's in the case and not worry about where my 52,or 59 L.P. might be,I know this guitar is not worth what these guitar's are bringing but who care's as long as it get's you good tone, I'm very happy about buying this one.

This is a L/P copy,made in Japan,probably 1977-8.Flamed ply antique-burst dish top,contoured mahogany body & set-neck,double "e" peace sign & "Electra" in mother of pearl on mahogany veneer hdstk.16:1 electra tuners,brass nut,rosewood board w/ mop trapezoid inlays & 22 med/jumbo frets.Single ply tort binding on neck,3 ply blk/wht/tort on body & headstock.L/P style bridge & tailpiece.5-way "Vari-tone" instead of 3-way toggle,master vol/tone,2 "paddle" switches under v/t pots.Chrome hardware w/black trim(switch/speed knobs,truss rod cover,mounting rings & backplates).Clear p/g to highlight flame & finish.If it had a solid top,better guts & L/P wiring,it would be an easy "10".

A bit "airy",but pretty full in humbucking mode.Didn't really care for "Vari-tone" & paddles.I played the guitar stock for about a year or so,then discovered the wonderful world of replacement parts & p/ups.Since then it's been re-loaded & gutted many times.The Vari-tone & paddles were the first to go.After the wiring was "simplified" & upgraded it sounded great,but not quite as fat & round(or nearly as heavy) as a real L/P or a good Tokai or Ibanez,but have you priced them?!?A bad-ass SG sound would be closer to correct to my ears.For a rating,I'd give it a 4 stock,& an 8.5 or 9 after-market.I've played it thru Peaveys,Fenders,Marshalls,Mesas,but not thru my Rocktron Voodo Valve/Carvin Tube 100/Boogie cabs system that I've been using for a few years now-I really am looking forward to playing thru this!!!(see Reliability/Durability Catagory)

Plays like a dream w/ 9's or 10's.Neck joint is super tight(still!!!),nut is cut perfectly,frets are properly dressed,but mine could use a "once-over".At 1 time the binding started lifting up on the high E side between the 2nd-5th frets.Re-glued it & haven't worried since.Also had to move the strap buttons,but nothing major.Neck is a little smaller & rounder than regular L/P Standard,which for me is excellent.Good sustain & nice "ring".Clear coat on top still shines bright,back is pretty "munched" from (earlier)belt buckle rash.Actually plays better than practically all "good" L/P copies,better than some Gibsons I've run across.I was told these were made by the same company that made the older Alverez's

I played this guitar "daily" for practically 12 yrs.It's the first "good" guitar i bought,& I grew into it nicely.It inspired me to play more often & play better,also!!!Even as I write this,the guitar is on "vacation",totally stripped of hardware & electronics, has been for about 5 years.The more I see of these on e-bay,it made me want to start getting geared up to re-assemble this classic from the past.I retired it after I bought a cream '74 L/P Custom(20th Aniv)!But common sense is telling me to restore this one & stop dragging the collector's item around.DUH????

Never had an issue,my problem if I have one now.

I'm jazzed about getting this up & running!I've seen quite a few older Electras on e-bay,& I can fix this one up(mostly) with parts I have,certainly cheaper than buying one.Plus I'm the original owner,so I know where it's been!I also bought an Outlaw MPC(neck-thru)pretty cheap about 2 yrs ago,but got rid of it after noticing some tuning "issues" with it.Look for set-neck Electra L/P's on e-bay!!!They are worth more than every penny!!

this guitar is a gibson les paul copy.i dont know the year it was made.when i got it someone stripped the paint and colored it neon green,remember the early eighties.it has two humbuckers in it.twovolume two tone control.three way pickup selector. it also has a rosewood fretboard.electtra16:1tuners.everything else ive had to redo,because when i got it it was in bad shape.

this guitar is worth the effort time and money i put in to it.beatiful sound,i really like the rythm channel.i play hard rock,blues,and anything melodic.it has a rich smooth sound.ive owned gibsons that have not sounded this good

action is great its low to the fretboard and has no clinks or hums.pickups are adjusted perfect.the finish is bad,as i said i got the guitar in1991,and some idiot painted it green. i stripped to the wood and stained it.im pretty sure it was a flame top.the only flaw is over time one of the fret markers are coming of fretboard.

this guitar can withstand anything. iplayed out acouple times [BEER SPILLS]. the hardware is awesome its not been treated to well by past owenersbut tuners dont slip.i would take this guitar any where any time and know it will be all ineed

n/a

great guitar.most guitars are half judged on looks.this ones looks bad but once you pick it up and play it you cant put it down.ive bought otherguitars in the past and keep coming back to my electra omega.if i could ever find another omega you can bet im gonna get it.

This guitar is a Les Paul copy, so it's got all the basic LP stuff. However, instead of having 2 tone and 2 volume knobs, it just has one of each. Two switches to change the pickups from humbucking to single coil take their places.

I have owned a Yamaha strat, a Bentley strat, and a Epiphone SG, but this guitar is much better than all of them. It was made in 1975, and it has stock everything. I'm currently using it through a late 70's Yamaha 2-12" 120 watt amp. It is a decent amp, but I have to use pedals with it, so I get alot of hum. I doubt that it is the guitar huming. It sounds good through any amp, but I usually use the single coil setting because it has a really fat sound on the humbucking side.

I bought it used, so it was set up good. The finish is excellent considering it is 25 years old. It's beautiful, people say stuff about it all the time at shows and such.

I have never used a backup at shows, and I've never needed one. I've only made minor repairs because of it's age.

They went out of business a long time ago.

Perfect. It's much nicer than any Epiphone LP I've seen, and it's at the same level as a Gibson. From then and now.

This Electra Omega Les Paul copy was made in Japan in 1975 during the best years of Japanese copy guitar production. It is a Flame top Les Paul with cream colored binding, pickup rings and pickguard with 22 frets and a set neck. The body is mahogany with a highly figured 2 piece bookmatched top. Very colorful trapezoidal fret markers of mother abalone. The Electra name is in cursive on the headstock and is parallel to the neck. Also has the "inverted peace sign" logo of the mid 70's Electra. Both logos are also abalone. Back of neck and body are also flameburst finish which is immaculate, in fact the guitar is in mint condition. It is bound along the side of the body, the sides of the neck and the headstock. The black truss rod cover is engraved "Omega" in white cursive script. The highly flamed finish is fantastic and is better executed than any 70's or 80's Gibson Les Paul I have ever seen. I have owned 1970 and 1972 gold top Gibson LP's, a 1963 Jr and I still own a number of 1960's Gibsons including 345's, SG's etc. The finish on the Omega has them all beat. The finish has extreme high gloss on it as well. The guitar has Electra 16:1 tuners which are quite smooth and do the job nicely. Frets are normal sized not jumbo, on a nice rosewood fingerboard. The neck is a bit narrower and rounder than Les Pauls I have owned. As you play higher on the neck it is closer in feel to a Gibson LP. The bridge is an exact copy of a Gibson bridge.
beat.
There is a black, 5-position rotary switch on a cream background to select pickup settings, in place of the more conventional 3 way toggle switch of some Electras. The front pickup has a chrome plated cover while the lead pickup has no cover and is cream colored bobbins in a black frame. There are square black magnets under each string on one bobbin, while the other has chrome screws. This is all 100% stock for the Electra Omega, by the way.
The controls are two gold "speed knob" type barrels similar to the Les Paul, for master volume and master tone. In place of the other two knobs that would be on a conventional Les Paul are black bat throw toggle switches. Each pickup can be switched between double coil (humbucking) and single coil with the switches. The five position rotary switch settings allow neck pickup, bridge pickup, both pickup in series, both in parallel, and both out of phase with one another.
The body is lighter than a Les Paul model and the back is contoured to fit the player's body, similar to a Stratocaster.

I play rock and blues styles mostly rythm and I like melodic leads, for example BB King, Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, David Gilmour, Steve Cropper, Robin Trower, etc.
The guitar has a great variety of sounds available, including the "Les Paul Standard" sound. It is very interesting to play one of the pickups in single coil mode and the other dual coil, this comes up with very interesting sounds. Even in single coil mode the guitar is very quiet with no percepible hum. The single coil sound is very bright but I can't think of another guitar it sounds like. Does not sound anything like a Fender for instance. There is plenty of singing sustain with the guitar I do not know how they did it since it is not nearly as heavy as a Les Paul. You can get a brighter and more ringing sound than with a Les Paul. The tone control rolls it off quite gradually, a different taper than a Gibson.
I have only two dislike both having to do with the lead pickup: first the lead pickup (which is much hotter than a 70's Gibson humbucker) could use some more highs in humbucking mode. You have to switch it to single coil for more bite. Second, the thing feeds back when you really crank it. If I can learn to tame it this might not be so bad.
I have played it with a 1968 Fender Vibro Champ and a 1996 Crate Vintage Club 20 and a Vintage Club 50. Sounds fine with all of them.
Overall the sound is a 10, but for the feedback when cranked I give it a 9.

I bought this 2nd hand through ebay. The guitar is truly mint condition it looks like it just came out of the factory. As before the top is properly bookmatched and the finish beats any Gibson of its era. No flaws in workmanship whatsoever that I can detect, and being a collector of Gibsons I am quite picky. I slight buzz at the 10th fret on the high E string, easily corrected by raising the bridge. Did not come with the original case but beggars can't be choosers.
Very fast neck. I am not a fast lead player however.

Have not had guitar very long so can't comment. Does not seem to have cut any corners on the construction of the guitar as far as I can tell.

N/A guitar is 25 years old.

The Electra are better known for their MPC guitars that had built-in effects. Electras were way expensive for 1974 and cost a lot more than Ibanez much closer in price to American guitars of the time. I've been playing since 1972. They had kind of hokey ads in Guitar Player magazine those years, and I don't think they caught on for a variety of reasons. Too bad, these are very nice guitars I would recommend one to anyone if you can still find one in nice condition.
I would recommend do not confuse these with the Electra Omega with the modern Crate Electra guitars which are pretty cheap low end guitars not even in the same league and are made in Korea or someplace. The desirable ones are the REAL Electra guitars from the mid 70's.