Memphis Model 102 DLX Natural Gloss 1984
Memphis Double Cut, made in Korea around 1984, gloss natural. Memphis guitars, amps and effects were distributed in USA by C. Bruno and Sons, who were owned by Kaman, who later owned Gretsch Drums and Gibraltar, among other things. They were initially made in Japan, although there's conjecture about whether they were made by Matsumoku, Yamaki or someone else. This one seems to be a later, Korean-made example, going on the neck build, pots and hardware. There was a similar-ish guitar in the 1982 catalog called the 102 Deluxe, although that has a bolt-on neck. Anyway... the model is a little hard to pin down, but it's a quirky and enjoyable thing. The build is pretty impressive: fie ply neck-through construction, paired with some sandwich style wings and topped with a 24-fret board. It's got a brass nut and saddles and decent tuners, so it holds tune nicely. The neck is a tree trunk: it's a very chunky D-shape, thin at the nut but fat in the back. It's an odd profile, but it has it's own charm in an offbeat way. The sound is very impressive: halfway between the chiming snap of a Tele and the girthy growl of a Les Paul, paired with a singing natural sustain. The varitone switch is a laugh, it basically sounds good on 0 and then you get five different options to make it worse. This is certainly a weird one, but it's cool to be different, you know?
Model: Memphis Model 102 DLX
Made: Korea, 1984 approx (unverified)
Serial: none
Finish: natural, gloss poly
Body: maple/mahogany sandwich style
Neck: five-ply maple/mahogany, rosewood fretboard, neck-through build, 24.75" scale, 40mm nut, fat D shape, 25/28mm deep at 1st/12th
Weight: 4.120kg
Mods: holes drilled for previous reverted bridge/tailpiece mods, tuners replaced, pickups possibly replaced
Pickups: unbranded Dimarzio-style humbucker x2
Accessories: basic gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dents and scuffs on the end and some minor scuffs on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has some buckle rash scratches on the bottom horn and elbow area, dimples around the trem cavity and minor scuffs around the whole body. The sides have minor dimples around the whole body. The front has extra holes around the bridge and behind the tailpiece, dimples near the knobs and elbow area and some play wear around the pickups.
Overall: very good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 7/10, minor wear only