Teisco EB-220 Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966)
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Teisco EB-220 Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966), made in Japan, serial # 320604, Marina Blue finish, hardwood body, nato wood neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This is a cool, funky and somewhat higher-grade offering from the same line as the celebrated Teisco Spectrum guitars, a 4-string Model EB-220 Bass (in Japan market nomenclature one of the "K" series). These are distinguished visually by a dramatically-styled dressed away "German Curve" body with exaggerated, pointy cutaway horns. This one departed from the Teisco factory with an anomalous twist: while the body is entirely original and untouched, the neck was at one point destined to become a 6-string bass. Seemingly due to low sales, Teisco opted to salvage this neck into a 4-string by plugging the 6 holes and re-drilling for 4 tuners before shooting the whole instrument with a coat of Marina Blue lacquer (looking very close to Fender's Lake Placid Blue). This is odd, but it is factory original; like many American makers, Teisco did not waste anything!
The neck is medium-chunky with a round-backed profile and is fitted with an adjustable truss rod so is somewhat more reliable than many period Japanese necks. The fingerboard is better wood as well, with mushroom-esque inlays and a zero fret. The distinctive 4-and-1 headstock has some carved accents and individual closed back tuners, topped with the US-market "Teisco Del Rey" metal badge.
The electronics consist of two surprisingly hot sounding block-pole pickups mounted into the two-tone striped metal pickguard. These are controlled with individual selectors and their own individual volume controls with a master tone knob. It has a chrome plated bridge cover mounted to the bridge with a screw which comes off to reveal simple spring-adjustable saddle apparatus; an original foam mute strip is at least partially intact. Despite its beginnings as a 6-string, the Teisco factory was able to fashion this into a very nice and extremely flashy 4-string example of its better 1960s Japanese basses, and it still looks cool as heck with a Space-Age charm!
Overall length is 47 1/2 in. (120.6 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This flashy Teisco shows some wear but remains entirely original and is a good player. Obviously, the most notable thing about the condition is the factory's decision to plug the holes of what (judging by scale length) would have been a 6-string bass. The all original blue metallic lacquer shows some light checking with a collection of dings and chips scattered around, mostly on the edges and on the headstock. There is also a notable amount of pressure wear in the treble side of the back of the neck around the 9th fret that has resulted in some wavy topography in the finish. That said, it is definitely a Teisco factory finish and has not been oversprayed or refinished; we would guess something was left banging around in the case to cause this. There are a smattering of other dings and scuffs around the rest of the guitar as well as a bit of tarnishing on the bridge cover, but not much else of note.
The electronics are original and untampered with and all hardware is stock including the Teisco badge and serial number plate on the back. The original frets are in good shape with only a trace amount of wear in the lower positions. While this may not replace anyone's '60's Jazz Bass in terms of playability it sounds cool and is certainly in the upper playing range for a period Teisco. It resides in a functional period correct hardshell case that is slightly oversize; we predict that something loose in this fairly rudimentary case contributed the wear to the neck. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a cool, funky and somewhat higher-grade offering from the same line as the celebrated Teisco Spectrum guitars, a 4-string Model EB-220 Bass (in Japan market nomenclature one of the "K" series). These are distinguished visually by a dramatically-styled dressed away "German Curve" body with exaggerated, pointy cutaway horns. This one departed from the Teisco factory with an anomalous twist: while the body is entirely original and untouched, the neck was at one point destined to become a 6-string bass. Seemingly due to low sales, Teisco opted to salvage this neck into a 4-string by plugging the 6 holes and re-drilling for 4 tuners before shooting the whole instrument with a coat of Marina Blue lacquer (looking very close to Fender's Lake Placid Blue). This is odd, but it is factory original; like many American makers, Teisco did not waste anything!
The neck is medium-chunky with a round-backed profile and is fitted with an adjustable truss rod so is somewhat more reliable than many period Japanese necks. The fingerboard is better wood as well, with mushroom-esque inlays and a zero fret. The distinctive 4-and-1 headstock has some carved accents and individual closed back tuners, topped with the US-market "Teisco Del Rey" metal badge.
The electronics consist of two surprisingly hot sounding block-pole pickups mounted into the two-tone striped metal pickguard. These are controlled with individual selectors and their own individual volume controls with a master tone knob. It has a chrome plated bridge cover mounted to the bridge with a screw which comes off to reveal simple spring-adjustable saddle apparatus; an original foam mute strip is at least partially intact. Despite its beginnings as a 6-string, the Teisco factory was able to fashion this into a very nice and extremely flashy 4-string example of its better 1960s Japanese basses, and it still looks cool as heck with a Space-Age charm!
Overall length is 47 1/2 in. (120.6 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This flashy Teisco shows some wear but remains entirely original and is a good player. Obviously, the most notable thing about the condition is the factory's decision to plug the holes of what (judging by scale length) would have been a 6-string bass. The all original blue metallic lacquer shows some light checking with a collection of dings and chips scattered around, mostly on the edges and on the headstock. There is also a notable amount of pressure wear in the treble side of the back of the neck around the 9th fret that has resulted in some wavy topography in the finish. That said, it is definitely a Teisco factory finish and has not been oversprayed or refinished; we would guess something was left banging around in the case to cause this. There are a smattering of other dings and scuffs around the rest of the guitar as well as a bit of tarnishing on the bridge cover, but not much else of note.
The electronics are original and untampered with and all hardware is stock including the Teisco badge and serial number plate on the back. The original frets are in good shape with only a trace amount of wear in the lower positions. While this may not replace anyone's '60's Jazz Bass in terms of playability it sounds cool and is certainly in the upper playing range for a period Teisco. It resides in a functional period correct hardshell case that is slightly oversize; we predict that something loose in this fairly rudimentary case contributed the wear to the neck. Overall Very Good + Condition.