However, according to the company founder, Mr. The original name of the company was Aoi Onpa Kenkyujo, which can be loosely translated to Hollyhock Soundwave or Electricity Laboratories.īy 1956 the name was changed to Nippon Onpa Kogyo Company, then in 1964 it was changed to Teisco, which most sources explain is an acronym for Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company. Kaneko teamed up with electrical engineer, Doryu Matsuda. He also played the “Spanish” style guitar. Teisco, was a Japanese Company that was founded in 1946 by a Hawaiian guitarist named Atsuwo Kaneko. It was a fad, but many companies saw it as a bull guitar market and rushed in to make money. I cannot describe the incredible demand for guitars and basses after the British Invasion.

These guitars were normally sold by brokers, who usually re-branded them or had them rebadged them prior to shipment, then sold them to music stores, department stores, and even pawn shops. Although there was no metal name plate on the headstock, by it’s pedigree, I can tell it was made by Teisco at a time when the United States and the United Kingdom were being flooded with cheap electric guitars made in Japan. He owned a grocery store, and took it in as pawn from a customer that could not pay their bill. I retro-fitted one of them onto my 1937 National Duolian acoustic for when I want to kick it into electric from acoustic.I have an old guitar that my Dad gave me back in 1965. (I have several old Teisco pickups I salvaged from an old broken Teisco. Personally, I like the old Teisco crappy-pickups because at hi-volumes they have a very 'dirty' and 'nasty' sound which I really like, especially for slide guitar.

It's never going to be worth a fortune like an old Gibson or Fender, however if you find a person 'into' those kinds of guitars (which often includes vintage Kays, vintage Danelectros, vintage Corts, etc) it could be worth several hundred or even more (depending on condition, decoration, features, etc). If it's in nice condition and plays well, I would treat it like a decent guitar (because it probably is). The more fancy and the more gadgetry on them, the more collectible they are.

Teiscos are starting to become collectible. 'cheap' quality back then was often a better quality than what's considered 'better' nowadays. Teisco guitars were cheap Oriental knock-offs back in their day.

Value of teisco del rey guitar