1978 Greco TE-500N — Natural Finish Thinline Model

This 1978 Greco TE-500N is a Thinline Telecaster-style model finished in natural.

Back in the late 1970s, guitars like this were completely outside our field of interest.
None of the rock or fusion guitarists we admired were playing Thinlines, so the model simply didn’t capture our imagination.
The only image that stuck with me from that time is of Ryudo Uzaki of the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band playing one on TV.

The popularity of a guitar ultimately depends on whether popular guitarists are using it.
Even the ’59 Les Paul Standard (“Burst”) owes its legendary status not just to its build quality, but to the fact that Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton all played it.
Had they not, it might have remained nothing more than a “well-made guitar.”

In our generation, if Eddie Van Halen had played a Thinline, the guitar world would have been flooded with them.
Some may call that ridiculous — saying his choice of guitar was inevitable, and a Thinline would never have suited him.
But I would argue this: it is coincidence — repeated, compounded coincidence — that creates history.

For this 1978 model, the tuners were changed from Schaller-style MH803s to Kluson-style SD81-05Ms, and the pickups were updated from PU-113 to PU-103.
The body is made of sen ash, and the guitar weighs 3.25 kg (including strings).

(Updated August 24, 2016)