The Electra Forums

Here are some pics:













All I know about it is that it's owner called it an Apollo guitar.

The logo on the top catalog at this link: http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_japanese_apollo.htm
looks like the one on the pickguard of the guitar, but that's about all I've been able to find out so far.

Anyone else seen or own a guitar such as it?

Apollo was a line distributed by Saint Louis Music, it was an economy line around before Electra, I'm not sure how much before, but when the first Electra catalog appeared there were Apollo guitars in the back. Probably safe to say they're late 60's early 70's.

I don't know this particular model, but comparison with other small brand names shows many similarities. It's hard because some details, like inlays, are copies of Gibson, so many brands and makers will look the same.

Other details like the neckplate make me think it might be made by Kasuga and distributed by Arai. It looks something like early Goya-Greco hollowbodies. I have an early unbranded Elger-style hollowbody which is quite different in details that probably came from Fujigen via Hoshino.

You get the idea- there's quite a bit of uncertainty. Don't assume it's not excelletn quality though, all these makers and brands were capable of either high quality or real junk depending on price and how much labor was put into them. I have an Apollo SG that sounds really excellent, it's got that wonderful vintage single-coil sound that's not strat or tele.

Thanks for the info! I get to see it in person on Thursday, I'll post some higher quality pics if I decide to buy it.

The owner replied to me this morning and said the neckplate has the numbers 2227 and 2244 on it. Does that help any?

It's probably one of those models :) Seriously, what I notice is that early 70's guitars, including Electra but also others including Ibanez, have these 4-digit model numbers, and they seem to have avoided each others' numbers for the most part, even guitars we know were from different factories, like they were trying to avoid overlap and confusion. I've tried to seek some corrolary between Ibanez and Electra model numbers of similar guitars, so far no particular patterns have emerged. Very interesting detail though.

The reality is that so little info is known about these guitars that most likely your example, and the pictures you post of it, will live on as most of what we know about that model. Especially Apollo, which is even less known that Electra.

Good luck, keep us posted!