Lyle S-726

I believe this guitar was made in 1973 as the serial number starts with "73". Japan? Korea? Most of the information I can find on Lyle says Japan - but I really don't know.

It has an SG body style, but it's thinner and lighter than a SG. It has a bolt-on fat SG-looking neck with a rosewood fretboard, 19 frets, Controls include volume, tone, and a switch for each pickup, passive electronics. I don't know what make or model the pickups are other than they're pretty flashy with both silver and gold tones involved. Other hardware includes a trem tailpiece (missing trem arm) The body and neck are wood - the neck is likely mahogany but I don't really know. The finish is pretty nice - kind of a 2-color trans red to black burst on the front and back of the body and on the neck. It came with the case (not plush - more like what you'd expect of a case from that era.) I gave this category an 8 rating - there's nothing on this guitar that's spectacular but it's loaded with that vintage Asian knock-off guitar stuff.

I mostly play blues/rock/jazz - and the guitar has a beautiful full rich sound. The controls were a bit noisy at first, less after I played it for a while. I was going to give the sound a 10 just because I was very impressed with the sound - but it's really more of a 9 just because it's probably time to change out or clean the pots - and because most guitars sound awesome going through a Hughes and Kettner head (although even still... I was impressed).

I don't even know if the factory still exists - but the fit and finish were good - particularly after all these years. There were some dings and surface scratches, nothing too serious. The guitar wasn't set up when I got it but even still - it had an acceptable action (after adjusting the bridge a little) and was fun to play. The pickups are at a nice height.

It haven't gigged this guitar - but it seems like it would hold up. It's lasted 30+ years so far - and it appears that all the hardware, finish, etc is original and in pretty great condition - so I'm not sure what it would take to destroy it. I think I would change out the pots before I would depend on it to the point where I would gig it without a backup.

Uh - does Lyle even still exist? I don't know. I'm pretty sure that the warranty didn't last 30+ years

I've played for over 30 years and have a collection of 40 to 50 guitars - covering most major brands and models. I don't know if I'd replace this if lost or stolen, or even if it will stay in my collection. I'm pretty sure that if I could replace it for less than I paid - IF I could find another one like it. There are a few things I love about it - it's rich full sound, how nice and light it is. I also love to play a rare vintage just for the experience of it. The only thing that I don't like about it is how little information there is out there about this guitar. I put this at a 9 because I don't think that the guitar was a "10 - fantastic value" - more of a fun excursion into the past.