Vintage Teisco ET-200 Electric Guitar

[Johnny Teisco]

Hi guys! First time user here! Found this mint Teisco ET-200 electric guitar at Guitar Center today for $180, complete with original case. What a beauty! Almost everything about it is FLAWLESS, complete with Teisco badge at the headstock and whammy bar (not present; inside my case). The only exception is a small ding at the back side.

What caught me off guard about this guitar is that when I opened up the guitar, it was made of SOLID WOOD. NOT plywood. I also have a Teisco "Checkmate" E-110 guitar where not only is the body and neck made of plywood, but the FRETBOARD is made of plywood, stained to look like rosewood! Neat! I think it may be made of Sen wood.

When I first got it from Guitar Center, the neck was totally banana'd and the action is a mile high. The guitar has a truss rod but you'd have to pull the neck out to adjust it. When I got to adjust it, I noticed the truss rod was doing absolutely nothing! It was never tightened and the nut was just jiggling. I sought to tighten it and lo and behold, the neck straightened up perfectly with smooth action.

Neck feels nice and a bit chunky and really fast. Frets are in good condition but are quite tiny but I managed to do a few aggressive bends with minimal effort.There are a few buzzy frets here and there but not too much of a problem.

Pickups are warm and articulate and have a very unique midrangy sound. They are also notably microphonic, but that wasn't much of a problem here:



In summary, I LOVE THIS THING!!!

I'm plugged into my Ditto Looper, GFS Retroverb, SkullytoneFX Russian Spy, and a MojoMojo Overdrive into my Fender Champion 600.

 

[Controller]

Nice score, more pictures please!

 

[Jupiter]

I used to have one like in your avatar. Never got it to sound as good as your vid, though...

 

[dqami]

Nice playing and jamming JT. With many of those cheap J guitars, adding overdrive/gain makes them come alive and give the gold foil sound. Your video gave a nice example of that.

 

[dannew02]

You sound great on that thing! This shows how hit-or-miss these Teiscos (and other brands) from this era are, some are great, and others... Not so much. Yours is nice, and you play it well. Enjoy!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Nice score, more pictures please!

Here you go:

 

[Johnny Teisco]

You sound great on that thing! This shows how hit-or-miss these Teiscos (and other brands) from this era are, some are great, and others... Not so much. Yours is nice, and you play it well. Enjoy!

This one's definitely a hit! My other "Checkmate" which is the one on my avatar is a miss, unless you put a bit of work into it. Frets were buzzing all over when I got it, intonation was sooooo off that I had to unscrew the bridge and move it back a couple centimeters to get the intonation close. Tuners were hard to turn and couldn't stay in tune. I later found out the string bar/tree holding the strings in place was causing a lot of friction, making the guitar hard to keep in tune. AND...it's plywood lol

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Nice playing and jamming JT. With many of those cheap J guitars, adding overdrive/gain makes them come alive and give the gold foil sound. Your video gave a nice example of that.

Yup! Gives that Hound Dog Taylor type sound too! Although I don't exactly play slide myself

 

[Controller]

Wow, looks like it was rarely played, thanks for the additional pics!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Wow, looks like it was rarely played, thanks for the additional pics!

Yup! Even the frets have no fretwear!

 

[john kleeman]

Great tone! Tasteful playing, too!

 

[syrynx]

Johnny Teisco, welcome to TDPRI. I nominate this as the best NGD post I've ever seen: Outstanding deal, outstanding detail, outstanding demo. I had to watch and hear your E-110 Improvisation in D also, and was blown away by your amidexterity. Thanks very much!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Great tone! Tasteful playing, too!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Johnny Teisco, welcome to TDPRI. I nominate this as the best NGD post I've ever seen: Outstanding deal, outstanding detail, outstanding demo. I had to watch and hear your E-110 Improvisation in D also, and was blown away by your amidexterity. Thanks very much!

Thanks so much! I try my best! And yes, I'm ambidextrous. These are NOT wallhangers! Not in my book! I love my Teiscos to bits! Check out my other vids! I'll keep posting these two in action quite often.

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Wow, looks like it was rarely played, thanks for the additional pics!

More pics:

Oh yeah forgot to mention: that fourth picture, apparently someone stripped a screw at the neck plate ahead of mine...

 

[Buzzardeater]

I've got a similar guitar with the same pickups. It has superb tone. I am beginning to believe the claims of wood needing years to settle. My teisco has better acoustic tone than any guitar I own. They are remarkable bargains. I have never seen such a pristine example, though. Awesome acquisition!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

I've got a similar guitar with the same pickups. It has superb tone. I am beginning to believe the claims of wood needing years to settle. My teisco has better acoustic tone than any guitar I own. They are remarkable bargains. I have never seen such a pristine example, though. Awesome acquisition!

Thanks! These teisco pickups are awesome! Bell-like, midrangy, and articulate and, of course, microphonic! Really picks up the nuances of your playing. This old Japanese piece of wood n' strings sings!

 

[bo]

Great demo!

 

[Johnny Teisco]

Great demo!

Thank you!

 

[Zepfan]

I believe that guitar spent practically all it's life in a case. Never seen a rear ID plate in that good of condition, looks new.