1978 Greco EG1000 Les Paul Custom

$2,599 CAD

1978 Greco EG1000 Model – Les Paul Custom – In gloss Red Sunburst (Cherry Sunburst) finish – With original Maxon made U-3000 pickups – Ebony fretboard with real mother of pearl inlays – Original hard case – Made in the famous Fujigen factory in Japan – MIJ.

Serial Number: D788007 (April 1978)
Body: 2 piece centre seam maple top on a pancake mahogany body
Neck: 3 piece maple
Fretboard: Ebony
Fretboard Radius: About 12″
Fret Edge Binding: Yes
Inlays: Real mother of pearl block inlays
Frets: 22 x Medium Jumbo (1.0mm tall x 2.7mm wide)
Nut Width: 43.64mm
Width at 1st Fret: 44.87mm
Width at 12th Fret: 53.0mm
Thickness at 1st Fret: 22.0mm
Thickness at 12th Fret: 22.75mm
Nut: Bone
Tuners: Original gold Grover U.S.A. tuners
Bridge & Tailpiece: Original gold Japanese made S.T. Bridge and LP-F tailpiece
Pickups: Original gold covered Maxon made U-3000 pickups – both date stamped 280310 (March 10th 1978)
Neck Pickup Resistance: 7.63K ohm
Bridge Pickup Resistance: 7.67K ohm
Pots: Original 500K pots (Feb 1978 date codes)
Strings: Ernie Ball Super Slinky 10-46 strings – E Standard tuning
Weight: 10.70lbs
Non Original Parts: Possibly the pickup covers, possibly the tone knobs, possibly the pickguard
Case: Original yellow interior vintage Les Paul case
Truss Rod: Works as expected with room in both directions
Greco was one the first brands to make a proper Les Paul Custom, and the EG1000 was the flagship Les Paul model from Greco in 1978. Other than the Project Series, the EG1000 was the highest grade (i.e. most expensive) Les Paul made in 1978.

I’m a big fan of vintage MIJ Les Paul Customs, and I’m always on the hunt for them. To find one with a real ebony fingerboard, mother of pearl inlays, and fret edge binding is rare, and was usually only reserved for the top tier models for only a few years from Aria, Greco, Tokai and Navigator, so this EG1000 is in a rare group of customs.

It’s pretty common to see Greco EG500C’s and EG600C’s from the 70’s and 80’s but not as common to see an EG1000.

Except for possibly the pickup covers, tone knobs and pickguard, everything else on this guitar appears original including the pickups, bridge, tailpiece, volume knobs, pickup rings, strap buttons, switch, switch tip, poker chip, gold Grover U.S.A. tuners, bone nut, medium jumbo frets, inlays, truss rod cover, jack and jack plate, control & switch covers.

I didn’t replace the pickup covers, tone knobs or pickguard – this is how I received the guitar – so I can’t say for certain if they were replaced, but from other Greco’s I’ve owned, they don’t look original – although they don’t look out of place either – everything looks correct.

This guitar is in good player’s grade condition, and has typical minor dings, dents, chips, and scratches on it, along with some minor checking in the finish, but nothing unexpected for its age. The black pickup rings and back covers have typical scratches on them. The bridge pickup ring was cracked (and repaired) in the middle.

This particular guitar suffers from what a lot of MIJ Les Paul Customs from this era suffer from – crumbling binding or binding rot – although this one isn’t bad at all, and is only on the neck binding on the high E side. This happens when the celluloid binding breaks down. It’s very common to see this on old Gibson’s, Gretsch’s, and many of the vintage MIJ guitars – usually on models with the thicker binding like a custom has. Usually it only affects the outer thicker binding layer of the multi-ply binding. This one is really minor, none of the binding is missing, chipped, or loose – and it doesn’t affect the playability or sound. I don’t feel it when I’m playing.

The original Maxon made U-3000 pickups are bright and clear sounding – they have a PAF like quality to them, but with more output thanks to the thick ceramic magnet. They can handle many genres well, and can clean up when you roll off the volume. The bridge pickup has been wax potted at some point in its life. The neck pickup has not been wax potted. Both pickups have a 280310 date stamp, dating them to March 10th 1978.

When I compare these pickups to a typical PAF sounding Alnico pickup, to my ears, these have much faster response, and can chug a little tighter. If you play a lot of legato licks these pickups will produce every note clearly. Through a high gain amp, they can get that classic hard rock and metal tone.

The 3 piece maple neck on this Greco starts out at 22.0mm at the 1st fret, and has a nice comfortable C carve to it. The neck only increases to 22.75mm by the 12th fret – so by far, at the 12th fret, this is the thinnest MIJ Les Paul neck I’ve ever had. The fretboard is ebony, with some dark brown streaks through it.

The 22 medium jumbo frets have been played, and there’s play wear across the neck, mostly on the unwound strings, but overall there’s lots of life left in them, and the guitar plays incredibly well up and down the neck.

Like all the guitars I sell, I test, thoroughly clean, and setup my guitars completely before I list them. Anything that is missing, damaged, or non original is mentioned in the listing.

I setup all my Gibson style guitars to Gibson factory specs – including neck relief, action, pickup height, intonation, and tailpiece height. So this guitar will be ready to play out of the box (after you tune it up – I ship my guitars with the strings loosened).

Comes with the original yellow interior vintage Les Paul hard case. This is likely the case that originally came with the guitar, and it’s a proper Les Paul case so the headstock does not touch the bottom of the case. All of the latches and hinges are intact and working, but they all have various degrees of corrosion, pitting and rust on the metal hardware. The tolex has some typical wear and tear with dings, stains, sticker ghosting, and minor tears, but it’s in usable shape.

Overall, this is rare and classic guitar – it plays well, looks great, is built to top tier specs, and sounds awesome. It’s setup and ready to play.

If you’re a player looking to rock out on a vintage MIJ Les Paul Custom, you won’t want to miss this one.