Teisco / Teisco Del Rey

(By Jimmy Noise / June 2012)

In 1965 it was published in an advertisement that Teisco Del Rey was the largest solid body guitar producer in the word. Yet little is know about them. The Teisco guitar company is one of many that changed the path of two nations. In the USA it provided affordable guitars to the average person, that enabled them to develop there musical interest. The dream to become a rock’ in roll star was now possible to the average person. This changed the path of a nation and was the starting block for many people to start a music revolution. In Japan it helped rebuild an economy and provided a new industry for a country of people that were desperate for work. Hence changing the paths of two countries.

Currently there is a lack of information for Teisco collectors on the world wide web. There is really only one out dated dedicated web site, no books, and no dedicated online forums. Some of the information on the other web is true and some of it is very misleading, however is accepted as correct because there is a lack of information to start with. There are even vintage guitar magazine articles that have been published with wrong information. One of the purposes of the web site is to clarify what is fact and what is fiction, and try to fill in the gaps. Well the best they can be.

This web page aims to compile all the information for Teisco branded lap steels, electric guitars, basses and amplifiers. (ie Guitars that had the Teisco, World Teisco or Teisco Del Rey Logo.) Teisco made musical instruments for several other companies using the client’s own brand name.

A lot of the information on this site is from an extensive study of the Teisco models that started in 2005. Tens of thousands of photos have been collected, sorted and analysed to re-construct the history of the company. Changes in construction methods and hardware are compared to determine events that occurred in the history of the company. Serial numbers are also cross referenced with models numbers and catalogues, to provide an accurate dating method for guitars and basses.

The site has been based on the analysis and interpretation of the data collected. The interruption of the information can be viewed as objectives sometimes, but it is the most accurate to date. We try to be as accurate as possible. Other information has been provided by creditable and reliable sources, as well as interviews with people that were part of the Teisco history.

Should there be something that you view as being incorrect and can provide information / documentation to support your claim, we are happy to review it and update the appropriate section on the site.

We hope you enjoy the site and have some appreciation to the extensive efforts made to date. We know the site is still very incomplete and will take many more years to be fully developed to the extent that is has reached it full potential. However we felt that the last few years of work should be shared, rather waiting another two or three years until it is complete. Updates will be slow and generally unnoticed as there is so many pages that still require work.

Teisco Main Index

Teisco Company History

Teisco Guitar and Bass Models

Teisco Lap Steels Models

Teisco Amplifiers

The Teisco Organ – Synth Page – (External Link)

Teisco Accessories – Future Page

Teisco Catalogues and Sales Brochures – Future Page

Other Teisco Information

Help Rediscover Teisco

This is the part were we ask you to help contribute, so this website can be expand. You can find out more at the Help Re-Discover Teisco page.

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(Last Revised: 4^h Jan 2014)