New El Degas Les Paul - WITH PICS!

[charles]

You know, that neck plate may be an add-on by a previous owner... never seen one like it on any El Degas (but I could definitely be wrong as well )

It's a nice lookin' guitar in any case. I used to HATE white guitars until mid 2008... no idea why I now find them aesthetically pleasing. But I'd still take a 'burst plain top any day over an opaque finish.

[Dale]

the neck plate I am almost certain is stock..
I will pop it when i change strings to check the coloration of the finish..
and what would be the odds of aftermarket plate matching the holes exactly
on a el degas?

also, do you know if they did custom customs?
i.e. might explain the tuners and the plate?
and the ebony board?

or do your customs have ebony board?

p.s. i sent some agile forum members to check out your site..

[Dale]

Charles,

do you collect any other brand?
or do you go for the ibanez? that seem to be the same guitar?

looking in those old ibanez catalogues, it even shows them without the ibanez name put on, quite obviously waiting for appropriate badging..

just curious, this el degas I just got, makes me think there must be more out there, mine is close to unplayed, I have not cleaned it up yet, but the only wear seems to be a few chips on the back, cause the guy had his cable under it in the case, and some marks on the neck where it was in a stand at some point..
but not even much pic marks on the guard etc?

I played it last night, and it sounds awesome! and great feel.
I just sold a 76 gibson SG, and this actually fills that void very very nicely,
I almost like it better..

[charles]

the neck plate I am almost certain is stock..
I will pop it when i change strings to check the coloration of the finish..
and what would be the odds of aftermarket plate matching the holes exactly
on a el degas?

also, do you know if they did custom customs?
i.e. might explain the tuners and the plate?
and the ebony board?

or do your customs have ebony board?

p.s. i sent some agile forum members to check out your site..

Neck Plates should be pretty standard in sizing for all the imports. The neck plate could be stock, but it's really hard to say.

I don't think any customs were done. B&J of NYC had the guitars made in Japan and imported them for mainly the Canadian market (much like how Kurt of Rondo imports his Agile-branded guitars from his sources). Music stores/dealers sold the stock from there. So, there wasn't contact between the customer and the importer of the guitars, from what I know. After 30 years, some mods and replacement of certain parts is almost a sure thing on some of these guitars.

My classic white LP Custom copy has a rosewood fretboard. Be aware, however that a jar of fretboard dye and a couple of hours can turn a rosewood fb in an ebony-looking one... You really can't be sure what's stock or not on guitars this age with such an undocumented history.

[charles]

Charles,

do you collect any other brand?
or do you go for the ibanez? that seem to be the same guitar?

looking in those old ibanez catalogues, it even shows them without the ibanez name put on, quite obviously waiting for appropriate badging..

just curious, this el degas I just got, makes me think there must be more out there, mine is close to unplayed, I have not cleaned it up yet, but the only wear seems to be a few chips on the back, cause the guy had his cable under it in the case, and some marks on the neck where it was in a stand at some point..
but not even much pic marks on the guard etc?

I played it last night, and it sounds awesome! and great feel.
I just sold a 76 gibson SG, and this actually fills that void very very nicely,
I almost like it better..

I only buy El Degas. It started as a way to find these inexpensive guitars I really liked, while keeping me from buying every other guitar brand under the sun until my house bursts.
It's turned into a labor of love to try to find the time to build this site as a resource for others.

Despite the rumors floating around the interweb, I maintain that Ibanez is not the same as El Degas, at least as a blanket statement. El Degas guitars may or may not have been sourced many/all the major Japanese guitar factories operating in the late 60s-early 80's, which includes FujiGen Gakki (Ibanez), Matsumoku, et al. And then at some point, production moved, in part or wholly, to Korea. So, while some guitars may have been built by the same folks as Ibanez, it's not always the case.

There could very well be others with the same neck plate as your guitar, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that the Clover tuners are aftermarket. Many of the El Degas guitars I've seen have minimal play - it's the age-old situation of an inexpensive guitar being bought for someone who simply doesn't run with it .

I'm glad it plays well - enjoy it. I'm not that surprised that you like it as much as the 70s Gibson - remember that the state of the major brands in the 70s is what prompted the flood of MIJ imitators! (Though there were still good'uns to be had by Fender & Gibson in that era)

[Dale]

now heres a funny thing,
I sent pics to a fella that I email back and forth with about guitars...

he says he bought this very same model original back in the 70s.

AND!!! it did come stock with clover tuners.

his was same color etc.. might be the same guitar!

tee hee, what a co-insodence..

[charles]

Well, the thing I've said to people asking me about "hard and fast rules" regarding El Degas... there are no rules.

I'd love to see some photos of other guitars with the same stock treatments as yours.

[Dale]

he said his also had the ebony board..
and the perfling around it..

[Dale]

yeah, well the thing about that 76 SG gibson, it was the best guitar
I ever played (for electric)
but it was amazing, and not a dog, as some think of the 70s Gibbys..
I have newer SGs that pale in comparison (to my taste anyway)

so the fact that this degas is even in the league suprized me big time..

the tuners are stock.. so I'm guessing the neckplate also..

re:ibanez... yeah, hard to know for sure, but i compared my particular degas
with 1975 ibanez custom, and it appears obvious same manufacturer.

this site is great, but its too bad not more people are all that "into" this brand, cause then the site could really take off, stretch its wings,
and suddenly there would be the interest in the brand, and shared knowledge etc, would help solve some of the mystery...

would you say its fair to say basically that the quality went way down
with the switch to korea?
I ask because some friends say they have picked up el degas in pawn shops to check out, but they were no good.. really cheap..

since that is not the case with this one, I'm wondering if there is some guideline to use when purchasing on line.. hands off..

I probably will just try to get MIJ...

[charles]

There are definitely some great 70s Gibbys out there - funny how that entire era has been painted in such a bad way.

I've heard that some of the El Degas MIKs are really nice. I had a Strat copy that I just did NOT mesh with. I do like my MIK Dove copy acoustic, though.

Every era, every brand, every manufacturer - they all have gems and lemons.

It's tough because I've ended up buying most of my El Degas gits from a distance, so I cannot get a feel for them personally before I pull the trigger. But I guess that's sometimes part of the fun, and you definitely learn what to look for and ask about. The nice thing about El Degas remaining a relatively unknown brand is that the prices stay low to compensate for the obscurity of the name.

[mikedem]

Here I go resurrecting old posts again but I just read this one and noticed how this beauty is identical to mine and I never noticed but mine has the "dippity doo" as well. You can also see the ghost of where a sticker was at one time. It's the only spot that isn't flaking and peeling

[charles]

That dippity doo neck plate is pretty neat. Almost makes me wish they'd used it as sort of a "signature" piece on all of the bolt-ons.