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1990 Greco SA-1200 - Non-Catalogue - $2,800 (Los Angeles)
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After lots of research, along with going back and forth with a certain Swede who might be one of the most knowledgeable Japan-guitar experts in the world, we’ve come to the conclusion that this can’t be anything other than a customer/store ordered Greco SA-1200. We believe that there might be less than 30 of these out in the world.
The guitar doesn’t have a serial number or an F hole sticker, and there doesn’t appear to have ever been one in there.
The pot codes read “06” and “07” which indicates this guitar was made in 1990.
The Gotoh pickups, Gotoh bridge along with the pickup cavities tell another interesting story. This is likely an outsourced build from the Tokai fabric.
The appointments on this guitar make it appear almost as if it’s a Tokai ES-150, but with the Greco name on the headstock.
The finish is nitro. Looking under the pickguard, there’s clear signs that the majority of the guitar has faded to a slightly lighter shade, compared to what you’ll find under the ‘59 style pickguard.
One more thing that’s an anomaly for Greco’s from this time era is the fret edge binding. Something the company had stopped doing by the late 80s if I remember correctly.
Something also worth mentioning is the custom finish. Though tobacco bursts aren’t that unusual on Greco SA models, the fact that this guitar sports factory burst finish on not only the top and back, but also on the back of the neck and headstock, on the sides of the body, and the BOTTOM of the body is wicked cool.
Most of the SA Tobacco Bursts would’ve come with the neck being stained in a darker brown color.
The guitar appears to be 100% original, retaining factory electronics, hardware, frets, fret-edge-binding, pickups etc. There’s no evidence of any neck or heel repairs, along with no evidence of the pickup solder joints having been undone.
The guitar has very light, tasteful finish-chipping on the headstock and on a few other places.
Plugged in, the guitar pickups are very PAF sounding, with clarity, fullness and woodiness, without being muffled or muddy.
While frets are factory and quite worn in their places, I have the guitar set up with low action and am not really getting any fret buzz worth mentioning.
This 1959 style ES-335 leaves very little to be desired if you ask me. It’s incredibly lightweight (under 7lbs it feels like), easy to play and sounds amazing. It’s also hella good looking.
The guitar will come with a hard case which isn’t original to the guitar. I don’t have the original case, but this will certainly do the trick.
I’m open to offers, but no trades please.
Thank you for reading!