Teisco Del Ray ET-460 K4L | A Luthiers Teardown

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

We apologise about the poor focus on Ben's main camera, but isn't it great to see him in the studio again?

[@robraaiii]

Sure is. Ben, happily making sawdust, just makes me happy.

[@stephenhursey1506]

It's great to to see Ben back and I hope the trip to the bell manufacture has given you some inspiration for your next guitar

[@monsirto]

Tis, hope you are not working him too hard.

[@nicholas3139]

cooool! i saw a pic of james iha forever ago & wondered what weird pointy guitar he was playing- now i know! thanky!!

[@restojon1]

Point of possible interest on the finish, given the time that this was manufactured, Polychromatic paint finishes were pretty popular. These paint finishes were used extensively on motorcycles manufactured in Britain and this was the era where Japan were in the early stages of taking over the motorcycle market and starting to make a large dent in the car and van sectors. To do this, they did "copy" certain things either for ease of manufacturing or to provide an element of familiarity to ensure sales, early paint and chrome was an example of this. The method of applying Polychromatic paint was to apply your primer as normal but, then you apply a base coat which carries a metallic flake. Usually this base coat was either silver, or, as in this case, a blue/silver metallic and then you apply a coloured clear coat over the top, in this case red. This then hardens and you rub it back to a glass smooth surface (finishing with 2000 paper then down through the compounds). When done properly it leads to a beautifully deep finish that really shows off angles and lines and just comes to life on a sunny day. As you may be able to tell, I was a motorcycle restoration engineer and I'm desperate to use this technique on a build 😂

[@PaulCooksStuff]

From vague recollection, EBMM do have a trademark on 4+2 but it's USA only.

[@mdshack6371]

You're back baby. Good to see and hear you. Glad you're on the mend.

[@antonrandle4146]

Great to have you back, if a little unfocused-welcome to my world!!! Great to hear chat about knobs and switches. Likes scratch plates they can make or break how a guitar looks.

[@AnimalJohn85]

Hell yeah! Ben's back with a teardown!!! :) Good to see you doin well sir

[@TbonePlummer]

Hey Ben, great to see you fella!! Take care of yourself!

[@markmilligan8773]

What an amazing and interesting guitar. I am so bored seeing strat/gibson and strat/gibson variants by other companies. this is why i love your builds and those pushing the boats out in the GGBO. Would love to see more of these buy why put it out to raffle surely this is the epitome of the type of thing you need in the museum. but some lucky punters is getting that (although probably their fifth win on the daily guitar draw LOL)

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

It is great to see Ben back! ❤ Especially with some cool vintage Japanese mojo 🔥

[@jonrickard4762]

Great to see you back Ben. I like seeing you crown and polish frets too so don't give up on that side of things.

[@danlsmock]

Really nice to see some vintage guitars and a little of the history. Your looking great Ben and it's nice to see you back. Started watching you a few years back and you are the reason I knew I could build a guitar. I have now built several electric and acoustics that have been influenced by you and many of your techniques. Chin up, Cheerio, Carry on!

[@jamescorvett]

Im in the process of building a guitar. and this is similar switching that i had in mind, and this really helped my sort everything out. Thanks for sharing it Ben !!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Glad I could help!

[@kevinwilliams4899]

Great to see you back Ben. Do I detect a renewed spring in your enthusiasm for your art.

[@jimmytree1936]

Good to see you back Ben! I have a cool Teisco 440 tobacco sunburst - very light and plays really well. Would love to get my hands on an EV 3T (60's) model, you know the type, they rock the "so ugly they're beautiful" vibe. MIght be some inspiration for you.

[@wiltshiredoug9959]

Welcome back Ben. Cool guitar too

[@Eeklex]

Zero fret and no string trees or retainer. Now that's a design!

[@creationinspired200]

I love the luthier teardowns ❤

[@joesguitarshow]

pretty sure I owned this. I recognise the damage on the side of the body. Also the tremolo arm is non original. I kept a 90s reissue version of the same guitar. They pretty much sound identical but the reissues have a glossier finish to the neck and the wiring is slightly more modern which makes them a little easier to play. Some people prefer the bare wood feel of the older ones though. Spectrum 5's were likewise reissued leading for instance to the sought after transparent acrylic versions. The pick-guard would have originally been striped on this model but has faded over time.

[@jameskinkead2456]

The pickguard didn't fade and can't. It's bead blasted or anodized aluminum. The earliest ones had the plain pickguard, no rotary switch and a different bridge. This is a Transitional model that came next, around early 1967.

[@twinborn6028]

I just picked one of these up. Mine is a little different. Your turnable knob for the solo rhythm bass on my Teisco is just a 3 way switch. There's a lot of little differences in these guitars in pictures online.

[@ROLEPLAYA64]

Have you ever had the urge to build a modern high end quality version of one of these crazy guitars? (I love the colour, headstock and the switching)

[@mattomon1045]

Ben great to see you

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

You can definitely see the Mosrite influences on this….Semi Mosley was apprenticed at the Rickenbacker factory where he learnt the German Carve from Roger Rossmeisl

[@Bluesky5553]

I had a multi pickup Teisco (in blue metallic) very similar to this in high school that I played in the jazz/stage band. It was a very capable and good sounding guitar through a Fender twin. I wish I had it back

[@troytempest290]

Ahhh my favourite ink-headed ray of sunshine is back..! Looking good fella 👍

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

beginning to feel better. Thanks.

[@troytempest290]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Ben, take things slow & easy buddy-don’t rush it.

[@U014B]

The number of sounds (not counting the tone knob) is 48: 2 for each pickup and 3 tone switch settings makes 2⁴ × 3.

[@thomasrobertson4213]

45 sounds surely…. 15 pickup combos (not including everything off as that makes no-sound) x 3 tone switch settings?

[@MHSDankusPotatus]

I've wired up one of my guitars with two humbuckers with 3 6 way rotary switches. It's glorious and mind numbing 216 combinations I believe

[@MHSDankusPotatus]

Gorgeous guitar.

[@Shaqsonville]

I don't know why but I bloody love '60s Tesco string retainers

[@davidwellings2783]

Welcome back Mr C…! 🥰🥰🍷🍷🎸🎸☕️☕️

[@graemesimkins-ce6fs]

I have a Teisco Top Twenty that I'm about to restore. Apparently Woolworths used to sell them!!

[@ianthomson9363]

I have a Top Twenty/Audition guitar- 2 pickups only, but it even still has its trem arm and bridge cover! It's the same model as Robert Smith of The Cure used. The condition is extremely good for a guitar that's almost half a century old. It plays well, no fret wear and sounds ok though nothing special. It's also about half the thickness of a Les Paul and therefore very light- good if you're an oldie like me!

[@BLBlackDragon]

That's a nice bit of kit. Make models or molds of all the bits, so you can replicate them in the future.

[@PeteGostelow]

Some of the best pickups you can get for slide guitar. Love Teiscos & Guyatones.

[@jameskinkead2456]

That's a Candy Apple finish, probably sprayed over gold or silver mayb5e with some Pearl. Their earlier color finishes were Pearlescent,. Many people don't realize that and think they're metallic but you'll never get a match unless you use Pearl pigment. I have one like this, same color. Excellent guitar.

[@groovedodger]

Interesting I have a semi acoustic Teisco EP11T with 2 of the same pickups ,roller bridge , switch and knobs all the same but different bigsby style trem and fantastic tuners with a flower design on it has a super skinny neck and plays great.The tone on mine I thought was wired backwards also but after watching this maybe thats how they did it in 60's Japan ?

[@Disco-Terry]

I really like the shape of the headstock.

[@briancroft5601]

This is great. I have one of these in Silvertone livery, mine is the sunburst finish. It's a very odd guitar for sure.

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

I’d describe that colour as “Root Beer”

[@nevada150]

Ben, see if you can get hold of a Fenton Weill Triple Master!

[@Xarthis]

Do the pickups work as humbuckers if you turn them on in pairs?

[@RobCrawford23]

When I saw the foundry video I immediately thought of the Ibanez Geiger SHRG1Z (the Iceman version wasn't as nice) plus custom knobs and switch tips.

[@mikejones420]

Cool guitar Ben, not sure if Ernie Ball's patent would have been in effect for the Japanese market, maybe American, and European markets, not really sure, or the guitar pre-dates the 4 over 2 tuning keys design patent

[@reegspreems]

I have one just like this in my teisco collection.

[@peachmelba1000]

Yes EB "owns" the 4+2 configuration of any headstock, which is preposterous imo, since no one can do the same with 3+3 or 6 in line. I think, if challenged at some point, or if the way in which the 4+2 functions can be cleverly modified by a luthier, it could be nullified. They put the same headstock on every guitar they make, which leads to some odd looking pairings. They make great stuff, but I disagree that they should be able to dictate tuning machine layout like that in the guitar industry.

[@wilgarcia1]

nice =)

[@DeeveOnYT]

Always cool to see part-by-part review. Next - something Russian?

[@esalehtismaki]

Electrolytic capacitors are the ones that don't age well. The ones used in guitars should be fine. Magnets in pickups get weaker though. That really just makes them sound better, but they can be remagnetized too. That is a beauty. Japanese guitars are so interesting.

[@SimonWillig]

Reviewing an electric guitar with music played with an arab ud. Nice touch 😊

[@tamarmolerick3814]

It's a toss up who made the coolest guitars; the Japanese of the Italians. Either way the weirdness is a breath of fresh air in a world full of Gibson's and Fenders. Talking weird some of the Soviet era guitars were pretty bonkers.

[@donbishop6994]

45 total tonal options.

[@amduck]

yo i'm building a sharkfin right now :)

[@whiletr]

Burnout and procrastination are the same conditions. There is nothing bad in it. They both means that all of your options are almost equal and you just can't choose which one to perform.

[@halvach1998]

Not as cool as a Guyatone LG-150T, but does arouse the inner Hound-dog Taylor

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

Damn….imagine that body shape and headstock with a set of EMGs and a Kahler? Yes please!

[@BoojayDeeth]

It's a shame you didn't go deeper into how the guitar sounds being played (and with a bit of gain). It's not hard to mic up a speaker. This is often lacking in your videos.

[@mabba1013]

I had one of these as a kid. It was black and a piece of junk comapred to this one.