The Electra Forums

I bought OzarkCannons unique 2256 this week, and I thought you guys would like to see some close ups and other interesting stuff about it. The most obvious thing is the flame Maple stripe down the center, but also notice the blonde neck with Block markers (the few 2256's I've seen have had Rosewood fretboards), some of the 2249's had Maple fretboards, but they had the trapezoid markers, so I've never spied one quite like this: (I took the strings and clear pickguard off for cleaning and better pictures)


It is further distinguished by the Black Openbook headstock, most maple fretboards had a blonde headstock:


Can anyone tell me what the date on these pots are? (1973?? 1977??):


These pickups are different from any of my other early Humbuckers, the Bridge pickup is marked 13x12, and is that the Maxon Logo on the Neck pickup here?:


This guitar is nice and light, probably helped by the huge routes for the pickups and controls, in this picture you can see how generous they are, and also I've blown it up so you can see the thin laminate top which is pressed to the body:


One of the more amusing discoveries was the bottom of the bridge, where the word is spelled "BRIGE":


And the coolest thing I found was on the back of the neck, a bunch of Japanese writing in marker, about the only thing discernible is 'LS-6'. I'm not going to throw out that this is a prototype, but there seems to be a lot of writing, would love it if it could be translated!!


Overall, its a cool little ride. Light weight, small comfortable neck, nice Top and Ozark has the action set super low and comfy. It also is very resonate and loud acoustically, probably due to the chambers. It has its share of dings and rubs, but overall it is looks pretty darn sharp, and it was its combination of interesting features that drew me to it, ever since Ozark first posted pictures of it. Tell me what you think of this fancy LP!


If you're looking for another member of your family, contact Ozark as he has a couple more he wants to sell... I was this close to picking up his 2270W thinline too!! And that Black Endorser has got lots of miles left on it. Thanks Joe, for a very nice find! Cheers, Mike

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

Very awesome! My wife is Japanese and I'm going to have her translate what the kanji says here in a little bit.

Alright so I got a translation and it turns out to be very cool. My best guess is that with this guitar they were showing the different options they could produce. They were showing all different production options on one guitar.

first line - katakana (different form of writing than kanji) - "sample"
second line - "production engineering"
third - LS-6
fourth line - bad handwriting - best guess = "brand"
fifth line - definitely - "Electra"
sixth line - "five pieces included" (possibly means there were 5 samples?)

For the obvious facts of the open book headstock and that it says "sample" I would say it was a 73 like my 2252.

IMHO - I have 1/100th of the experience with these guitars as many of the other board members have, but I would say this is one of the earliest guitars in Electra history and a true collector's item

Amazing - a rarity, and a beautiful axe; play it well.

RCSBlues

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RCSBlues

Sandspur, thanks a ton to you and your wife for the line-by-line translation, above and beyond the call of duty man, and very very cool. With the clear pickguard, I was thinking it was mid 70's, but who knows if that is original or not? I too am not super familiar with the early offerings, and someone in the know could probably even tell which factory made it by the routs and material used. X189player has a theory that the script logo examples are from Fujigen... regardless of origin it is a nice player and very resonant.

I have to humbly take back some of my preconceived notions about the bolt-ons (referring to an earlier topic thread where I kind of came off like a snob...), this example is a proudly built and well playing guitar that addresses two of the issues I have with L.P.'s:
I) It is light weight, don't have a scale, but it's probably in the seven pound range, most LP's I've picked up have been heavy on my shoulder

II) It has a small comfortable neck, again most of the Pauls I've played have had huge honkin' necks on them

I still don't know if this is a prototype, but the information you've provided sure makes a good argument, as background, Ozark told me he picked this up locally in Missouri, so who knows..? Maybe something that got shipped to SLM and after being evaluated went home with an employee... In any event, it's a great conversation piece! Cheers, and happy hunting guys, Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

The one thing that jumps out at me from the pictures as far as a difference between my 2252 and the guitar you have (besides the better looks of yours) is the thickness of the top. The cap on yours is much thinner than on mine. I don't know if that is good or bad, all that matters is the sound.

There are some other differences - The neck pickup looks identical to both pickups I have, aside from the "Maven" marking. I dated my guitar from the pickups - an interesting thing is the "3" on both the pickup and the pots you have. This may mean something, and may not. The marking on the bottom of your bridge is different as well.

As far as bolt on necks go - after looking at the 59 burst build that preeb did on tdpri (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-de ... build.html <----- a must read for anyone wanting to know about building techniques), I agree that set necks are a superior construction technique. However, Fender and others have been building bolt-ons for years that some of the best players ever have used. Each guitar has to be looked at individually.

These necks are nice. I have read that the late 70's models were more consistent guitars and I don't doubt that at all. There are still nice examples of early models out there too.

I will state again, that I didn't think you came off as a snob. I thought you voiced your opinion. Apparently it has since changed.

Very nice guitar proendorser, you should be proud of her!

Is this Jacaranda acquisition month?

Very interesting piece. In my estimation the terms "sample" and "production engineering" indicate that this piece does not reflect the features and specs that would otherwise be found in a standard production example. That would make it either a prototype, or an engineering example used by the factory to illustrate some particular feature, finish, construction detail, or assembly technique.

In more recent times I've seen instruments like that find homes with employees, and those employees may eventually sell the instrument into the general public. Good examples would be some of the guitars at EF2010 (Ampeg AMG1, Alvarez travel sized acoustic, Alvarez semi-hollow electric). The red Alvarez was a prototype piece- no other example exists with the exact same features. The Ampeg and the travel guitar are early pieces off the production line, as the tooling was still being set up and features finalized. Most features are the same as the final production run, but some details differ.

Unfortunately the history of these unique instruments can easily be lost. It's possible that only a product manager and a builder ever knew exactly what that guitar is. When those instruments change hands, this unique info can be lost forever!

I wish OzarkCannon had brought some of his guitars to EF2010!

Now I wish I had taken the neck off! Very cool that sandspur was able to get that translated for you Those are Maxon pickups,though it kinda looks like maven somewhat from the pic- the fella I got it from told me he had gotten it from a family member in '73,but unless I know the person I take most of that kind of info with a grain of salt
Sandspur,I have to give you props for defending the 22XX series,though I don't think proendorser really meant to slight them-how could he(now that he owns one!)?
The rest are going to hit ebay this weekend I think unless I hear from some of you guys-(these are the ones my wife KNOWS about-the keepers are stored away from view )
Ultra-I would have given anything to be at EF2010,but I'm a service tech in HVAC,on call that weekend at 100 degrees-doh! The plus side is I get to see what is lurking in customers basements!
Joe

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"If it ain't been in the pawnshop,it can't play the blues" R.L.Burnside

Ultra Sonic, I think you are correct about this guitar being an engineering example. I think it shows at least a couple of features that ended up in different production Electra's, most notably the Jacaranda top and the maple fretboard that is on the "natural" Electra discussed last week. The other interesting feature is one that was later seen on Aria Pro II's of the "neck through" look. This is the oldest example of that "look" that I have seen with it not being a neck-through. I'm sure there are older out there, especially since the Japanese were in "copycat" mode heavily at this time. Now that I think of it, the clear pickguard could have been another engineering example.

Proendorser, I wish my 2252 was that light as it is every bit as heavy as any 70's era pancake bodied LP. What's worse is I have a separated shoulder right now and I'm awaiting surgery, but at the same time, how can I put a guitar down for that long?

Ozarkcannon, I didn't know you were selling guitars. Obviously I missed that post?

Sandspur,I've got a few for sale....I posted under electra strat and others for sale in for sale forum,there's a list there.
Somebodys got to need the Music Man 112RD 100 -best clean amp I've ever heard,100watt 6L6 power tubes-needs a pro to use it,way too loud for my needs.
Joe

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"If it ain't been in the pawnshop,it can't play the blues" R.L.Burnside

This is an interesting topic, I mean we often hear about 'Prototypes', but I don't know if I've ever heard of a 'Production Sample' before (although I'm not in the manufacturing field). Maybe it's just semantics, but the term Prototype tends to carry an air of royalty with it, as if Leo (or whomever) actually held and examined the item. It is understandable that these must exist so that companies can show off new tooling or techniques as Ultra points out... common sense, I just never thought about it or encountered it before. And it stands to reason that some features may be adopted (like the Maple Fretboard) or changed (trapezoid Markers) or passed over by the Distributors (the Maple Stripe between the Jacaranda) as Sandspur indicates. A very fascinating look into the world of manufacturing, for me at least.

Obviously we can't even determine if that neck is what was originally bolted to the body when it left Japan (although the stain is a perfect match for the body), but as I've been reminded of recently, the Guitar should be evaluated (judged if you will..) on its own merits, and this example has plenty of merits!



That is a tough claim to substantiate, and I still don't know how to decipher the potentiometer codes, I think it is older than I originally thought, the clear pickguard is still throwing me, but maybe it is a 'sample' pickguard. I don't think those start showing up until the mid seventies (don't quote me on that). The pickups are different, and may be an indicator of its age, anyone know when they stopped using those Maxon pickups? I agree that its a collectors item (although, lets face it, we're a tiny and strangely fanatical group), but I tend to think all my guitars are collectors items (well, maybe not the Futura... it takes a certain kind of guy to pull that one off!).

It seems very plausible that it is a true 'one of a kind', which is another term that gets thrown around a lot in descriptions and auctions. Unfortunately, that can be a double edged sword with respect to desirability. Some people (like me) are going to be intrigued and bedazzled by it, others may be repelled by it, or at least skeptical of its origin. And lets face it, if it were a Fender or Gibson, you would have to wonder if someone was trying to pull a fast one on you. One of the (many, many) cool things about Electra's is that you'd be hard pressed to find a forgery! (although we have seen Electra necks on other bodies haven't we)

Thanks for all the input and insight guys. I put the stings back on it and the plastic saddles are taking some getting used to. The bridge ('BRIGE') has no retaining spring (if you break a string on stage the saddle and screw can come flying out) and two of the saddle/screw sets look different (shorter, and not gold plated). I was playing it through a Boogie the other day and the pickups were insanely microphonic (you can literally talk into the pickups!) and will squeal at anything approaching practice volume, so this is not really a performing instrument, but the highly resonate nature of the body and light weight make it a great little bedroom guitar. It's probably a good thing that they eventually went to the 'Magnaflux' pickups. I'm not going to change anything on it, that would kind of be like Killing a Mockingbird (maybe I'll call it Boo Radley?), and make sure that the history we've uncovered here stays with the guitar... Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

It is very nice now that we have a history of sorts to go with this unique model. It is always nice to be able to get the history of the instrument you are buying or playing. It may not mean much to some people but it's cool to know something about it while you enjoy it. When you get it rocking again could you please give us a sound clip to go with those awesome pictures? Thanks and enjoy.

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

Gosh, that's a beautiful guitar. That's gotta be KING JACARANDA.

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JD's Electras

I put together a movie clip of the 2256, but the file was too big to upload to my free service, so here is the quick video intro clip here:

http://www.box.net/shared/rnuolyq9e3

And this is the full length audio portion of that movie here:

http://www.box.net/shared/ve0psk7bud

Played at conversation volume through my Mark III Boogie with slight breakup on the clean channel, a little meatier when the Lead channel is used. Pickups don't sound half bad, tell me what you think, Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch