1920's - 1940's Vintage Strad-O-Lin (Stradolin) Mandolin

I acquired this mandolin in the spring of 2009 and even with the water damage it still had a market value of $96. I would expect a similar mandolin in better condition would be 2-3 times more valuable.

This is an original Strad-O-Lin Mandolin from somewhere between 1920 and 1950. It's complete and except for the water damage on the end it's in great shape. Although it has the damage, it's still playable and has a great warm sound.

Strad-O-Lin was a company started in the 1920's that made cheap mandolins and was bought in the late 1950's by Multivox/Premier when they then expanded into guitars and other instruments.

1980's Memphis Strat - SG Copy

this is a Memphis copy of the Fender Stratocaster with a little Gibson SG thrown in probably from the late 1980's. It is a very accurate Japanese copy and has a great sound from the vintage pickups.

I found some conflicting information on Memphis guitars in my research. One place mentionted that Memphis Guitars is a defunct subsidiary of Yamaha that produced guitars during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It said the company started when Yamaha saw an opportunity in the demand for Gibson style guitars. Yamaha formed Memphis Guitars to be a cheap affordable, guitar that had an in-demand style (much the same way Fender guitars make a cheaper version known as Squire and Gibson does with Epiphone). In the mid 1980's Gibson noticed that Memphis guitars where using their designs and sued. Memphis guitars then ceased production. Many people suggest that Yamaha foresaw the lawsuit and started Memphis Guitars as a way of avoiding a lawsuit against Yamaha while selling poorly-made guitars for a quick profit.

Other sources indicate that Memphis guitars were imported by the Kaman Music Corportation of Bloomfield CT which was sold to Fender in 2007. You can find information on warranty on the Kaman website so this does make some sense to me. Kaman owns Ovation Guitars, Hamer Guitars, Genz Benz Amplification, Gibraltar Hardware, LP Percussion and Toca Percussion. The company is also the exclusive U.S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals and the exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums. Maybe the earlier Gibson copies were made by Yamaha and later sold the name to Kaman? If you know the entire history of this model, email me so I can make corrections.

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1960's Norma EG 408-2TK Electric Guitar

This is a Norma model EG-405-2 Electric Guitar from the 1960's with 2 goldfoil pickups. The prize on this guitar is the goldfoil pickups and I've already used them for another project.

NORMA HISTORY: Normas were built in Japan between 1965 to 1970 by the Tombo Company and distributed in the U.S. by Strum´N Drum, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois. The company specialized in copying Italian guitars like EKO and Goya and sold them in the U.S.A as NORMA's. The most blatant EKO copy is the SDEG 490-4, a guitar that confused the heck out of MANY. The Tombo Company is still in business, but these days they specialize in harmonica production.

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1970's Crestline Goldfoil MIJ

It is a unknown Crestline model single pickup Electric Guitar from the 1970's with a single goldfoil pickup. The prize on this guitar is the goldfoil pickup and I've already used it for another project.

Crestline guitars were built in Japan from the mid to late 1970s and distributed by the Grossman Music Corporation of Cleveland, OH. They are entry level to intermediate solid body guitars featured designs based on classic American favorites. Crestline offered a wide range of stringed instruments, including classical, folk, dreadnought, and twelve-string acoustics; solid body electric guitars and basses; amplifiers; banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles. Considering the amount of instruments available, the Crestline trademark was probably used on guitars built by one of the bigger Japanese guitar producers and rebranded for the U.S. market. One model reviewed at a vintage guitar show was based on Gibson's Les Paul design, and had Grover tuners, two Japanese covered humbuckers, and decent wood.

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1960's Audition (Kawai or Teisco) 2 Pickup Electric

It is a unknown Audition model 2 pickup Electric Guitar from the 1960's with 2 goldfoil pickups. The prize on this guitar is the goldfoil pickups and I've already used them for another project. Audition guitars were distributed in the US and UK by the Woolworth chain. Many of the ones I've seen have the goldfoil pickups just like this one has. It's most likely that this guitar was built by Kawai seeing as how the quality appears to be higher than that seen in a typical Teisco.

Kawai was founded in 1927 by Koichi Kawai in Hamamatsu, Japan. Mr. Kawai's vision was to create top-quality pianos, a quest in which he certainly succeeded! Kawai added guitars to its line around 1954 and eventually became a player in the 1960s Guitar Boom. Like many Japanese electric guitars, most early Kawai guitars were slightly frumpy, although the impression is that their electronics were a little better than most. Often accused of supplying more flash than substance, there are Kawai guitars that are of high quality, playability and design.

Probably the most prominent brand names in the U.S. manufactured by Kawai were TeleStar, whose sparkle models have a small but devoted following, Kimberly, and Domino. Kawai also built guitars for Saint Lous music in the 1960's and 1970's under their brand name Apollo.

In January of 1967 Kawai purchased the Teisco guitar company, but they appear to have operated the two companies pretty much separately. Both lines featured exclusive designs and different pickups. Teisco continued the vector of evolution it had taken, ending up with the Spectrums and finally the mini-Strats, before become the Kay brand in the U.S.

In 1968 both Kawai and Teisco freaked out. Kawai produced models such as the axe-shaped Concert, plus a variety of unusual VS violin-bodied guitars (including one with 16 strings and its own pickup mounted parallel to the strings, whether sympathetic or strummed, who knows?), the Splender, shaped like a banjo, and another model shaped like a sitar. For Teisco, 1968 was the year that gave us the famous artist-palette-shaped May Queen, wildly flared, asymmetrical Fire Bird, and long-horn Phantom. One other company, Firstman (unrelated to Kawai), produced a model similar to the Concert called the Liverpool.















One of my blog readers sent me these two pictures of what we believe to be the rare Splender model (Thanks James!)

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1960's Knox (Teisco) Small Pickguard 2 Pickup Electric

It is a unknown Knox model 2 pickup Electric Guitar from the 1960's with 2 goldfoil pickups. I have a second Knox guitar that is very similar to this one but with a much larger pickguard. The prize on this guitar is the goldfoil pickups and I've already used them for another project.

The Teisco brand name stands for 'Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company'. Teisco was founded in 1946 by renowned Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist Atswo Kaneko, and electrical engineer Doryu Matsuda. Teisco guitars sold in the United States were badged "Teisco Del Rey" beginning in 1964. Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Jedson, Kent, Kingston, Kimberly, Tulio, Heit Deluxe and World Teisco. While guitars manufactured by Teisco were ubiquitous in their day, they are now very collectable.

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1960's Teisco ET-200 2 Pickup Electric Tulip

It is a Teisco ET-200 model 2 pickup electric guitar from the 1960's with 2 pickups. These guitars are also sometimes called a tulip guitar because fo the body shape. It still has the tremelo arm which seems to be missing on most of these guitars you see up for sale. The biggest negative on this guitar is that the original bridge is missing and someone has made a wooden one to replace the original metal bridge.











Here's a video of someone playing a rare red ET-200 Teisco.



The Teisco brand name stands for 'Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company'. Teisco was founded in 1946 by renowned Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist Atswo Kaneko, and electrical engineer Doryu Matsuda. Teisco guitars sold in the United States were badged "Teisco Del Rey" beginning in 1964. Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Jedson, Kent, Kingston, Kimberly, Tulio, Heit Deluxe and World Teisco. While guitars manufactured by Teisco were ubiquitous in their day, they are now very collectable.

This guitar will be sold on ebay soon. Check my about me page for the ebay listing.

1960's Kimberly (Kawai) 2 Pickup Electric

I acquired this guitar in the fall of 2008 and it has a market value of $115. It's a Kimberly 2 pickup Electric Guitar from the 1960's and there's no model number to be found on it anywhere. The prize on this guitar is the goldfoil pickups and I've already used them for another project.

Kawai was founded in 1927 by Koichi Kawai in Hamamatsu, Japan. Mr. Kawai's vision was to create top-quality pianos, a quest in which he certainly succeeded! Kawai added guitars to its line around 1954 and eventually became a player in the 1960s Guitar Boom. Like many Japanese electric guitars, most early Kawai guitars were slightly frumpy, although the impression is that their electronics were a little better than most. Often accused of supplying more flash than substance, there are Kawai guitars that are of high quality, playability and design.

Probably the most prominent brand names in the U.S. manufactured by Kawai were TeleStar, whose sparkle models have a small but devoted following, Kimberly, and Domino. Kawai also built guitars for Saint Lous music in the 1960's and 1970's under their brand name Apollo.

In January of 1967 Kawai purchased the Teisco guitar company, but they appear to have operated the two companies pretty much separately. Both lines featured exclusive designs and different pickups. Teisco continued the vector of evolution it had taken, ending up with the Spectrums and finally the mini-Strats, before become the Kay brand in the U.S.

In 1968 both Kawai and Teisco freaked out. Kawai produced models such as the axe-shaped Concert, plus a variety of unusual VS violin-bodied guitars (including one with 16 strings and its own pickup mounted parallel to the strings, whether sympathetic or strummed, who knows?), the Splender, shaped like a banjo, and another model shaped like a sitar. For Teisco, 1968 was the year that gave us the famous artist-palette-shaped May Queen, wildly flared, asymmetrical Fire Bird, and long-horn Phantom. One other company, Firstman (unrelated to Kawai), produced a model similar to the Concert called the Liverpool.

Silvertone 1448 Amp-in-Case Guitar (Sears)

I acquired this set in March 2009 and it has a market value of $290 in it's current condition. It is an original Silvertone 1448 guitar with amp-in-case. This guitar has a 2-bolt neck attachment, which seems to indicate it is an early 1962 production model. The fretboard is approximately 15.75 inches long and has 18 frets. The guitar is complete, with the exception of a small screw missing from the pickguard and the rosewood bridge. The amp shows chassis number 185-10010 and appears to contain the original tubes. The Outer Case has been poorly repaired, with old tape on two corners and some small nails on one of those corners. One hinge has been replaced with a piece of leather screwed into the body. There are signs of corrosion on the Metal Parts of the case and one plastic foot is missing from the case.

The 1448 is considered by some to be the guitar of guitars. It has a single lipstick tube pickup with masonite/pine body and a swoopy headstock with vinyl sidewalls a metal nut, adjustable bridge, and the amplifier built into sturdy case. The 1448 is the one; the guitar that pretty much sums up the entire Dano/Silvertone philosophy in one package. It's the guitar you certainly see the most of and that's because Sears sold a boatload of them from 1962 until 1966 or so, when they were replaced by the 1451.

This package first appeared in the Sears catalog in the Fall/Winter 1962 edition. The following is straight from the catalog description: Electric Guitar and case with built-in amplifier. Imagine all this plus a 45-rpm how-to-play record at one low price. You get a fine quality single pickup guitar with tone and volume controls. Brazillian rosewood fingerboard. Solid center body. Handsome simulated leather covered hardboard case with its own built-in amplifier and big 5 inch speaker. 2 tubes plus rectifier for good tone plus plenty of volume. $67.95 cash!!!!

It is the preferred guitar of Dexter Romweber, Cat Power and Beck, and the secret weapon for guitarists the world over. Ladies and gentlemen, the elegant awesomeness of the Silvertone 1448. A true master stroke of genius from Nathan Daniel and Joe Fisher.







And here's a video to someone playing a Silvertone 1448.