I like to think I have some unique idiosyncrasies that sort of make me weird, and others that I probably share with lots of people. For instance, are you into coats? I have a ton of coats for some odd reason, and I really can’t explain why I enjoy interesting jackets, parkas, vests, and raincoats. In addition to a lot of coats and guitars, I also have a lot of sneakers. I totally dig sneakers and am always on the lookout for retro designs and fascinating colors. I have a pair of Vans for every holiday and occasion. But sadly, as I age, Vans are not friendly to my aching feet. (Seriously, my feet hurt!) I already had rather huge feet but now I think they’re getting wider with age, and I have to be careful when picking out shoes. Aging is for the birds!So the behavior pattern that I was examining within myself came down to the appeal of variety. Whether it was shoes, coats, or guitars, I liked variety, as well as weird and retro and odd. The variety totally spans my interests, and with guitars I think it manifests in my appreciation of rare colors and palettes. Think about guitar finishes for a moment. What are the really popular colors? I think of bursts, reds, blacks, and blues. Now think about rarer colors. Here I think of greens, yellows, and oranges. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed greens. Whether sparkles or bursts, green finishes have always been my jam. I think my second-favorite old guitar finishes were the yellows and off-whites. The old Gibson TV yellow (to appear white on black and white television) and the Fender butterscotch finishes are cool. And the off-white, smoke-stained colors are just super.And here is where I land this month. A wonderfully worn, yellowed example of a Teisco TG-64. I love this guitar and still own it today. Yellow was a rare color for any old Japanese electric and today’s exhibit looks like it’s been clawed by a rambunctious cat, exposing the darker undercoat. Maybe the original finish was whiter? Either way, this one features a very rare finish for the time and place.“Many of these old guitars add a unique brush or color to your creative instincts.”The TG-64 guitars were introduced (you guessed it) in 1964 and seemed to hang around into ’65, with slight variations such as emblems and pickguard materials. This model has the body cutout (often referred to as a “monkey grip”) and the square pole-piece pickups that were the successors to the older gold-foil pickups that Teisco was using. There is plenty of hype over gold-foil pickups, and rightly so, but these square jobbers are almost as good, and some might even say better. When I studied coil windings on Teisco pickups, I noticed that the amount of wire lessened over time, resulting in less aggressive tones. It was probably a way to save money but as a result, not all Teisco guitars sound alike, even among the exact same models.I’ve owned two of these TG-64 guitars and both sounded different. They both needed extreme fretboard/neck work and refrets, but once you get these guitars dialed in, there are a multitude of sounds. Anywhere from grind to mellow, from thin to thick, these are not simple guitars. They borrow from Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar electronics that offer some preset tones with the flick of a switch. The mini-switches are an acquired taste, but the tremolo units do work fine and overall, the guitar balances nicely. It makes me wonder if the body hole was there for balance or just to be different. I’d like to think the latter, but who knows?What I really love about mine is how it handles fuzz and overdrive. When clean, my TG sounds a bit thin and lacking sustain. But with a clean boost or some dirt, it shines. In fact, a good clean boost can totally bring an old import guitar from below average to above average. I seem to mention this in one form or another every month: Many of these old guitars add a unique brush or color to your creative instincts. There’s a song in every guitar—and maybe in coats and sneakers, too!
Read more at Premier Guitar
