10 replies to this topic

[HarmonicaJim]

Hi everyone! For my first post here, I'm begging you some help ;-)

I bought an old guitar a couple weeks ago while I was doing a trip in the US (I'm Canadian). The seller told me it was made in the seventies (late I guess). There is no brand name on the guitar only a model number (G 235). Doing an Internet search it led my to a Yamaha Classical guitar, but as you can see on the picture, it doen't really make sense. It's a cheap guitar, made in japan and I didn't paid that much for. Since the strings are a bit high, I use it only for slide.

So here are some pictures :



Thank you!!

[dadfad]

First, welcome to GTU.

Are those fret-marker blocks painted on or "mother-of-toilet-seat" (as the material is lovingly called!). In all likelihood it's an oriental guitar, possibly a Kay or a Harmony. There were also a lot of less well-known names but were virtually identical to the Kay or Harmony because they were made by the same manufacturer and then sold to other companies generically who used their own stencil or decal logo. I can't tell from the pic, but if the saddle has height-adjuster knobs, it makes it slightly more possible that it's an Aria. (Again, sort of a generic but Aria often requested they have adjusters (which isn't that common on a non-archtop acoustic) as well as a "zero-fret" (tiny fret-space between the nut and the first true fret).

Look inside and you might find more information like a sticker or even hand-written piece of information on the neck-block or end/tail block.

[HarmonicaJim]

Thank you for your information dadfad!

The fret-marker blocks are made of "mother-of-toilet-seat" or something else but it's definetly not painted on the fret board. I can also tell you that the saddle has height-adjuster knobs but no "zero-fret". I've also looked inside and found nothing but fur balls and dry weed! (I guess I've found a real country guitar) ;-) By looking at the head of the guitar, I can see that it probably ever sported a decal logo of a shape like this, according to the glue mark :

______
\ ......../
.\ ___/

So does it still point to an Aria model?

[Zaphod-B]

The only thing I found online was this auction

http://cgi.cafr.ebay...3QQcmdZViewItem

The only other things I could find related to that Yamaha you mentioned.

I'm sure someone here will know something

[HarmonicaJim]

The only thing I found online was this auction

http://cgi.cafr.ebay...3QQcmdZViewItem

The only other things I could find related to that Yamaha you mentioned.

I'm sure someone here will know something

Thank you Zaphod-B! The guitar you've found looks like mine when I bought her, all dusty and lovely worn out!!

[dadfad]

That does look just like Jim's picture. I think you've found it, Zaphod.

[Guitars85]

I have owned this exact same guitar for many years and never knew what it was. I bought it a flea market for $20 and have it hanging on my wall for decaration as it does not play well at all.

I decided to try to look it up and came across this post. This is the only thing about this guitar that I was able to find. Did anyone ever figure out what it was?

[dadfad]

I have owned this exact same guitar for many years and never knew what it was. I bought it a flea market for $20 and have it hanging on my wall for decoration as it does not play well at all.

I decided to try to look it up and came across this post. This is the only thing about this guitar that I was able to find. Did anyone ever figure out what it was?

Welcome to GuitarZone. This post is a couple of years old, but when it was current I did a little more searching on it. The guitar above was built in the late 60s to early 70s. It was probably labelled "Checkmate" although it was possibly labelled "Teisco" or (less likely) "Silvertone." The actual maker of the guitar was Teisco, a Japanese budget-guitar maker who made their own line Teisco (Checkmate was one of their brands) as well as guitars made and labelled for other seller-companies (for example Silvertone, Vantage (I think) and a few other labels as well.

It's not very valuable. (Maybe $50-$75 if you're very lucky and it's in nice shape.) But they were known for being pretty loud. Most have neck-issues ("Steel Re-Inforced Neck" on a label was just their euphemism for saying "This guitar doesn't have an adjustible truss-rod running through the neck into the neck/body-block like more expensive guitars do." )

However, they generally do have a lot of projection. I don't know what styles you play, but this guitar might be a good one for playing open-tuned slide (like old blues) where fingering the strings is less important and usually done near the nut, and having very high action is actually considered a good thing for slide-work. I have lots of guitars (some cheap and some extremely valuable) and if I'd seen it at a flea-market for twenty bucks I might have bought it myself!

So keep it. Tune it to DADF#AD or DGDGBD and get a slide!

And, again, welcome to GuitarZone.

[guitarboro]

I just purchased a Del Rey auditorium size folk guitar, model G235. Made by Teisco. It's got a truss rod cover and pearloid block inlays. The sound hole actually has binding all around it, so I'm unable to tell if it's a solid top construction. The back and sides are a dark wood, like mahogany.

 

The serial number inside reads 690228, so it could have a birthday of Feb. 28, 1969. The inside label reads Del Rey Classic Guitar, though it is not classical style.

 

 

Edited by guitarboro, 26 August 2013 - 10:08 PM.

[guitarstrings23]

I have been trying to learn how to play guitar lately, but I am struggling to master the basics. I can play C and G with no issue, but F is kicking my a**. The majority of the advanced chords are really hurting my fingers. Does anyone have some tips?

[Nealio]

I have been trying to learn how to play guitar lately, but I am struggling to master the basics. I can play C and G with no issue, but F is kicking my a**. The majority of the advanced chords are really hurting my fingers. Does anyone have some tips?

Hi and welcome to GZ

 

First of all, you should make a new thread, rather than posting in an existing one. Secondly, there's no need to type in such a big font.

 

As for your question, you just need to keep practicing I'm afraid. There's no easy route to learning guitar. You say you can play C and G. That's a good start. I'd try mastering other chords before advancing onto F, Such as D, Em, A, E and Am. These are much easier to get the hang of, and will allow you to play songs in 3 different keys. Once you get these down, you could try learning F again.