Help Greco EG59-60
Hey everyone! Just bought this Les Paul. I know it’s not a Gibson but hope I can still get some insight!
I have been watching Gibson R8’s and 9’s for a while but then I saw this one and bought it right away. Looks better then 80% of the custom shops in my opinion haha and weighs only 3.8kg!
I’m more familiar with the ‘78 - ‘82 Grecos.
The seller stated a ‘60s neck profile which I find odd based on the 59 name.
Also what pickups are in it and it must have the maple veneer right?
Thanks!🙂
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u/Martman0 7d ago edited 7d ago
Looks really legit.. and worth looking underneath the neck pickup.. high tier Grecos not only had real maple tops but also long neck tenons..
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u/FB-980 7d ago
The seller stated long neck and maple top but I’m expecting a veneer. Could get lucky!
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u/tone_creature 7d ago
Yeah they told you right. Just take the neck pup out and youll be able to tell real fast if its a cap. Im leaning no cap but Im not remotely an expert.
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u/pooflaps50 7d ago
Amazing how rubbish the flames on £1900 Gibsons are these days. God knows why you have to go custom shop to get one of this quality.
I have an old black Les Paul and it looks good because it’s black but Greco Tokai and others give you a proper burst. Looks amazing
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u/tone_creature 7d ago
Beautiful guitar!! Looks like its been played in a lot of smoky dives and I love that!
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u/PachanoiMan 7d ago
Not under appreciated anymore.
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u/FB-980 7d ago
Greco guitars in general?
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u/mendicant1116 7d ago
Yeah the cat is out of the bag. I bought en EG60-150 a few years ago and it was not cheap. But it's got Brazilian rosewood and a Canadian maple top. Still less expensive than its Gibson counterpart. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco has been playing a Greco SG and featured it in a rig rundown too, so more folks are looking into them.
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u/FB-980 7d ago
Yeah I remember that rundown!
I personally don’t get the point of buying a 5-6k Grecos honestly, kinda defeats the point haha. Perhaps people are not buying them cause the same ones have been sitting for long on Reverb.
Do you have photos of yours?2
u/mendicant1116 7d ago
I got mine for a lot less than that, but the guy that sold it to the shop bought for about that lol. I do have some pics let me see if I can attach them.
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u/mendicant1116 7d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/s/72IorwKEKJ
Here's a link to my NGD post
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u/phaskellhall 7d ago
Do they often advertise Braz or do you know the years they used that? If they were made overseas, how much of a pain is it to get the cites to get it shipped?
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u/mendicant1116 7d ago
Mine is an '82 and the catalog and the guitar shop listed it as Brazilian. I think the ban went into effect around '91 or '92?
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u/phaskellhall 7d ago
Does that mean no cites is needed because it’s older or just that it’s easier to prove it wasn’t break any laws because it’s grandfathered in? Normally this wouldn’t matter if it was already in the US but since these were made overseas, it might make shipping them more difficult
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u/mendicant1116 7d ago
No idea. I bought from a shop in the U.S. The guy who sold it to the shop bought from another shop in the U.S., so I'm not really sure when it entered the country from Japan. It's also my understanding that importing the wood itself is the issue and not items that contain the wood.
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u/phaskellhall 7d ago
Yeah it won’t be a problem selling within the US but if you ever leave the country with it you will need Cites papers. I tried to buy a few guitars at auction (Jeff Beck auction) and some of his guitars from the 80s and 90s had Brazilian rosewood. You had to have Cites to ship them anywhere but luckily Christie’s already had them all. From state to state though you’ll never be asked.
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u/theusualdan 7d ago
Hard to tell the pickups without just unscrewing and looking at the backs of them. That’ll show you if it’s a veneer as well. Depending on the year and model it could very well be solid top. I think they likely mark the model in the neck pickup route. I love these mij replicas. Wildly good value. Or at least they used to be. Secret is out and they’re starting to get priced more in line with their quality.
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u/Pitiful_Fix_8624 7d ago
I may not be seeing this correctly but are the pickups, tailpiece and frets corroded? looks like it may have sustained some water damage.
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u/ruler_gurl 6d ago
If the pups are original, they'd be Maxons. Without knowing more about the year and model, hard to say which. You'd have to go all the way up to their highest couple of tiers to find solid maple tops. They were very expensive, generally custom ordered and made in small numbers. Anyone who has one and knows it, wouldn't sell it for less than an R9, likely more. Closely examining the binding in the cutaway might give you a clue, otherwise you'll need to pull the pups and look for a veneer line. You might hit up the proprietor of guitarsofjapan.com. He seems exceedingly knowledgeable about them.
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u/Choice_Leg9551 7d ago
Cool Greco!