As soon as I saw that guitar my first thought was “that looks like the Myth Busters guitar.” For years I looked at it hanging on the wall and wishing it would make music again. So very cool!
Yeah but all Ted thinks about is its worth. I wish he would circumvent that kind of thinking. If someone likes it, which we both do, why fuck it up with monetary bullshit. He should stay in his own lane. Fixing guitars. What is he now, an investment advisor. I don't wanna hurt his feelings by mentioning it but I hate that kind of thinking. That guitar is beautiful and worth what someone will pay for it. Agreed?
@@alext8828 You missed the entire point of his comments and why he mentions that on videos. He’s getting ahead of the legion of “collectors” that clutch their pearls to see any work on a guitar other than a vintage XYZ. Or those that immediately assume old = cash. He is outright describing that this is a job for fun and love, not ROI. It is the job of a skilled luthier to know the value of their work, the market, and educate clients on the cost and risks of the work. It couldn’t be any MORE “in his lane” unless you spray painted lines and it and put up little themed signs!
Same here mate... Ive got an Antoria Gibson EB2ish clone and its an absolute killer bass. You just never know, sometimes like myself you can drop lucky.... I play that as much as my Fenders Gibson EB3 and Rickenbacker 4001...
Old trick for removing a broken screw, like you had in the neck: Find a piece of copper tubing (I bought a bag filled with a wide assortment at a model train store) that just fits over the screw. Use a triangle file, to cut 'saw teeth' into one end (think 'tiny hole saw', on the end of a straw). Chuck the other end in a drill and place the tube over the screw. As the saw teeth spin, they cut a narrow slice, just outside the thread. When you get down to the tip of the screw, you can turn/pull it out easily. Then, plug the hole with a dowel and glue.
Hell yes! Perhaps Ted does not realize how highly he is esteemed among players and hacks.. This is serious and sometimes hilarious but always educational. Thank you, Ted.
I was looking for you all day yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to see your latest vídeo today, I have enjoyed it so much I've already watched it twice, and will most likely watch it a 3rd time. Thank you Ted.
I have a Diasonic hollow body electric, similar to Adams guitar. I dont know much about it, but I am thinking I may give it a new life.putting in some cheap but better pickups in it kinda like you did.Your vídeo has got me motivated. Thanks again
Looks a lot like the Univox Coily I just rebuilt. Made at the Matsumoku factory in Japan in the 60's & 70's. The pickups on mine looked a lot like P-90's, though closer to single coils. A thin neck, but fun to play. Thanks for your video!
The crossover between these two creators is blowing my mind. I've seen every episode on both your channels and this warms the cold cockles of my heart.
I use surgical (silicon) tubing to fish the pots through. Veey handy. Insert tubes into pot holes, push over pot shafts. and just pull pots through. The tubes will also allow washers and nuts to be inserted onto them, "at the ready", so they're easy to install instantly when the pot is pulled through.
I have one of these! Matsumoku-built labeled "Univox"...The tailpiece is a cheap knock-off of a Bigsby and impossible to keep in tune. Frets are super-low. Mine was in similar shape but did have some of the original wiring. Mine has block inlays w/side dot markers. No more...I refretted the neck, made a new wiring harness with Guitar Fetish's version of the paf humbucker, replaced the whammy bridge with a trapeze tailpiece (now stable tuning), pinner the roller bridge in place and replaced the tuners (they were that bad)...it's a funky guitar that sounds pretty good. Local luthier who did final work was happy to receive the the trem tailpiece in exchange....and you will need custom pickup rings to fit modern pickups. The roller bridge did have a wooden base...
Ted, if I may. When you have a stuck screw or portion thereof such as you have here, sometimes holding a soldering iron on the exposed portion of the screw and heating it will free it for removal. This is a tip on received from a viewer and it has worked several times for me. You do amazing work and I love your channel. Keep up the good work. Best regards from Atlanta, GA USA.
This may be the first time I have thought I genuinely had a better idea than Ted, but I feel like going in with a plug cutter could have saved a lot of time.
I also have a very similar guitar, I can see my pickups fitting right in there. it does not have the original tailpiece but i can see the witness marks where the tremolo bar used to be. it has the same made in Japan on the back, and enclosed tuners. Mine has a label, and says "Conrad".
@@sd67b Yeah, I had a Pan Les Paul copy as one of my first guitars. Even that one had the really funky non-standard pickup dimensions common to a lot of the '70s Japanese makes.
It's going to be an interesting collaboration. Our tiny planet... it almost feels like we're all neighbors. TWF thank you for compressed moments of peace and sane.
Whooaah! When I was just getting into guitars, I remember seeing this one on the wall on the show and realizing it was probably more of a prop than anything, something I'd never listen to... To actually hear it play some 15 odd years later gives me a strange relief to a tension I hadn't realized I carried. Weird circles life makes, I guess...
I think the little protrusions on the bottom of the bridge posts were to allow it to rock back and forth in the thimbles, like a jazzmaster bridge would. The guitar did originally have a vibrato, after all.
I’m guessing this is the guitar that was hanging on the set where Adam and Jamie did intros and outros. Always wondered what the story behind that instrument was, since to me it had a “one of these things is not like the others” vibe when compared the other props on set!
As someone who loves quirky old Japanese guitars, it was nice to see this returned to playing condition. When in original condition and complete, they are becoming quite collectable, but so few are. I love the challenge of making them reliable and stable for gigging and touring. This one may well be from the late 60's. The little holes in the headstock would have held the brand badge. Probably Teisco, but it could have been many other brands. I have one branded "Lake" which has the same shaped neck plate. One thing I have done on many of these is move the bridge. They almost all have them positioned exactly on the scale length and perpendicular to the centre line - IOW no compensation. The original pickups would have been single coils, and probably quite microphonic. That tailpiece extension had a short, stout, compression spring for the tremolo arm. For removing the broken screw, you can cut barbs into a length of stainless steel tube and make a plug cutter. There's a video on my channel about this. Far easier than your approach, and no finish touch up would have been necessary. Propping up the top will work OK, but you need to address the forward rotation of the neck block. This takes creativity for sure! Great work as always mate.
The spring probably would have been like a bigsby spring but smaller in diameter and height. I have a feeling this might be made by teisco gen gakki which produced wood parts for teisco. I was thinking it could be made by matsumoku since they produced a bunch of hollowbody electrics under the names lyle conrad aria etc but it did not have the square plate that said steel reinforced.
@@joshuabraasch9174 Yeah, there's dozens of brands. By the late 60's Silvertone were importing guitars made by Kawai (I think) for the Sears catalogue. And there were other US companies doing the same. I have a Teisco semi-acoustic but its body is smaller and deeper than this one, which looks to be more 335ish. Sometimes they have a decal on the rear of the headstock with "steel reinforced" written. Sometimes they have a non-adjustable trussrod. They are usually well made, but often poorly engineered. But of course, in their day they were very much a budget instrument. Most Japanese guitars I've seen from the late 60's and early 70's have a tremolo bridge of some sort. I guess twangy surf guitar music was pretty popular in Japan in those days. Takeshi Terauchi and the Blue Jeans come to mind...
@@RobMods the ventures were huge in Japan and that was one of the reasons why Japan got into surf music and the guitar craze. Most solid body guitars took inspiration from the fender Jaguar or mosrite ventures guitars.
That guitar's got some real nice sounds coming out of it! A little warm, a little sparkly, a little twangy. Those old Japanese electrics just have a sort of charm about them and you brought all of that and more out of this one.
I’ve had the exact same one of these forEVER!! It’s gone through so many different pick ups, electrics, cosmetics the whole thing, and it’s now currently a short scale BASS!
These old japanese guitars are so rad. I have an unbranded Gretsch-like and an Ibanez Rickenbacker clone. The Gretsch-like came with some god-awful Seymour duncan knock-off in the bridge and an Egmond pickup in the neck position. Thing has been hacked something fierce but it's a project I'm keeping for a rainy day.
Was thinking exactly the same. With the filtertrons (plus all of Tim's work of course) it sounded like the 1960s guitar of the Rolling Stones and many other RnB/RocknRoll bands of that era. Just that sound of an unprocessed raw old school electric guitar - love it. In this age of guitar modellers, IRs and all the electronic wizardry (which I appreciate as well) this just sounded like the OG guitar sound, recorded in mono in some smoke-filled studio charging by the hour :)
I see many suggestions for Matsumoku, but Ibanez was another active ghost-factory that may have built this, they built for many brands. Ibanez was the only manufacturer taken to court for the headstock "lawsuit guitars" that gets said about any import guitar from the era. Teisco and Harmony were significant import brands then too.
I'm a fan/collector of the 70s and 80s Matsumoku products, but what I know of them and the 60's counterparts... the 3piece(usually maple) neck and that "Made in japan" plate sure look like the early instruments. the Brass nut is a question, Matsumoku loved them in the 70s and 80s, but not 60s. I feel like they didn't have their own definitive signatures that early, but I'd guess it is theirs.
Hi, I'm a vintage Japanese guitar collector and it's definitely Matsumoku made. They were of course sold under a bunch of names but judging by the holes on the headstock I would say this was sold as a Univox Tempo. Made in the 1960s.
I have almost the same guitar that I bought as a shell, no electronics, no hardware except for the cheapo tuners (narrower pickup holes for fat single-coils, and a larger hole for the switch as they used 2 sliders). I have a modern TV Jones repro of the old Dearmond pickups like they used in early Rickenbackers. The neck is straight as an arrow and rather thin for an old Japanese guitar, should be lots of fun when it's done!!
Really appreciated this one, thanks, because I love these oddballs. Working on 2 myself with the most oddball-ish being a Soviet ere Aelita. As you probably know, the USSR guitars in many ways used the Japanese oddballs for inspiration, and these guitars were built with available tech and resources and with little access to ‘expertise’ from outside the Iron Curtain. Nothing is auto-pilot with this one! So I love seeing some new life being injected into guitars like the one from this episode. Stay well, and many thanks for your channel overall.
The former guitarist from the Red Elvises was one of the most blistering players I've ever seen, still playing his old Soviet solid body, used the mic stand as a guitar slide,
I remember seeing this guitar hanging on a wall on one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, I never thought I'd see a video of it being made playable again.
The pickup cutouts, bridge and tremolo remind my of my first guitar which was a Domino. The pickups were single coil with an adapter that covered the cutouts.
Huzzah! I love the crossover. The more the better, I say. You're both amazing teachers, craftsmen and all-around geeks in your respective realms. Nothing better than a great creator-collaboration.
Originally found you when Adam mentioned you in one of his video, cool that you're working on one of his! Your channel was an absolutely great discovery, I've watched at this point 50 plus videos and I've learnt a great deal. Thank you!
It's really weird watching this programme but not giving a second thought to the guitar in the background of so many shows. It has zero pick ups in the show, so basically the same as how you received it. To be honest it's a miracle it still can be made to play.
There goes Ted; we’ve lost him to Hollywood. Smoked salmon and caviar, parties with starlets and ho’s, Johnny Depp “Will you lower the action on my axe, man?” Grammy’s for Most Erudite Luthier and hand prints in cement all because of the gateway gig with Adam Savage’s guitar. Oh how I miss our humble boy from Hamilton Ontario who could be entertained by heat-shrink tubing and solder shine.
Mr Woodford, first let me say I was so excited when I saw Mr Savage give you a well deserved shout out! I have a similar guitar except there are two switches, one for each horn and one say Mic 1-2 and the other is rhythm-lead. The rhythm lead switch affects a large passive bass cut and I crave to know the origins. If you know anything about this guitar I’m at the point I’m willing to pay for consultation. Keep the amazing videos coming. I can hear your sighs already but you really are a luminary in this acute field. No one brings this levels of articulation, wry humor, and absolute mastery of an art like you do hear on TH-cam. Maybe if I make myself worth something someday I’ll be able to tell people you were a hero of mine
Hi Ted. We restored one of these last year. Ours was branded a Honey. The small neck block with a pickup hole directly in front is a recipe for disaster and flabby tone. This silly design more often than not leads to the neckblock breaking away from the top. I would say that the best solution is to install two braces ( bass bars ) from the neck block to the bridge studs.
I had an Epiphone EA250 which was a similar design. I sold it as, apart from the very narrow and very skinny neck which I didn't like, the neck pocket would flex if the guitar was handled anything other than carefully.
Fantastic video, thanks! It's very clear and informative and concise and no BS, with everything you need to know! I got a 60's/70'sJapanese Rickenbacker copy neck and body at a garage sale for $10 - now I have all the info I need to restore it. Thanks again.
I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS THING FOR YEARS!!! I have been wanting to do EXACTLY this…we know each other thru the guitar community actually. Anyway…what I wanted to say is this looks like a Matsumoto build. Eerily similar body thickness and shape to my Matsu Epiphone EA250. If it has a thin neck, it’s probably a Matsu build… I REALLY wanna know the actual company on the headstock bc I am rebuilding a friends semi-hollow that has that had that same bridge orogiball6, but it’s non-operational atm…so if I can find the company name, I can find the bridge… THIS MAKES ME SO SO HAPPY!!! Jealous I didn’t get to do the work tho lol. FYI…ima HIGE fan of your work good sir. Keep up the good work.
Is it possible this is a Norma? Mine was similar to this one, and I recall had a zero fret. But "Norma" was silkscreened on the headstock. This appears to have used a sticker when a label was extant.
I have an Ibanez branded more or less exact guitar as that. It was heavily modded when I got it for 25 years ago. It had the exact same bridge, tuners where changed to old Hagström tuners (I’m located in sweden so I guess back in 70’s/80’s it was easy to get by), a SD superdistortion pickup in the bridge position and a no-brand humbucker in neck position that was microphonic. No midblock, hot/microphonic pu’s…. It wasn’t practical and a feedback nightmare. I’ve kept it all these years thinking I should renovate it, maybe install a centerblock, charge to low output PAFs and get some tulip kluson tuners on it. Haven’t happened yet though. 😬
Adam's first shoutout of your channel is how I got here and I have been loving every single video since, so it's really cool to see a crossover happen like this. I'm sure he'll do a show and tell video on the guitar one he gets it back, which I'll very much be looking forward to. Love the end result myself, it's got a really funky vibe to it.
Very nice content Ted I really enjoyed watching this one come together, and the mild unknows you encountered. The end result is a decent sounding budget guitar that should be fun to play.
Very nice! I was greatly surprised by the tone you achieved on this guitar. I think Adam should be very very pleased with it. You not only brought the guitar back to life, you’ve given it a very positive new start. I would be very happy with that sound.
Intution says that an out-of-phase switch, or a coil-tap switch, perhaps done with a pull-switch on one of the pots, would provide for an interesting tonal option. Anyway, that was fun to watch!
Light drop superglue in an oversized hole put glue in screw it in and screw it back out let it set . Thats how we set the o49 engine on the little satan CL model. The glue coats the threaded hole then dry it provides a new firm grip
I love this. I have one very similar (red burst and a bit different headstock cut) purchased at a yard sale. It came complete with an after market p90 at the bridge and a Mosrite of California (by golly) at the neck. Individual volume and tone for each pickup on mine, which may be a modification, or not. Selector switch was moved by previous owner and side markers very crudely added. This one's name plate was removed, too. I replaced tuners and scrubbed crud off of it. Cool blues machine, I think, and price was right.
I had the same problem with a broken screw . Ended up drilling relief pockets next to the threads . What a pita . Congratulations Adam . Killer guitar!
A few years ago in Hawaii, I found that guitar's bass twin at a junk store. Says Epiphone on the head stock, looks legit. Had most of the original parts, including the pups, and the neck was great. I bought it for $70 US. I have been waiting to do a restore on it until I felt more comfortable with my skills. Almost there now, and I mostly owe it to Ted! Gonna start on it soon...
Sounds like an EA-260. Yes, I was going to say this one looks like an Epiphone EA-260 I just worked on. From the shape of the pickup holes to the neck shape, and bridge chassis, it looks like it is from the Mitsumoko factory (so I have read) where Epiphone had production moved circa 1970.
I'm guessing it's a late 60s early 70s Matsumoku made guitar they made Aria guitars as well as others for the US market like some early harmony guitars. I have a video of my 69 Aria Diamond on my channel where you will see the pickups this guitar like had. Love your channel, Thanks for sharing your journey.
Adam’s mentioning of you is how I found your channel. He speaks so highly of your content (and rightly so), I knew I had to see for myself. Now here I am probably 2 years later
The gorge of a gouge on the neck bolt hole is something we'll never see; could have been edited out for 'adult content,' but had me thinking 'what the hell happened there? In any event, outstanding craftsmanship as usual. Axe has a bit of a growl to it.
Maybe heating that broken screw tip would have allowed it to twist easier. Great job, lots of work for the type of instrument it is. I'm sure Mr. Savage will be very pleased.
Upon seeing the pickups chosen for the cover shot I could hear them!!! Reminded me of my Norma from 1975!! Oh for the love of Sears/Montgomery Ward catalog guitars!! Hey, great video, thanks for sharing. It truly was a trip down memory lane. Keep on!
Realizing sentimental value vs parts and labor can be a fine line easily crossed. But the finished product here compared with what you started with should make Adam very happy. Another enjoyable video, thanks for that!
I see we've found the exception to the rule of "Ted doesn't work on guitars that live in the USA". Very interesting to watch, and the end result has a lot of character.
This is a great video. I can only think of the pain and sacrifice Ted has gone through on his way to becoming proficient at all this. Also, how life has forced him to find activities that insulate him from the "madding or maddening" crowd. Thank you, Ted, for your suffering and sacrifice. This knowledge doesn't grow on trees. It's appreciated by all of us.
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you SO SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!!
❤
So cool! My Uncle had a 70s Japanese electric guitar - first I ever played!!
How cool is that!
Nice work!
The most unexpected crossover
As soon as I saw that guitar my first thought was “that looks like the Myth Busters guitar.” For years I looked at it hanging on the wall and wishing it would make music again. So very cool!
It's fun when life and lore has discernible continuity.
Me as well…!
These videos are a very relaxing watch. And informative. And he's got a sense of humour.
Yeah but all Ted thinks about is its worth. I wish he would circumvent that kind of thinking. If someone likes it, which we both do, why fuck it up with monetary bullshit. He should stay in his own lane. Fixing guitars. What is he now, an investment advisor.
I don't wanna hurt his feelings by mentioning it but I hate that kind of thinking. That guitar is beautiful and worth what someone will pay for it. Agreed?
@@alext8828 You missed the entire point of his comments and why he mentions that on videos. He’s getting ahead of the legion of “collectors” that clutch their pearls to see any work on a guitar other than a vintage XYZ. Or those that immediately assume old = cash. He is outright describing that this is a job for fun and love, not ROI.
It is the job of a skilled luthier to know the value of their work, the market, and educate clients on the cost and risks of the work. It couldn’t be any MORE “in his lane” unless you spray painted lines and it and put up little themed signs!
These "mongrel" instrument restorations are my absolute favourite, bringing something that has real sentimental value back to life.
Agreed
Same here mate... Ive got an Antoria Gibson EB2ish clone and its an absolute killer bass. You just never know, sometimes like myself you can drop lucky.... I play that as much as my Fenders Gibson EB3 and Rickenbacker 4001...
The shot starting at around minute 3 is pure art.
Right? Really well done.
Gives one a pause to reflect. 🙂
Some guitar shops call this the super hero pose.
@@ravingcyclist624 genius!
Old trick for removing a broken screw, like you had in the neck: Find a piece of copper tubing (I bought a bag filled with a wide assortment at a model train store) that just fits over the screw. Use a triangle file, to cut 'saw teeth' into one end (think 'tiny hole saw', on the end of a straw). Chuck the other end in a drill and place the tube over the screw. As the saw teeth spin, they cut a narrow slice, just outside the thread. When you get down to the tip of the screw, you can turn/pull it out easily. Then, plug the hole with a dowel and glue.
That sounds like really good advice! Will deffo try it myself if I run into that problem (again, eeesh)
Ted, it seems we have ALL fallen into your funnel-web spider's lair. And, I'm glad to be here. Anyone else?
Ah, yes. It's a great web, as a guitar player and (long in the past) a carpenter.
Hell yes! Perhaps Ted does not realize how highly he is esteemed among players and hacks.. This is serious and sometimes hilarious but always educational. Thank you, Ted.
About 106,000 of us!😊
I was looking for you all day yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to see your latest vídeo today, I have enjoyed it so much I've already watched it twice, and will most likely watch it a 3rd time. Thank you Ted.
I have a Diasonic hollow body electric, similar to Adams guitar. I dont know much about it, but I am thinking I may give it a new life.putting in some cheap but better pickups in it kinda like you did.Your vídeo has got me motivated. Thanks again
Man Adam is one of my childhood heroes, to see you work on his guitar kind of made me have a little fangirl screaming moment xD
Same. I watched the video Adam put out a while back, and that's why I am here XD
Looks a lot like the Univox Coily I just rebuilt. Made at the Matsumoku factory in Japan in the 60's & 70's. The pickups on mine looked a lot like P-90's, though closer to single coils. A thin neck, but fun to play. Thanks for your video!
Matsumoku for sure, but you certainly have the winner, thank you for saving legwork (I needed closure on which Matsumoku badge it was).
(There's one on Reverb exactly the same, I tried adding the link, but TH-cam gatekeepers are proving unhelpful.)
The crossover between these two creators is blowing my mind. I've seen every episode on both your channels and this warms the cold cockles of my heart.
100%!
Adam got the guitar back: th-cam.com/video/A7f9otIWoPk/w-d-xo.html
@@seanj3667 thanks!
I use surgical (silicon) tubing to fish the pots through. Veey handy.
Insert tubes into pot holes, push over pot shafts. and just pull pots through. The tubes will also allow washers and nuts to be inserted onto them, "at the ready", so they're easy to install instantly when the pot is pulled through.
I have one of these! Matsumoku-built labeled "Univox"...The tailpiece is a cheap knock-off of a Bigsby and impossible to keep in tune. Frets are super-low. Mine was in similar shape but did have some of the original wiring. Mine has block inlays w/side dot markers. No more...I refretted the neck, made a new wiring harness with Guitar Fetish's version of the paf humbucker, replaced the whammy bridge with a trapeze tailpiece (now stable tuning), pinner the roller bridge in place and replaced the tuners (they were that bad)...it's a funky guitar that sounds pretty good. Local luthier who did final work was happy to receive the the trem tailpiece in exchange....and you will need custom pickup rings to fit modern pickups.
The roller bridge did have a wooden base...
As a guitar player myself, I just find your videos soothing/relaxing
It's because Ted's videos *are* soothing/relaxing. 🙂
My wife yawns, saying "only men like this"
Ted, if I may. When you have a stuck screw or portion thereof such as you have here, sometimes holding a soldering iron on the exposed portion of the screw and heating it will free it for removal. This is a tip on received from a viewer and it has worked several times for me. You do amazing work and I love your channel. Keep up the good work. Best regards from Atlanta, GA USA.
I've done that as well (with quite a large iron) and it's not failed yet, provided I can get the vice grips on it.
This may be the first time I have thought I genuinely had a better idea than Ted, but I feel like going in with a plug cutter could have saved a lot of time.
I also have a very similar guitar, I can see my pickups fitting right in there. it does not have the original tailpiece but i can see the witness marks where the tremolo bar used to be. it has the same made in Japan on the back, and enclosed tuners. Mine has a label, and says "Conrad".
@@sd67b Yeah, I had a Pan Les Paul copy as one of my first guitars. Even that one had the really funky non-standard pickup dimensions common to a lot of the '70s Japanese makes.
A 6mm tungsten end mill is a handy thing to have around when there is metal to remove.
There is something about the tone of a fully hollow thinline that gets me every time. What a cool guitar, what a cool backstory, and what a cool video
It's going to be an interesting collaboration.
Our tiny planet... it almost feels like we're all neighbors.
TWF thank you for compressed moments of peace and sane.
Whooaah! When I was just getting into guitars, I remember seeing this one on the wall on the show and realizing it was probably more of a prop than anything, something I'd never listen to... To actually hear it play some 15 odd years later gives me a strange relief to a tension I hadn't realized I carried. Weird circles life makes, I guess...
I think the little protrusions on the bottom of the bridge posts were to allow it to rock back and forth in the thimbles, like a jazzmaster bridge would. The guitar did originally have a vibrato, after all.
I’m guessing this is the guitar that was hanging on the set where Adam and Jamie did intros and outros. Always wondered what the story behind that instrument was, since to me it had a “one of these things is not like the others” vibe when compared the other props on set!
As someone who loves quirky old Japanese guitars, it was nice to see this returned to playing condition. When in original condition and complete, they are becoming quite collectable, but so few are. I love the challenge of making them reliable and stable for gigging and touring. This one may well be from the late 60's. The little holes in the headstock would have held the brand badge. Probably Teisco, but it could have been many other brands. I have one branded "Lake" which has the same shaped neck plate.
One thing I have done on many of these is move the bridge. They almost all have them positioned exactly on the scale length and perpendicular to the centre line - IOW no compensation. The original pickups would have been single coils, and probably quite microphonic. That tailpiece extension had a short, stout, compression spring for the tremolo arm.
For removing the broken screw, you can cut barbs into a length of stainless steel tube and make a plug cutter. There's a video on my channel about this. Far easier than your approach, and no finish touch up would have been necessary. Propping up the top will work OK, but you need to address the forward rotation of the neck block. This takes creativity for sure! Great work as always mate.
The spring probably would have been like a bigsby spring but smaller in diameter and height. I have a feeling this might be made by teisco gen gakki which produced wood parts for teisco. I was thinking it could be made by matsumoku since they produced a bunch of hollowbody electrics under the names lyle conrad aria etc but it did not have the square plate that said steel reinforced.
@@joshuabraasch9174 Yeah, there's dozens of brands. By the late 60's Silvertone were importing guitars made by Kawai (I think) for the Sears catalogue. And there were other US companies doing the same. I have a Teisco semi-acoustic but its body is smaller and deeper than this one, which looks to be more 335ish. Sometimes they have a decal on the rear of the headstock with "steel reinforced" written. Sometimes they have a non-adjustable trussrod. They are usually well made, but often poorly engineered. But of course, in their day they were very much a budget instrument. Most Japanese guitars I've seen from the late 60's and early 70's have a tremolo bridge of some sort. I guess twangy surf guitar music was pretty popular in Japan in those days. Takeshi Terauchi and the Blue Jeans come to mind...
@@RobMods the ventures were huge in Japan and that was one of the reasons why Japan got into surf music and the guitar craze. Most solid body guitars took inspiration from the fender Jaguar or mosrite ventures guitars.
General procedure for stripped screw head, is drill the screw out. Reverse the drill, and it will prolly extricate.
Ted, you might not be an "influencer" but you've influenced a lot of my guitar repair decision making.
Know what you mean. The influence I encounter is, "Don't try this at home." Cultivate a friendship with a skilled luthier instead.
Always carefully explaining his sensible viewpoints, Ted has become an influencer in his own right.
That guitar's got some real nice sounds coming out of it! A little warm, a little sparkly, a little twangy. Those old Japanese electrics just have a sort of charm about them and you brought all of that and more out of this one.
Absolutely. I would love to own that guitar now that Tim has given it a new lease of life 😎
I’ve had the exact same one of these forEVER!!
It’s gone through so many different pick ups, electrics, cosmetics the whole thing, and it’s now currently a short scale BASS!
These old japanese guitars are so rad. I have an unbranded Gretsch-like and an Ibanez Rickenbacker clone. The Gretsch-like came with some god-awful Seymour duncan knock-off in the bridge and an Egmond pickup in the neck position. Thing has been hacked something fierce but it's a project I'm keeping for a rainy day.
@@theothertonydutch 😉👍
The remains of the tremolo and bridge and the general look reminds me of some Teisco guitars i worked on some years ago
My man works on Adam Savage’s guitar and doesn’t put his name in the title. Classic Ted integrity.
I am dying to see those old Gibson acoustics finished. I know you’ll work magic
Dang, that looks and sounds remarkably good! Well done, Ted!
Was thinking exactly the same. With the filtertrons (plus all of Tim's work of course) it sounded like the 1960s guitar of the Rolling Stones and many other RnB/RocknRoll bands of that era. Just that sound of an unprocessed raw old school electric guitar - love it. In this age of guitar modellers, IRs and all the electronic wizardry (which I appreciate as well) this just sounded like the OG guitar sound, recorded in mono in some smoke-filled studio charging by the hour :)
That guitar is very reminiscent of a "Pan" guitar I used to own in the 80's.... It had the same type tail piece but a floating bridge .
I see many suggestions for Matsumoku, but Ibanez was another active ghost-factory that may have built this, they built for many brands. Ibanez was the only manufacturer taken to court for the headstock "lawsuit guitars" that gets said about any import guitar from the era. Teisco and Harmony were significant import brands then too.
There's never been an Ibanez factory.
I'm a fan/collector of the 70s and 80s Matsumoku products, but what I know of them and the 60's counterparts... the 3piece(usually maple) neck and that "Made in japan" plate sure look like the early instruments. the Brass nut is a question, Matsumoku loved them in the 70s and 80s, but not 60s.
I feel like they didn't have their own definitive signatures that early, but I'd guess it is theirs.
Hi, I'm a vintage Japanese guitar collector and it's definitely Matsumoku made. They were of course sold under a bunch of names but judging by the holes on the headstock I would say this was sold as a Univox Tempo. Made in the 1960s.
I have almost the same guitar that I bought as a shell, no electronics, no hardware except for the cheapo tuners (narrower pickup holes for fat single-coils, and a larger hole for the switch as they used 2 sliders). I have a modern TV Jones repro of the old Dearmond pickups like they used in early Rickenbackers. The neck is straight as an arrow and rather thin for an old Japanese guitar, should be lots of fun when it's done!!
A Kath ‘n Kim reference in a repair video for Adam Savage?? A man after my own heart.
I love the shot at about 3:10 - the face and the wiggly hands to the side, like a cute little gingerbread man xD
Really appreciated this one, thanks, because I love these oddballs. Working on 2 myself with the most oddball-ish being a Soviet ere Aelita. As you probably know, the USSR guitars in many ways used the Japanese oddballs for inspiration, and these guitars were built with available tech and resources and with little access to ‘expertise’ from outside the Iron Curtain. Nothing is auto-pilot with this one! So I love seeing some new life being injected into guitars like the one from this episode. Stay well, and many thanks for your channel overall.
The former guitarist from the Red Elvises was one of the most blistering players I've ever seen, still playing his old Soviet solid body, used the mic stand as a guitar slide,
I remember seeing this guitar hanging on a wall on one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, I never thought I'd see a video of it being made playable again.
This one was a real weird hit of nostalgia. Saw that guitar for years on the show and always wondered what it was and thought it was super cool.
Maybe it’s years of seeing it hang but it sounds beautiful to me.
I love those old Japanese guitars and the various shapes and styles of virtually everything that bolts onto them. Crazy!
It's very surprising the neck of a old theater prop is straight. That made this repair possible. Great to hear it play again.
I really like the mounting plates on the tuners, classy looking
I really like that perimeter burst paint scheme. To my eye is much more pretty than a teardrop burst.
Love this. What a brilliant idea for a collab, sometimes the internet is just the best damn thing ever
It's a beauty. The bridge PU sounds really nice.
The pickup cutouts, bridge and tremolo remind my of my first guitar which was a Domino. The pickups were single coil with an adapter that covered the cutouts.
Oh, I like the sounds that thing makes. It is different. Thanks for sharing that process.
I love it when 2 unrelated creators I watch unexpectedly get together.
I so appreciate a person that knows what solder should look like. None of this potato solder. Thank you.
Adam Savage’s Tested channel is what originally brought me here, I subbed after the first video I watched! I still haven’t subscribed to Tested.
Huzzah! I love the crossover. The more the better, I say. You're both amazing teachers, craftsmen and all-around geeks in your respective realms. Nothing better than a great creator-collaboration.
Originally found you when Adam mentioned you in one of his video, cool that you're working on one of his! Your channel was an absolutely great discovery, I've watched at this point 50 plus videos and I've learnt a great deal. Thank you!
This was a breath of fresh air from the collector worries. Fun.
Diggin out that screw was nuts to me. It's just amazing that you can fixa a thing like that!
I so love the magic of heat-shrink tubing.
It's really weird watching this programme but not giving a second thought to the guitar in the background of so many shows. It has zero pick ups in the show, so basically the same as how you received it. To be honest it's a miracle it still can be made to play.
There goes Ted; we’ve lost him to Hollywood. Smoked salmon and caviar, parties with starlets and ho’s, Johnny Depp “Will you lower the action on my axe, man?” Grammy’s for Most Erudite Luthier and hand prints in cement all because of the gateway gig with Adam Savage’s guitar. Oh how I miss our humble boy from Hamilton Ontario who could be entertained by heat-shrink tubing and solder shine.
Mr Woodford, first let me say I was so excited when I saw Mr Savage give you a well deserved shout out! I have a similar guitar except there are two switches, one for each horn and one say Mic 1-2 and the other is rhythm-lead. The rhythm lead switch affects a large passive bass cut and I crave to know the origins. If you know anything about this guitar I’m at the point I’m willing to pay for consultation. Keep the amazing videos coming. I can hear your sighs already but you really are a luminary in this acute field. No one brings this levels of articulation, wry humor, and absolute mastery of an art like you do hear on TH-cam. Maybe if I make myself worth something someday I’ll be able to tell people you were a hero of mine
Hi Ted. We restored one of these last year. Ours was branded a Honey.
The small neck block with a pickup hole directly in front is a recipe for disaster and flabby tone. This silly design more often than not leads to the neckblock breaking away from the top. I would say that the best solution is to install two braces ( bass bars ) from the neck block to the bridge studs.
I had an Epiphone EA250 which was a similar design. I sold it as, apart from the very narrow and very skinny neck which I didn't like, the neck pocket would flex if the guitar was handled anything other than carefully.
Fantastic video, thanks! It's very clear and informative and concise and no BS, with everything you need to know! I got a 60's/70'sJapanese Rickenbacker copy neck and body at a garage sale for $10 - now I have all the info I need to restore it. Thanks again.
I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS THING FOR YEARS!!!
I have been wanting to do EXACTLY this…we know each other thru the guitar community actually.
Anyway…what I wanted to say is this looks like a Matsumoto build. Eerily similar body thickness and shape to my Matsu Epiphone EA250. If it has a thin neck, it’s probably a Matsu build…
I REALLY wanna know the actual company on the headstock bc I am rebuilding a friends semi-hollow that has that had that same bridge orogiball6, but it’s non-operational atm…so if I can find the company name, I can find the bridge…
THIS MAKES ME SO SO HAPPY!!!
Jealous I didn’t get to do the work tho lol.
FYI…ima HIGE fan of your work good sir.
Keep up the good work.
Is it possible this is a Norma? Mine was similar to this one, and I recall had a zero fret. But "Norma" was silkscreened on the headstock. This appears to have used a sticker when a label was extant.
I have an Ibanez branded more or less exact guitar as that. It was heavily modded when I got it for 25 years ago. It had the exact same bridge, tuners where changed to old Hagström tuners (I’m located in sweden so I guess back in 70’s/80’s it was easy to get by), a SD superdistortion pickup in the bridge position and a no-brand humbucker in neck position that was microphonic. No midblock, hot/microphonic pu’s…. It wasn’t practical and a feedback nightmare. I’ve kept it all these years thinking I should renovate it, maybe install a centerblock, charge to low output PAFs and get some tulip kluson tuners on it. Haven’t happened yet though. 😬
Film noir’s neck plate shot.. brilliant!
Adam's first shoutout of your channel is how I got here and I have been loving every single video since, so it's really cool to see a crossover happen like this. I'm sure he'll do a show and tell video on the guitar one he gets it back, which I'll very much be looking forward to. Love the end result myself, it's got a really funky vibe to it.
Very nice content Ted I really enjoyed watching this one come together, and the mild unknows you encountered. The end result is a decent sounding budget guitar that should be fun to play.
I really appreciate your channel. Grateful to have found this.
Cool guitar, I like the sound it's making and the video, as always!
Very nice! I was greatly surprised by the tone you achieved on this guitar. I think Adam should be very very pleased with it. You not only brought the guitar back to life, you’ve given it a very positive new start. I would be very happy with that sound.
Intution says that an out-of-phase switch, or a coil-tap switch, perhaps done with a pull-switch on one of the pots, would provide for an interesting tonal option. Anyway, that was fun to watch!
That slightly crunchy tone with the bridge pickup is really cool...Pure Garage Rock..
Chris
Loved the "I reject your reality and substitute my own" quote adaptation
Light drop superglue in an oversized hole put glue in screw it in and screw it back out let it set . Thats how we set the o49 engine on the little satan CL model. The glue coats the threaded hole then dry it provides a new firm grip
Happen to have one of these.. just in a brown grain look. So appreciative of your videos!!!
Continue to watch more
I love this. I have one very similar (red burst and a bit different headstock cut) purchased at a yard sale. It came complete with an after market p90 at the bridge and a Mosrite of California (by golly) at the neck. Individual volume and tone for each pickup on mine, which may be a modification, or not. Selector switch was moved by previous owner and side markers very crudely added. This one's name plate was removed, too. I replaced tuners and scrubbed crud off of it. Cool blues machine, I think, and price was right.
I had the same problem with a broken screw . Ended up drilling relief pockets next to the threads . What a pita . Congratulations Adam . Killer guitar!
This one is a 1960's hollowbody made by Matsumoku. It was marketed as Tempo, Aria, Univox and others. Nice guitar, and in great condition, by the way!
My guess is Columbus.
Adam mentioned you, reached out to you, you hooked him up, he mentioned you AGAIN when he got it back... and here I am! And I'm damn glad to be here!
Absolutely fabulous work and the finished guitar looks and sounds cool as hell! Great job.
Fun watching you work on something that most of us have cut our teeth on. No stress just an enjoyable project.
That wire-up job was a work of art. Only in my wildest dreams could my soldering be that tidy.
I could listen to and watch your videos for ever! So relaxing and so technical
So cool working on Adams guitar, I really loved Mythbusters and his channel Tested. I will watch his unboxing as soon as this is over.
A few years ago in Hawaii, I found that guitar's bass twin at a junk store. Says Epiphone on the head stock, looks legit. Had most of the original parts, including the pups, and the neck was great. I bought it for $70 US. I have been waiting to do a restore on it until I felt more comfortable with my skills. Almost there now, and I mostly owe it to Ted! Gonna start on it soon...
Sounds like an EA-260. Yes, I was going to say this one looks like an Epiphone EA-260 I just worked on. From the shape of the pickup holes to the neck shape, and bridge chassis, it looks like it is from the Mitsumoko factory (so I have read) where Epiphone had production moved circa 1970.
@@davidbogle Great info, thanks!!!
Awesome quote of Adam rejecting a reality and substitute your own. Nice
I'm guessing it's a late 60s early 70s Matsumoku made guitar they made Aria guitars as well as others for the US market like some early harmony guitars.
I have a video of my 69 Aria Diamond on my channel where you will see the pickups this guitar like had. Love your channel, Thanks for sharing your journey.
Adam’s mentioning of you is how I found your channel. He speaks so highly of your content (and rightly so), I knew I had to see for myself. Now here I am probably 2 years later
Love the pick ups, look great and sound even better.
The gorge of a gouge on the neck bolt hole is something we'll never see; could have been edited out for 'adult content,' but had me thinking 'what the hell happened there? In any event, outstanding craftsmanship as usual. Axe has a bit of a growl to it.
Loved Mythbusters as a kid. Crazy to see two worlds collide like this haha
Thank you for the wiring section of this, very clear and helpful!
Maybe heating that broken screw tip would have allowed it to twist easier.
Great job, lots of work for the type of instrument it is.
I'm sure Mr. Savage will be very pleased.
Very cool. Just watched Adam's video and had to come back and see this one again.
Just watched Adam With the Guitar. That is Pretty cool. It is Amazing how so many little Techniques can be used for Different Projects. Love it!
Love the look! Nice combi with these pick-ups. Excellent choice
Upon seeing the pickups chosen for the cover shot I could hear them!!! Reminded me of my Norma from 1975!! Oh for the love of Sears/Montgomery Ward catalog guitars!! Hey, great video, thanks for sharing. It truly was a trip down memory lane. Keep on!
Realizing sentimental value vs parts and labor can be a fine line easily crossed. But the finished product here compared with what you started with should make Adam very happy. Another enjoyable video, thanks for that!
Very cool refresh on this ol girl!! Thanks for the tutorial. Congrats Adam!
Fantastic. I'd wager that guitar literally plays better than ever. Brilliant work and commentary, as always.
I see we've found the exception to the rule of "Ted doesn't work on guitars that live in the USA". Very interesting to watch, and the end result has a lot of character.
I remember always seeing that husk in the background.. turned out to be a cool guitar
This is awesome timing. I have a project guitar exactly like this one.
This is a great video. I can only think of the pain and sacrifice Ted has gone through on his way to becoming proficient at all this. Also, how life has forced him to find activities that insulate him from the "madding or maddening" crowd. Thank you, Ted, for your suffering and sacrifice. This knowledge doesn't grow on trees. It's appreciated by all of us.