The Electra Forums

1978, 2242- super rock or not.does any one know?I Bought on ebay 270.00
here is seral #030035,friend to my 935 pro endorser

I have an Electra that is very similar to yours, with some differences. I bought mine in 1975, but I'm not sure if is it a '74, 75' or '76 model.
It is NOT an Omega, (at least I'm pretty sure).
It has the "pre-lawsuit" Gibson style headstock with the diagonal inlays.
It has the bell-shaped truss rod cover with "custom" engraved into it, as well as the bell-shaped plastic knobs on the tuners.
It also has all gold hardware, including both pick up covers.
If not for the script "Electra" on the head stock and the bolt-on neck, you couldn't tell the difference between it and a Gibson LP custom.

I can't remember exactly how much I paid, but I seem to remember around $250 with a Gibson hard-shell case thrown in as well. Of course, I spent a whale of a lot of money that day, the guitar was NOT my only purchase. I remember the salesman telling me that, in his opinion, the Electra was just about as good as the Gibson, with perhaps even better electronics. I'm not sure I buy into that, though my Electra does sound and play like a dream. If I can remember, I'll try to get a pic to post later

It's a 2242 but it's a later one- the wave headstock places it at 77 or later. The 2242 was one of the longest running Electra models, it lasted into the 80s', which is interesting for one with a 4-digit model number.

I would -not- assume this is a 1980 model, in fact, the fact that it doesn't follow the YMMxxx pattern makes me think it could be 77-79. The oval-shaped cutouts on the pickup cover also suggest it's pre-80's. Dating these exactly is probably impossible but that gets us in the ballpark.

I think your purchase price is in the right ballpark, although I'm not an LP pricing expert. The wave headstock assures that it's Matsumoku-made, which elevates its value (in my eyes anyhow) above most earlier ones.

so what are the chances that a '74 model would have been built by Uncle Matt? How might one be able to tell?

The chances are pretty good- 50/50, or maybe 40/30/30 or such.

You ask a really good question. At present there isn't a sure way to know. In the future we hope with enough pictures and details we may be able to sort it out as we have with other models.

I personally have a theory that some (at least) Electras with diagonal logo are made by Fujigen, some of them certainly are. But that's not a sure way to tell- it could be that Hoshino-distribtuted models had that, which could still be Matsumoku.

either way, Matsumoku and Fujigen were great makers, you can't go far wrong with either one.