The Electra Forums

Hey all,

So I had been under the impression that all SLM Electras were made at the Matsumoku factory, but just learned I'm mistaken. Are there any ways to determine in which factory a given Electra was made? For example, would the star tuners indicate Fujigen? Certain style of pickups indicate Matsumoku?, etc.

Thanks!

There are certain pointers such as the star tuners and the wave headstock. Most but not all of the wave headstock models are generally made by Matt. Other signs can be as suttle as the type and thickness of the top finish etc. This has been an ongoing learning experience for all of us here and it was a big plus when Tom Presley joined our forums and added his extensive knowledge to the topic. The other giveaway as to manufacture can be the seriel numbers but again not always a definative exact match there either. Most non matt made models especially in the hollowbody styles have a letter for the first character which usually denotes month of manufacture etc for some of the other factories.Lots of info on this in past posts here so you may want to do a search of the forums for specific manufacturers info.

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Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

Sounds good, will definitely do that. Thanks again!

There has been some discussion of this over at the Matt forum, from that point of view. I have two Matt made instruments with letter prefixes on the serial no. So that is not an indication of a non-Matt.

Thanks for the update as I was unaware of that fact. This is what makes this forum so great. We all share and update information here as we all love these instruments. thanks again.

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Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!