1978 Greco Les Paul

DeeTee

Anyone know much about these? There's one in my area that is really tempting me, but I don't know what to look out for. I was under the impression that they really nailed the Gibson copies in the early eighties, and the late seventies were a bit hit and miss. Am I completely wrong there? What should I check before purchase?

prowla

Some say that Greco caused the so-called lawsuit because their guitars were better than the originals.

I've never played one, but I might one day.

Strangefan

You're totally right, the 80s were a great era for Greco, but the early 70s saw multi piece bodies with bolt on necks, however 78 was realy the start of the real quality Greco copies, 

Jez6345789

They certainly produced some good guitars the 80’s were their golden era all I have played have been solid Japanese les Paul’s 
if you go for the Super Real series and the like then they really are pushing up close to the best of the best but if it’s local I would go give it a try.

brooom

Having owned some Super Real era (79-82) EGF-850 and EGF-1200s Grecos as well as multiple Mint Collection era guitars (82-91). I would definitely say that in general I find them all consistently good. Even the lower end ones can be amazing. Occasionally you might find some that are not so good, but in my experience, it's mostly due to setup issues.

Contrary to popular belief, they are not all heavy, you can find some pretty light weight ones. I have some Greco Mint collections Les Pauls on the 8.3lb to 8.6lbs mark. Which I find it a pretty decent les paul weight.

Guitars previous to 1979 can also be quite decent, but they fall under the period where Greco was getting closer and closer to copying 50/60s american guitars. So some of the details on the construction might be a bit off.

If the guitar is good (and you can try it), then it might still be worth going for it.

DeeTee

I can try it, but my biggest concern is that I don't really know what I'm looking out for. I have read that this was the era when they were changing around their construction, so some are sort of hollow, and some are pancake. Anyone know what the visual cues might be for this sort of thing?

Arktik83

A pancake body should be a dead giveaway unless it's a solid colour because you'll see a big seam running through the middle of the body on the sides and not the back.  They weren't that bothered about trying to cover up the fact they were using multi-piece bodies back then.

A hollow guitar would be really light I'd say, just because it isn't a boat anchor doesn't mean it's been hollowed but IMO you should be able to tell the difference.

The main like "wow factor" would be the pickups probably, I remember someone saying that the "Dry Z" I think they're called with grey pickup wiring are meant to be the holy grail of Japanese pickups.  I had a Greco custom that was pretty heavy but was a quality instrument.  Good luck!

historyisjunk

I'm no expert on this & I hope others will agree that though there's information out there it's often hard to be certain about details & features on these. IMO the 70's ones can be great & usually a bit cheaper.

This site might help, especially the catalogues- https://japtone.com/en/chapter-iii-history-greco-the-les-paul-era/

If it's from 1978 I'd guess it will be an EG??? model, They sometimes still have an oval foil label on the back of the head with the model number on it- obviously these can be moved though.

I'd guess it will have a slimmer neck than a 50's replica, if it's one of the better ones it will probably have the doweled neck joint which goes into the rhythm pickup cavity & then is reinforced with a couple of dowels in line with the neck. You might even be able to see this if it has uncovered pickups. Higher models  will also have fret edge binding, though that might be gone after a refret.

AFAIK even better ones can have laminated tops.  The neck inlays can vary a bit, some look very white & have little pattern on them, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a cheaper model! I've seen pics of an EG800 with inlays like this.

It might have a bigger Nashville size bridge, but probably just on the threaded rod mountings right into the wood like a 50's replica rather than the type that screw into bushings like a modern Epiphone.

Neck joint pic here- https://www.sharpenedflat.com/vintage-guitar/Greco-EG-800-0279

Definitely worth checking it out

Funkfingers

@HarrySeven is the man to ask. 

DeeTee

If you're interested, the Reverb listing has a bit more info: https://reverb.com/item/24059274-greco-single-cutaway-black

historyisjunk

It looks like my old EG700, but in a lot better condition & possibly different pickups. Looks like it's got the fret end binding.

Also like the bridge might have been put back on the wrong way round (actually looking at the other picture it's probably OK). I'd go & check it out...

(Edit re the bridge)

skikdi53

If you are looking for a jap Les paul, I have a nice and light weight Burny with VH1 PU, fret edge binding..
http://imgur.com/gallery/199RPwa

jumping@shadows

I absolutely love vintage Greco’s, and have one of their top production Les Paul EGF1200 models on the way now- all pre CNC hand made, superb timbers including BRW fretboard, big fat neck and the remarkable DRY-Z PAF pickups, and purportedly only about 800 made..