Related Brands?

[Cymastar]

I've seen a bunch of El Degas basses, along with other lawsuits.

These basses were often assembled en masse in a factory and then a label was slapped on label. Which factory were the El Degas bassesmade in? What were other brand names El Degas were given?

[charles]

Short answer:
El Degas is not intrinsically linked to any other brand - even other brands that had instruments built from the same factory may have different materials, build quality, and fit & finish. You cannot really go wrong with a quality instrument with any of the brand names from that era - finding one (and knowing how to find one) is the key.

Long answer:
El Degas is not affiliated with other brands per se... and since we are only making "educated guesses" on the country of manufacture of each different model it is all heresay.

I find it harder to tell what factory the basses may have been made in, but I'd venture a totally baseless guess that at some given time they were sourced from just about every major Japanese (& later, Korean) manufacturer from that time period (70s & 80s) at some point. How's that for a definitive answer?

What you should bear in mind that back then there were really a handful of 'big players' in overseas guitar manufacturing, making guitars for many "white label brands" that had their names stuck on the headstock of the final product for sale in their respective region (this is really the same situation today). What this means for those seeking out guitars similar to another white label brand is that just about all of them from that era may bear a similarity to each other, a common thread that may bind them together in someone's eyes. The problem with this sort of sweeping generalization is that it assumes every instrument to come from a particular factory is of the same materials, build quality, and fit & finish. Whenever I get these sorts of questions I still maintain that this simply is not true - different brands asked different things from the manufacturer in terms of the materials, build quality, and fit & finish. So, you cannot simply say a Burny is a Greco is a Tokia is a Mann is an El Degas, etc, etc. This simply is not true. I do, however, maintain that should a buyer look at ANY of the 70's & 80s copies with a discerning eye and find a good one with that right mix of quality and finishing, they will be happy with it.

[Cymastar]

I know that one could not say a Burny is a Tokai is a Greco, etc, etc...

However one could say a Greco was a Tokai, or an Aria was a Westone.

That's because, specifically those brands, were owned by the same company and simply manufactured with different names...

[charles]

You got me.

BUT you cannot say that every Greco is totally equal to every Tokai... or can you?
Now I'm all confused.

[Barry]

I know that one could not say a Burny is a Tokai is a Greco, etc, etc...

However one could say a Greco was a Tokai, or an Aria was a Westone.

That's because, specifically those brands, were owned by the same company and simply manufactured with different names...

Hello Cymastar. I can't comment on the Greco/Tokai connection that you claim, but Aria is not Westone. Both are Japanese, and there is a link of sorts between them, but Westone was a Matsumoku made product, while Aria was and still is a separate company. There is an overlap with the Aria Pro II line however.
You can read more about Matsumoku guitars here:
http://www.matsumoku.org/models/models.html
http://www.westone.info/

[charles]

My head is spinning

[Barry]

My head is spinning

Go have a wee lie down Charles. It'll all pass.

[charles]

Damn I need a sleeping emoticon