Today we pretty much take it for granted that if you want aninexpensive guitar, you're going to buy one made in Korea, Taiwan,Mexico, Indonesia, China, maybe even India. And you have to admitthat, for the price, what we get is pretty darned good. In fact,these days, where a product is made is almost irrelevant to theconsumer. We're in a global economy; McLuhan's global villageinstantaneously connected with e-mail.
I recently bought a CORT strat copy guitar, looks kinda like Eric Clapton's blackie guitar, the pick-ups have turned a yellowish color because of age, I'm thinking it's early 80's if I'm correct. The serial number on back of headstock says 'wo. 21284' made in korea.
Serial number is WO- followed by a five-digit number. Country of manufacture sticker is gone, and I can't find any other marks or stamps anywhere. The headstock just says Cort ELECTRIC GUITAR, and is Cort-shaped, not Fender-shaped. The neck is one-piece maple with rosewood skunk stripe, giant 50's V-profile, 2 1/8 heel, sealed tuners.
Dating Guild Instruments made in Tacoma, Washington after February 2005 FMIC began building Guild guitars in Tacoma, Washington in early 2005. Tacoma made Guild guitars have a serial num- ber consisting of two letters and six digits. As an example, we’ll use a random number: TJ 037 016. Cortez Guitars Serial Number Lookup shurll.com/7hi53.
Now, youngsters, take note. This wasn't always the case. Indeed,from the middle of the 19th Century until the 1960s, inexpensiveguitars were the province of American mass manufacturers with namessuch as Haynes, Lyon & Healy, Regal, Stewart, Oscar Schmidt,Harmony, Stromberg-Voisinet, Kay, Valco, and the United GuitarCompany. How did we arrive at our current state of affairs, and whois responsible?
'How' is a long, interesting discussion that covers most of thelast century or two and that we'll have some other time. 'Who' is alittle easier. While there may have been a handful of intrepidpioneers who began developing international guitar manufacturing,it's no exaggeration to say that no one has had a bigger impact onthe globalization of guitars than Mr. Jack Westheimer - one of thepioneers of global guitarmaking. Among the brands associated withhis activities are Kingston, Teisco, Teisco Del Rey, Silvertone,Emperador, Cortez, and Cort, not to mention a host of othermonikers that have graced guitars coming from the Cort factory.Even if you haven't played one of these guitars, there's a goodchance that if you've ever played a decent-quality beginner import,you've played a guitar associated with Westheimer.
In fact, Westheimer was one of the earliest (and mostinfluential) importers to cultivate Japanese manufacturing in theyears surrounding 1960. And it was Westheimer who, along with folkslike Jerry Freed and Tommy Moore, brought Korea to the point wheretoday more than half of all guitars made in the world come fromthat Asian peninsula.
VG recently had the pleasure of a number of longconversations with Westheimer, and we'd like to share some of whatwe learned, and use the opportunity to document the brand he'scurrently most associated with - Cort. Some of what you are aboutto read will correct previous misinformation that has beenperpetuated here and by other sources.
Lucky Accident
Westheimer didn't set out to get into the music business. It waskind of an accident. He went to college in the early 1950s and upongraduation went to work for World Wide Sporting Goods, Chicago, acompany involved in the import/export trade. Shortly thereafter,Uncle Sam came knocking, and Westheimer was drafted into the Navy,where he served from 1955 to '57. Following his hitch, he returnedto the gig at World Wide. However, this career path was not to be.In 1958 the firm was sold to Lionel, the electric train outfit, andJack was given his walking papers.
About a month and a half later, his old boss, Bill Barnet, wasalso given the boot, and he contacted Jack about going intobusiness. That sounded fine to Jack, and they became partners inwhat would soon become Westheimer Sales Company. The only problemwas they hadn't really figured out what business to go into.It was about that time that Harry Belafonte and Caribbean musicwere coming on strong, so in a way you can say that Belafonte wasindirectly responsible for the avalanche of Japanese guitars thatwas about to begin.. Belafonte, whose most memorable tune wasprobably 'Day-O,' was tangentially associated with the burgeoningfolk revival gaining an audience in the late '50s. The popularityof Belafonte, coupled, no doubt, with the somewhat related'beatnik' craze (poetry, dark sunglasses, coffee houses, andguitars), caused a surge in demand for bongo drums. Jack and hisformer boss decided to start a business importing hand-tunablebongos made by Pearl in Japan.
Into Guitars
Fender Guitar Serial Number
The budding bongo boom quickly expanded into importing drum kitsmade by Pearl. This, of course, put Jack in the right place at theright time. It became immediately apparent that a guitar boom waslooming, and he had excellent connections in Japan. The problem wasthat Japanese guitars were fairly primitive at the time (rememberAria?). Recall that Shiro Arai brought over some higher-qualityJapanese acoustics in the early '60s, only to have them explodewhen subjected to winter heating systems due to inadequateseasoning of the timbers.
In any case, around 1959 Westheimer began to see enoughimprovement in Japanese guitar quality he thought the time right tobegin importing. To assure quality, he took an approach that wouldlater be used successfully by some other importers. He offered theguitarmakers more money if they'd improve the quality. Westheimerimposed what's known as the 80/80 quality test, a litmus test basedon Sears-Roebuck quality standards. This meant that guitars had tosurvive 80 percent humidity at 80o Fahrenheit for three to fourdays. Westheimer introduced the concept of a truss rod to Japaneseguitarmakers. And ca. 1959, Westheimer Sales began importingKingston acoustic guitars (made by the Terada Trading Company) fromJapan.
Westheimer was not the first to import guitars from Japan, butwas certainly the first significant player in this new enterprise.Westheimer recalls that some of the earliest Japanese guitars wereimported by a Mr. Rose, who specialized in selling to pawn shops.Also, the St. George brand had begun before his Kingston brand.Marco Polo is another brand that got going at about this same time,certainly importing Japanese-made guitars by 1960, if not earlier.Buegeleisen and Jacobson, the big New York distributor had openedits Kent subsidiary in early 1960, but at first its focus was onmicrophones and guitar accessories, coming to guitars a year or solater.
Most early Kingston acoustics were humble beginner guitars,which was their intent. Few reference materials are currentlyavailable regarding these early Kingstons, so no detailedaccounting is possible at this time. Westheimer recalls that theywere very similar to Harmony's Stella line, with which, of course,they were competing.
A sneak peek is provided by an undated (probably '64) Imperialcatalog. Imperial was a Chicago-area accordion manufacturer thatgot into guitars in ca. '63, first selling Italian-made guitars,but quickly adding Japanese models to its rather eclectic line.Shown in this catalog (along with a Galanti Grand Prix, an Italianguitar imported by Frank Galanti, another Chicago accordionmanufacturer) was a Teisco SD-4L (Imperial SW4), obtained fromWestheimer, plus a guitar, mandolin, and two ukes with the Kingstonbrand. The guitar was the 3/4-sized Model S503 Student Guitar,clearly inspired by a Stella. This had a mahogany-shaded finishwith fake flame 'graining,' white pickguard, simple adjustablebridge, and stamped trapeze tailipiece. The mandolin was aflat-backed pear shape. The Model No. 16 Ukulele was made ofhardwood, stained brown (with the fake flame), and a plasticfingerboard. The Model B6 Baritone Uke actually bore the Exoticabrand name, but was also a Kingston and was similar to the No.16.
One innovation Westheimer introduced to his Japanese makers wasthe use of a steel T-bar for reinforcing necks. In the past therewas a lingering perception that many Japanese acoustics from the'60s had bolt-on necks. In reality, most had glued-in necks. Itwas, as far as we know, the American Kay company that beganemploying bolt-on necks for some of its acoustic models in theearly 1960s (so did Valco, but they were never a major factor inacoustics). In any case, the Kingstons were successful from thebeginning, fuelling the growing demand for acoustic guitars as thefolk revival gained steam amongst maturing babyboomers.
Westheimer and the SG
Microsoft windows 8 download reinstall. One of the more amusing anecdotes Westheimer relates is hisconnection to the Gibson SG. As he tells the story, there was aGibson employee named Walter DeMarr who retired in around 1960, atage 70 or so, and moved from Kalamazoo to Chicago. Westheimer metDeMarr and hired him to do some consulting work. Westheimer waslooking for a new shape for electric guitars. DeMarr, as it turnsout, was in possession of a prototype for a new Gibson guitar withdouble cutaways, pointed horns, and a bolt-on neck. Gibson, never abolt-neck kind of company, didn't know how to produce the guitar.DeMarr used the basic shape of the prototype to sketch out a newdesign for Westheimer with more rounded horns. Jack took thisdesign to Kawai whose Hanshu plant proceeded to produce theKingston A2 or S2 (two pickups) and A1 or S1 (one pickup) guitarsand the AB1 shortscale bass which were introduced in 1960. Thesewere produced in both a three-and-three or a six-in-line headstockversions. They had mahogany bodies and a metal pickguard that heldthe pickups under the strings. Pickups were the chunkychrome-covered single-coil kind with angled corners. There was anadjustable bridge (not compensated) and a covered stop-tailpiece.The Kingston S1 was featured in the previously mentioned Imperialcatalog, as was a three-pickup version of same.
In very late 1960, Gibson's first SG-shaped Les Pauls wereintroduced, glued neck versions of the DeMarr prototype. So in afunny kind of way, the SG was more or less simultaneously launchedin both Gibson and Kingston versions!
Teisco Electrics
In late '59 or early '60, Westheimer also began to import Teiscoelectric guitars made by Teisco in Japan. These earliest Teiscoswere plain Teisco-brand (not Teisco del Rey). Teisco was founded in'46 by Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist Atswo Kaneko and electricalengineer Doryu Matsuda. Teisco was the brand name put on domesticinstruments and the company was called Aoi Onpa Kenkyujo (roughlytranslated: Hollyhock Soundwave or Electricity Laboratories). EarlyTeiscos included Spanish guitars, lapsteels, and amps, the guitarsfrequently reflecting the influence of Gibson. In '56, the companychanged its name to Nippon Onpa Kogyo Co., Ltd., althoughinstruments continued to be called Teisco.
By the end of the '50s Teisco had clearly become interested inexporting guitars to the U.S. They apparently sold some to theaforementioned Mr. Rose. In any case, through his connections withPearl and the Japanese music industry Westheimer hooked up withthem and began to bring in Teiscos. By this time Teisco had begunto make the transition from its Gibson influences to a moreFender-esque styling, approaching the Jazzmaster shape.Westheimer's Teisco imports also met with success, and were soonoutstripping acoustics in sales.
Westheimer Sales invested a lot of engineering expertise intothe development of Teisco guitars and by the mid '60s their qualityhad grown by leaps and bounds. A number of key events converged in'64. For one thing, the company that made Teiscos changed its nameagain to Teisco Co., Ltd. Also, Westheimer changed the name of theTeisco guitars he was importing to Teisco del Rey, the brand mostcommonly seen. And finally, the Beatles arrived and the mad rushfrom acoustic guitars to solidbody electrics got underway. Thusbegan the golden age of Teisco de Rey guitars. But not necessarilyfor Jack Westheimer..
Weiss Musical Instruments (W.M.I.)
The primary area of confusion surrounding the Teisco story andJack Westheimer comes at this point and involves the complicationof W.M.I., best known as the importer of Teisco del Rey guitars.The confusion is easy to understand because you have guitars comingfrom the Teisco factory carrying both the Teisco and Teisco de Reybrand names, and because the two importing companies involved areWestheimer Sales and W.M.I., which many of us have assumed stoodfor 'Westheimer Musical Instruments.' Not so. Let's sort this thingout, once and for all.
As we've discussed, Westheimer Sales did, indeed, pioneer theimporting of Teisco guitars made by the Teisco factory in Japan.And Westheimer did, indeed, coin the Teisco del Rey name ca. '64.However, in '65 events transpired that separated Westheimer fromthe Teisco connection.
First of all, the success of Beatlemania and the BritishInvasion, plus the American folk rock response, collided with thefirst babyboomers pouring into their teen years to create a hugedemand for guitars. All sorts of companies saw gold in them thar'hills, and started snarfing up guitar-related companies. CBS boughtFender. Baldwin bought Burns, then Gretsch. Seeburg bought Kay,then Valco bought Kay. Norlin bought Gibson. Even Westheimer's newcompetitor, Strum & Drum, was begun by the Sackheim family,which had cashed out of a nuts-and-bolts business and went intoguitars.
In fact, even Westheimer Sales was caught in the acquisitionweb. Barnet, Westheimer's partner, was interested in leaving theChicago area for his hometown down near St. Louis and anopportunity arose for him to purchase a Volkswagen agency. AsWestheimer recalls, Volkswagen franchises were goldmines in thosedays, requiring a minimal sales force because people were puttingdown deposits and waiting for their cars to arrive. WestheimerSales had caught the eye of one of the big trading stamp companies,King Korn. This was that long-lost era when you got trading stampsat the grocery store or when you bought gas, you pasted them intolittle books, and when the books were full you could redeem themfor stupid merchandise (S&H Green Stamps was probablybest-known). Anyhow, King Korn purchased Westheimer Sales, withWestheimer installed as president and Barnet off to southernIllinois to sell VW bugs.
Another pair of fellows who also set their sights on sellingguitars at this time were Sil Weindling and Barry Hornstein. Bothhad been involved with Hornstein Photo, a large Chicago-areamulti-location wholesale and retail photography business owned byHornstein's father, Al. In any case, Hornstein Photo was purchasedby another company and Weindling and Barry Hornstein foundthemselves flush with cash and looking for a new business venture.Weindling and Hornstein hooked up with an employee of JackWestheimer's named Sid Weiss. Weiss' specialty was importing cellosfrom Germany, but he convinced Weindling and Hornstein that he hadthe Japanese connections to mount a guitar-importing operation. Hewas recruited as the front man, and in '65, Weiss MusicalInstruments (W.M.I.) was born.
Immediately thereafter, W.M.I. began importing Teisco del Reyguitars purchased from Teisco. Westheimer could have objected tothe use of his brand name, but the advent of W.M.I. coincided withincreasing supply problems with Teisco; i.e., Teisco was unable tosupply sufficient quantities for Westheimer's needs. Westheimerbasically let the Teisco del Rey brand name go, allowing W.M.I. tomarket them.
According to Westheimer in an interview conducted with Dan Forte(a.k.a. Teisco Del Rey, just to keep you on your toes) in GuitarPlayer magazine, Westheimer and company's concern were workingon improving the quality of the instruments. The forte of W.M.I.was flash design and marketing. The fancier Teiscos with thestriped metal pickguards and colorful finishes generally date fromthe later 1960s and were done in conjunction with W.M.I., notWestheimer.
Back at W.M.I. it quickly became apparent to Weindling andHornstein that Weiss' expertise was, alas, in German cellos, notJapanese electric guitars, and he was in over his head. Not longafter W.M.I. was formed, Weiss left the company, leaving Weindlingand Hornstein in control of the business until they sold it in1980.
Weindling and Hornstein continued to import and market Teiscodel Rey guitars until around '72. But in '68 the guitar boom camecrashing down, and demand was finally satisfied. A number ofJapanese companies went out of business. In the U.S., Valco-Kaywent belly up, marking the end of America's dominance of budgetguitar manufacturing. In August '69, the Valco/Kay assets wereauctioned off and W.M.I. purchased the rights to the Kay brandname. W.M.I. began to slowly transition Teisco del Rey guitars tothe Kay brand name, which gave them greater credibility withdealers. This change was completed by around '73 and the Teisco delRey name then disappeared. This explains why you will occasionallysee a Teisco guitar with a Kay logo.
Be that as it may, this should now clear up the confusion thathas hitherto surrounded Westheimer Sales Corporation, W.M.I., andthe Teisco and Teisco del Rey brand names.
Several years ago Westheimer regained the rights to the Teiscodel Rey name, though it is currently not in use.
Kingston
After the handoff of the Teisco del Rey brand to W.M.I.,Westheimer refocused his energies on the Kingston brand name, whichhe began to apply to acoustics and electrics in '65. Again, fewreference materials are available, so any detailed accounting ofKingston guitars is impossible, but the majority of the electricKingstons were probably sourced from Kawai, a piano company thatbegan making guitars around '56, getting into solidbody electricsin the early '60s, like everyone else.
By '65, when Westheimer began working with them and not Teisco,Kawai was using distinctive, fairly large, chunky single-coilpickups on its electrics. Some early units were chrome-covered withangled corners. Others had chrome sides, a black plastic insert,and round, flat polepieces. The Kingston logo came in a number offorms, including as stenciled block letters, a small oval decalparallel to the nut, in a molded plastic piece of script, andsometimes molded plastic script superimposed over a kind ofcrown-and-shield design. Not enough is known to draw any datingconclusions from these logos.
It's not known how much of the Kawai electric line came here asKingstons, but both small-bodied Jazzmaster-style and inwardlypointing Burns-style double-cutaway solidbodies have been sighted.All were Kawais.
The small Fender-style guitars had an extended upper horn withthe lower cutaway sloping backward, sort of like a FenderJazzmaster. This was probably a version of the Kawai S-160. All wesighted had the sort of truncated Strat-style headstock featured onKawais (and Kingstons) at the time. The fingerboards were boundwith dot inlays. Several Kawai configurations exist, includingversions with chrome control housings above and below the stringsand with a matte-finished aluminum pickguard, both with a pair thechrome pickups with angled corners. One Kingston version, probablyfrom around '65, had on/off rocker switches and a coveredstop-tailpiece. Another has been seen with sliding on/off switcheson the treble side and a typical Japanese Jazzmaster-style vibrato.Kawai also made three and four-pickup models; you may find Kingstonversions of these, as well.
Other Burns-style Kingston models have been seen, also withdirect Kawai analogs. These were basically Kawai's SD series, withinward-turning pointed offset double cutaways, bolt-on necks, boundfingerboards, plastic mini-block (really elongated oval) inlays,and covered vibratos. One Kingston model was a version of a '65Kawai SD-4W with four of the chrome-with-angles pickups mounted ona matte aluminum pickguard. On/off switches were paired rockersabove the strings. The headstock was a deeply hooked Fender-stylewith a little scalloped piece of metal under the tuner collars. Alittle chrome plate sat under the strings. Controls were fourvolumes and a master tone. Two other models have been seen, theseprobably from slightly later, with the truncated headstock design,tortoise pickguards and sliding on/off switches (versus rockers).One model had three pickups, evenly spaced, like a Kawai SD-3W,while another featured one at the bridge and two side-by-side upnear the neck. Many of these were in a black-to-red two-tonesunburst, but others have been seen in white, and other colors wereundoubtedly employed.
Kingston thinline hollowbodies from the '60s have also beensighted, also clearly the same as sold by Kawai, with the samechunky chrome-and-black single-coils. Westheimer does not recallthat hollowbodies were actually made by Kawai, although they had asmall factory that may have produced hollowbodies; otherwise theywere probably sourced from the same Japanese factory that suppliedKawai. One model had equal pointed double cutaways, two f-holes,elevated pickguard, adjustable bridge, and trapeze vibratotailpiece. Controls were on a triangular metal plate on the lowerbout, typical of both Kawai and Teisco guitars of the late'60s.
Ca. '68, Kingston offered a violin-shaped hollowbody that wasalmost identical to a guitar marketed by Kawai as their modelVS-180, a design borrowed from the successful Italian EKO company.The model in hand was finished in white, with a three-and-threehead with an extended point on the bass side, bound rosewoodfingerboard, little plastic mini-block inlays, two of the chunkyKawai pickups, three-way select, f-holes, a pickguard that followedthe edge contours of the waist, and a trapeze vibrato, all featurestypical of other Kawai models of the time, reinforcing the notionthat Kawai was the main source for Kingston electrics.
At least one Kingston violin bass model was available by '68,again a Kawai. This was pretty much the companion to the guitar,with the same bass-side peak to the head. Except for having athree-tone sunburst finish, a covered stop bridge/tailpieceassembly, and controls mounted on a squiggly tortoise plate on thelower bout, this was virtually the same as the guitar.
Another Kingston violin bass has also been sighted, sticking alittle closer to the Höfner original, with two Höfner-style'staple' pickups. This had a brown sunburst finish, with a bolt-onmahogany neck, a French curve on the head, and a 22-fret rosewoodfingerboard with dots. This bass did not have f-holes. Controlswere mounted on a rectangular plate on the lower bout, with volume,tone, and three sliding switches, function unsure. This could be aKawai product (Kawai was one of the few major Japanese makers touse the little sliding switches, versus either rockers orthree-ways), but it also smacks of Aria. Aria was using the'staple' pickups by the late '60s, though most Arias employedthree-way toggles. So who knows?
There were also Kingston amplifiers, all typical of late-'60sJapanese solidstate amps; small and lightweight, with top-mountedcontrols. Some, at least, were covered in black tolex withblack-and-silver grillcloths, metal Kingston logo and vinyl straphandle. These were built specifically for Westheimer by a smallelectronics factory in Japan.
By the late '60s/early '70s, Kingston acoustics had come a longway from the smallbodied guitars of a decade earlier. Again, fewreference materials are available, however, as can be seen by theexample shown here, there were now dreadnoughts inspired by Gibson,at least. This particular guitar (called a V-4 in later versions)has a solid spruce top, glued-in neck, kind of a Gibson headstock(decal logo and design), tuners with fancy plastic buttons, goldhardware, and actually a complete finetune bridge set into amassive mustache bridge, similar to late-'60s Harmony Sovereigns.The pickguard has a groovy mockingbird design, suggesting a Dove.The rosewood fingerboard (rounded end, typical of Japanese guitarsbefore '73) is bound with double arrowhead inlays. However, thecoolest feature of this particular instrument is the body, which isa laminate of flamed maple, finished in that ugly red/orange thatonly came on Japanese guitars of this era. Clearly, this guitarreflects considerable, if eccentric, progress.
Another model is a 12-string with a thick dreadnought shape,mini-block plastic inlays, trapeze tail and leopard plasticpickguard. The plastic Kingston logo was superimposed over ashield. More traditional Martin-style dreadnoughts are seen, oftenwith the Gibson-style adjustable metal-and-plastic saddle in thepin bridge. Presumably there was a range of acoustics in all sizesand appointments. Whether these, too, were made by Kawai is likelybut unknown.
By the late '60s, Westheimer had become one of the four largestimporters of guitars from Japan, in company with other Chicago-areaoutfits W.M.I. and Strum & Drum (owned by Norman and RonSackheim, selling Norma guitars).
The irony mentioned earlier? The irony of Westheimer's Kingstonscoming from Kawai, while W.M.I. assumed control of Teisco del Reys,is that in January of '67 Kawai purchased Teisco, so even thoughWestheimer parted ways with Teisco in '65, he ended up doingbusiness with the company that would consume Teisco.
1974 Kingstons, Plus?
A glimpse of Kingston products can be seen in a 1974Harris-Teller catalog. Curiously enough, these guitars surrounded atipped-in Terada catalog. Terada, you'll recall, was the originalsource of the original Kingstons 15 years earlier. During thisperiod Terada guitars were distributed by Westheimer. No logos areseen on many of the instruments, however, some clearly bear theKingston logo. Definite Kingstons include the No. U17 Standard Uke(mahogany, plastic fingerboard), No. B7 Professional BaritoneUkulele (mahogany, wooden fingerboard), No. T402 Steel StringAcoustic (spruce, mahogany, decal rose, dots) and No. N3 ConcertSize Classic (spruce, mahogany, dots). Several other acoustics,including a hummingbird dreadnought and a pear-shaped mandolin,bear no logos but are probably also Kingstons. Several otherinstruments might also be Kingstons, a couple of banjos, a couplethinlines (EA 300T, EA 500T), and several short-scale Fender-styleguitars and basses (A-100, A-200, EB 200, EB 400).
As we shall discuss shortly, manufacturing in Japan becameincreasingly expensive as the 1970s dawned and Westheimer expandedhis operations to include Korea as a source for his guitars.Beginning in around 1975 the economy Kingston models came fromKorea, whereas the better models continued to be made in Japan.
1977 Korean Kingstons
A snapshot of the Korean Kingston line is provided in an undatedcatalog produced ca. '77. Shown are nine solidbody electrics, sixsolidbody basses, 12 acoustic steel-strings, and three classicals.Interestingly, the guitars don't have logos. Also, some modeldesignations will be recalled when we get to documenting Cort.
Reflecting the 'copy era,' which was still going full-steam atthe time, all but two of the '77 Kingston solidbodies were budgetcopies of American guitars. All had bolt-on necks and all but onecame in plywood bodies with sunburst finishes. Most came withindividucal covered tuners. The LP-2YS, as you might guess, was thetop of the line, a Les Paul Custom copy with an arched cherrysunburst top, open-book head, bound rosewood fingerboard, plasticblocks, and a pair of chrome-covered humbuckers. The LP-2C was adownscale brother with a slab body, no binding, dots, wrap-aroundbridge/tailpiece, and controls mounted on a moon-shaped piece ofplastic on the lower bout. There were two Strat copies, the Stat 2(a name that would reappear on Cort guitars) and the Stat22N. TheStat 2 came with a maple fretboard and covered vibrato. The Stat22Nwas the sole solid wood guitar with a maple body finished inclearcoat. The S-250 was an SG copy, again with an open-book head,no binding, dots, adjustable bridge (no saddles), and faux-Bigsby.Pickups were controlled by two sliding switches. The S-200 wassimilar but with a 'standard' tremolo, probably a simpleJapanese-style unit. The S-100 had only one pickup and astop-tail.
The B-200T was the only 'unique' design, with two rounded,slightly offset double cutaways, similar to many other Korean-madeguitars of the '70s (Teisco, Kay, Hondo, etc.). The head was anadaptation of a Strat-style on a short-scale neck. The two pickupswere, indeed, similar to the DeArmond-style used on Teiscos,sitting on a laminated tortoise guard. This had the adjustablebridge and standard vibrato. The B-100 was similar but with asingle pickup and stoptail.
Similarly, all but two of the '77 Kingston basses were modeledon the Fender design, again all plywood with sunburst finishes savetwo. Fender-style basses included the JB-2, a Jazz Bass with twopickups, rosewood board and plastic block inlays. This came in ablond version with a solid maple body called the JB-21N. The PB-1was a Precision Bass with one pickup, rosewood board, and dots. ThePB-2N was the same, but again in solid maple and blond. The MB-2and MB-1 were basically bass versions of the B-200T and B-100guitars, with a Gibson-style two-and-two open book head, and two orone pickups, respectively.
'77 Korean Kingston acoustics consisted of a couple folk guitarsand a series of dreadnoughts based on Gibson and/or Martin models.All had Martin-style headstocks. The folk models were the F-75, agrand concert with a maple top and body, hardwood fingerboard,dots, pin bridge with adjustable saddle, and a Martin-stylepickguard. The binding was painted on. The V-1 was similar exceptfor having a laminated spruce top, NATO body, celluloid bodybinding, and rosewood fingerboard and bridge. There were five 'minijumbo' guitars, slightly downsized dreadnoughts. Three models camein all-maple plywood, with rosewood fingerboards and bridges(adjustable saddles), dots and painted trim (except for a celluloidrose). The #745 had bookmatched brown engraved gaudy hummingbirdpickguards. The #770 had a Martin-style pickguard. The #745S hadtwin fancy red painted hummingbird 'guards. The V-3 mini jumbo wasspruce and NATO in a red-to-yellow sunburst with celluloid topbinding and only one of the fancy red hummingbird pickguards. The#86 was similar to the V-3 except for having a natural finish,Martin-style guard, and triple celluloid top binding.
Full-sized dreadnoughts included the V-4, identical to the V-3except for having plastic block inlays, the V-2, big brother to the#86, and the V-2-12, a 12-string version of the V-2 (trapeze tailadded for stability). The top of the '77 Korean Kingston line werethe W-10 and W-11 dreadnoughts. The W-10 had a spruce top and curlymaple plywood body, bound maple fingerboard, black dots, boundbody, Martin-style guard, and blond finish. The W-11 was similarexcept for having a laminated rosewood body, with a three-piecerosewood/maple/rosewood back, and a rosewood fingerboard withplastic block inlays.
Three classicals finished the line. These all hadsteel-reinforced necks, by the way. The C-60 was spruce and mapleplywood, with painted trim but an inlaid mosaic rose. The C-70added a NATO body, a mosaic strip on the head, and gold tuners. TheC-120 added rosewood to the C-70.
The Kingston name would continue to be used on a variety ofguitars made either in Japan or Korea until around '83. It wouldresurface again in the very late '80s or early '90s on genericlow-end Fender-style guitars of unknown Asian manufacture. Onemodel was a slightly offset double-cutaway bass with pointed hornsand an elongated four-in-line headstock, 20-fret rosewoodfingerboard with dots, with one split-coil pickup, one volume andtone control, and bridge/tailpiece assembly. By '94, the Kingstonwas appearing on 'high volume, low end, acoustic guitars,' probablyof Indonesian origin. These included the D40 (OM shape in natural,black, blue, or tobacco sunburst), AG10 dreadnought, and fourdecreasingly sized slothead folk guitars (number reflecting thelength), the DT38N/S (nylon or steel strings), DT36N/S, DT34N/S andDT30N/S.
This is a highly imperfect accounting of Kingstons, but sincethey do continue to come up at online auctions with considerablefrequency, at least now you have a start for understanding theircontext.
Cort(ez)
Teisco del Rey and Kingston were not the only brand namesassociated with Jack Westheimer. Another, which would have addedsignificance today, was Cortez. Cortez would be important becauseit's from that moniker that today's Cort brand derived, inabbreviated form.
The Cortez brand name dates back to around '60, and thebeginning of our tale. The Cortez brand was given (by Westheimer)to a line of good-quality Martin-style dreadnoughts manufactured inJapan by the Hiyashi (or Yashi?) factory. Westheimer dispatchedsome of his staff to visit the factory and work with them todevelop the product, resulting in Cortez acoustic guitars.Remember, guitars were still called Spanish guitars in those days,an appellation that has fallen by the wayside; hence, the 'Spanish'names like Cortez and del Rey. According to Westheimer, Hiyashi wasone of the top Japanese acoustic factories, and it was responsiblefor many Cortez and Emperador acoustics. Hiyashi was bought out byPearl sometime in the early '70s and that marked the end of itsglory days.
Again, no reference materials are available to document Cortezguitars in detail.
Westheimer recalls one acoustic/electric model made by Hiyashicarrying his Emperador brand that was actually played by the EverlyBrothers. Fewer than 180 of those guitars were imported becausethey just didn't catch on. One day, the Everly Brothers' managercalled Westheimer to see if any more could be obtained because theEverly's guitars had run into repair problems. Westheimer was ableto locate several examples in various warehouses and got them tothe crooners. He still gets requests for that guitar.
Most Cortez guitars have fallen into a 'copy' vein - Strats andLes Pauls. The latter came in both bolt-neck and set-neck versions,many made by Matsumoku, the factory responsible for many of thebetter Aria guitars, as well as the Electra, Westone, Univox, andWestbury brands. Matsumoku also made sewing machines, and waspurchased by Singer in 1987, after which the guitarmaking operationwas closed.
There are also some Cortez copies of the Gibson ES-175 thatappear to be similar to Japanese-made Venturas of the time.
Cortez guitars were always made in Japan, never in Korea. TheCortez brand remained active at least until '86, although it mayhave lingered another year or two.
Looking for picture of cortez flying v guitar?
Houston craigslist, small picture in musical instr's under flying v
Dating Guitars By Serial Number
Where is the Cortez Center in Cortez Colorado located?
The address of the Cortez Center is: Po Box 1326, Cortez, CO 81321-1326
What is Cortez High School's motto?
Cortez Guitar Serial Number Dating Code
The motto of Cortez High School is 'Cortez Together'.
Where is the Cortez Cultural Center in Cortez Colorado located?
The address of the Cortez Cultural Center is: 25 N Market St, Cortez, CO 81321
What is the birth name of Cortez Kennedy?
Cortez Kennedy's birth name is Cortez C. Kennedy.
Who was Hume This was the guitarist with Dave Baby Cortez. So did he have a last name?
Happy Organ was certainly on the soundtrack of MY childhood. It's nice to hear it again. I'm surprised to hear it was the first Hot 100 single. When did the Hot 100 begin? Cortez certainly was hot. The drums and especially the Guitar are excellent on this record. Wikipedia cites thedeadrockstarsclub as that was Wild Jimmy Spruill, who played the guitar solo on this cut (May 1959).
What is the phone number of the Cortez Pl in Cortez?
The phone number of the Cortez Pl is: 970-565-8117.
What people were conquered by Cortez?
Are Nike cortez gangster shoes?
Ye$ they are. Red Nike Cortez are for NorteNo$ and blue Nike Cortez are for $crapa$.
What is the phone number of the Cortez Center in Cortez Colorado?
The phone number of the Cortez Center is: 970-565-1151.
Have small Cortez acoustic guitar model no C203S no info on it at all the standard acoustic strings don't seem to be right what are the right strings to put on it and do I tune it the standard EADGBE?
Try putting the DT38N/S nylon or steel strings on your Cortez acoustic guitar. (Just adding to your answer and partially answering my own question) with further study the guitar seems to match the jazz type it has the steel bridge at the end and is fairly small in size so gypsy jazz stings should work given the bronze and nylon don't sound right
Where is the Cortez Village Historical Society Incorporated in Cortez Florida located?
The address of the Cortez Village Historical Society Incorporated is: Po Box 663, Cortez, FL 34215-0663
What is the web address of the Cortez Cultural Center in Cortez Colorado?
Alvarez Guitar Serial Number
The web address of the Cortez Cultural Center is: http://www.cortezculturalcenter.org