My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Talk about and show off your El Degas instruments here.
Post Reply
mcren
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:22 am

My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Post by mcren »

Hello everyone,maybe someone can help me identify and date my two guitars. The headstock shape is not identical on both, does that mean they were made in different years or in different shops? I'd say 1974-75...

Image

Image

Cheers!
Last edited by mcren on Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
charles
Site Admin
Posts: 1709
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:00 pm
Contact:

Re: My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Post by charles »

Thanks for sharing!

Unfortunately I have found no sure way to date the guitars past the 1970's for MIJ and 1980's/90's for the MIKs...

Someone more knowledgeable than I might be able to speak to how the stamped "MADE IN JAPAN" neckplate vs. the gold & black sticker might hint at an estimation of which was built first :idea: .
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
User avatar
Barry
Posts: 1038
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:31 pm
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
Contact:

Re: My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Post by Barry »

Hello mcren and thanks for the pictures.
The MIJ Les Paul copies are among the most common (and best) that are seen under the El Degas label IMHO. They are generally very well made, heavy (!), and many have early DiMarzio super distortion pickups. Those which do not very often have Maxon's which are also very good. All in all these guitars are work horses and very reliable, as well as having nice attention to detail.

Dating and place of manufacture is really a major problem with all ED instruments. Being a "white label" product they were made in various plants all over Japan, and later in Korea. My best guess is that the higher quality ones may have been made at places such as Fuji Gen and Matsumoku, others at Chushin Gakki or any one of many other similar plants of the time.

The black and gold foil "Made in Japan" label was very commonly seen on just about everything coming out of Japan in the 70's, including housewares. I guess it was quick and easy to do. The stamped neck plate, I would guess, would be a later feature, as awareness of Japanese quality began to grow and it was desired to have something more permanent.

The yellow tint on the white guitar is typical for the age. It's likely a result of the top lacquer coat reacting to UV exposure over time, fairly typical of most guitars of this era. You could go to the trouble of stripping and refinishing but you'd lose the charm and historical look. Many folks actually work hard to make their guitars look aged like this! Nothing really to worry about unless you can't stand the crazing and cracking.
mcren
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:22 am

Re: My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Post by mcren »

Thanks guys! Appreciate the input.

It's really hard to tell which of the black or white one is the oldest. The White looks like it has been abused and played a lot by the previous owners while the Black one is in almost mint condition. But i think the body and the headstock shape of the White one looks more like a recent copy. The Black has a more pointy body horn and is a bit slimmer than the white one.

Anyways, what confuses me is that i also have an Univox LPC that comes from the late 60's and it has the stamped neck plate.

Looks almost exactly like this one with the retro hardware and the rounded neck joint corners.
https://reverb.com/item/355557-vintage- ... ice-teisco
User avatar
charles
Site Admin
Posts: 1709
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:00 pm
Contact:

Re: My two El Degas Les Paul Custom

Post by charles »

The rounded fretboard corners at the neck joint definitely denote an early copy. If only one of your ED's had that, it would be easy 8)
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
Post Reply