Electra Bass Guitar Serial Numbers

[Melissa Alvarado]

Electraguitars were imported from Japan by the Saint Louis Music (SLM) of Saint Louis, Missouri from 1971 to1984 (most MPC models were made by Matsumoku of Matsumoku , Japan) . Matsumokuhas made many popular guitar brands over the years including; Aria, Westbury, Westone,Epiphone, Vantage & Vox to name but a few.

Dating your Electra: Matsumoku made guitars have serial number in which the first oneor two digits represent the year of manufacture. A guitar with a serial number thatbegins in "0" or "80" would have been built in 1980 (this is just aguideline and DOES NOT apply to all Electra models but seems a safe bet for 1977-1981guitars).

The Electra MPC's claim to fame was, and is, on-board effects (more commonly referredto as effects modules). No stomp boxes required. If you want touse an effect (wah, phase shifter, etc) , all you have to do is flip a switch on the frontof the guitar, and turn a knob (also on the front of the guitar) to adjust the intensityof the effect. Twelve different modules were available in all.

Over the years major musicians endorsed the MPC line, such as, Peter Frampton, Leslie West (signature model), ELO, Allen "FreeBird" Collins, Chris Squire (MPC Bass), The Outlaws (signature guitar & bass),and Rick Derringer(X910 model is also known as the "Derringer" model). Despite theseendorsements, the Electra line still disappeared while the SLM went on to produce Westone& Crate products. Today, SLMdistributes Crate, Ampeg, Alvarez & Austin products. So as you can see, it's amisconception that SLMdisappeared or went bankrupt...they just changed.

The first school of thought was that the Electra MPC line were shoddily manufacturedgimmick guitars. Now, twenty five plus years later, they are finally starting to be recognizedfor superior craftsmanship and playability. For years many Electra's languished inpawn shops while buyers focused on vintage Fenders and Gibson's. Now, there seems to be aresurgence in both their value and reputation for quality.

Electra was a brand of electric guitars and basses manufactured in Japan and distributed in the US by two companies owned by brothers: Saint Louis Music (SLM) and Pacific Coast Music in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 2013, the brand launched a successful comeback led by renowned luthiers Ben Chafin and Mick Donner.

Unlike most other brands of imported guitars which were sourced from a single manufacturer, Electra guitars were ordered from all the Japanese factories and distributors. As a result, early models especially vary in details and quality. Later, as all models came to be made by Matsumoku, Electra guitars offered high quality at competitive prices. However, the brand never entirely lost its association with inexpensive 'copy' guitars and the brand name was transitioned to Electra Westone in 1984 and Westone in 1985. The same qualities make them popular among collectors today.

In 2013 Ben Chafin, former head luthier at Dean Guitars, acquired the rights to Electra Guitars and is now producing new Electra Guitars. The first model available was a reissued and updated single cutaway Electra Omega, followed by the Omega Prime. After rave reviews and a growing roster of artist endorsements, Electra Guitars unveiled a number of new models in 2014 including the Invicta, Talon, Phoenix H & S Guitars and the Phoenix Bass. More about the current company and their guitars, basses, accessories and merchandise can be found at their official website Electra Guitars

In 1976 Electra MPC (Modular Powered Circuits) models featured a pair of cartridge slots in the guitar body, which allowed effect modules to be plugged in and controlled from the front of the guitar. Today the unusual thing is that the effects are on board, but even offering electronic effects to consumer musicians was fairly new at the time and offers an interesting alternate way to do it. There were a total of 18 guitar models which carried MPC circuits. The most notable was the Super Rock, which was a Les Paul copy. There were 12 total MPC modules offered.

In the assortment of modules offered was a "Mini Amp" module, which contained no effects but was a headphone amplifier for the guitar. This mini amp was actually the number 11 Module, Frog Nose. It did nothing except send a fairly weak clean guitar signal to headphones via the jack.

it has the vari-tone 5 way switch on the top, and near the normal volume knobs there is a volume and tone, as well as 2 seperate toggles. all in all with those controls you can get alot of out of phase tones and coil tapping, and it is very responsive. there is a tremendous difference when switching through the controls to tight bass-heavy, loose chunk and i am really digging the clean "jangly" sound in spot 1 on the vari-tone with the toggle down - it is the most jangly 60s sound ive heard other than a legit rick.

im really digging it. thanks for any help. it has that classic LP tone, as well as many, many more that make it a very versatile guitar. switching through the varitone and toggles i went through quacky "bad moon risin" tones, tom petty jangle, to nice extrmely thick crunch

Unless you've misread the first number your guitar is an '81. Most of the Matsumoku made guitars after 1976 used a dating system where the first or first two numbers of the serial number are the year it was made. So a guitar with a 1 as the first number should be an '81.

Sounds like a definite keeper fishfartz. Do you like it as well as the Aria SG? I love those old Matsus and you seem to know where to find em. (Truth is my wife won't let me have anymore so I'm holding firm at ten).

actually man, it sounds so much better than the aria. i really dig the aria and the only thing wrong with it is the frets are worn down very low, and the pups were not wired right - and i couldnt get them wired correctly. so only the bridge bucker is wired on the aria. i tried & tried but failed at getting the SG wired correctly (ive done it plenty in the past, just something not working out here) - but i do like it alot.

now the electra seems to be a much more solid guitar, and it has alot of great sounds. i think the electra is far ahead of it as far as quality and construction, im real happy with it. i noticed the volume knob is "iffy" - i have to wiggle it to get it working, i tried the ol' shot of contact cleaner in the pot but no go, but thats an easy fix (replace pot)

so yeah, im really digging it alot. it has so many sounds i think its going to be very handy when recording, its surprising just how different each spot on the varitone switch sounds, as well as the 2 toggle settings.

i really plan to do some recording soon, and im sure this will come into play heavily. it just blows my mind how many completely different tones are available on this due to the 5-way varitone and 2 toggle switches. the differences are nothing subtle - i literally can go from jangle/spanky tom petty cleans to bass-heavy thump cleans, to bright & snappy.

its funny, i used to have strats all over the place and an LP and/or something with humbuckers for the bucker tones, but after getting the lite ash 2 years ago ive sold my strats, and between the aria SG and this i think im done collecting electrics for now. i need a bass for recording and miss having an acoustic around but as far as the electrics i think im actually good to go

i actually got it through a trade, i have always had extra amps laying around (mostly tube combos but other SS as well) and i traded a marshall MG15 "mini-stack" that i used to run my vocals/processor through at home in the bedroom when writing. i spread the "stack" out with a speaker on each side of the room and ran my mic through it, but i havent used it in over a year so i wasnt missing anything by getting rid of it

take it easy there fretmonster and thanks for the words, its always exciting to pick up something new. i got my wife to flip through the settings on the varitone while i recorded, ill post that later today but in the meantime ill be recording something fun to use some of its different/usable settings as well

Then I remembered Kent Guitars. I thought it would be pretty cool to have a guitar with my last name on it. Although they didn't appear on the U.S. westcoast very often, if at all, (I would remember them if they did), It turns out there is a whole crapload of them out there.Information is scattered around the internet in bits and pieces and nobody who was making them at the time is talking about it. So I have started gathering information,limiting myself to the 500,600,700, and 800 series models. The only ones I am interested in owning are the 700 and 800s. I have a 740, an 820, 823, 833, and 834. I may neverget the chance to buy another.

This is a labor of love. While I strive for accuracy, the conclusions I arrive at are still only guesses based on internet resources (and you knowhow reliable "internet resources" are), and observations of my own guitars. Undoubtedly there are errors here. Don&#8217t do any betting (or bidding) based solely on theinformation I present.

DISCLAIMER: I shouldn't have to say this, but there's always somebody, y'know? Follow any recommendations, suggestions, or observations that I maymake at your own risk. If you follow any of my stupid suggestions and ruin your life, it's on you.

Some of the first Kents to have been imported into the U.S. were made in Sweden by Hagstrom. (Some sources, or maybe just one source quoted all over the net,states that they may have actually been Czech-made and sold by Hagstrom.) The Hagstrom HI, HII, and HIII (those are the letter H with roman numerals representing the number of pickups the guitar had) were branded Kent for sale in the U.S. and as Futurama for the U.K. They had the Kent name on the headstock and sometimes the upper bout. They were similar to Fender Stratocasters. They also made some Strat-shaped basses. There are several photos on the net showingDavid Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days playing a red Hagstrom with Kent branding on the headstock.

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