NGD : Pat's old Greco Super JG700 Jaguar

[ohm-men]

I still can't believe it, but I scored Pat's old Vintage White 1980 Greco Super JG700 Jaguar.
Spotted it by mere accident in the for sale section, I couldn't get it out of my head
Hit the big 5 last week and I have been saving up for a nice guitar... So it was now or never....

I just LOVE oddball's and this Greco defenitly tic's all the boxes...
Pretty rare guitars and the blueprint for the MIJ revival of Offsets in Japan in the mid 80's...

I always wanted a vintage Olympic White Offset... Passed a refin Oly 1963 Jaguar 20 years ago, a 1964 refin Oly Jazzmaster some 5 years ago as I just couldn't justify the amounth of money back then.
But I just could not pass this Greco!

43 years old, honnest wear, nice worn finish, matching headstock.....
Plays and sounds superb...
A BIG thank you to Pat for the super smooth deal, have to say I never bought a guitar like this unseen, but this one turned out better then I could ever imagine!

Even though, most sources mention a 7.25" radius for these guitars, this one defenitly has a 9.5" radius...
Pretty sure the neck is factory stock and untouched, but when compared to my Jazzmaster's 7.25" neck, the curve of the fretboard of the Greco is flatter.
The neck profile on these Greco's is described as a soft V, but It suits me just fine.

[MattK]

So much goodness. I was very tempted but had only recently bought my 80s Fender Japan Jag, probably came from the same jigs and templates. “Super” indeed.

[GilmourD]

What a fantastic score! I was drooling over that when it came up for sale!

[antisymmetric]

Wow. How could you resist that? I have sufficient guitars/ insufficient cashflow at the moment, but that might have made me throw rationality out the window.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

Good to see you back here, Jerry. Congratulations on your NGD and Big Five-Oh.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

What a beauty!
That‘s just the right tone of aged Olympic White I‘d be after for either a Jag or a Jazzmaster.

[skeletonsmith]

Looks awesome. I REALLY dig the Tort they were using back then. Nice and Red, like it should be, imo.

[ohm-men]

So much goodness. I was very tempted but had only recently bought my 80s Fender Japan Jag, probably came from the same jigs and templates. “Super” indeed.

It is, There is a side to side clip on youtube of a 1980 Greco and a 1986 MIJ Fender Jaguar and they are very close to eachother. One of the reasons I really wanted the Greco.

The Greco is very close to a Vintage Fender, the Pick ups sound very close and not anyting as the 90's Fender MIJ pu's, as is the trem, although all metric instead of imperial like MIJ/CIJ Fenders.

I gotta say I love the Sen Ash body, makes this thing growl. I'm used to Alder Jag's, and just as with Jazzmaster, the Ash seams to have an inpact on the sound.

[ohm-men]

Wow. How could you resist that? I have sufficient guitars/ insufficient cashflow at the moment, but that might have made me throw rationality out the window.

I feel you... I gotta thin the heard now as well....
But Pat's OSG friendly price was right up my alley, I can't thank him enough!!!

[ainm]

Ah, it’s wonderful! That neck looks particularly fantastic. Congrats!

[ainm]

Ah, it’s wonderful! That neck looks particularly fantastic. Congrats!

In fact, can we see it from the back and side?

[MechaBulletBill]

i don't think i'll ever stop thinking about this cool guitar

[Pacafeliz]

I'm so happy you're happy... and that it has found a good home!

...mow, had i known about the Radius thing, i might have enjoyed playing it more... oh well

Cheers, thanks for the smooth deal too
(lemme know when you're in town, the beers will be on me!)

[ohm-men]

Ah, it’s wonderful! That neck looks particularly fantastic. Congrats!

In fact, can we see it from the back and side?

Sure, you can. Neck is being described as a "Soft V" but to me it is more a "C" with less broad shoulder.
But I get why it is referd to as "Soft V". Compared to Vintage Jag, Ri or Japanese, the Greco shoulders are definitely smaller.
A Fender "C" has some more "meat" at the sides, where the Greco has not. This is more noticeble at the heel. I read somewhere that this was done as these guitars were intended for the Japanese market, due to the smaller hands of the Japanese . Not sure if this is based on any truth or just a rumor...

I have played "V necks" in the past (On 50's RI strat's) , which had a noticeble line in the center of the back of the neck. The Greco does not have this, so there is no real "V" but the shape is perhaps a bit simelar, but there is no "V" line at all. (Hope this makes sense...)

[ohm-men]

So, I replaced the bridge with 9.5" Mustang aftermarket bridge I had in my stash and was also able to remove the Buzz Stop.
The new bridge also has much deeper grooves in the saddles, that keep the strings in place. So a bonus. Put the old bridge on a project JM, so all good.
I was a bit dissapointed as in Pat's add, it was described that the Buzz Stop came from Johnny and it should have "F*ck You Pat" written on the back, but this was not the case... , calling for a refund now!!!

9.5" bridge improved the playbility a lot. Still a little string buzz, but better then before.
I'm gonna take it to luthier to have it checked over. I think it needs some fret dressing and perhaps some truss rod adjustion and a good set up.
But nothing unexpected for a 43 year old instrument. There is some fret wear on the first 7 frets especially under the D and G strings, so this needs to be addressed.