(SOLD) Greco Spacey Sounds TL500 Natural Gloss 11976
Greco TL500, natural gloss, made in Japan 1976. This is a real beauty. Greco hit their stride by 1975, and were producing frightfully good guitars that were racing pulses on both sides of the Pacific. They had a bunch of T-style models, and these days you see a reasonable number of the Thinline examples around, but these trad examples with two single coils are trickier to find. First up: the neck. This has the most remarkable flame maple neck I've seen in a while, it looks incredible. It's fun moving it around to watch the depth and detail in the grain catch the light differently, it's such a juicy piece. It's a comfy slim vintage C shape and feels great to boot. The body is made from sen ash, and at a whisker under 3.1kg, this is a very lightweight example of the genre. You can feel the natural resonance and brightness in the hands straight away, it's got heaps of zing and a lively voice. Plug it in, and that theme continues: it has a gooey, honey-rich midrange with heaps of breath and complexity, paired with an assured, tuneful bass and a generous shimmer on the top end. This is a beautiful vintage guitar, it would certainly scare some pricey pieces for playability and workmanship. Delightful.
Model: Greco Spacey Sounds TL500
Made: Japan, 1976
Serial: E761570
Finish: natural, gloss poly
Body: sen ash
Neck: maple, maple fretboard, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 3.095kg
Mods: bridge plate and saddles possibly replaced, ashtray cover removed and missing
Pickups: Maxon PU101/PU102 single coil x2
Accessories: basic gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has scuffs and dimples on the end, scuffs on the top edge, and dimples on the back near the neck join. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has a dent on the top horn near the top edge, dimples and a handful of chips along the bottom edge in the corner near the jack, dimples and dents in the elbow area and some scuffs around the ferrules. The sides have a crack in the finish only coming off the neck pocket on the bass side, dimples on the top horn, dimples, dents and scuffs from the elbow area all the way around the back past the jack to the bottom horn, the front has dents on the top horn and top edge up from the bridge pickup, a chip near the edge and some scuffs in the elbow area, a gouge behind the bridge towards the back edge, dimples around the knobs, chips on the bottom edge below the control plate and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: good condition (6.5/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 6/10, normal wear with some height gone, but playing evenly with no major buzz issues