Teisco Spectrum V Solid Body Electric Guitar (1967)
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Item #13537
Teisco Spectrum V Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1967), made in Japan, Lake Placid Blue lacquer finish, hardwood body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This Spectrum 5 is the highest grade of Teisco product, one of the finest, most stylish and colorful electric guitars to come out of the mid-'60s "Japanese Invasion." This Lake Placid Blue hot rod is absolutely one of Teisco's very best creations, a top-of-the-line instrument that remains a fan favorite today. This is exactly the type of colorful, whimsical fun guitar that encapsulates all one would want out of a 1960's Japanese electric! The popularity of this model led to re-issues in the 1990s, but this is an original '60s example, a bit worn in but a fine player nonetheless!
The hardwood body resembles something like a Jazzmaster emerged from a Manga hurricane with an offset waist and wavy double cutaways, accented by a deep German curve all along the top edge. The slim maple neck has a rosewood fingerboard with mushroom-esque inlays topped by a space age 4-and-2 Fender-ish headstock. The guitar also features one of Teisco's many proprietary vibrato systems operated by a large flat arm, feeding over an adjustable bridge which elevates in twin cradles screwed to the body. The top-loaded bridge and vibrato are all one unit, with saddle intonation and bridge height adjustable.
The electronics are the true star of the Spectrum: it offers a choice of mono or stereo output with those five eye-catching "rainbow" selector switches that give the guitar its name controlled by a master tone and volume knob. This system features 3 pairs of slightly staggered block pole pickups, an aesthetic choice that shows its merits when the guitar is in stereo. In mono, the sound is typical of the punchy jangly fun one might expect from a psychedelic Japanese factory guitar. In stereo, it becomes capable of some rather impressive feats; run one output to a dirty amp on the verge of breakup for long sustained drones and feedback while running the other to a clean amp through some reverb for a soaring solo over your own wall of sound. This guitar is capable of more than meets the eye (and ear) to a creative player. Paired with a couple amps it can open rarely-experienced sonic vistas and look stunning doing it.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This eye-catching blue Teisco has been played and enjoyed since it left the factory in 1967, showing some wear and tear but nothing that impedes function or fun! The beautiful metallic blue finish is original with several small areas of touchup over a few areas of cracking and dings in the thick blue lacquer. This is most notable on the lower bass side bout and an area that might have taken a little impact in the bass side cutaway. This left a tight crack in the body to the top/side above the neck pocket running into the electronics cavity; it does not go through all the way to the back. Beyond these few filled in dings, the finish is original and beautifully blue.
The electronic circuit and pickups appears untampered with; the wiring all looks original and works correctly. Under the pickguard the body has some odd wood removal; several sections that protruded into the body cavity of have been neatly chipped off post-finishing revealing the bare wood. There are also two holes made by a pin router in the solid area under the bottom section of the pickguard. There are no signs that this guitar has actually ever had any other electronics mounted it was not formally routed for anything else. It is possible this is factory work (we have seen similar extemporized routing on instruments from Gibson, Fender, Burns and others to facilitate assembly) or perhaps someone did it later to lighten the guitar. At any rate none of this is visible when the guitar is assembled or affections function in any way.
All five of the "rainbow" switches work like a charm as does the mono/stereo switch. There is a lot of fun to be had experimenting with the stereo functionality of the Spectrum! All hardware is original; the starburst engraved tuner covers and the silver top hat knobs are clean in good working order. The Teisco embellished bridge/vibrato system cover is gone; the bridge cradle part of the trem system has been slightly re-worked with sliding studs in place of the original fragile rollers but it works as well as it ever did. The serial number sticker below the neck plate is missing leaving a bit of glue residue behind. There is no Teisco badge on the headstock, nor any sign one was ever there.
The original small frets rest in the rosewood fingerboard with a touch of wear in the lower positions but plenty of meat left on the bone, and the original pickguards are in largely good shape with just a little fading on the original stenciling and a crack on the far back corner of the lower guard. The guitar resides in its original functional black hardshell case. The finishing and fretwork on the Spectrum models was the best of what Teisco offered, and if not as friendly a player as, say, a 1960s Jazzmaster by its own standards this is a superb, great playing example overall. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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This Spectrum 5 is the highest grade of Teisco product, one of the finest, most stylish and colorful electric guitars to come out of the mid-'60s "Japanese Invasion." This Lake Placid Blue hot rod is absolutely one of Teisco's very best creations, a top-of-the-line instrument that remains a fan favorite today. This is exactly the type of colorful, whimsical fun guitar that encapsulates all one would want out of a 1960's Japanese electric! The popularity of this model led to re-issues in the 1990s, but this is an original '60s example, a bit worn in but a fine player nonetheless!
The hardwood body resembles something like a Jazzmaster emerged from a Manga hurricane with an offset waist and wavy double cutaways, accented by a deep German curve all along the top edge. The slim maple neck has a rosewood fingerboard with mushroom-esque inlays topped by a space age 4-and-2 Fender-ish headstock. The guitar also features one of Teisco's many proprietary vibrato systems operated by a large flat arm, feeding over an adjustable bridge which elevates in twin cradles screwed to the body. The top-loaded bridge and vibrato are all one unit, with saddle intonation and bridge height adjustable.
The electronics are the true star of the Spectrum: it offers a choice of mono or stereo output with those five eye-catching "rainbow" selector switches that give the guitar its name controlled by a master tone and volume knob. This system features 3 pairs of slightly staggered block pole pickups, an aesthetic choice that shows its merits when the guitar is in stereo. In mono, the sound is typical of the punchy jangly fun one might expect from a psychedelic Japanese factory guitar. In stereo, it becomes capable of some rather impressive feats; run one output to a dirty amp on the verge of breakup for long sustained drones and feedback while running the other to a clean amp through some reverb for a soaring solo over your own wall of sound. This guitar is capable of more than meets the eye (and ear) to a creative player. Paired with a couple amps it can open rarely-experienced sonic vistas and look stunning doing it.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This eye-catching blue Teisco has been played and enjoyed since it left the factory in 1967, showing some wear and tear but nothing that impedes function or fun! The beautiful metallic blue finish is original with several small areas of touchup over a few areas of cracking and dings in the thick blue lacquer. This is most notable on the lower bass side bout and an area that might have taken a little impact in the bass side cutaway. This left a tight crack in the body to the top/side above the neck pocket running into the electronics cavity; it does not go through all the way to the back. Beyond these few filled in dings, the finish is original and beautifully blue.
The electronic circuit and pickups appears untampered with; the wiring all looks original and works correctly. Under the pickguard the body has some odd wood removal; several sections that protruded into the body cavity of have been neatly chipped off post-finishing revealing the bare wood. There are also two holes made by a pin router in the solid area under the bottom section of the pickguard. There are no signs that this guitar has actually ever had any other electronics mounted it was not formally routed for anything else. It is possible this is factory work (we have seen similar extemporized routing on instruments from Gibson, Fender, Burns and others to facilitate assembly) or perhaps someone did it later to lighten the guitar. At any rate none of this is visible when the guitar is assembled or affections function in any way.
All five of the "rainbow" switches work like a charm as does the mono/stereo switch. There is a lot of fun to be had experimenting with the stereo functionality of the Spectrum! All hardware is original; the starburst engraved tuner covers and the silver top hat knobs are clean in good working order. The Teisco embellished bridge/vibrato system cover is gone; the bridge cradle part of the trem system has been slightly re-worked with sliding studs in place of the original fragile rollers but it works as well as it ever did. The serial number sticker below the neck plate is missing leaving a bit of glue residue behind. There is no Teisco badge on the headstock, nor any sign one was ever there.
The original small frets rest in the rosewood fingerboard with a touch of wear in the lower positions but plenty of meat left on the bone, and the original pickguards are in largely good shape with just a little fading on the original stenciling and a crack on the far back corner of the lower guard. The guitar resides in its original functional black hardshell case. The finishing and fretwork on the Spectrum models was the best of what Teisco offered, and if not as friendly a player as, say, a 1960s Jazzmaster by its own standards this is a superb, great playing example overall. Overall Very Good + Condition.
