If you’ve ever seen an electric guitar that just looks a little…strange…you might have just been staring at a Teisco.
Some of the hallmarks of Teisco design are funky angles, lots of pickups (up to four!), and knobs and switches galore.
While these guitars are sought after in the vintage market today, they didn’t start out that way. Instead, they were Japanese-made budget guitars meant to attract buyers who couldn’t afford a brand like Fender.
The beginnings of Teisco guitars
Teisco started life as a partnership between Atsuwo Kaneko, a Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist, and an electrical engineer, Dory Matsuda. Originally the company was named Aoi Onpa Kenkyujo, which means Electricity Laboratories. The name was changed to Nippon Onpa Kogyo Company in 1956 before they finally settled on Teisco in 1964.
(Many sources claim the name Teisco was an acronym for Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company, but Kaneko was on record stating that this wasn’t true — he just liked the way the name sounded.)
They began building guitars and other musical instruments in Japan in 1946, and initially their products were only sold domestically.
Coming to America (and the UK)
That changed in around 1960, when brokers began to import them into the US and the UK. These brokers would then rebrand the guitars before selling them in music stores, Sears, and even pawn shops. Common new “brands” included Teisco Del Rey (it was thought that adding a Spanish-sounding name would increase sales), Kay, and Silvertone (another still well-known brand).
The appeal of these guitars was price. They were affordable, costing as little as $20 and up to $150, compared to a new Stratocaster, which in 1965 went for a cool $200. For a kid saving his allowance money, or a mom and dad with not a lot of disposable income, they were a great alternative to a name-brand guitar.
Features and issues
As the 1960s progressed, so too did the uniqueness of Teisco guitars. They became known for especially strange body shapes. Some models, such as the Checkmate 4, had four pickups instead of the normal one-to-three. They often came with a wide array of switches and knobs to change the sound of the guitar in myriad ways.
While they had plenty of eye appeal, what they lacked was playability. Being budget guitars, they had issues with intonation, very basic hardware, and plastic nuts. They were meant for players just learning the instrument, not people shredding solos at the twelfth fret and beyond.
The end of the production era
Teisco was bought out by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Company in 1967, and the new owners phased out Teisco guitars in 1969, while still continuing to use the name to sell keyboards until the ‘80s.
In 2018, a Singaporean company acquired the rights to the name Teisco and began selling effects pedals under the brand.
The beginning of the vintage era
Over the years, Teisco has become a sought-after brand in the vintage guitar market. Undoubtedly the unique characteristics of the guitars made them valuable collector pieces, but nostalgia has probably helped as well, as players who started with the brand as kids now had the means as adults to collect them.
Today, you can buy a vintage Teisco on Reverb for as little as a few hundred to as much as a few thousand dollars.
Famous Teisco players
There is a long list of players who have picked up a Teisco. A few of the more famous examples include:
Eddie Van Halen. Yes, that’s right — the guitar god himself started learning on a Teisco ET-440.
Glen Campell. The guitarist’s main axe in the 1960s was a Teisco T-60.
Dan Auerbach. The Black Key’s guitarist and singer often uses Teiscos for studio work.
So the next time you’re thinking about getting a new guitar (and let’s be honest, when are you not thinking about getting a new guitar?), why not add something unique to your collection like a vintage Teisco?
Photo attributions:
MJ-2L: , Teisco_MJ-2L.jpg: Cortney Martin from Houston, TX, USASideshow_Tramps_1,_New_Year’s_Eve,_Houston,_2009.jpg: Cortney MartinGuy_Forsyth,_New_Years_Eve,_Houston,_2009.jpg: Cortney Martin from Houston, TX, USAderivative work: Guitarpop, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Teisco_Spectrum_2_or_22_(SN374919).jpg: T Hderivative work: Clusternote, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Teisco May Queen (c.1968) & Ibanez unidentified bass (2017–11 by Alexander Lesnitsky @Pixabay 2878686).png: Alexander Lesnitsky from Moscow, Russiaderivative work: User:Clusternote, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Leave a Reply