1978 Greco SE-500PR

The 1979 Specials Catalogues from Kanda Shokai had some real anomalies to catch out the experts 40 years later. The SE-450 with a 3 way switch (450 and 700 models were both modern 5 way switches to keep up with Fender's introduction of this in 1977) is next to a bright red SE-500 with a tortoiseshell plate on the page, called the SE-500PR. This was the first time a red Greco Strat could be ordered. If you ook up a YouTube video of Peter Frampton playing Show me the Way on the Midnight Special in late 1975, you can see him playing a red Strat with a tortoiseshell plate. This 500PR is a total copy of that guitar. Should it have been a 500PF? Typo in the catalogues?  A popular opinion is that he was playing a Fiesta Red 62, a more contentious opinion is that it is a Fernandes model - forget that, there were none of these MIJ Strats in hallowed hands until a lot later in that decade.

The PU-100 pick-ups are the evolution of the infamous Maxons from the early 70s - still slightly fatter dimensions to the Fender pick-ups. The 100 units had a little more power than the earlier versions, and the airy brightness does remind us of the Texas Specials - after all both of them are modelled on early 1960s tones with a bit more oomph. A little winding down of the tone pots will calm the brightness without losing the volume.

The neck is a very familiar C profile - not the super skinny JV style that most associate with Fujigen produced Fenders. This feels a lot more like the early Squiers from Japan - the ones that are always 'keepers'. At 3.67kg, it is a comfortable weight.

The condition of this guitar is amazing - we have changed the pots to premium Alphas to avoid having to drill the plate to accommodate them. A Sozo capacitor gets that warmth from the tone roll-off without the dullness.

Everything else on this SE-500PR is original and it will add a rarity to a collection, or just serve as a really good everyday guitar - perfect to gig with. Even better if you are a Frampton tribute act and have a TalkBox. If you have a triple humbucker Les Paul because of Frampton, you ought to have this too.