c.1965 Japanese-made Teisco Electric Guitar

This single-pickup build was almost certainly made by the Japanese company Teisco. Its fittings and design date it roughly to the mid-60s before Teiscos started using slightly cheesier components, finishes, and wood. In contrast to the later ones this has a full slab rosewood fretboard, solid-wood mahogany-ish body (rather than ply), and slightly heavier-duty hardware.

My work on it included general setup as well as a fret level/dressing and cleaning. The tone is great -- clean, 60s single-coil sound, with a garage-rock aesthetic. Works great for blues, fingerpicking, jazz leads, surf.

The metal pickguard is way too cool and shows plenty of heavy-handed pickwear.

The finish is a simple two-tone red/black sunburst.

Some of the ferrules are chipped or broken but all tuners work just fine after a lube. I like the "one bar" string retainer above the nut. It's a very simple but effective design. The metal truss cover is nice, too.

Radiused rosewood board with big pearl dots. This neck is very cozy -- about the same size as an old Fender neck but with a more 50s Gibson feel to it. The frets are more reminiscent of 40s/50s guitars than 60s ones, being slightly smaller and more banjo-like.

Cool single-coil!

Volume, tone, and jack are all nice and clean.

The tailpiece is very simple and the bridge is a heavy plastic that actually sounds pretty decent. I had to reposition it for better intonation, though.

The thin, leightweight body makes this really comfortable to hold on to for long periods and the tummy cut also makes it even more comfortable.

Individual-unit tuners are better quality than usual for this type of guitar.

Here you can see that nice slab of rosewood for the fretboard.