You can find more information to help you identify your guitar using serial numbers, badges, headstock styles etc. In the '60s and '70s Teisco guitars were imported into the states with a variety of names including Heit, Kent, Kimberly, Kingston, Silvertone, Teisco and Teisco Del Rey. was providing Teiscos to Sears and Roebuck carrying the Silvertone moniker." If you are interested in learning more about Teisco history, Michael has two Vintage Guitar articles on the web.
Corporation -originally owned by guitar importing pioneer Jack Westheimer - bearing both the Teisco Del Rey and Kingston brand names. Most Teisco guitars were imported into the United States by Chicago’s W.M.I. Teisco was the name used mainly in Japan but also on a few occasions here in the United States. According to Michael Wright, Teisco guitars can be found bearing at least eight brand names:"Teisco, Teisco Del Rey, Kingston, World Teisco, Silvertone, Kent, Kimberly and Heit Deluxe. Silvertone and Teisco are linked because Teisco supplied the guitars to Sears and Roebuck in the 60's. Actually, if we dug deep enough into the holdings of corporate America everything is probably related, but I guess that's another story.Ĭan you explain why people always say Silvertone and Teisco in the same breath? Interestingly, Vox products are currently distributed in the U.S. In 1985, Unicord was purchased by Korg and the Univox line went extinct. My hunch is both companies used Vox in their name because it is an acronym for voice. Guitars followed in 1969, and almost all Univox guitars were supplied by Arai and company of Japan.
#TEISCO DEL REY HISTORY SERIES#
The Univox name surfaced when the company Unicord purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America (ACA) in Westbury, NY in 1964 and marketed a series of tube amps under the name Univox. Vox is an English company started in 1957. Historically they have been separate companies but currently there is an interesting connection between the two. I don't want them out where they can get bumped.
Having said that, I've got to admit that the L5 and a couple of my more expensive instruments live in their cases. I've got a mixture of wall hangers (see our pics) and 7 slot guitar stands (another auction site purchase)so that I can grab one of 20 guitars anytime I want to play. Why buy them if it's such a hassle to get them out of the case to play you won't bother. By using the dehumidifier, I'm keeping the relative humidity between 50-55% As far as "in cases" versus "out of cases", I like to keep at least 15 guitars handy to play at all times. Try to keep the humidity level between 40-60% I purchased a digital temperature/humidity gauge off an auction site for around $25 so I can constantly monitor the humidity level in the studio. I like using the basement for storage since there is no sunlight and the temperature is pretty stable year round.
I have a studio in my basement but I am currently running a dehumidifier. I think humidity, temperature and sunlight are the 3 biggest issues. What's the best way to store vintage guitars?
#TEISCO DEL REY HISTORY MANUAL#
It appears that it was likely purchased along with a vintage Checkmate amplifier, as there was a manual for that amp with all the other stuff.The questions and answers below were selected from forums and E-Mails. The Teisco is in a pretty amazing condition overall for a 50-55 year old guitar of this type. Signed, but unfortunately not dated, original warranty card, and a bunch of old guitar lesson booklets. It's beat to hell, but it's almost certainly been with this guitar since day one, and was also stuffed with some interesting things from WAAAY back, including it's three page one-fold, 8 1/2 x 11 'owner's manual'. It cost me too much, of course, but that seldom stopped me before, so here it is.Īs I was buying it, one of the store guys said that it also had a 'cardboard case', and went somewhere in back to retrieve it. It is a mid-late 1960's Teisco Del Rey model ET-312 Deluxe triple-pickup solidbody. Well, to make a short story even shorter, I bought it. I waltzed into our local music store late this morning to see if I could find a soundhole pickup for that goofy little black cowboy guitar of mine, when I spotted this old thing on their wall.