1960s Teisco (Winston) Banjo-Shaped Electric Guitar

Overview: I worked on this a while back for "Banjo Dave" (a local) who used it for sitting-in with other folks in a band situation. He mostly plays solo, though, so eventually it sat around unused and now it's back here. It arrived back just as it had left -- practical, functional, and absurdly-cool. It has a thin body with some nice binding tricks and a curved outer edge. The fret access is pretty wild and it's sure to stand-out on stage.

These were made by Teisco (Japan) back in the day and this originally had a Winston tag at the headstock (which has since fallen-off). After initially getting it going for Dave, he had "road troubles" with it (the original pickups were very unbalanced and the original controls a bit wonky) so I hot-rodded it for him a while back. It got a pair of low-output, Hofner-style mini-humbuckers and a simple 1-volume harness with a 3-way switch, and a jack. That simplified the wiring side and gave it a better, cleaner sound.

We also fit new, Gotoh tuners at the headstock and "blocked" the whammy tailpiece to keep it more tuning-stable.

Dave played this in a banjo-style tuning with a thin "low" string for a gGDGBD banjo tuning that could be capo'd easily to different keys. I've since restrung it with a fresh set of 10s in standard guitar tuning (as was intended when it was made) but I can certainly set it up however anyone likes. 

Repairs included: Previously, it got all the modifications mentioned above and also a level/dress of the frets and setup work. It's playing spot-on and ready to go.

• Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz
• Scale length: 23 5/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: med C
• Board radius: 10"
• Depth at first fret: 0.84"
• Depth at seventh fret: 0.83"
• Body width: 12 5/8"
• Body depth: 1 1/4"
• Body wood: unsure
• Bridge: 6-saddle adjustable
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Pickups: 2x replacement Hofner-style
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 46w-10
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/narrower

Condition notes: As noted above, it's been modified and some parts have been replaced and/or removed! That said, it's otherwise in good shape and has remained stable in service since I've known it. There is a little brass bar in front of the bridge that has screw-adjusters on either side. That was for fitting some foam so a "mute" could be engaged for a low-sustain, banjo-like sound. I'd made that up to replace a non-functioning "flip-up" mute that originally came with the instrument. I can leave it as-is or add some foam back so it can be useful as-desired by the next owner. 

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: BDVE