This is an ultra rare 50′s Kay Stratotone. An early electric built in Chicago to compete with the Les Paul and with many similarities to the Harmony Stratotone of the era. It was also branded as an Old Kraftsman Speed Demon. Think it’s a ’57 but am unsure as I have seen some marked as being early 50′s models.

The neck-thru design and uber fat neck means big tone. The dual single-coil pickups deliver a classic retro sound and are hooked up to the coolest stack pots I have ever seen on a guitar. The neck is ridiculously beefy which matches the sound. Kluson-Deluxe tuners with pegs like old me’s teeth.

This guitar has the most amazing player’s wear. The neck laquer is down to the wood and the ultra-rare Silverburst finish body has a great elbow wear and cracked laquer finish.

The Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company. Teisco, Founded by Hawaiian guitarist Atswo Kaneko and electronic engineer Doryu Matsuda in 1946, built guitars under several brand names including Teisco, Silvertone and Kent to name a few.

They were too distributed out of Chicago and supplied to Sears & Roebuck. The Teisco factory built many of the Japanese copies in the 60′s and 70′s.

This dude is a total unknown no namer – have seen it once before – but it more than likely came out of the the Teisco factory. Dual single-coil pickups and maybe a whammy. Nice sounding little lightweight guitar, again, a good one for the Girl-ette’s.

Previous owners include Sonny Liston. Hahaha

Another one for hanging on the wall at the shop. I stole this from my father many years ago. He bought the sucker from new. Unbelievable.

Anyway, it’s a ’75 TK-120, large bodied, dreadnought-esque acoustic, with a cool adjustable bridge and a cool triple-pronged-horn headstock.

Takeharu guitars ran from ’73 to ’79 and were the result of a collaboration between Yamamoto Takeharu and the Kizo Suzuki Violin Company.

Takeharu is a Japanese guitar player and composer who played a large part in the development of popular music in Japan, along with his teacher and trainer Masao Koga, the original pioneer of popular music in Japan.

Deadly sounding late 40′s Silvertone Lapsteel made by Harmony in Chicago circa 1948.

The electronics are very similar to Gibson’s early 40′s Kalamazoo units and it’s reckoned that Gibson sold the unused stock of these pickups too Harmony after WWII.

Very cool, ultra-light and powerful lapsteel that still sounds great nearly 70 years on.

This is more commonly known as the Jimmy Reed Model for it’s association with the late, great blues man. It’s a much sought-after instrument. Its a heavy, fat-necked beast because of the huge pickup magnets and the electronics hidden behind the expansive pickguard and all fastened to a solid block that extends from the neck to the bottom of the body.

All this gives it great warmth and body. It’s a great playing guitar, fast frets and a really beautiful piece of 50′s design. Sounds amazing with lovely feedback tones up and down the neck, huge bottom end and a lush mellow presence.

The 1381 dates from ’55 / ’56. The Kay version was Jimmy Reed’s preferred guitar but Howlin’ Wolf and his sideman Hubert Sumlin also played these beauties.

This is the guitar that started it all for me. It was the first vintage guitar I ever bought after being the proud minder of a Silvertone Twin Twelve (possibly the greatest sounding guitar amp ever made) for a friend of mine. After hearing that I was convinced this was the way to go so I hunted down a U1.

And I found this little mutant, which was put together by some other slide guitar loving friends of mine in Woodstock Atlanta Georgia. I think this is a modded ’59  as it has the top mounted jack out, and the Georgia lads handmade tele-style bridge and pickguard for her and also added the phat studio style control knobs.

Amazing sounding short scale lipstick tube pickup glory…

The Silvertone 1304 Wishbook model was the only model offered from the Sears & Roebuck “Wish Book” Catalog. This odd changeling was only available for 3 years between 1958 and 1960, with each yearly model having a few subtle differences like a top or side mounted jack, a circular cut-out or metal back panel or a straight or sweep cutaway.

All were a mid-positioned single lipstick (just like the classic 1448), but this was a unique pickup placement for the U1 series family, only available on these models.

This guitar has a coke-bottle headstock, loads of player wear on the neck, plenty of nicks and scratches, a circular back panel cut-out, and a straight cutaway unlike the 1960 version.

Sekova guitars were imported to New York City in the 60′s. They were designed by a Swedish immigrant Peter Sekova but built by the Great Fuji Gon Gakki Factory where old skool original Ibanez were built.

It is than likely some Sekova’s were also built at the Teisco factory.

This one is a cool-sounding unknown lightweight single-coiled Greenburst model with a great big accentuated fish fin headstock and a cool little honking sound.

Norma guitars were built in Japan between ’65 and ’70 by Tombo and distributed out of Chicago.

This one is another unknown model with amazing sounding gold foil pickups and a decent whammy.

(The pickups in this guitar are often taken out and used in acoustic guitars to superb effect).