Funky, Cheap Electrics
beginner and intermediate market. When Kay
attempted to manufacture a high-end instrument for jazz guitarist and endorser Barney
Kessel in the 1950s, they were not taken seriously. Today, those Barney Kessel models and
their offshoots, with Art Deco “Kelvinator”
headstocks and “Kleenex Box” pickups, go for
big bucks on the collectible market due to their
rarity, but more common models, like the solid-body Vanguard and almost all Kay archtops, are
plentiful and inexpensive. In serious financial
trouble, Kay was acquired by Valco in 1967, and
both companies tanked as a result the influx of
Japanese imports in 1969.
Magnatone was a small American company
based in Texas. Today, they are more famous
for their amplifiers (Stevie Ray Vaughan favored
them) than their guitars, which are less well
known and never caught on. Paul Bigsby had a
hand in designing some of the Magnatone models, which bore names like Typhoon, Starstream,
Hurricane and Zephyr. One Magnatone had a
distinct Rickenbacker vibe, very similar to the
John Lennon 325 Rickenbacker model. A guitar
teacher I knew years ago used a guitar like this
for years, and all his students wanted to buy it.
According to Magnatone collectors, the guitars
are well made and highly playable. Billy Gibbons
of ZZ Top is a notable Magnatone collector.
Hailing from San Antonio, TX were Alamo
guitars, which are even more obscure than
Magnatones. They are very rare and can be
compared favorably to certain Danelectro
models. Even Gibson got into the low-end act
in the ‘60s with their Kalamazoo guitars, whose
bodies were manufactured out of medium-density pressed fiberboard. The most common Kalamazoo model was styled along the
lines of the SG Melody Maker, and used the
same pickups. Another resembled the Fender
Mustang. Gibson kept the line going into the
early 1970s, but it suffered at the hands of
cheaper Japanese imports, and Gibson finally
tossed in the towel on budget instruments.
The Japanese Connection
Now, let’s look at those infamous, cheesy
Japanese guitars from the ‘60s, bearing names
like Teisco, Teisco Del-Ray, Jedson, Tulio,
Kingston, Lyle, Duke, Heit, Kimberly, Zim-Gar,
Apollo, Kent, Norma, and several others,
including Silvertone. These “prizes” were
manufactured from 1948 until 1969 in the
Kawai factory for various music distributors,
and are now known as “stencil brands.” The
distributor specified the name to be printed
on the headstock. Often, there were subtle
design variations on guitars, depending upon
the distributor’s specifications.
During the mid-‘60s, there was a tremendous
demand for guitars in the wake of the British
Invasion and The Beatles’ success. Some
American manufacturers had difficulty producing a truly low-end, inexpensive electric guitar
for beginners, so the Japanese filled that niche
quite nicely. Many youthful guitarists started
on Japanese electrics. Regardless of what it
was, if it was made in Japan, it was regarded as
cheap junk back then. During the mid-‘70s, the
Japanese finally began producing quality guitars,
but up until then, the instruments were decidedly inferior in most ways to their American or
European counterparts. Of the vintage Japanese
names out there, certainly the most well known
is Teisco, but as mentioned, you will find many
names on these guitars. In addition to the models commonly available in the USA, there were
Japanese guitars that rarely made it to this country. Some of them are weird beyond belief.
1965 Harmony H 15 Silhouette (later renamed H 15 Bob Kat)
with De Armond “Golden Tone” pickups; late-‘60s Vox Folk
Twelve Electro; ‘60s Valco/Airline Res-O-Glas model.
Teisco/Kawai guitars were generally based loose-
ly on Fender designs, complete with as many as
four single-coil Strat-like pickups that were some-
times microphonic, six-on-a-side headstocks,
offset-waist body designs and more switches
than your mom’s Waring blender. Playability
was questionable at best, and the necks varied
in thickness from guitar to guitar. This author
bought his first electric in 1966, a Teisco of the
lowest quality, for a mere $15. Among the most
distinctive Teisco models were the May Queen,
with its artist’s palette-shaped body, and the
Spectrum 5, which has become expensive and
desirable, primarily as a result of its use by Eddie
Van Halen in one of his group’s MTV videos.
More common varieties of Teisco guitars can still
be purchased for very little, particularly on eBay,
often for under $200. Rarer models usually go
for a little more. Blues, punk, and surf guitarists
like Teiscos for their raunch appeal and trebly
twang. My white Teisco-made Kingston single-
pickup axe is a nasty slide guitar. Think Hound
Dog Taylor. And the whammy bar is still on there.
Euro Bizarros
In the ‘60s, the worldwide demand for guitars resulted in instruments produced in all
parts of the globe. We can offer only a brief
overview of that scene. A detailed listing of
electric guitars made around the world could
be a book unto itself.
Italy was one of the most prolific producers
of weird electrics. Brand names like EKO,
Crucianelli, Goya, Meazzi, Galanti, Welson,
Bartolini, Davoli, Gemelli, the original Vox guitars, and the wacky but wonderful Wandre guitars, are all collectible today. Of these brands,
EKO instruments, distributed in the USA by the
LoDuca Brothers of Milwaukee, are the most
readily available, and the most common models
can be purchased for under well $1000. Many
Italian guitar builders also made accordions, so
you’ll see heavy use of plastic covering on the
guitars, the same type also used on drums. It’s
not uncommon to see sparkle tops and various shades of marine pearl on Italian guitars,
something that gives them a unique look, not
to mention their own tonal characteristics.
EKO guitars often came festooned with lots of
switches, as many as four pickups, and other
examples of strangeness. With some work,
EKOs can usually be made to play relatively
well, but caveat emptor: EKO quality is decidedly hit and miss, as is the case with most
low-budget guitars of the ‘60s. Interestingly,
Hanson Guitars of Chicago builds a very convincing replica of the EKO 500 3V-but with a
Teisco-style headstock! I’d like to try one out.
The German industrial machine, crippled after
World War II, recovered in the ‘50s and produced
several brands of guitars that were popular in
Europe but largely ignored in the USA, until a
certain Paul McCartney popularized the Hofner
violin bass. Vintage Hofner six-strings are well
made instruments, but they are rare. Hofner
guitars are being produced again and have garnered new fans as well as nostalgia nuts. Other
German brands were Framus, Hopf, Hoyer, and
Dynacord. Bill Wyman played a Framus bass.
American guitars were very hard to come by in
