ELECTRICIZED

Fender Hellecasters Jerry Donahue

1997-1998
Alder, Maple

Fender has honored each of the three member of the Hellecasters band with a signature stratocaster Fender. Jerry Donahue is a Telecaster player, so he “telifyed’ his MIJ signature strat by requesting a metal plate under the bridge pickup. Overall this rarebird (450 made) is considered very well crafted guitar and simply sounds fantastic.

Photo by Cliffsjam

Washburn G-40V

1988
Maple, Ebony

Made in Japan as part of the G series, the G-40V uniqueness comes from its triple coil pickup. Push buttons allow to switch each coil on or off. If you’re interested in hearing how it sounds, one of these rare birds is currently for sale on ebay.

Casio PG-380

1987- Early 1990s
Alder, Maple, Ebony

Before Casio came into play, Roland had no real competiton in the Midi guitar market. A total of five models were made by the japanese brand, all at the famous Fuji-Gen factory were Fender and Ibanez models were also produced.

The Casio PG-380 established Casio’s superiority over Roland. Like all the other Casio models, the PG-380 is a superstrat stuffed with loads of electronics; so many in fact the designers had to give up the contoured ‘beer gut’ typical to the stratocaster body. Hear some bits

Yamaha SG-5

1966-1971
Mahogany, Rosewood

Yamaha started its official line of solidbody electrics in 1966. Of these early models, the most recognizable is probably the Flying Samurai series.

The Flying Samurais were designed by Japanese surf rock legend and Mosrite fan Takeshi Terauchi. Zero fret, reverse asymatrical body shape, this love is all over the flying samurais.

The SG-5 was released in 1966 and the SG-5A the year after. Yamaha had the habit of adding the letter “A” to the name of improved models. Hear it

Fender Katana

1985-1986
Maple, Rosewood

Designed by Dan Smith to compete against the Jackson models of that era, its pretty safe to say the Fender Katana is one of the Fender guitar ever made. That’s probably what people thought at the time since it was pulled off from catalogs a year after its introduction.

Looks aside, its a high quality model made in Japan. Set neck, Tbx tone control, it has a surprisingly snappy sound despite the dual coils. A much more common squier version with the same name exist. Scott Grove’s Youtube review

Yamaha SLG-100

2000s-Present
Maple, Mahogany, Rosewood

Yamaha came up with a new line of guitar called Silent Guitars in the early 2000s. Basically electro-acoustics with a headphone jack, the SLG are available with nylon strings (SLG-100N) or steel strings (SLG-100S). Yamaha also included a set of FX controls: Two reverbs, a chorus and a delay. The Silent Guitar has been designed with travelling guitarists in mind, as the frame can be dismantled easily. Hear it

Fender Performer

1985-1986
Alder, Basswood, Maple, Rosewood

Originally designed by John Page in 1983, the Fender Performer was supposed to be Fender’s entry point to a competitive metal market, dominated at the time by brands like Jackson or BC Rich. The headstock is somewhat reminiscent of the one of a Fender Swinger and has probably the worst looking Fender logo decal ever produced. The body looks vaguely like a Parker Fly with pointed horns. What’s quite unique to the performer is a pair of slanted humbuckers that are surprisingly versatile. A mini-switch allows to choose between single-coil or humbucker mode. Hear Scott Grove make them purrr!

As the stories goes, this model would have been made with leftover scraps from strats. Not a problem for the Fuji-gen factory who manages to pull out a great sounding guitar in 1985. Sadly, the performer never conquered any crowd and faded out of the catalogs a year after its release.

Photo: Bill Rushing

Guyatone LG-23R

1970s

Made in the early seventies, this amazing Guyatone has an integrated drum machine with five preset drum rhythms that come out straight to the amp! Yours to choose between Slow Rock, Fox Trot, Twist, Bossa Nova and Rock ‘N’ Roll. These are probably cheesy and outdated, but got to try, just for the hell of it…

Teisco Vamper EV52-T.

Apparently from the Vamper series, here is another 60s japanese cheapo with crazy looks and active electronics. The style is obviously borrowed from Mosrites, with a slight touch of Darth Vader… And according to Tym from Tymsguitar, “the neck is AWESOME”.

2002 Mosrite Ventures Reissue
2002

A very rare japanese reissue in blue burst. One of the few Mosrites made-in-japan to sport “the Ventures” and “of California” logos.

Teisco Guyatone Star GT-70

Late 50s

With their chunky neck and high action, Teisco Japanese guitars from the late 50s might not be qualifying as the not most playable guitars. Yet, their killer looks is enough of a reason for anyone to make room in their collection.
This rare GT-70 stands out by featuring a set neck,and, according to Retrofret, “More playable than many would expect”.

1982 Guyatone LG-1200 Sharp-five is also known in my book as Japanese Coolness.

1968 Sekova Grecian with a crazy set of stereo pickups. Rumor says the Grecians were built by the famous fujigen gakki team (Greco, early Ibanez, Yamaha)…

more info @ myrareguitars.com

Teisco did attempt to break into a more serious market. If you had to have only one guitar from the japanese brand, I should certainly be this highly collectible, innovative, legendary 60s Teisco Spectrum V.

In the 80s, Alvarez used to be known as Westone, and was making guitars such as this circa 82 Westone Paduak I