Japanese 175 type - is there something off?

**garybaldy** · 12-12-2020, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Always wise to first play it and wait with spending money

It looks exactly like my Condor when that was still original, every detail. I read Condor was made by Tombo, so if that’s true then yours probably came from Tombo as well.

A couple more photos. Based on appearance the pickups don't look anything special. Japanese 175 type - is there something off?-20201211_142706-jpg

Japanese 175 type - is there something off?-20201211_142131-jpg

Japanese 175 type - is there something off?-20201211_142055-jpg

Japanese 175 type - is there something off?-20201211_141543-jpg

Japanese 175 type - is there something off?-20201211_142607-jpg

**Little Jay** · 12-12-2020, 01:01 PM

There’s a good chance the pickups aren’t even humbuckers ;-)

**citizenk74** · 12-12-2020, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

There’s a good chance the pickups aren’t even humbuckers ;-)

Agreed. Sub in the HBs of choice,* take, Little Jay's advice on the TP, and wail away!

*'57 Classics do it for me. They came with my 55th Anniversary ES-175, and sound great.

**Rocket Roll** · 12-12-2020, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

There’s a good chance the pickups aren’t even humbuckers ;-)

Those probably aren't. But still, a good chance that they sound good. I've had a pair of those infamous "Japanese singles disguised as hums" in an old Framus (weird upgrade by its previous owner, I know), and they actually sounded great, even with a lot of distortion. Never wanted to put the original Framus sixties singles back in. You can check the allknowing parts of Internet - general consensus is that those old Japanese experiments are more than usable, to say the least.

Which is to say, don't just throw them away.

**Little Jay** · 12-23-2020, 06:50 AM

So, does the Sakura please you, so far?

**garybaldy** · 12-23-2020, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

So, does the Sakura please you, so far?

Hi LJ
Thanks for asking. Not had much chance so far. I've been away a bit. But I do now have a new set of flatwounds and plan to find myself a good straight edge to check the tailpiece and adjust if necessary before the string change. Cheers.