Electra X-935 Pro Endorser

Built in 1983 according to the Serial Number. Basically a Les Paul with a subtle upper cutaway, and a tappered heal that allows very comfortable upper fret accessability. Materials Used are very nice, if you can, go to this site and look at a very clean example of a Pro Endorser to see for yourself the gorgeous Maple top and paint job:
http://www.therathole.org/guitars/mine/images/mine/x935cs/pics.html or
http://www.herons.ca/electra/
Three things that set this apart from a Les Paul, and in my opinion make it more versatile and more attractive: 1) Back is contoured around 'waist' and also Heal is contoured for ease of access to upper frets 2)Top has Incredible flame, any Gibson with this nice a top would run you $4000, if you could even find one 3) Has Coil-Tap and Phase push/pull switches built into Tone Pots, for an impressive EIGHT different Pickup tones on-board, the single coil settings are very Impressive.
In addition, the headstock has a flame Maple vanieer (very attractive), the body extends a good 4 to 5 inches up the neck for a beefy set neck joint. And at least on mine (the one on Herons website doesn't have this) the body is bookmatched in addition to the maple top. All hardware is brass: Nut, Bridge (not gold plated) and stop tailpiece. The 'no-name' tuners are really smooth for being over 20 years old. Very tiny Dot Fret markers, no big gaudy hunks of Abalone on this axe. Fully bound body, neck and headstock. Supposedly there is a brass block under the maple top, sunk into the body on these models, I can neither confirm, nor deny this.
This puppy is Heavy, although I've never weighed it, my shoulder can tell after an hour or so, even though I don't want to put it down. Final nice touch is that the pickup selector Doesn't have that ugly retarded white plastic 'rhythm/treble' label that Les Pauls always have (like someone wouldn't figure that out in 5 seconds. Great Materials.

Use it exclusively with Mesa Boogie amps. Neck Pickup is very warm, and I tend to use it more in single coil mode for a brighter sound. Bridge pickup can become harsh, but used as the 'Rock' tone, it's very capable, and appropriately middy. While I genuinely enjoy the tone of these pickups, they do squeal (not the nice desirable 'same pitch' feedback) at higher amp levels. I may ask my guitar tech what can be done (I've heard of pickups being sealed in wax), I'm hesitant to swap the pickups out though, for fear of changing the tone too much. This guitar can get the ultimate Billy Gibbons ZZTop tone, in addition to bright single coil stuff, and with 4 different 'both' pickup settings, its very versatile. I think only the ultra expensive Jimmy Page series Les Pauls have coil-tap switches.

Very nice materials and Binding work, have some binding pulling up back by the strap holder, more from a unfortunate impact than from poor workmanship or materials. It's starting to sound cliche, but I'll say it again, many Japanese guitars from this era rival, or surpass their American Made Gibson contemporaries. Awesome Bookmatched maple top, go check out the website for these Cherry Sunburst tops with quad layer binding.

21 years old and still plays like a dream. I've busted a couple strings on it before, so I would probably gig with a backup. Also, I would probably want a 2nd guitar with a vibrato when I gig anyway to mix things up. Heavy, solid, and I would say reliable.

Well, I hear that St. Louis Music is still in business, although all of these instruments were built overseas anyway. I wouldn't expect any support. The Electra line does seem to have a loyal following, and although my guitar doesn't use the 'MPC' modules, there is much literature and knowledge available for them.

25 years under my belt, and I continue to gravitate twords lesser known manufacturers. Have played and owned Fenders, Gibsons and Rickenbackers, but I find that the Japanese guitars are a better price vs. performance Value, although not as good an investment. But I generally don't buy a guitar so that I can resell it later for a profit, I buy a guitar because of a certain quality it has, and to play the heck out of it, and enjoy myself doing so. Because of their Origin, these guitars may never acheive the respect or value that they deserve, that's cool, less competition from buyers, and more for me...! If lost, I would definitely pickup another X-935cs (cherry sunburst), although I only saw 3 of these on eBay the year I was looking for them. Awesome Axe. Under Rated. Peice of history.