Greco GO II 950 1979 - Natural

Heavily influenced by Alembic, this Greco GO II 950 was built at the famed Fujigen factory in Japan in 1979.  This was a flagship model for Greco at the time, and it is an absolutely gorgeous guitar. The Ibanez Musician line of guitars were also built in this factory at the same time, and were essentially re-branded Grecos.  

The guitar body is sandwiched  walnut and mahogany.  The Layering is subtle and beautiful, and makes for a densely built instrument that conveys the fantastic build quality.  The neck-thru design is 7-layers, alternating maple and walnut, and offers a full 24 frets.  I had the neck's varnish professionally sanded down by Luthier Hugo Mermet in San Rafael, and the feel of the neck is perfectly buttery - think roasted maple / satin finish. See the photos for where the sanding of the varnish ends towards the headstock and where the neck meets the body.  The guitar has a sophisticated tremolo (vibrato) whammy system that I hard-tailed, but it comes with the whammy bar if you would like to use it.  The 3 single coils are original and sound fantastic.  Yes, this guitar is capable of producing spot-on Jerry tones.  The strat-like bell tones have a sweet mid-high frequency that sparkles through without harsh, piercing highs. A real vintage vibe. 

The electronics (2 VOL, 1 Master TONE control, 3 way toggle switch for PU selection, mini PU mode switch, mini PU phase switch) have been gone over and cleaned and are in perfect working order.  There are lots of tonal variations offered through various configurations of the switches and knobs.  You'll not get bored with this guitar.

It weighs 8.79lbs.  It is very comfortable to play, and is solid as a rock.

It comes with its original hard shell case.  The case was damaged at some point, and might not be suitable for taking this guitar on the road, but it is a fun relic that can be used for home storage. The guitar, of course, is ready as ever for touring, etc.

The neck is straight and the truss rod functions well.  It was recently set up and plays beautifully.   There are no dead spots on this guitar.

The 43mm nut is a sandwiched combination of half brass, half bone. See photo.  Very cool.

The frets have some wear, but plenty of life left. There are plenty of dings and chips, and some of the hardware has tarnished.  Please see photos.
 
This particular Greco was the top of the line model in Japan in 1979, and is a rare guitar to find for sale in the states. I had it shipped from Japan years ago.  

In addition to the 3 way pick up selector, there are two additional switches.  This was unique to the 950.  see below for the specs.

SPECS:

Specs:

• Production year: 1979 (Made in Japan)
• Color: Natural
• Neck: Set Through three-piece maple neck 
• Neck Profile: medium C profile measuring .840” deep at the 1st fret and .940” at the 12th.
• Tuners: Greco Deluxe Kluson-style tuning machines
• Number of frets: 24 frets
• Scale: 24 3/4" length
• Nut: 1 11/16"
• Fret Board:  thick, dark slab rosewood with a 10" radius and pearl/abolone type dot inlay
• Fretwire : Jumbo 
• Pickup configuration: SSS
• Pickups: 3 single coil with with metal surrounds and matching brown covers (middle PU is RWRP)
• Bridge : 6 Saddle Bridge with two-point pivot for the vibrato
• Tremolo: T.S VIBRATO (with a central mounted arm for even response)
  
  Controls:
• 3 Switches
• • Three-way switch: Bridge/ Bridge + Neck / Neck
  • Two-way mini toggle: Middle pickup on/off
  • Two way mini toggle: Phase on / off
• 3 Control Speed knobs: 2 Vol, 1 master Tone

• Weight: 4.20 kg / 9.5 lbs
  

Similar to Alembic, fender stratocaster, ibanez musician, doug irwin, steve cripe, etc.