Tuesday 29 March 2011

Marchis Telecaster Thinline. . . . . .

Yes. . . . . I know I said I was going to do the Jaydee Twin Neck
but I am very close to being able to have some input from it's
original owner, so I thought just for a change, I would do one
of the guitars.
I took these images some time ago, as at the time, I was trying to
track down a tone knob and a tuner ferrule, which I now have.
Thanks Jon!
That aside, I pick this up from time to time, as it's really nice to play
and has some very sweet tones.







Notes from Jon:

Marchis then. I've come across references to the brand a couple of
times but I'm fairly sure yours is the first one I've actually seen.
A bit of Googling doesn't pin the brand down to a country - there
are Marchis owners in the US & Ireland.
As far as the guitar itself is concerned, a rifle through a few online
catalogues finds versions of the Thinline very similar to yours in
Ibanez catalogues between 1973-75, Greco from 73 through to the
80s, and Aria Pro from 1977.
Clearly both Fujigen & Matsumoku built them, most of them have
differences & peculiarities, mostly in neck construction that yours doesn't.
The early catalogues show them with head-end adjustment & truss rod
covers, both the big chrome type & the small white arrowhead style
common at the time.
Later versions are aesthetically more accurate and feature variously bullet
adjusters, skunk stripe/head end plugs and one-piece necks, but the only
one I've found which appears to have a similar neck to yours is from a
1974 Greco catalogue:



If you can get pics of other bits (TRC, tuners, pots, back of pups etc) that
might confirm this - or indicate that it was from one of the other 20-or-so
factories which we don't have a comprehensive catalogue archive for!

A "Something different" instrument - can't say I have ever seen another.
I will post up some images with the ferrule and tone knob in place, at
some point in the future.

One of my Westone Rail basses, one of my Roadsters, one of my Arias
and one of my Peaveys, have found new homes, all with happy owners.
What goes round. . . . . . . . :)

I am managing to separate some of my twins, as I now feel it's time to let
some of them go, so it's not a huge wrench, as I still have one of the twin.

Anyway, enough of ones that have gone, hopefully I will be back next
time with the Jaydee.

Cheers. :)

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