1960s Bruno Royal Artist Hollowbody Electric Guitar

Overview: This is a cool old Japanese electric guitar that folks out on the net claim for both Teisco/Kawai and Matsumoku. I'm in the Teisco/Kawai camp because the neck build style is almost identical (in many ways) to the banjo-looking electrics (well, and many others) the company made under their own name. It's a hollowbody and, when I look at guitars like these when they first come in the shop, I immediately start thinking about all of the structural and wiring issues that will need fixing to make them winners. Suffice to say, we've done all that here at the shop and now it's a practical, go-getter, gig-worthy box.

Interesting features: The tortoise celluloid! I mean, come on! It's also got a quick neck and bizarro-land Mosrite vibes. The pickups are bright and poppy and have good output -- they sound vaguely-Mosrite-like and, if you're a fan of '60s Japanese surf, you know this sound instantly. It slips into a driven amp nicely and, of course, looks so dang cool.

Repairs included: Here's where the rubber meets the road -- Sarah gave it the usual fret level/dress and setup work. I completely rewired it with a simpler 3-way, tone/volume setup and relocated the jack from the side to the top (where a second volume control used to be installed). It's got shielded wiring, a Switchcraft jack, 500k Bourns pots, and an orange drop cap. The other important modification we do to hollowbody, bolt-on-neck Japanese guitars around here is that we install a 1/2" dowel running through the center of the guitar that's pinned both at the neckblock and the endblock. This stabilizes the body so it's rigid like a solidbody guitar -- solving the usual "collapsing neckblock" problem that's in the future for so many Japanese hollowbody builds. This one arrived good-to-go but preventative care is important! Anyhow, it plays spot-on and is ready to serve.

• Weight: 7 lbs 5 oz
• Scale length: 25 1/4"
• Nut width: 1 9/16"
• Neck shape: slim/medium C
• Board radius: ~8"
• Depth at first fret: 27/32"
• Depth at seventh fret: 59/64"
• Body width: 14 7/8"
• Body depth: 1 1/2"
• Body wood: ply mahogany or similar
• Bridge: adjustable/sort-of-Jazzmaster-like
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Pickups: 2x original single coils
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 46w-10
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium-low

Condition notes: It's completely original except for the new wiring harness and a dowel fit through the body for strength. It has some average wear and tear throughout but overall looks nice. There's finish weather-checking here and there, scratches on the back in the buckle region, and some dings here and there.

It comes with: It's got a gigbag.

Consignor tag: MRPH