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ebay purchase, feel a little misled

Brando_Beast

Brando_Beast

Jan 4, 2021
188
90
Tampa
#1
I bought an electric guitar on ebay.

When the instrument was delivered tonight, before I even opened the box, I realized it was so little and so light. Something seemed off.
Well yea I opened the box and it is a full scale neck but a kid's sized body. It looks very awkward. BTW I am 6'2 and a big bulky guy. It kinda feels like a toy in my hands.
I wondered if maybe the seller didn't know much about guitars ( IF they got stuff from storage units and estate sales)
but no, they seem to deal primarily in guitar accessories.

I would never demand the weight and dimensions to be posted. Yet, I feel very misled. I don't think it's a shortscale...but shouldn't the fact that it's a mini body been explained? Notated? Or something?!
 
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#4
I’ll risk being “that guy” and preface it by saying that I like and have owned a number of old, quirky Japanese guitars and basses from that era including currently 2 guitars and a bass. I can’t say if the seller should have listed the body dimensions but I can say that that’s just how a lot of the import instruments from that era are, a short(ish) to full scale neck, depending on the model, and a small body. The seller may have assumed that was a known factor or that you’d imply the body size from the pictures.
 
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#7
Having the benefit of being in the US, many/most of us have seen these in the flesh many, many times, often with price tags closer to $10-45. There’s nothing to disclose. They were considered total junk right up till a few years into “boomer” & “hipster” having become derogatory terms.

Yes, they’re compact & light. Put modern smooth turning tuners and fresh CTS pots in it and start a Canadien Surf Rock band.

If you want a standard electric guitar, get a Stratocaster, Telecaster, or Les Paul.
 
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#8
Brando_Beast said:
Vintage 60's MIJ Electric Guitar Prestige | eBay
Click to expand...
Yeah, echoing the others... that's just how they were made. I have an old Tiesco and the body is weirdly undersized. Pretty common especially for the low-end guitars sold at Sears, Montgomery Ward, etc.

They're from an era when there was no standard shapes for electric guitars -- and more importantly, it was an era before third parties realized they could legally swipe Fender's guitar designs, so everybody was coming up with their own shapes and colors.

I honestly like the shape of my Tiesco. Light and easy to handle. Then again I play it like a lap steel because, like a lot of other cheapo guitars, it has no truss rod and the neck's bowed forward so much that it's unplayable any other way. The pickups sound great, and that alone justifies its existence.
 
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#9
MattZilla said:
Having the benefit of being in the US, many/most of us have seen these in the flesh many, many times, often with price tags closer to $10-45. There’s nothing to disclose. They were considered total junk right up till a few years into “boomer” & “hipster” having become derogatory terms.

Yes, they’re compact & light. Put modern smooth turning tuners and fresh CTS pots in it and start a Canadien Surf Rock band.

If you want a standard electric guitar, get a Stratocaster, Telecaster, or Les Paul.
Click to expand...
Speaking of Canadian Surf bands...
images.jpeg

The Suffragettes (all over Youtube; huge touring schedule). And they've got great instruments.
 
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#10
Brando_Beast said:
I would never demand the weight and dimensions to be posted. Yet, I feel very misled. I don't think it's a shortscale...but shouldn't the fact that it's a mini body been explained? Notated? Or something?!
Click to expand...
At what point are you responsible for knowing what you're buying? The body looks small in the picture...you weren't mislead.
 
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#13
MattZilla said:
Having the benefit of being in the US, many/most of us have seen these in the flesh many, many times, often with price tags closer to $10-45. There’s nothing to disclose. They were considered total junk right up till a few years into “boomer” & “hipster” having become derogatory terms.

Yes, they’re compact & light. Put modern smooth turning tuners and fresh CTS pots in it and start a Canadien Surf Rock band.

If you want a standard electric guitar, get a Stratocaster, Telecaster, or Les Paul.
Click to expand...
“Canadien(sic)Surf Rock band”? The OP is listed as being in Tampa.
As far back as the 80’s, David Lindley was grabbing up old Tiesco and similar instruments, had them worked on, and played them live, plus a number of punk bands that I saw around then would use them, all of this in a kitch/ironic way. Long time music writer and current Vintage Guitar editor Dan Forte has performed/recorded as “Teisco Del Rey”, and Eastwood Guitars have put out a number of reissue models(albeit with improved construction), so the name doesn’t necessarily conjure up bad nightmares of the past. Some of the body designs were pretty space age rad, and DiPinto guitars, as used by modern day surf/instrumental band Los Straitjackets, have designs that harken back to them…
IMG_9220.jpeg







Brando_Beast said:
I bought an electric guitar on ebay.

When the instrument was delivered tonight, before I even opened the box, I realized it was so little and so light. Something seemed off.
Well yea I opened the box and it is a full scale neck but a kid's sized body. It looks very awkward. BTW I am 6'2 and a big bulky guy. It kinda feels like a toy in my hands.
I wondered if maybe the seller didn't know much about guitars ( IF they got stuff from storage units and estate sales)
but no, they seem to deal primarily in guitar accessories.

I would never demand the weight and dimensions to be posted. Yet, I feel very misled. I don't think it's a shortscale...but shouldn't the fact that it's a mini body been explained? Notated? Or something?!
Click to expand...
Yes, as others have stated, many of those bodies were smaller. Teisco wasn’t the only brand, but in the 60’s that level of quality filled in the gap for kids who wanted to jump on the electric guitar(and bass)craze, but still couldn’t afford Fender Musicmaster/Mustangs or Gibson Kalamazoos(or their parents weren’t about to spend too much money on this stupid fad). This should give you an overview:
Teisco - Wikipedia
 
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#17
MultiScaleMale said:
There was nothing misleading about the listing. It had numerous pictures and any issues would have been assumptions were made by yourself, not that the seller misrepresented anything. You can check the scale length by measuring from the nut to the twelfth fret and multiplying by two.
Click to expand...
Exactly......where is the "misleading" part?
 
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#18
Brando_Beast said:
....I would never demand the weight and dimensions to be posted. Yet, I feel very misled...
Click to expand...

I don't want to pile on, I think you have your answer(s)... but if you want the info about the size and weight - ask about the size and weight! I get it, it didn't even occur to you, but it's a little like buying a soft top jeep and then complaining the roof is made of fabric, that's just what these guitars are. And you got a cool one there, I have a sorta similar one and I think it sounds great.
 
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