The Ebay Guitar “Code Book”!!

Posted on April 7, 2013 by drowninginguitars

When I bought this guitar, the seller said, “works great!” 16 hours of tech work proved otherwise…

This is sort of a fun poke at the interesting world of buying and selling guitars on Ebay. Always an adventure, buying guitars site unseen is a relatively recent experience, especially for those of us that remember actually visiting REAL guitar shops that carried cool old gear. I’ve been buying and selling on Ebay for over ten years, and in that time I’ve noticed all sorts of ways people will describe a guitar, to basically say something without saying something, dig? Especially vintage guitars. You know, the kind we all like! I’ll get this started but I’d love for this to be collaborative, so if you have the same sense of humor then feel free to add the quips!! Here we go!!!

THE EBAY CODE BOOK!!

“Butter” As in, plays like butter. I still don’t know what this really means, but when someone uses this term I usually avoid the auction. I have to watch my cholesterol.

“Estate Find” Usually estate thievery. Man, I never find cool guitars at estate sales, but the people that prowl estate sales usually uncover cools tuff.

“Great Slide Guitar” Basically another way to say the neck is totally messed up and strings are buzzing like a hornet’s nest.

“Hen’s Teeth” As in, rare as hen’s teeth. Probably not that rare. Whenever I hear this, I think I my great grandfather who was from Austria, was mean as hell, and was literally a giant. If you said this to him, he’d probably punch you for “talking dumb.”

“Holy Grail” The impossible quest for the elusive grail seems to have found a home on many Ebay auctions. Implies rarity or desirability, or both. Usually neither. Again, look at the definition of Hen’s Teeth to see what would’ve happened to you if you said this around my great grandad.

“I Don’t Have an Amp to Test this Guitar” 90% of the time it’s cause the guitar don’t work!!

“Looks Original” Look again please…usually means stuff has been changed.

“Mojo” Usually means beat to hell, and not in a loving way.

“Original Strings” Back in the day, string gauges were really heavy and if the guitar has been strung to pitch, with the original strings, for the last 40 years, well, you know…

“Rare” The most overused word on Ebay. Most likely not rare.

“Ry Cooder” This poor guy’s name comes up all the time to increase the value of many Japanese pickups. The guy modded a few guitars with Japanese pickups and suddenly Ry played every type of Japanese pickup ever played. Also, I really despise name association to sell guitars.

“Slight Bow” As in, there’s a slight bow in the neck. Slight usually means the neck is shaped like a banana.

“Straight as an Arrow” Referring to the neck. Most people don’t even know what a good set-up is. People who mention this phrase also tend to say, “I don’t know much about guitars.”

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Searching Hy and Lo – 1966 Hy Lo Model 2103 Hoshino Gakki Guitar

Posted on March 16, 2013 by drowninginguitars

For about six years in the 1960s, the Hoshino Gakki company (better known by their most popular brand, Ibanez) produced guitars at their Tama plant in Japan. And yes, it was the same place that produced the early Tama drums. The factory churned out some really kooky designs and this Hy Lo model 2103 is a good representation of the kook factor! The segmented guard is very reminiscent of the early UK Burns guitar design.Most of the Tama made guitars had their share of quirks. For instance, many of the clear celluloid pickguards they used tend to deteriorate over time. And the thicker guards they used, like on this Hy Lo, were prone to shrinking. But some of these Tama models had cool little details like sparkle inlays on the pickups, small puffy labels (remember those old puffy stickers?), and some cool graphics. Plus, this particular tremolo is one of my favorites from the old days! The switches almost always seem to be a source of frustration when it comes to tech work, and honestly they were some of the worst to come out of Japan. The switches never seem to be fully off, so unless you sink some work into them there is always this tone “bleed”, especially since the wiring is parallel.Notice that strip of darker wood running through the headstock. That was sorta a Tama trademark, as was the small metal label often nailed to the headstock. These guitars were made under a few different names (like Maxitone) and most had this small label with similar graphics. These Tama made guitars were also imported into many European countries, and it seems like the wackiest designs were destined for locations outside the USA. Serious collectors spend lots of time searching all over the world for those rare little weird nuggets of Tama guitar design. Hoshino made quite a few different models and the identifier is often located on the back of the headstock via that small sticker, which ALWAYS seemed to fall off! But the necks on these feel very fine, just a little chunky, and the bodies were almost always made of solid wood.Notice that little “Japan” stamp near the neck heel? And check out this subtle belly contour. And you have to take note of that trapezoid neck plate, that’s a definite Hoshino marker. This guitar is on the light side and balances real well.

I haven’t seen too many of these model 2103s, so I’d say that this is a rather rare model. I’ve seen maybe three in about five years. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re not floating around out there. It just means there ain’t too many of them! At least we have this one documented for posterity. Dano at Happy Guitar Repair made this one playable, and Mike Dugan makes it play.

Last of the Hound Dogs – 1965 Winston 449 Japanese Guitar

Posted on March 11, 2013 by drowninginguitars

Such an inconspicuous guitar. Probably wouldn’t turn many heads, but of course yours truly just about flipped when I saw this one at the local pawn. The guys who work the counter always laugh when I get happy at the site of a vintage guitar, and just like an episode of “Cheers”, everybody knows my name!Let’s get down to this guitar….these Winston 449s were the last guitars to feature the Kawai pickups used on the early Hound Dog Taylor models. It’s so odd to me, these pickups regularly read out in the 2k range. Like on this guitar, they read 2.79k and 2.78k. But if you only look out output, you’d be missing out on some of the best sounding pups to ever come out of the early 60s!Once again Kawai produced this guitar, and Winston sold these to guitar shops in package deals. In 1966 you could buy 10 of these suckers for $54 bucks a piece! I suppose it was a great way to stock your store with “beginner” guitars, and this model even came in a few cool colors, including a gold finish!These lack an adjustable truss rod, but do have a reinforced neck and the profile is extra chunky and feels great! The rotary switch on these 449s is really cool too. Kawai was only using these rotary switches for a few years in the mid 60s, and sometimes you got “lucky” and the in-between position was an out of phase choice. Of course I say lucky because the way they wired these, it was all just a crap shoot. It all depended on which way the magnet was orientated I guess?Usually when I find a guitar this nice I think, “it must really be a bad player.” But not the case with this old gal. It plays wonderfully, and I really like the tremolo Kawai was using during this time. Winston was a brand name of Kent Musical Products, which itself was a subsidiary of Buegeleisen and Jacobson, Inc. Try saying that five times fast!

So there you have it, the last guitars to feature the awesome Hound Dog pups. People are currently paying big money for those old Hound Dogs, but Kawai was building much better guitars at this time, and these Winston 449s are much cheaper alternatives with the same sound. As always, Dano at Happy Guitar Repair dialed this one in, and Mike Dugan tears it up!

Lyle Style – Late 1960s Lyle Japanese Guitar

Posted on February 23, 2013 by drowninginguitars

This guitar is a good example of the late 1960s Matsumoku made imports that were flooding the Americas. This model with these pickups were made for many years, starting around 1966 through the early 70s. That’s a good run! Based on my research this particular model probably dates from the late 60s.Most of the time I see these guitars with chrome or tortoiseshell pickguards, and this is the first one I’d seen with a white guard. Has a cool shape too! These pickups were exclusive to Matsumoku and generally have a good sound. I’ve measured about 10 of these pickups, and the reading are often all over the place. Some of these read out near 9k, and some read out under 5k, so obviously the specs changed over the years. I think the hotter reading pickups came from the later 60s era.Now that Lyle name was owned by the L.D. Heater Music Company out of Beaverton, Oregon. They had some cool electric models here and there and seemed to really focus on acoustic guitars back in the day. Most, but not all of the electric models were made by Matsumoku.Most Matsumoku guitars were made rather well, especially the wood parts. Bodies and necks were always top notch and their finishes hold up better than the average import guitar. They did some great, burst finishes! But one weak point on all these Matsumoku electric guitars were the pickup switches. They just weren’t made to withstand constant use and almost always fail. Dano at Happy Guitar Repair knows how to rebuild these switches, and it’s just about the only way to bring them back to life.The all-telling Matsumoku plate is back there and the neck pockets on all their guitars were really solid. If you’re looking to get into these vintage Japanese guitars, Matsumoku models are always a good place to get your feet wet!Mike Dugan loved this particular model, even though the frets were vintage Japanese tiny, and the pickups read out a little weak, sometimes a guitar just has a little chime and zing, and this one had it. Enjoy peeps!