There's something unique about early '70s Greco guitars. These instruments are not quite the wacky and wonderful Japanese guitars of the 1960s but also not really the high-attention to detail Japanese builds of the late 1970s and 1980s either, and that's what makes them truly special!
The EG480 is an intermediate Les Paul style guitar made by Greco in Japan. Featuring two classic humbucker pickups made by Maxon and a rather beautiful Cherry Sunburst finish paired alongside a couple of quirky features such as a laminated body, bolt on neck, and a shallow headstock angle (some would say this is a good feature in minimising headstock breaks!). When you add all this up together you get a vintage electric guitar with a tonne of vibe and retro charm, really a perfect example of early 1970s era Japanese guitars.
This particular example has neck pickup embossed with the Greco logo (which is quite rare!) and has had its original bridge pickup replaced by another Maxon pickup from 1976 and sounds truly wonderful. Overall the instrument is fairly good condition and you can tell it had been played and loved during its time. There are some marks and noticeable chips out of the finish (particularly on the upper bout near the pickup selector switch, and can be seen in some detailed photos) as well as on the headstock, all very much expected from a guitar from the mid-70s. The binding on the bass-side of the neck also has noticeable cracking, but has been glued and stabilised by us here at Replay Guitars and isn't bothersome when playing. Some binding is also missing on the bottom of the fingerboard near the neck pickup, as can be seen in photos. On the scales the instrument weighs in at 4.0kgs on the dot.
Overall a really great Les Paul style guitar from the Japanese guitar building legends, Greco!
