Help identifying my new (old) MIJ ... opinions welcomed

[beattytg]

Hi All:
I picked an older MIJ today off a local online classified ad Does anyone have an idea of what it might be. There is no name on the headstock but there is a number embossed on the 20th fret, it is 52539. There is also a number on the neck plate 1010016 as well as "Steel Reinforced Neck" Made in Japan. My first guess was a conrad... only because the pickups look similar to other conrads I saw online. However your guess is as good as mine. Any ideas are welcome.

[purpletele]

Whatever it is I like it!

[dannew02]

Post your pix on www.vintaxe.com those guys know EVERYTHING about obscure 60-70's asian guitars. Yours does look suspiciously like an Epiphone ET-280/250 etc series, except for the headstock of course. Whatever it is, it looks pretty cool.

[Jeranhound]

It' definitely a sexy jag thing.

[D in Conduct]

It's really hard to pin down a lot of those 60's-era Japanese guitars because some factories made instruments for several other companies and often parts were outsourced to small family-run "factories" that turned out parts in their homes and those parts may turn up on several different guitars. The neck plate on yours is often indicative of guitars from the Matsomoku factory, but not always. The pickups resemble those found on some Tiescos and Dominos. The tilt to the neck pickup appears on a lot, if not all, Dominos. Domino guitars my have been made by the Arai factory, which also made Aria guitars. Yes, they changed the spelling of the name to make it less Japanese and more Spanish.

If you search Google Images for the various Japanese brands of the 1960's and maybe 1970's, yours might turn up and it won't take as long as a regular internet search.

[DrumBob]

Looks vaguely like a Yamaha.

[Warm Gums]

Originally Posted by dannew02

Post your pix on www.vintaxe.com those guys know EVERYTHING about obscure 60-70's asian guitars. Yours does look suspiciously like an Epiphone ET-280/250 etc series, except for the headstock of course. Whatever it is, it looks pretty cool.

I not long ago saw that same neck plate on a MIJ Epiphone Crestline, I had a Univox Hi-flyer with a similar plate.

I too suspect it is a Matsomoku product, although I have no idea who might have imported it..

[6942]

Some sort of Teisco variant, I'd guess???
Conrad
Norma
Heit Deluxe
_________, fill in the blank.
Teisco clones were a dime-a-dozen back then.

Real nice looker though!
You'll probably find that those pickups are fairly low output, in the 3K-4K range.
My old Heit Deluxe had similar pickups.

Have fun!
Steve

[beattytg]

I had it identified as an Aria 1532T but someone, I think they hit it right on the mark
http://www.agileguitarforum.com/show....php?tid=12517