This is a gorgeous and rare guitar and a worthy homage to Gibson’s revered 335. lol I love this guitar – if you get the chance to pick one up – it’s definitely one to check off from the list – for the cool factor and a one of a kind guitar that does sound great – even with the stocks.Stunning vintage guitar, dating from c1966 (see below for info from Vintage Guitar). The vibrato surprisingly stays in tune if youre not going crazy on it.
#TEISCO DEL REY GUITARS FULL#
Ive given the May Queen a full once over – cleaned the pots, changed the strings, intonation attack, waxed and buffed it back to as much life as possibly left on the original factory black paint. Christ, I did drive over seven hours one way to pick it up and still had to get home later that afternoon. You can tell he didnt want to let her go, but he knew that his ’68 Teisco May Queen was going to someone who was going to care for it and really enjoy it. He even threw in an oversized hardshell Gibson guitar case. Original pickguard (no cracks or chips), volume & tone knob, vibrato, pick ups, tuners, headstock logo. The black paint was losing a little of its glossy look in some spots and it was in desperate need of new strings and a set up, but everything was there. He really liked the old guitar, said he’s owned the May Queen for almost 25 years but had to part with it due to financial issues. This was something he just wasnt going to do fearing it might get damaged en route. The guy said he had a few offers low balling his price and of course asking him to send it a few states over in every direction. Whatever – I made the trip in several hours the following day. No worries here 🙂 Of course he was several hours away located deep in Cleveland while I was in the harbor side of Baltimore. He responded and said he didnt want to list it on ebay because he didnt feel like shipping it. In fact the ad was running for almost a week publicly before I emailed the dude at a frantic pace. You have no idea how shocked/psyched/amazed I was when i saw the ad running. I recently scored a Teisco May Queen off Craigslist. Quantity was never an issue for me! At least I was able to check this off my “Off the Wall” check list! Depending on how many guitars you want to own. Consider a player’s criteria, and it become less so. Combine rarity and art, and this is way desirable. So, is this a Holy Grail? This begs the question, “What you mean pardner?” There are so many ways to define desire. It’s just that I’d choose my vinyl-covered Teisco with the platform vibrato first… Or, to be honest, my Levinson Blade… Unless you’re really looking for the right image. There’s no problem setting it up to play. Put it all together and, well, given a lot of choices of what guitar to pick up and play, this keeps sliding down the list. There’s a lot of visual slight of hand here. Maybe if the cats eye was really bound, but it’s just paint. These simple rip-offs of Bigsby vibratos are really pretty good. Good if you’re back is bad, but lacking “heft.” It plays fine. The pickups on this May Queen are nice, beefy single-coils, but the whole package just comes off as sort of, well, limp. They have great features and, with a little attention to set-up, can far surpass guitars in the same class, including those made in the US and Europe. Some of their solidbodies are spectacular. Teisco just never did do hollowbodies too well. This was, perhaps, the first golden age of Japanese guitars. A whole spate of Japanese-style guitars appeared, reflecting creative thinking, not just copies of other people. In any case, in 1968 the Japanese companies were feeling their oats and began to come up with original guitar designs. Kawai seems to have kept the Teisco and its own lines separate throughout this period.
In January of 1967 they were acquired by Kawai, the piano company turned guitarmaker. They were probably the most successful brand during that decade. Teisco, which had formed following World War II as a Hawaiian guitar and amp company, had considerable success with exporting into the 1960s. The Teisco May Queen appeared at a significant time in Japanese guitarmaking. This rarity has to contribute to Holy Grailness. And, as mentioned, a red finish is really special. We have no idea how many were made, but ‘60s Japanese guitars are fewer than most people suspect. These just do not come around very often. Still, I’ve never seen a catalog, ad, or other evidence of it’s being sold in the US. Then again, it does have an English engraving on the pickguard. As far as I know, the May Queen was made for domestic consumption-or at least regional consumption-only. Vintage 1968 Teisco May Queen Electric Guitar
0 kommentar(er)
