Teisco ET-200 Del Ray

1965-66 Made in Japan
22 Frets
Master : Volume and Tone w/ Two switch pickup selector
H/H config.
Came w/ Origional amp

It does not suit my Thrash Metal style but it has a bright and sharp sound with little buzz. It "can" make a warped sound but only a downward for trying to pull up on the wammy can and probably will break a string.

Considering I got this guitar from a lady still in box and never played I CAN judge the factory condition. The pickups are very good for the age of the guitar. And all of the parts of the guitar were perfectly maid.

I palyed Thrash on it for almost 9 months and it still held up fine. Considering the hardwore lasted 40 years with no care i'm 99.5% sure it will last another 40 with proper care. All of the ORIGIONAL parts are perfectly intact (except for a small chip on the top arm). It is also A VERY dependable guitar. I personaly would never play a MAJOR gig w/out a backup but I have played small school events and other family type stuff w/ it w/out a backup

NONE

I am a self taught player. I have also been a guitar instructor for about 1 1/2 year now and own a Dean ML X, a Jackson Randy Rhoads RR3 Pro Model and am within the week geting a Jackson Warrior WRMG model w/ EMG pickups. If i were to buy this guitar (that appraises for $300-$500) I would ask if all the wood on the body was intact. If this particular guitar was stolen, because it is my first, 1 of 2 things would happen: I would either find and kill the S.O.B. who stole it or I would get a different one because for the money I would Prefer a newer guitar. I both Love and Hate the frets they are VERY VERY thin guage which is easy for coarding but horable for Metal. This is my first guitar so there was no comparison. My only wish is that it had Jackson Jumbo Frets and a string through body with no wammy.

No idea what year the guitar was made, I just bought it today and played it about 2 hours. No identification on it either, but I believe that the chrome plate that the neck bolts go through is upside down, don't know why. Two pickups, two switches, volume and tone that's it. All the features have been described in detail.

I am a pretty new player of electric guitars. I used play classical 40 years ago and just started playing again with an electric guitar about a year and a half ago. I play whatever comes to mind but never anything like metal. I am real fond of guitars that sound neat, but are cheap to buy. A Chinese Squire Strat does not qualify. A Danelectro reissue does, and this Teisco does too. I quite like the sound when played through my Delta Blues amp. Not so much through a Vox AD30VT. Through the Peavy the sound is full with a bit of twang, quite different from my other guitars. Sounds best with both PUPs on but still nice with either bridge or neck PUPs. I have no complaints at all in this dept. except for the notorious feedback issue when playing on overdrive or with a drive pedal. Mine seems to be able to handle it but I have to be very careful about where I stand and how loud I play.

I have read how these cheap old Japanese guitars often have lousy warped necks and weak PUPs. Mine has neither of these problems. I was able to adjust the action down pretty low, not as low as my Players Strat, but low enough for it to not be a problem for me to play. Intonation? Well, we all know that is not really achievable with these fixed bridge guitars. My example is (I am guessing) a fairly old example because it has very small simple switches and a rosewood bridge (adjustable for height) rather than the later metal bridge, or even the roller bridges I have seen on some examples. Even with the rather rustic bridge (and nut, for that matter) the action is fine for me. The finish on my guitar is still pretty darn good, though the floral pattern is largely worn off on about 1/3 of the pick guard. My chrome is virtually spotless ... missing the trem arm which is o.k. for me as the tremelo really sucks anyway.

Pleeaazzzeee.... this guitar is at least 40 years old, maybe more, and still plays fine. I would expect it to continue to do so for another 40 years.

Ha !

I have been playing electric guitar for about a year and a half now, and classical guitar for 4 or 5 years, 40 years ago. I own a Fender Players Strat MIM, Fender Special Edition Ash MIM, Chinese Squire, Indonesian Squire, (too many Strats) a Danelectro reissue U-1, a Danelectro Hodad and now, this Teisco ET-200. I like them all, more or less, except for the Chinese Squire which sounds really terrible. For what I paid for this Teisco, it is a great value and were it stolen (unlikely, I know) I would look for another one or or a different Teisco guitar. I really like these cheap guitars. My U-1, which I paid only $50.00 for, is way cool and sounds and plays great. I will be looking for other cheap guitars, Danos, Teiscos, etc to add to my modest collection. I really like playing different sounding electrics and these inexpensive, charecter guitars fit my budget and my style.

Bare bones. Unfortunately mine has the tremolo removed, so it doesn't even have that. It gets extra points for having two pickups, but that's about all it has.

For what it is, it actually sounds really good. The pickups have a nice boxy sound. The neck pickup is pretty fat for a single coil (some might call it bassy, but I like it), and the bridge pickup is well balanced and bright. The best is both pickups on at once. It really boosts the output and gives a nice full range sound. I've definitely heard modern guitars from reputable brands that don't sound anywhere near as nice as this. The pickups are microphonic, so using the guitar with high gain distortion (or any gain distortion, really) is not going to work well, as it will squeal whenever you're playing quiets down (it might be squealing at other times, you just can't hear it over the playing). The worst part about the pickups isn't the squealing, but the fact that if you touch them at all you get a big fart through the amp. You have to be careful when strumming that you don't hit them with the pick, or you'll get a really unpleasant sound in the middle of your nice rhythm. But, I use this with a little Champ-like tube amp from the same time period, and if you crank the amp into overdrive, there's no squealing from the Teisco, and it sounds heavenly. Great soft overdrive from the low output pickups. And I can't get over how nicely balanced the guitar sounds. It never gets too midrangey or ice pick trebly, always nice and even. And there doesn't seem to be much of any 60 cycle hum coming from the single coils either. Just a nice sounding guitar overall.

The tuners are cheap, cheap, cheap, but after 40 years they still turn easily and keep the guitar in tune. The bridge is in the wrong position, so the intonation is off. One of these days I'll just drill some holes in the right places and fix that. The bridge itself is a cheap piece of stamped metal with 3 shallow grooves for each string to sit in. I guess the theory is you start the string in the middle groove, and when it pops out (and it will), it can move to the groove above or groove below and sit there until you move it back. It's annoying, but once you get used to it, its no big deal and you really don't notice it. The biggest problem with the guitar is the frets. They're barely there. I don't know if they've worn down, or they were always like that, but this guitar should be known as the Fretless Wonder, not a Les Paul Custom. And I don't mean that as a compliment. Don't expect to play anything but the most basic lead lines on this thing, you'll miss your bends half the time and not know where the hell your fingers are. It's no big deal though, cause this guitar is strictly for clean rhythm work or overdriven power chords. Get a strat with jumbo frets if you want to play like Stevie.

Gig without a backup? You'd have to be crazy. Bring it along to play a couple of tunes? Why not, as long as you have a real guitar to go to if this thing goes haywire. The guitar is solid, despite its insubstantial feel, but I wouldn't trust it in front of an audience. But it has held up for 40 years, so I probably shouldn't badmouth it too much.

A cool, funky guitar that has a few pretty darn good sounds in it. This thing isn't going to be the basis of your tone, but for the price it's fun to have around. It looks good with 3 tone sunburst and really one of the prettiest pickguards I've ever seen with vines and flowers graphic on black background. Puts the gaudy pearloid pickguards to shame. I wish it had the tremolo setup still on it, but I guess I can live without it. If the frets were a little better and the guitar didn't fret out in a bunch of places high up on the neck I'd say this was a great guitar, but its limited playability and microphonic pickups relegates it more of a novelty than a fully functional axe.

I got the guitar for free from a summer camp i used to go to. They were getting rid of some old guitars and they gave it to me. I didn't play it much but i used the parts in a guitar I was making. I used all the electronics (including the pickups), the bridge and the whammy mechanism. The parts were unique and went well with the grungy industrial style of the guitar i was making. I wanted to use a different pick guard but I couldn't find one that was the right size to house the electronics of the Teisco. I would have liked better tuning machines (although I didn't use them) and the bridge was not very quality.

The sound in the new guitar has a very unique ring to it. It has a twangy sound and a deep percussion. It plays well in mid range but the sound becomes fuzzy around the high and low settings. The sound is easily varied with different effects but with no effects it has a rich full clean jazzy sound.

The guitar was in fairly well condition when i received it even-though it had gone through many years of heavy play. the action was good. One of the tuning pegs was chipped and there were some dents in it but other than that it was in fairly good condition.

The hardware has lasted since the sixties with nonstop play from kids at a summer camp. It has kept its good condition. The guitar I made from its parts is a good guitar but it is not my primary guitar, but thats my personal preference.

The parts used from this guitar were surprisingly good. The sound was very unique and they style is nothing like modern guitars. It is well worth the price I didn't pay.

This is a 1965/66 teisco del rey et-200 model.22 fret.solid body with the tulip shape to it. has 2 pickups and a tremlo bar.2 switches to control the pickups on/off and one volume knob/one tone.this one is in vintage sunburst has a aluminum pickgaurd.

This guitar is awsome for solo and jazz, blues style music. for a cheap jap made guitar it has very unique tone and sustained resonance when played over clear channel. I stringe up with earnie ball super slinkys(hotpink pak. Now i must say this guitar was not made for anykinda distortion what so ever. I have tried all kinds to try to tame this beast but no matter what amp or effects combo you use as soon as you volumize it gives horrible feedback.

seems to be put together well. I have the action set very low, I dont get any buzz from mine.no rust anywhere. one complaint i have is that the frets seem to wear away easily and they are very thin to begain with. I think they coulda did a better job of fretting these with thick nickleplate.

you could beat fence post into frozen ground with these guitars, then do a live gig-mines in good shape and its like 40 years old.

none

Ive been playing for around 12 years now. I own alot of guitars- my gibson LP is numero uno but strangly this cheap old teisco would have to be my second favorite because of its unique tone and sound. I will continue to collect these guitars. as they are very collectable and playable.

I don't own mine, haven't seen it for twenty-four years. It was my first electric, I paid $30. Dark blue with a black pick guard with stylized white or silver flowers on it, I beleive. Two pickups, cheap rectangular bridge that looked adjustable but wasn't, double cutaway. Worst pickups in the world. Surprisingly good neck, maple-looking, solid and smooth with Fender-like proportions.

Two knobs, two switches. Volume, tone and picup on and off. Shit tuners I replaced before I played a note. Had a friend paint a sunrise on the headstock. Anybody seen it?

Horrible sound. Didnt own an amp, played it through a stereo. Would never dream of playing on anywhere near a stage. You can get a Fender for $200, for chrissake.

They sold these at Ben Franklin with an amp for 69.99 in 1970. Piece of shit. Get real.

Pound fenceposts into frozen ground with it. Ship it without a case. Drag it behind your car to the gig. Who cares? It was built for durability, not sound.

hohohohohohoho.

Not a bad first electric guitar. Feels good in the hand. Not a serious instrument to play in a band where, say, tone is important, but if you want to practice chords sitting on your bed it will work pretty good. Stays in tune. Just dont plug the damn thing in!

Adjustable bridge intones guitar properly (not sure if this is original, though). Tremolo bar which works much better than the fake Bigsby on my DeArmond. Three-way toggle switch (rhythm, bass, solo) and on/off rocker switches for the pickups. The one I have has new tuners, which helps the guitar stay in tune much better. Tone and volume knobs are pretty much worthless. It gets a bonus point for looking like it was designed by space aliens on a weekend crack bender.

For rock, this is a pretty good guitar. The three-way switch for rhythm, bass and solo actually produces very distinct tones; if you switch between it, the on/off switches for the pickups, and the "normal/treble" switch, you can get a pretty wide range of sounds out of this guitar. The notoriously microphonic pickups actually will allow for your amplifier to be turned up quite loud, whether facing the amp or not .... as long as you're not turned way up in overdrive mode (I play through a Hod Rod DeVille) or with a pedal. The pickups really dislike any kind of overdrive, so you have to be careful with it when setting your levels. That being said - if you want to make a truly fabulous wall of sound, turn the sucker up. If you're playing rhythm and are just playing chords, this guitar will give you a great distorted sound. Just be sure to not stop playing while the pedal or overdrive is on, or you will kill people, cause it's just gonna go SKREEEEEEEEEE when you're not hitting the strings.

Well, I can't imagine this guitar was that great coming out of the factory, judging by the way it looks 30+ years down the road. The frets look pretty horrible and are a bit uneven on the sides of the neck, but actually don't really cause any problems as far as playing. The guitar I have has replaced tuners, which is good, as the originals are supposedly pretty crappy. The electronics all are still working perfectly (although the tone and volume knobs are, as stated before, pretty much worthless). I actually like the tremolo setup on the guitar quite a bit, and it doesn't seem to throw the guitar out of tune.

My Teisco looks like it has had a hard life. It looks like someone smashed it at one point and put it back together. The truss rod is bent; there is a crack in the neck through two of the screw holes; the neck joint on the body is cracked on both sides. But somehow, it stays in tune. Go figure. Looks like the finish is about an inch thick. The super-thick metal pickguard is also a nice feature. All the electronics still work, years down the road from the factory. I have used it at gigs without a back up... although I remember thinking "What am I doing" at the time.

Well, I think if I took this guitar into a repair shop, they would laugh at me. I'm guessing Kawai doesn't really do any repairs anymore, either. Unfortunately, my guitar was purchased from an unscrupulous ebay seller, who said the guitar was in fine condition. Well, it plays ok, but is beat to hell. At least it was cheap.

I've only been playing a year or so ... and I really like this 60s artifact. It's the prettiest guitar I own (also have a DeArmond M-75T, a Danelectro Hodad 12-string and a Harmony bobcat - I obviously like the cheapies). It would be nice if the pickups weren't so freak-out prone, but that can be used to one's advantage as well. I am on the lookout for a 4-pickup model that ain't broken up!

I dont know what year this guitar was made.
It has 22 frets and seems to be a solid guitar only it is very light comparing with my strat. its the same as the others if you want to know and the finish is tobacco sunburst [I just couldnt be bothered mentioning the same stuff as the others] and also mine has 2 tone controls and 2 volume so I can regulate each pick up.

I love the 60's rock sound that I can get out of it and also with tons of gain it rocks. It seems to have a fairly good sound in clean
allround I love this guitar and rate it better than my strat

the strings are fairly high above the fretboard but I dont care

This guitar is a tank you could throw it and still play it and I would know because im 15 and play in a punk rock band

the company died off milleniums ago

sick ass guitar !!!!!!!!!!!!

Plywood body and neck (which is a somposite of seemingly a hundred pressed boards - right angled to the frets) and a rosewood fretboard. 24 3/4" scale lenght with smallish frets and stamped steel hardware. Includes bigsby type floating tremelo, a terrible bridge that you can not intonate, and cheap tuners with plastic knobs. Two very shallow chrome encased singlecoil pickups are controled by two on/off switches, and volume and tone knobs.

The body is extremely thin, but the neck shape is very fat, but not wide. I suspect the fretboard radius is similar to older Fenders (7.5"?).

When I purchased this off eBay, the tremelo arm was included, but the original trem spring was missing. I bought an assortment of springs at the local hardware shop and found one that was about the right size, but unfortunately too weak. Finding an appropriate spring should'nt be too hard though. I wouldn't recommend using the floating trem anyway.

One more note: This guitar has a "zero fret" meaning that they are vibrating against a fret and NOT on the nut.

Very simple guitar. I give it a five for it's simplicity but not necessarily it's quality!

VERY surprisingly, it's acoustically loud. I mean, it's very very loud. Plugged in, it's a completely different story. The pickups are A) extremely weak and B) extremely microphonic. This means that they will squeal (not the pleasant sort of feedback) even when playing "clean" with no distortion or overdrive. Add distortion or overdrive into your signal and forget it, all you'll have in your hands is a baby pig squealing away.

To bypass this, I attempted to record it directly through a guitar modeler (Zoom 505 which I use as a general preamp and digital effects unit, don't knock it till you try it!). And yes the Zoom's distortion effects are on the poor side, but it still yields a distorted Tiesco tone without the feedback.

The pickup schematics are very simple. An on/off switch is assigned to each pickup. When both are off, there is no sound, when both are on, both pickups are on, creating a much louder signal than with the individual PUs by themselves.

All positions are very unique from one another to say the least.

The funny thing is, the PUs are mounted on the pickguard, not THROUGH it, so there is no pickup slots or holes on the pickguard itself. In order to change the pickups to traditional strat type single coils, or humbuckers, or P90s, you would have to route out a hole into the pickguard. I would do this, but then the pickguard itself is very unique and finding a replacement would be next to impossible. I think the best solution to swapping the electronics without altering the orginal parts would be to cut your own pickguard first.

I give it a five. It's a love hate relationship. This guitar doesn't serve any PRACTICAL tone purposes, but it is unique enough to warrant a permanent place in my meager collection.

The ET-200s were made during 1965 and later. My particular guitar is most likely an earlier incarnation of the series. It looks like Tiesco/Silvertone changed some minor things later down the line, like using different style pickup switches.

Now considering it's age, it's in EXCELLENT condition. There is one noticeable chip near the neck joint (has nothing to do with the joint though) and a few minor dents on the neck and body, but otherwise this guitar looks mostly unused (which can be explained by it's tendency to feedback uncontrolably!!).

The main problem besides cosmetics is the bridge's inability to intonate each string. And because there is no truss rod, you need to have the action fairly high to remove fret buzzes. This leads to terrible intonation. Another terrible problem with the bridge is that the slots are almost nonexistant. There are three very shallow grooves for each string (although one particular group in any group appropriately seats the string over it's pickup "polepiece" correctly). When doing bends, especially on the high E and B strings, they can unlodge from their shallow groove easily.

The second problem is the tremelo system. I suspect that this mostly has to do with having the wrong spring in there though. Then again, even with the correct part, it probably wouldn't be very usable except for some light surf type vibrato work.

In my opinion, adding a tune-o-matic bridge would be tricky. First, the TOM has wider string spacing. Second, because it is wider it also screws in at different points into the body than with the stock bridge. Now if the TOM was wide enough, you can drill new holes, but I did some casual measuring with another guitar that I own and it seems that it overlaps the original bridge holes. And moving the new bridge forward or backwards on the guitar would completely throw off the intonation.

But, if you feel like it, you can probably add a stop tail piece and remove the tremelo, which would stabalize tuning.

Another 5 because although it's in great condition for it's age, even when it was new it was a terribly designed guitar!

I highly suspect that the reason this guitar is in such great condition after 35 years is that it didn't get much playing time. However, even if it is played a lot, as with any guitar, proper care would keep it looking and playing like new.

As usual, the pots and switches were a bit scratchy, but some contact cleaner cleared that up. The tuners are a bit hard to turn. Maybe I'll attempt to oil them.

Teisco and silvertone have been looong gone, my friend.

I originally bought the guitar because I thought I could modify it and turn it into a strangely rocking beast. But now that I have it, I understand it's kitschy beauty and want to preserve it's original features. The only way I would modify it now would be to replace the pickguard with a home made one and add the proper pickups and electronics that I'd like it to have.

It's not a very flashy Tiesco like the ones that came later, but I do think that this particular model has a charm of it's own. It has this very "old-timey west" vibe to it even though it's a completely Japanese designed and manufactured. I would definitely try to find another model like it if it were lost or stolen. It's sort of like an ugly worthless painting you find at a flea market. You know it's ugly, you know it's worthless, yet you picked it out all by yourself and you think it's beautiful. I love it.

This plywood beast was made in the early 70s. It has 22 frets (one more than my strat has) but the frets appeared to be GLUED ON. They work just fine despite this. There are 2 switches, one for each pickup, 1 volume knob and 1 tone knob. There are 2 single coil pickups.. these things make a lot of noise! The lower strings sound pretty balsy through the pups, but when distortion is turned on it makes crazy ass feedback.. I'm gonna try to replace these with some Dimarzio humbuckers. The body is made of some sort of cheapo wood because this thing is light as hell! The neck is one piece and has a sticker on the back that says "steel reinforced" or something like that. The body is shaped like a tulip. The bridge is pretty annoying, when I try to bend a string really high, it unfastens itself from the bridge. I'm also going to look into getting a new bridge.. The tuners are VERY difficult to turn, they are made of an ugly plastic that reminds me of the inside of a burnt lamp shade. I recently replaced these with Gotoh tuners and it works fine now. The neck is made of rosewood and has very small frets which are easy on the fingers. I'll give it a 6 for features, pretty average.

I'm just a poor teenage kid that can't afford a Les Paul so I just cruise the pawn shops and ebay for cheap geetars. I would say it suits my music style, I play all rock, mostly alternative, some punk, but it is NOT good for metal (I know I know, I had to say something). Since I'm fixing it up it will be perfect for my style of music, and hey, it's better to start trends than to follow them. It has a very.. um.. weird sound. It can be bright, it can be soft, it can be heavy and it can be light. I play mostly Nirvana and this guitar is perfect for that (especially the amount of feedback this thing makes) I'll give it an 8, but remember this is just my opinion, because it fits my style of music well.

Ok well I got it 25-30 years after it was made. When I got it, the thing was trash, the action was horrible, the bridge was broken. It didn't take much to fix it though (gotta love those 60s guitars). The pickups have their ups and downs.. (don't we all though?) There is nothing wrong with it besides some dents from the last guy who had it. Nothing more...

Yeah, I'll count on it. But then again, I'll count on a piece of squirrel poop with strings attached as long as it makes some sort of sound. Always have a backup guitar if you play live, because no matter what guitar you have, strings can break. The finish seems like it can handle me (that's tuff) The little flowers on the pickguard will probably wear off as I play though... The strap buttons are solid, but they are too round, just yesterday the strap slipped off and the head smacked me in the face. (Note to self: buy strap locks)

I don't think this company ever EXISTED

I've been playing for about 3 years. If my Teisco were stolen, I would probably but another one.. or two.. or three.. (only $65!?!) My favorite thing about it is how it looks. It's very unusual and eye catching. It looks much more expensive than it actually is. It is too thin in my opinion, and could use a little more body. I wish it came with the tremelo.. too bad the other guy lost it. Well there ya go, email me if you have any questions.

For starters, the body is kinda pretty, and it has a sunburst paint scheme and a black pickguard with little white flowers on it. As far as age, Im not certain, but I presume its at least 25 to 30 years old. I know it was made in Japan back in the day. There's two harmonica-looking pickups a single vol and tone knobs, and two switches to turn off the two pickups. it has a rosewood fingerboard which plays smoothly altough two frets buzz. It has a bigsby style trem, which is missing the arm (i intend to get one). the body itself is thin and made of cheap plywood or driftwood because its very light. the shape is unique but not far removed from a strat. Oh yeah the tuners are tough to turn and a ugly plastic (maybe i can replace them.)

I play everything: blues, rock, punk, ska, etc etc, and this guitar holds up. The pickups provide a lot of low end, and most of the twang is minimal. This makes a great blues tone for soloing, but also gives a bassy grumbly distorted sound too. Theres not a lot of variety in sounds but you can play it for any kind of music and it should be able to handle it.

The neck is pretty sweet. Except for the few buzzy frets, the action is very smooth and bending is very easy. the switches are kinda noisy for the pickups but hey its a 30 year old cheapo guitar i bought for $40- I can't complain too much.

I would seriously play this guitar live. I haven't yet but this guitar I think will stand up to my abuse. I also have a 1990 mexican tele that i love to play, but in a live situation i would want to beat the hell out of a guitar and I love my tele too much. This guitar will do. I would bring both my guitars and probably play them both,since a guitarist should always have a backup because of string breakage, but mostly the teisco because i might get too rough.

I've been playing for 3 or 4 years now, and besides the teisco i own a tele, i play through a fender princeton 65 amp and use a big muff distortion, hash brown flanger, and a morely pro series wah pedal. If I lost this guitar or some ^%*& took it I'd get real mad and start looking for another cheapo guitar to take my abuse.
FINAL THOUGHT: small on features, huge on value, and a light, sturdy little tank

its made of wood (i think), shaped like a tulip, a whammy system with no bar, 22 frets originally but only 21 now because the 22nd fret came off, it seemed to be glued on or something(???!!!!)... the pickups are huge hyper-microphonic clunkers that look like a harmonica cut in half and doctored in metal shop... little metal bridge, probably 60% tin... its a pretty blue color, and the pickguard is black with cool little white flowers carved into it... the tuners are on a metal strip and near impossible to tune (at least they hold the tune when you have it)... it came with a nasty looking chipboard case (barf)...

ill give it a 5/10 for the fact its unlike any guitar ive ever heard (i dont know if its in a good or bad way)... its pretty clear sounding when acoustically played but as soon as i turn on my BigMuff pedal, the whole setup goes apeshit unless the tone knobs are all the way down. for mine anyways... i think some of the stuff on mine has been altered... it gets a 5... no further comment...

well the action is nice, its functional as far as that goes. Saying that "My Teisco pickups are well adjusted" is unlike saying "i Fight for Peace!" or "Military Intelligence"... oxymorons abound here, having these things functionally adjusted just cant be done. The 13th wire has a sharp edge that i have yet to file down (i have the cuts to show for it). Not to totally voice it down, its a very original eye catching little guitar, in that retarded down-syndrome kind of "original" and "eye catching" way. it gets a 4... im feeling forgiving...

i would play nothing BUT these guitars if they worked better, given their near-indestructibility. aside from the tin bridge its a wooden tank. the finish will last, since there seems to be about 40 coats of it anyway... the strap buttons have yet to give me any shit... i can depend on it, you bet, i can depend on someone finding this thing in a dusty heap in the back of my closet in 60 years when i finally die.

what the hell IS a "teisco", anyways??? what does it mean?? who? what? where?.... umm, yeah.

its an absolute piece of trash, but ive grown attached to it and have decided to keep it in hopes of being able to update it someday, if i have have any money... (yeah, uh huh, sure). if it were stolen, id find the sonofa bitch who stole it from me, take the guitar, and beat them senseless with it, since i know the guitar would be able to take the abuse. well, youve got my 2 cents, so adieu, until next time...

This guitar is a very special find, it was possibly made around the 1960s, in Japan of course! I bought it from my guitar teacher.
It's got two rocker switches for the two pickups, and four other switches for the volume and tone... All the hardware is chrome, this pick guard is chrome with stipes (VERY SWEET) it doesn't look nearly like a Strat or anything like that, it has a really small body, it has a lovely red sunburst, and i believe the body is made up of maple, but the paint job could really use a tink up, a couple nicks and tinks in it. The tuners are a bit stiff but work perfectly, fret board feels perfectly comfortable, the bridge is kinda one of a kind, and it has a chrome piese that you can pull off, it kinda looks like an ash tray when you pull it off... The neck is kinda thick and comfortable!

It is a clean sound with a bit of a hum twangy sound, but i don't like twangy too much, but with distortion it sounds great cause i can control my sound with all the switches. The only pedal i've got right now is a Danelectro Fab-Tone, and i got a Canadian made amp from like the 50's (Solid State or something like that) but it gives me great sound with my guitar, not to brag or anything. There is kinda a hum, buzzy sound but thats just because the pick-ups aren't as balanced as like a humbucker or whatever, but i can adjust the pick-ups if i wanted too.
My guitar has a beautiful balanced sound, but the pick-ups aren't really great at picking up all the sound but they still work great!
My guitar can be really bassy, or really hollow, and if you wanted too, you could make it sound all twangy country style, but lets not go there. There is quite a bit of variety for my small guitar!
I love my guitar's, whammy bar baby! But i don't really like how the rocker switches turn off/on when i strum all the time...
If i could i'd give it a 9,1/2 so i'll give it a 10!

The guitar was really well built, but the body itself is not quite well smoothed, well most of the body but those parts you never see. Well since the guitar came from like a third world country, well then the wood isn't that great. Some of the hardware on the parts you can't see is slightly rusted but nothing to worry about. Over all the guitar is great! So i'll give this a 7!

If you bought this guitar you wouldn't be able to tell that it was an old guitar except for the whammy bar. The whammy bar 50's look kinda gives it away...
But it would withstand like a couple decades boy-o-boy! The finish is really thick and hard to scratch up, but it could use a bit of a new tink up. The strap buttons? They don't move at all... Unless you screwed them out. I would depend on this guitar! Over a Fender, or even a Gibson, i've been playing guitar for almost 4 years and i've had this guitar ever since i've started, i wouldn't pick it over a Gibson because i've had it for so long but because i know its reliable! I would definetly use this for a gig without a backup, i've only broken one string on this guitar since i've had it, ONE FRICKIN' STRING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD) one! But yeah!

The company of Teisco is no longer around, but there is actually a company that is called KAWAI that reisues them, they don't know much about the older Teisco because they only reisued the K-4L, The May Queen and the Spectrum guitars but they might be able to help you out with some stuff!
CHECK THIS SITE FOR TEISCO: http://www.kawai.co.jp/teisco/top.html
I've never actually gone anywhere to get my guitar fixed/checked, because it just didn't need it.

Ummm... mostly all the stuff i like about my guitar i've already shared, but if it ever got stolen i probably wouldn't be able to find one like it again, so i possibly would buy another guitar... I love all the features on it, as my guitar teacher would say, it's fabulous!

-Thank you!