Of all the “lawsuit era” Asian guitarmakers of the 1970s and ’80s, Greco is my favorite: They often struck the perfect mix of shamelessly forging the original guitars and cleverly improving on them.
I’ve rambled on about my appreciation for guitars and guitar parts made out of rosewood, but here’s a twist I never imagined: A rosewood hollowbody. The feel of the neck being equal, given the choice between this Greco Beatle Bass and a real Hofner formally owned by anyone other than Paul McCartney, I’ll take the Greco. Even if it’s kind of weird to see rosewood sanded, filled and finished instead of kept raw and wonderful.
Along similar lines, I’d take this short-scale Rickenbacker 325 knockoff over the real deal anyday — who knew that John Lennon’s guitar would look a lot cooler in white?
Last but certainly not least: If, like me, you yearn for a Gibson L-5CES acoustic archtop but don’t have nearly ten grand to buy one, may I suggest sir or madam look into a Greco copy, which sell for a tenth to two-tenths of the price?
