Oscar Teller 8/A Guitar (1971) / Oskar Teller (Tellson) 7/P (1963)

 

Presented here is a completely relaquered Oscar Teller 8/A

The prefix "A" stands for ahorn, probably better known as

maple. As maple was readily available in those days this

model, executed in maple sides and back, was cheaper than

its' counterpart, the model 8/P in rosewood. Nowadays it

would have been different as the lighter hardwoods are

quite popular at this moment. But let's not forget also

Antonio de Torres already used maple for his premium

models in the 19th century and so did several French

guitar builders.

A closer look at the back is possible just by clicking on these pictures.

The scale is 645 mm and the bodies' own frequency is around the note 

G# which means 104 Herz. Width of the topnut 52 mm. The intonation 

is really good. Due to some top cracks the price would be 1/3 of the 

price what this guitar would be new: 700 Euro's. The 8/P made by 

Wolfgang Teller (still in business) now costs € 3000,- As for the 

cracks: Everything is repaired and stable now.

The top has been French polished but keep in mind that not

all damages can be treated as then you are obliged to sand down

the soundboard. The top will be thinned then and is more prone 

to deformations and might even possibly collapse.

And its' label that says Model Nr. 8 / A Anno 1971.

Oscar Teller wasn't alive at that time anymore but

his son Horst kept using his fathers' name though in

fact it was Oskar, written with the prefix "K".

Hardly any fretwear. Someone must have did a job not that long ago.

The tuners were lost but these ones do the job really well.

The head often is a victim of damages from setting the guitar 

against a stone wall or knocking it against that wall. As the

back of the head was severely damaged I figured it would be 

nice to add a maple back plate the way later often has been

done by this company and its' builders. Moreover, maple is

much harder than the most of the time used cedar wood for

the necks.

 

The rosettes from those times on their premium guitars

were immediately recognizable. As for sound: the Teller

guitars tend to sound a bit dark and with this maple for

sides and back the sound is clearer and perfect to my

opinion. Anyway, I like it even better compared to the

rosewood version I have. On the right you can observe

the older rosette on a 1963 model 7/P.

Oskar Teller 7/P 1963

No, not a mistake in the announcement of this guitar.

Before the more common labels, the name Oskar was 

spelled with the prefix "K". Moreover, the later guitars

most of the time were offered without the addition

"Tellson" as that name merely was used for the steel-

strings and jazz (f-holed) models. Horst was at

the time already director of the company, due to

the untimely death of his father.

And here the rather "unique" Tellson - Oskar Teller

label. That states the guitar to be built in 1963. As I

already "stumbled" onto two model 8 Oscar Teller

guitars in the past, I figured I would give it a try. And

also regarding this model, some details have been

simplified during the timeline: Same model - less

elaborate details on these guitars. The back inlay

in the neck later was a single one as opposed to this

1963 model. In comparison to the 8 models, the tuners 

are also Rubners but executed in metal and not "gold"

From old pricelists and catalogues one should read 

8/P  and not 81P as sometimes is suggested.

 

As the crack running from the right side of the bridge near

the center seam was a bit open. I figured it to be better to

glue in an insert as clamping with force in order to close a

crack isn't the way to go as the stress on the soundboard 

remains. A lot of people might think it will cause a new

opening at the same spot but remember: A well glued

crack isn't likely to open as the bond with glue is stronger

than the cohesion of the wood cells itself. A new crack

would develop itself on another spot which is not 

very desirable.

 

Here the new situation has been exposed. A small crack in 

the back has been glued to satisfaction as after an inspection

of the inner back bracing the lowest transverse bar there

will hold the back in that area in a good condition.

Still about the same nice woods Teller was using at that 

time for his premium built guitars but not a fancy edge 

inlay on the back or an added center strip dividing the 

two halves. It doesn't has any effect on the final tone 

obviously.

Later in time Teller concluded the double maple strip not 

to be necessary to reinforce the neck anymore although

besides being a nice addition, these two strips go all the

way through the neck and most likely the center strip is

glued with its' grain in the opposite direction to prevent 

any sort of warping and indeed, the neck is still 

perfectly straight.

This guitar was available in an auction house that is not 

specialized in musical instruments. Therefore a bargain 

can be had here and there. Remarkable remains that

damages such as a crack on the right below the bridge

hasn't been mentioned in the catalogue. Being an auction

online a lot of potential buyers maybe are not taking the

effort to visit the auction house in person but it is ob-

vious that it remains very important to do so.

Same as on the 8 models is the rich rosette and

the ebony bridge with the two plastic strips on

the edges of the string tie block though also the

inlay of the rosette has been changed, maybe

to speed up building processes?

On the front the two inlays recognizable on the 8 model 

is not present here. The double maple strip inlay in the 

neck disappeared later on the 7 models. As you can see

the axe holders are riveted onto the plate and the knobs

themselves are also clinched on the axes.

The rosewood used for the back and sides are showing 

a lot of similarities with the 8/P model. Wolfgang Teller,

the head of the firm in present times claims that Brazilian

rosewood only has been used in the past on the nr. 9

model. so not on the 8/P models.

Yamaha GC(5 ) Grand Concert guitar 1979

A remarkable Japanese product is presented here.

A very good instrument at an affordable price. Above

all it is still in near mint condition but read all the

comments here beyond regarding this guitar.

Scale length: 650 mm. Width topnut: 53 mm.

Bodies own frequency: G which means 98 Herz.

Condition: Very good. Price: SOLD.

This is the real bottom as normally these guitars

are offered at Reverb between 1000 and 3000

Euro's depending on their condition and the

use of Brasilian rosewood on the earlier ones.

A closer look at the Yamaha branded guitar, type GC-5.

However, do not mistake yourself as this one can't be compared 

with the later GC-5 solely factory made guitars from this

company. Just take a look at the label here beyond as that

has been hand signed by the late great Hideyuki Ezaki.

He consulted Eduardo Ferrer, a historic dynasty of

guitar makers from Granada, for a few years.

And the label that has been hand signed by this venerable

luthier who worked for Yamaha until the late eighties of 

the past age. Later he started his own workshop and made 

premium concert guitars starting from 6.000 Euro's onwards.

Being this old this, guitar must have been a part of a 

collection as there is hardly any fretwear to discover.

Axes of the tuners are clinched to their base plate

which is a sign of quality.

Not any comments to give on this guitar so far, apart that 

it surprised me a lot sound wise. Full tone with lots of

volume and a nice even quality tone from the low to the

high registers.

Remarkable maybe as sides and back haven't been made

from solid woods, though rosewood on rosewood and any

comparison with all solid guitars in the 2000 / 3000 Euro

category (new) such as the Alhambra 11C was remarkable

as it simple can easily compete with that model.

The back of the  head is still in an undamaged condition.

The former player has treated this guitar with respect.

But he or she might even have kept it in its' case during

a long period of time.

Neck is absolutely straight with no dings or annoying

scratches. Tasteful edge inlays are there as well. And

let's not forget that the Jose Ramirez 1A guitars were

also veneered on the inside, often done to soften the 

tone a bit. For a lot of Japanese companies the laminated

woods used could in fact better withstand the inter-

national transports with ships and/or airplanes.

Nice rosette and a matching inlay in the string tie block.

The surrounded white binding prevents damage often 

due to the tension of the strings on the string tie wood.

And a closer look, now possible when you click on

this picture.

This 1979 guitar is spruce topped.

 

Alhambra 11C Concert Guitar (near mint)

 

One of the well known and reliable brands from Spain

regarding gut stringed guitars. They are producing student

guitars up to professional level ones. Search for their

website to find all the information around this brand. 

This one will be a little more difficult to find but in fact

it is a genuine 11P model. The only thing I have 

discovered that the C could stand for Cedar topped

or a C profile neck. I can't confirm one or the other

but I've read it somewhere. Scale length: 650 mm.

Width topnut 54 mm. Frequency body: 110 Herz.

This guitar is in near mint condition apart from 2 small 

dings.  And remember, I always buy the guitars on sound 

in the first place. Though Alhambra is a reliable company 

there can be remarkable sound differences, even between 

the same models. Price including foamed case with

ties for transport on your back: SOLD.

The head that is in an undamaged condition on both front

and back. As you can see the knobs are clinched onto the

axes of the tuners. 

Also the axe holders haven't been bowed out of the mounting

plate but clinched on it. A sign of higher quality. The prefix

A on top the tuners stands for "Alhambra" of course.

The higher end models have a head modelled differently

from the cheaper range of guitars.

A beautiful back with a rather straight figuring. The desire 

for a wild figured back certainly is there with several

guitar players but these straight figuring is not as prone

to cracks in the near future as a wild figured back

would be. Solid Indian rosewood.

I include this picture most of the time to show potential 

buyers that there is no wear on the lower frets. Straight

neck and carefully placed fretwork!

The body itself is showing some reflections due to the

mirror like varnishing of the top. And that counts as well

for the back and sides. Cedar top.

It is possible to ask the production date from the 

Alhambra company if there is a need to.

Two nice extra added fret ends for the demanding 

pieces. Of course placed in an ebony fingerboard.

What I particularly like is the surrounding of the string 

tie block. They will protect the bridge from damages in 

the future and is a pleasant sight at the same time.

With its' nice scale of 650 mm and a regular

width at the topnut of 52 mm this guitar is a

nice one to play. The topnut has been securely

carved though I've finished some rough ends

to make it look even more perfect. A good

bridge bone was needed as well.

And as always I will serve my buyers with assistance after 

the buy as I'm able to make all kinds of repairs in case that 

should be necessary.

Božo (Podunavac) B8 Classical guitar (Made in Japan)

 

A very well sounding Bozo B8. This luthier, in fact

more known for his steel strings also had his ideas

around gut stringed guitars and had them built in

Japan by Alvarez / K. Yairi and strangely enough also

Mr. Mass Hirade was involved who later built very

good instruments for Takamine under his supervision.

Scale length: 650mm Width topnut: 53. 

Body frequency:  G# (104 Herz.)

This guitar has a repaired spot that can' t be made 

invisible but it is stable now and won't affect the sound

in any way. I would subscribe sound quality being on

parr with guitars around 1500 / 2000 Euro's. This guitar

costed 1250 Dutch guilders back in 1981. It can now

be bought for 500 Euro's, sturdy bag included.

I will come up with some pictures in the near future

The sides and back are in fact laminated but rosewood 

has been glued on rosewood so what could be the point? 

They often did that for overseas transport reasons. This 

way of building guitars can withstand much more!

Ebony fingerboard and this range starts with the 

model B3 up to B15 as can be seen on the pricelist 

of 1981 here beyond.

A Dutch price list, confirming the higher end models of 

Bozo weren't that cheap at that time. You might take a look 

at my Juan Orozco Blog around prices for Japanese guitars.

As you can see on this picture it all starts with the B3. The 

next one in range is the B5. Along with the more luxury B8 

they all were equipped with laminated sides and back. The 

more expensive B10 had solid sides and back as has the 

B15 that even was equipped with an European spruce top.

This Bozo B8 is from 1978.

As you may know in those times Juan Orozco didn't

built guitars himself anymore but simply distributed them.

Made by a rather small team of experienced woodworkers

still it could happen that a lower model sounded better 

than a high end one of the same brand from Japan. I once

had the choice between a Juan Orozco model 15, two 

models 10 and a model 8. One of the two models 10

was in a pristine condition as were the 15 and the 8 but

the model 10 with some slight cosmetic issues sounded

by far the best and brought the model 15 to shame!