Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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sleepkid
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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by sleepkid » Wed Jan 18, 2017 2:27 pm

windmill wrote:This is currently on the Found Sound website

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Elk - Jaguar

Very rare circa 1966 ELK "Fender" Jaguar copy. Hand made by Mr Takahiro Saito with hand wound pickups - these guitars are highly sought after in Japan. Replacement neck.
Includes original hard case tremolo arm and bridge.

Someone has it on Layby for $AU999
As anyone who has read the first page on this knows, the guitars were not handmade by Mr. Saito, but he is the person who was responsible for getting their production set up - they were factory made even the early ones produced by Chaki - but once they had the initial models made and had worked it out, they were made from templates just like any other mass produced guitar. The course of factories runs Chaki - then Elk's own factory in Eifukucho - and finally when that burned down, bodies and necks made in Matsumoto but assembled in Eifukucho. Pickups were not handwound, but as I've noted previously wound by a company called Wakakura in Tokyo.

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joeyfivecents
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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by joeyfivecents » Sun May 28, 2017 12:01 pm

I now own the Elk Deluxe with the Mustang neck. Best playing/sounding guitar I've ever owned (and I've owned quite a few). I will never part with it. It has tons of Wabi Sabi (google it).

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Margus » Thu Sep 28, 2017 7:03 am

Hi, i just snatched this gorgeous Elk Deluxe body from eBay and put a Squier Mustang neck on it. Playes like a dream!
Thank you for this topic, found a lot of interesting information here! Based on that i assume it might be made 1968/69. What do you think?

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by debudavid » Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:03 am

Very nice Elk! I love what you have done with it. ;D

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Margus » Fri Sep 29, 2017 11:17 am

debudavid wrote:Very nice Elk! I love what you have done with it.
i haven't really done anything with it, except adding the neck. well, i lacquered the neck a bit more yellow to blend in with the old body.
The body is as i got it from ebay.

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Margus » Fri Sep 29, 2017 11:18 am

debudavid wrote:Very nice Elk! I love what you have done with it.
Oh! i just realised! Did i get it from YOU? :)

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by debudavid » Fri Sep 29, 2017 3:21 pm

Yes! :w00t:

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Margus » Sat Sep 30, 2017 4:37 am

debudavid wrote:Yes!
Hey! Thank You again!
It will be a nice addition to my lawsuit family: Fernandes Mustang and (probably) Greco Jazz Bass (i also bought a body only from ebay).
It will not only be decorating my wall, i'm gonna play and record with them all.

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by debudavid » Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:18 pm

Grecos are great. I had a few of them and one of my absolute favorites is a Greco strat copy. I think the world of it. And that Fernandes Mustang is fantastic!

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Margus » Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:22 am

I thought it would look even better with the matching headstock.
And it does :)

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by debudavid » Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:55 am

Excellent! Looks really good!

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Pynner » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:07 pm

Hey guys i have an old Elk eletric guitar that was in a fire and the neck got ruined! The body is still in good shape i was looking for a replacement neck! Can anyone point me in the right direction? Any help greatly appreciated!!!

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by lunarlupus » Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:14 am

Hi sleepkid,

I've just discovered your amazing story and it has set off a bit of an obsession.
I've seen one 'shrimp-tail' Elk Deluxe with a serial number in the 1700s, but i am curious as to roughly how many were produced within those first couple of years (starting in '65 ?) before they changed the headstock and other details. Would you happen to have a rough idea from your investigations ?

On a different but similar note, i recently purchased a vintage Jaguar clone which looks to be late 60s and also has a very Japanese vibe, but it's more of a 'copy' as it has a 'Fender Jaguar' sticker on the headstock and almost identical Jaguar tone/volume controls.
This particular guitar is made out of a single, hefty slab of what looks to be mahogany... although i'm not a timber expert.
It has three pickups instead of two and the scale length is more like a Jazzmaster, so whoever made it copied some details very accurately but changed others. Pickguard is made from a laminex-type material (very 60s) , which is printed 'Hitterlite' , on the back.
There are no markings on the outside of the guitar which indicate a particular maker. There is a ' 4-D' stamped into the neck cavity and some 'Z' markings scratched into the plastic on the pick-up covers. The pickup covers look like they were moulded by hand as they're all very slightly different.

If you are interested in seeing some photos, i would be very grateful if you are able to shed any light on this bizarre guitar's provinance.
Please let me know.
Thanks very much !

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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by Ceylon » Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:21 am

lunarlupus wrote:
Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:14 am
On a different but similar note, i recently purchased a vintage Jaguar clone which looks to be late 60s and also has a very Japanese vibe, but it's more of a 'copy' as it has a 'Fender Jaguar' sticker on the headstock and almost identical Jaguar tone/volume controls.
This particular guitar is made out of a single, hefty slab of what looks to be mahogany... although i'm not a timber expert.
It has three pickups instead of two and the scale length is more like a Jazzmaster, so whoever made it copied some details very accurately but changed others. Pickguard is made from a laminex-type material (very 60s) , which is printed 'Hitterlite' , on the back.
There are no markings on the outside of the guitar which indicate a particular maker. There is a ' 4-D' stamped into the neck cavity and some 'Z' markings scratched into the plastic on the pick-up covers. The pickup covers look like they were moulded by hand as they're all very slightly different.
There's a decent chance that what you have might be a "Serviceman" guitar, based on how you describe it and the fake logo. They were built by hand in small workshops based on how Fender guitars looked in pictures and marketed towards American and allied servicemen during the war. Most of them are not regarded as being very good guitars, but interesting curiosities with a sort of fascinating history to them.

It's also not impossible that you could have something entirely different that has been retrofitted with a logo though. This thread might not be the place, but I for one would love to see some pics.
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Re: Elk Guitars: A History (1960s Japanese guitars)

Post by lunarlupus » Sat Apr 07, 2018 2:05 am

hi Ceylon,
thanks for your info and interest.
i'm very new to this. it's the first time i've joined any site for a chat, so i wasn't aware that it might not be the place to share photos of similar / related subjects.
If you can recommend a place where i can post some pics to attempt to find out more about this guitar, i'd be grateful.
Thank you.

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