The Electra Forums

Just wondering, there's no name on the headstick and I've never seen one with dual single coils. Looks almost like a dead copy of a '69 Tele Thinline

I would say no... maybe a qualified no. Never say never, I could be wrong, etc.

The single coil at the neck is definitely not the same as the Electra 2270, which had a humbucker.

Besides that, look at the different shape of the bridge plate. The Electra is rounded, this one is straight (more like a real tele)

Also, the Electra didn't have a truss rod cover.





So those three details make me think it's not an Electra. Those same three details, however, match the Conrad thinline exactly. In particular that weird white trussrod cover I haven't seen elsewhere.

But let's hash some semantics here. My definition is an Electra is one that was made with the electra name on the headstock. Some identical models were sold under other brand names, especially in the early 70's- any dealer could order them up with any name they wanted- and some were sold with no name on them at all- today we'd call this 'white-labelling'.

Some people call these variations the same thing- I call them cousins. So some people will say 'A Greco is just an Ibanez' when the two were the same guitar with different names on the headstock. I don't agree, they're related but not the same- especially if they were ordered up with different options.

Let's jsut say that guitar was once an Electra- maybe a weird early variant before they made up their mind, whatever (I don't buy it, but let's pretend). If so, and then somebody sanded off the Electra name, so now it's either bare wood or recoated with clear, then yes, that's an Electra. If it were identical to an Electra but with no name, that the equivalent of an Electra, but different.

What I think you have is a Conrad, or an unbranded equivalent, and I'm not sure those were even made by the same factory- I believe the Conrad may have been made by Kasuga, while the Electra was most likely made by Fujigen or Matsumoku (which?).

BTW- whether or not it is a 'real' Electra doesn't change the fact it may be a very cool instrument. Early japanese thinline copies like this were really well made and very cool pieces to play.

Good to know. As far as the bridge goes, he tells me that he recently replaced it and also put in a standard tele pickup there. I asked about the neck spot and he said that he'd had it about a year and that he thought it was stock, he hadn't touched it. He went on to say that he thought it was an early pre-lawsuit model, but I looked at the production run on all these Electra Tele's and they are all pre-lawsuit so I don't know what to say there. It also has no name on the headstock. He says that when he got it the frets were worn down so he had it planed and refretted. On the other hand though, this thing is one hell of a deal anyways because I've never seen an exact copy like this. None of the companies that make cheap copies make them this way so I'm sure the trade I'd be making is good.

Is there anywhere else I can check out pictures of a conrad, they're kind of a smaller Japanese vintage name. I know of the Conrad name from digging around in the old Japanese guitar trenches, forgot what factory they were from though.

want me to take pictures of mine?

I've heard it said Conrad was Kasuga. I almsot believe it. The white truss rod cover is a really weird detail.

Have you played this guitar?

sure, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would really appreciate it.

I haven't played it. How do they play?

I haven't spent enough time playing teh Conrad to say specifically about that one.

But in general I think it's fair to say, of vintage MIJ teles, that they are roughly in the same league with modern MIM teles, and they are about as variable.

So... how is it for you, if you go to GC and play some Mexican teles. How are they? For most of us, they're pretty good indeed.

FOr some who want to get demanding (and I don't necessarily assume this goes with skill or musicality) you could also go play a couple dozen teles and one or two of them would be extra nice. MIM teles are variable, and a few are really sweet- I have a nice one with a Lollar that I play jazz on.

Likewise some vintage japenese teles are just ok, some are pretty good, and a few are really sweet. And you kind of have to just play a bunch to get a feeling for what speaks to you. In addition, there are some really different tele neck profiles, and different models will sometims be like different necks that way too- depending on whose idea of what 'ideal' was.