Yep, more Guyatones .....
If you're getting tired of Guyatones maybe turn the page but me, I'll NEVER get tired of them so I'm going to keep posting blogs about them. Hopefully you dig them as much as I do.
The LG-250T joined the Guyatone line up in 1967 along with the 125T and 150T amopng many others. It was a boom time in Japan and manufacturers like Guyatone were introducing several new guitars every few months at different price points trying to capitalise on this market.
A lot of Guyatones in '67 were Mosrite inspired. If not in shape, in features and "feel". Mosrites were huge in Japan and the Ventures were as influential as the Beatles when it came to music and music sales.
While the 250 is not very Mosrite in shape it does have the German carve which were big on this period Guyatones. The thin neck and zero fret are also very Mosrite as are the small dot markers on a rosewood fretboard.
Early versions of the 250 came in both this three a side elongated headstock as most 150's had and also the six a side stretched out headstock that most 125's had although the three a side is more common and all later models had the three a side which is one of my favourite headstock designs ever.
The 250 has a thicker body than the 125 and 150 and feels more .. substantial, to play. It's still a laminated body like all Guyatones of this era but these 250's are a big body and the extra thickness adds quite a lot of mass to the equation.
The neck is still the very thin late sixties/early seventies Guyatone affair and I love them. They are as shallow as some mid sixties Mosrites but slightly wider making them feel "flatter" than a Mosrite. They're easy to play and feel great, even after playing for long periods. The Guyatone 127T's feel thick in comparison. These necks are always straight and play great and the fretwork is great, especially for a mid level players guitar.
The pickups are one of my favourites in these Guyatone P-90 style. I have these in a few models and they always impress me with their output and frequency response. Lots of shimmer with great mids.
The vibrato on these is the same as the LG-350T which was a much more expensive model and is based aesthetically on a Mosrite shape. While this model was cheaper than the amazing 350T at was 25,000 yen as apposed to 17,000 and 12,000 yen for the 150 and 125 respectively.
It's a great vibrato mechanically based heavily on the Fender offset unit but much more solid and softer to use. It has a great smooth feel and the bridge is a more advanced version of the simple bridges used on cheaper Guyatone models. All the vibrato models from the 125 up had roller saddles and all work really well.
The electronics are simple master volume and tone with a standard three way toggle pickup selector. This one is all original and everything works well. The knobs are the same units on the 350 and are essentially a copy of the early sixties Mosrite "spun" knobs.
These later ones had the great tuners as used on all of these Teisco Gen Gakki made guitars of the period like Excetro and Honey guitars. I love the look of them and they always work well, even after all these years. These ones are tight but fully functional and stay in tune perfectly.
All in all these feel like a more expensive version of the 125T with a thicker, heavier body and as I've said, these Guyatone P-90's are excellent pickups. The German carve on these is nicer than the cheaper Guyatones, especially the LG-50T, which were just a simple carve around the edge to give it a Mosrite feel.
