In an age of rampant globalization, brand names have become virtually independent of place of manufacture. Few people care where something is built, as long as the quality and price are right. But that wasn’t always so.
Time was, where a guitar was built made all the difference in the world. Like in 1963, when this Teisco Model SD-4L was made in Japan. And in the minds of the Americans for whom this guitar was created, that meant it was cheap and… well, junk – an attitude with roots in the ashes of World War II. But was it really that bad?
Lutes came to Japan from the West as early as the fifth century A.D. and thrived in the form of the biwa. Spanish guitars were latecomers, arriving with Europeans and Americans by the 1890s, though they were in Hawaii substantially before that. Guitars found a ready audience in Japan, and by the 1930s, domestic manufacturing had begun, and a few trading companies, such as Hoshino Gakki Ten (Ibanez), even engaged in regional exporting. War put an end to guitarmaking, but by as early as 1946, the Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist Atwso Kaneko and electrical engineer Doryu Matsuda had teamed up to form Aoi Onpa Kenkyujo in Tokyo to make Teisco-branded guitars.
Teisco guitars from the ’50s were primarily electric and largely inspired by Gibson guitars. These included solidbodies, hollowbodies, and Hawaiian laps, plus small tube amplifiers. Many, particularly the solidbodies, were relatively diminutive Les-Paul-styled and so forth. And a few, particularly the jazz boxes, were spectacular works of art. These were primarily produced for the domestic Japanese market, so they rarely turn up in the U.S.
In ’56, the company’s name was changed to Nippon Onpa Kogyo Co., Ltd. Then, in ’59, a young American businessman from Chicago named Jack Westheimer started a company called Westheimer Sales, and set up to import musical instruments from Japan including Pearl drums and Kingston acoustic guitars. In late ’59 or early ’60, sensing a sufficient improvement in quality, Westheimer added Teisco electrics to his arsenal, and guitars made in Japan – including Teisco – entered the American lexicon.
As Teisco began to export instruments to the U.S., its guitars stopped emulating Gibson and acquired a more Fender-like offset-double-cutaway look, the style popular in America in the early ’60s. Between 1961 and ’66, Teisco entered a rather remarkable period of innovative ideas, producing guitars with fancy switching systems, new vibrato designs, cool finishes, and in around ’65, built-in amps after transistorized technology took hold. In ’64, the company name changed once again to Teisco Co., Ltd. Around that same time, Westheimer began calling his Japanese imports Teisco Del Rey, with a new logo and more Spanish-sounding cachet. Also circa ’64, another Chicago company, called Weiss Musical Instruments (better known as W.M.I.), run by Sil Weindling, Barry Hornstein, and Sid Weiss, also began to import Teisco Del Reys from Teisco. Even though the brand was Westheimer’s, he didn’t bother to object, and in ’65 sold Westheimer Sales to one of those stamp redemption outfits popular at the time called King Korn Stamp Company. He and Teisco parted ways, leaving the brand to W.M.I.
All of which is background for this classic ’63 Teisco SD-4L (serial number 39.7.21) imported by Westheimer Sales. Loosely speaking, it’s a Jazzmaster shape, though it’s a pretty radical take! The SD-4L was introduced in 1962 in a slightly plainer version. Its chromed, hollow “bubble” pickguard is reminiscent of early Valco Supro electrics, while the rectangular edge inlays were probably inspired by Gretsch’s “thumbnails” and would become a Teisco trademark. This version has a more primitive vibrato with three springs and hinged cover; a year later, the SD-4Ls would have a nifty new “platform” vibrato unlike anything ever seen.
Other than its bizarro profile, the SD-4L’s other immediately noticeable cosmetic feature is the finish. Instead of paint or varnish, this guitar is faced in walnut-grained “mother of formica” vinyl (over a black-painted laminate body)! Its look alone should make you salivate!
Probably taking a cue from the Italians, who were in fact the true competitors of Japanese manufacturers in 1963, the SD-4L (L indicating vibrato) sported four single-coil pickups. Like contemporary Fenders, the thumbwheels adjusted volume and tone. Four of the rocker switches are on/off for each pickup, while the two switches between are for phase reversal and a “Solo” bypass of the Tone control. Everything you need to play “Walk, Don’t Run,” or, for that matter, “Louie, Louie” or “I Want To Hold Your Hand!” This particular example was found with its original hardshell case and original strap.
So, the question remains, “Was this Japanese guitar cheap junk?” Inexpensive for sure. But hardly junk. The neck retains a thicker, ’50s-style profile and isn’t adjustable – a demerit to be sure. Japanese wiring in the ’60s was often delicate and components such as pots were less than sturdy by American standards. And if you judge pickup quality by contemporary Gibson humbuckers or Fender single-coils, these units won’t make the grade. They’re closer to the DeArmonds found on Kays, perhaps somewhat more “microphonic.” Nevertheless, they give a clear, chiming, and surprisingly loud sound with a character all their own. Like most Japanese guitars of this era, the problem was that they were never well set up; once you take the time to adjust the action, they can play very nicely. Remove the prejudice of their place of manufacture, and compare them to the guitars they were competing with, and they stand up extremely well. You might prefer an SG or a Jaguar, but those guitars will never capture the garagey shimmer of a Teisco!
Teisco’s guitarmaking operations were purchased by the Kawai company, makers of pianos and guitars, in January of 1967, though they appear to have stayed relatively independent until the end of the decade. W.M.I. purchased the Kay name in ’69, and over the next few years, Teiscos gave way to imported Kays, increasingly sourced from Korea. Many later Teiscos have their appeal – May Queens and Spectrums – but guitars like this SD-4L reflect a time when almost anything was possible… and proudly proclaim they were “Made in Japan.”
This article originally appeared in VG‘s June 2009 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
