Is he right?
Well, my teacher's hands are itching, so I guess I'd better sharpen the red pencil...
"This is a very rare vintage electric guitar
made in Japan sometime in the mid-60's
by Greco/Ibanez as far as I can tell. It's in excellent condition for it's age and is one of the cleanest examples from this era that I've ever had. As with all of my auctions, bidding starts at just $1 with NO RESERVE so the high bidder will get it! Just click on the video player below to see and hear this guitar being played straight into a Fender Blues Junior amp:
[...]
Identifying these old Japanese guitars can be tricky, but looking through old catalogs and comparing the features on this guitar with similar models I've had, I'd say
it came out of the Greco/Ibanez factory sometime between '62 and '66. It's a variation on their Burns/Longhorn models that were offered via various retailers during that time. It shows no signs of ever having had a logo, which was not that uncommon as these guitars were sold under many brand names over the years.
This guitar has a nicely aged White/Cream finish that's in remarkable shape for it's age, showing very little signs of use or wear. All of the chrome and hardware in in great shape and everything appears original with the exception of the 4-way pickup selector knob which was missing when I got this. Pickups sound
great and everything works with just a bit of vintage scratchiness to the controls.
The neck on this is straight and in excellent shape with a fully bound Rosewood fretboard and frets that show very little wear. The trussrod works, and it's been set up with comfortable action so it plays well and in-tune. Much better than most early MIJ guitars that you'll come across.
Check out all of the pictures, this is really a rare find in such clean condition. It sounds and plays great plus it's a unique model that's likely spent a lot more time under someone's bed than actually being played over the years. With the prices on these vintage Japanese guitars steadily climbing, this one will make a great addition to anyone's collection. No case came with this but if you'd like to add a gig bag or hardshell, I'll just charge you my cost on one from Musician's Friend, etc. Otherwise, it will be double boxed and paacked securely for travel.
Buyers from the lower 48 states pay shipping and insurance of $35 within 5 days of auction's close. If you live elsewhere, please email me first for rates. Payment is accepted through PayPal if you have a "confirmed" shipping address and money orders are also OK. Please check out all the pictures and ask any questions you may have before bidding. I'm not an expert, so items are described to the best of my ability and sold as-is. Thanks for looking and GOOD LUCK!!!"
Well, as we all know there IS AND WAS NO Ibanez/Greco factory, so that's BS.
Hoshino/Ibanez and Kanda Shokai/Greco were the main customers of Fuji Gen Gakki in the 1970s. The factory where these older axes came from was probably Guyatone (Read Billy Porter's messages about the Antoria brand).
The Burn Hank Marvin model became very popular in Japan after the Shadows did a tour in Japan. My ex-nearly-brother-in-law has the imported album, on which the Shads are playing these white Burns guitars.
Hank's original Burns guitar was stolen from the van, after which he played Cliff's strat again for while.
http://www.youtube.com/v/pBGtcJ7EVBg&rel=1Anyway, all Japanese fans wanted such a guitar then. And all clever Japanese guitar traders had them made whereever possible.
What's nice to know for us Ibanez fans, is that Hank had always played an Antoria (same model as Jimi Hendrix plays on Hasy's website) until he got Cliff Richard's "flamingo pink" (fiesta red) strat in 1959. In the early 1960s he got his own Burns signature model, which after the tour was copied by Guyatone and several others, which makes the circle round.
Ginger