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SOLD
1973 Greco S-50
A Must Buy Greco 175
A dormant 1973 Greco vintage has just woken up and starts looking for the new owner.
I had a fair bit of difficulty in dating the guitar because there is no serial number or model number found. While investigating the pickup I got a clue! Maxon pickup (manufactured by the legendary Nissin Onpa that also produced the world best Dry Z pickups) serial number 43316 decodes as 3 in the second digit being 1973 and the rest 316 meaning March 16th. The first digit 4 is used for their administrative purpose. It is often argued in Japanese guitar forums that Fujigen body + Maxon pickups were the ideal marriage of Japan vintages. And of course, this guitar is also made by Fujigen. As you see the photos though, unfortunately the bridge pickup was out of work and thus has been replaced by Dimarzio DP155. I am shipping along the original Maxon bridge pickup for your research if you like.
Let’s talk more about the model name - Greco started selling their first full hollow body as S-50 in 1972. From 1974 its price went up by 5000 yen and the model name accordingly was changed to S-55. The same model sold until 1978, by which time the ambitious Greco launched their ultimate quality guitars Super Real, which ruled out full hollow body maybe because of the thin line body trend around that time. The discontinued hollow body has resumed in 1981, as new 3 digit model name of FA700.
I had a fair bit of difficulty in dating the guitar because there is no serial number or model number found. While investigating the pickup I got a clue! Maxon pickup (manufactured by the legendary Nissin Onpa that also produced the world best Dry Z pickups) serial number 43316 decodes as 3 in the second digit being 1973 and the rest 316 meaning March 16th. The first digit 4 is used for their administrative purpose. It is often argued in Japanese guitar forums that Fujigen body + Maxon pickups were the ideal marriage of Japan vintages. And of course, this guitar is also made by Fujigen. As you see the photos though, unfortunately the bridge pickup was out of work and thus has been replaced by Dimarzio DP155. I am shipping along the original Maxon bridge pickup for your research if you like.
Let’s talk more about the model name - Greco started selling their first full hollow body as S-50 in 1972. From 1974 its price went up by 5000 yen and the model name accordingly was changed to S-55. The same model sold until 1978, by which time the ambitious Greco launched their ultimate quality guitars Super Real, which ruled out full hollow body maybe because of the thin line body trend around that time. The discontinued hollow body has resumed in 1981, as new 3 digit model name of FA700.
When it comes to the guitar condition, I should say it is acceptable given her over 50 of age. Lacquer chip-off on the rear headstock, binding wear, scratches around the rim and neck are all photo-taken so please have a close look. Lastly, a brand-new sturdy gig bag flies along the journey to your doorstep.
