Teisco May Queen

Made in 1999. This is the RE-ISSUE of the Teisco May Queen, Made in Japan. Has 22 frets plus zero fret, hollow body with one F-hole, all wood body and neck, two vintage style pickups, volume, tone and selector switch, spring tremolo, vintage style roller adjustable bridge, vintage style tuners, rosewood fingerboard, with pearl dot inlays, bolt on neck, high gloss vintage sunburst thin bodied. Hardware is all chrome. Comes with trussrod tool and heavy padded Teisco signed gigbag.

Great for my style of music. I play mostly 50's and 60's rock and it sounds better than the original Teisco's of that period. I play it thru my Fender twin reverb and it give me anything from a mellow rich tone to the crystal clear 60's surf sound. Absolutely noisless on even the high volume settings. I've had the original 60's Teisco May Queen and this beats it 10 to 1 in being more solid with more weight, better pickups, better neck action, and body and neck finish.

The guitar was set up perfect from the factory with low action, pickups were adjusted just right, all controls and hardware are of excellent manufacture, again no comparison to the originals. The finish is super thick high gloss and looks as good as American made guitars running into thousands.

I see no problem with live playing, as everything about this guitar is built solidly and built to last. I'd have no problem with depending on this guitar and wouldn't need a backup the way this one's made.

Never dealt with the company. I believe the warranty was for a year. Never needed repair.

Been playing for over 35 years, I also own a Rickenbacker 360/12, Jerry Jones master sitar, and Gibson Les Paul deluxe. I ran into this guitar by chance from an overseas seller in Japan. These were released mostly to the Japanese market and few made their way to the U.S. The quality and workmanship is beyond my expectations as I've stated earlier I've owned the original May Queen by Teisco and found it to be too light in weight, very tinny electronics and mostly equal to the Silvertone's, Harmony's, Kent's, Kay's, etc. of the 60's period. This IS NOT the same animal in any respect. Its as if Teisco wanted to make a masterpiece copy of what they originally had but used modern state of the art woods, and components that far exceeded the 60's version. Its a joy to play and I can't seem to put it down. Even the vibrato stays in tune. I can't find anything I don't like about it as I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. If your looking for it to be just like the original its not, only in looks is it similar. If it were lost or stolen I'd have to find another. I saw Eastwood put out a similar model but I just can't get into Chinese made copies of any guitar. I think that Teisco really missed the mark in not getting these into more hands of those in the U.S. but I believe they tried but dealers may have shrugged them off thinking it was an exact copy of the cheap Teisco's of the past, which it definitely is not.

1968 or 69. Made in Japan. Teisco "May Queen" but this one is the deluxe "Apollo" branded version. Even more impossible to find then a standard May Queen. The difference is pearloid block fretboard inlays, binding on the neck and headstock, and features 2 chrome mini-humbuckers, which sound WAY better then the typical Teisco single coils. Red finish with black pickguard that has "Apollo" inlaid into it, and a surprisingly well made and smooth actioned Bigsby style vibrato, not the cheap tinny stuff on a lot of the imported guitars from this era. Infact, I was surprised at just how much this model DOESN'T have that "cheap guitar" feel... that's why I bought it The necks are not anything at all like any Teisco I've picked up (which always seem to have some cheap feel or "funkyness" to it) ...it actually feels like a real guitar neck and is as very playable. Similar to a "60's" style neck you'd find on a Gibson or Epiphone. Bridge is a roller saddle version with a base that mounts to the guitar much like a Rickenbacker I have. Chrome vintage style tuners that also work good. Single volume and tone. Zero fret. Obviously not custom shop Gibson quality, but a 100% totally playable guitar, and extremely cool looking. It surprised me. Everybody wants to play it whenever I pull it out, and it is always the STAR of little coffee shop gigs I play. I have the form fit case for mine as well. I give it a 10 here. The well made vibrato, zero fret, and mini humbuckers make this a totally playable guitar and not just some pretty oddball you hang in your bandroom for decoration. Let's put it this way, some guitar company got the rights to reissue these in a real limited run in the early 90's...so they can't be bad.

Oh yeah, it does the Rickenbacker "British Invasion" thing to a "T". I use mine for a slow paced, reverbed out surf tone believe it or not. I play it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb... like I said, at coffee shop gig volumes and have no problems with feedback. If you stick some drive on it, yeah, it feeds back... it's a hollowbody. Bright yet full tone kinda like a Fender Jaguar but a little more raspy when you start getting into it. I think the sound is cool. Other then the two tones I mentioned, it doesn't have a bunch of other tones. But the ones it does have are killer.

Like I said, I was surprised at the playability of this guitar. It is a guitar that can totally be set-up to be played, and it is quite comfortable playing as far as neck profile and width, neck/body angle, fretboard radius, where everything is...sitting down with it is a bit odd, but you manage. It is now almost 37 years old and it still looks great. The binding has yellowed nicely, the frets are all still good. I bought it at a vintage guitar show...everything is there and totally usable. Binding is not deteriorating and it's holding up great. Finish is good...not nitro but thin and looks good. I guess an 8 is a pretty neutral vote here. Looks and plays great to me.

Well, I do play mine live...granted, just at small little soffee shop gigs or small local music fests... no multi-state tours. Tremolo is quality, tuners seem about the same quality as your typical Klusons on a Fender...they still work fine. All in all it is a usable guitar. No, it's not going to be able to be tossed around like a Telecaster, but I wouldn't say it's some delicate flower. Stands up to avarage use and small gigs for me... I don't trat it like it's glass, but I take care of my stuff. I forsee no problems with it. It switches between a backup for my Ric and vice versa. Never took a dump on me yet.

I lost a set screw to the volume knob and the company overnighted me a brand new one, 50 new picks, and a handwritten "thank you" note, written in Japanese, thanking me for playing their guitars...


...ok, I just made that up.

I have no idea if they are even around anymore.

It is what it is, and I absolutely love mine. I traded a average condition US Tele for it, so figure I gave about $500 for it. I think it's worth it just to see people smile at it when I play it, and it always opens up conversations with people I play it for. It's a really fun guitar and represents a small sliver of time in the late 60's where "wierd" and funky was totally in style. But it doesn't come across as wierd for the sake of being wierd. It works, strangly enough. If it were stolen, I would be quite bummed out, because it is pretty much irreplaceable, especially in this condition. If you ever do run across any version of the May Queen (especially the Apollo), just buy it. It will put a smile on your face (and others) and they are a load of fun. This is a great example of what is so cool about picking yourself up a vintage guitar. You get to hang onto a little slice of time and revisit it whenever you want. This guitar gets a 10 for all the right reasons. Keep on smiling.

Not sure exactly what year, but i believe it is in the 60's. Japanese made, imported to the US under the name Kimberley, with the logo on the headstock. 1 volume, 1 tone, with a 3 way toggle covering 2 pickups. the pickups kind of look like ric toaster pu's and almost even sounds like them. the body is probably plywood, at least it feels like it and looks like it from inside the single f-hole. the neck has an amazingly great feel to it; thin, slick, not too big, not too small. the trem bar is neat, but it would be nice if it didn't stick out so much. i give it a 10 for features because, that's all you really need for a semi-hollowbody.

This sounds insanely good through a tube amp. rivals some rickenbackers. nice mid-rangey sound. the semi-hollow body design is very resonant, you can get some really nice feedback if you can use it right.

The action is perfect. the wood seems to be really cheap plywood and the finish is ok. it's not fading, but you can tell the paint is thin. the hardware has some pitting, but that could happen to any guitar 40 years old. tuning pegs hold true, but the obtrusive trem bar could probably have helped keep it in tune if it didn't stick out so much. overall a beautiful exotic design with the single lower cutaway and almost teardrop shape. the gumby headstock tops it off. i'm surprised more psychadelic bands from the 60's didn't use these.

not sure it's built well enough to withstand gigging. i might bring it out occasionally, but its not really a workhorse.

n/a

i might replace it if it was stolen or lost. it's a neat little guitar, but i don't see it being my player. the design and sound are the best features. very cool, but maybe not so practical.

there are two pickups, and one of them works only when the tone is turned down. i think it's just a personal issue. the tuners seem to be pretty good, though a couple of them seem to be too loose. again, this can probably be fixed. there's an alright variety of tones from the pickups though, and you can get a distortion pedal if you're a real dick about that, and a les paul while you're at it

the pickups have a sort of feathery tone, not solid...the high strings sound like an acoustic. the low notes are sort of weird, especially the bass string, which sounds like mordor. i would give the sound a 10, except that the a and d strings are so much quieter than the e. who really cares though, so it gets a 9
and in case you care, my amplifier is a 1965 gibson GA35-RVT, which is the best amplifier.

the frets were really good, and the neck straight, but then i got it fixed when it started cracking in half, and the action stopped being as good. now it's pretty good, but the frets have all sort of worn down. i guess it's had a lot of closet time since 1968. you have to not be scared of bad frets. it plays, what the hell do you want, seriously

this guitar is just about the most fragile thing ever. if you scrape something like a string across it, you give it a huge dent. you pretty much have to guard this one. definitely a hard case is necessary, cause if you drop one of these it's pretty much a lost cause. i mentioned above that i had to get it fixed. one of the strap buttons kept getting loose because it had cracked the entire body and so it couldn't stay in. that sucked, but i got it fixed and now it's okay.

irrelevant

this is essentially the best instrument ever made. any small problems it may have all contribute to the fact that it's not to be surpassed. just be careful with it and it'll be fine.

Made in Japan, Apollo brand, 23 frets, including zero fret, hollow body with one F-hole. Volume tone(wired backwards?), 3-way toggle. Dual mini humbuckers, chrome with bars and adjustable polepieces, black plactic rings. Don't know what kind of wood it is, but it's shaped like a butter bean and you you can see the grain. BWB pickguard wierd shape, mounted on rubber spacers, with Apollo in script lettering. The body and neckare stained dark red, the neck is a four bolt, laminated three piece, 3 on a side tuners, Gumby style headstock, with Appollo plastic logo plate and WBW binding. Bridge is roller style with individual intonation adjustment screws, and Bigsby style trem. Tunes are original enclosed style. Medium neck with triple (wbw) binding. Adjustable truss rod, from body end. Rose wood board with mother of plastic block inlay. This thing looks great. That's why I bought it. Unique, wierd, and beautiful. Very well made. Came with a plush lined form fit cardboard case, try finding one of those!

Sounds real good, has that British invasion type sound. With both pickups on, they are wired out of phase, it nails the tone from intro to " She's A Woman" by the Beatles. Trem works OK, stays intune if you don't divebomb. Can't use much drive, because it will feedback too much.

For a 40 year old guitar, this one is excellent. It is in great shape and is very well made. It is all original.

I would not take it out live. It's too cool. I keep it at home. I've had it 15 years, and it's in such great shape, I'd be too worried. I don't play it that much. I just love to look at it and feel it, because you don't see many of these. I've been looking on Ebay for a year , and have only seen one other.

I've been playing 20 years, got way too much stuff, got interested in these oddballs reading Teisco Del- Rays articles in Guitar Player. I still love 'em, and still look and buy when I can. I'd be very upset if it were stolen, irreplacable. Unique, one of a kind, or maybe they made a bunch, I don't know.

OK THE MAY QUEEN...........I ONLY SAW 1 OTHER LIKE IT AT A TRADE SHOW, BUT I NO THAT THERE ARE MORE OUT THER.......TEAR DROP BODY BLACK IN COLER, HOLLOW BODY,,2 PICKUPS VOL, TONE CONTROLES.....SUPER THIN NECK,ROSEWOOD WITH SMALL BRASS FRETS......COOL HEAD STOCK, REALLY COOL WHITE PICK GARD WITH MAY QUEEN ON IT, SO EVERYBODY WILL NO WHERE YOU STAND WHEN YOUR ON STAGE

SOUD IS GOOD.......THIN BUT OK,CRANKED UP SHE FEEDSBACK LIKE A PIG IN HEAT.......YOU HAVE TO DO SOME REAL RADICAL EQ TO MAKE HER WORK....

ACTION IS THE HIGH PONT AND THE FINNISH IS REALLY NICE.....

STRINGS BREAK A LOT ON THIS BABY

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