Anyone ever seen a Super Real Custom badged as a "Domin

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Howdy all -

Nice place ya got here!

This is my first post, and I've got a doozy to start off with.

My first guitar was a Super Real Custom that my dad bought new while on a military trip to Japan - apparently a 1980 EG-800C from all the catalogs I've been able to find online, and from the serial # which you can see is part of my handle. It was stolen many years ago, and I'm hoping that one day it'll find it's way back to me, perhaps even with the help of you guys if I'm lucky.

Here's the twist which made my SRC a bit different than the rest: best I can tell, it had all the appointments and whatnot that would indicate it was a Greco. However, it had the word "Domino" in gold lettering on a black plastic or metal plate which could very possibly have neatly covered a Greco logo (letter "D" was enlarged and the rest was slanted upwards a la Greco or Gibson). I'm 99.9999% sure it came on the guitar this way, and that Dad didn't have this added on a whim (sadly, he's no longer on this mortal coil so I can't confirm this either, but he really had no time or reason to bother with something like that).

I know there was a line of Fender-ish, MIJ, Domino-branded electrics sold in the US in the early/mid 60s by Maurice Lipsky Music here in NYC but think they disappeared before 1970. So, unless they were still around in the early 80s and just ordering custom one-offs and risking the wrath of customs, I'm pretty sure this wasn't for the same company.

I've only recently found a fleeting reference (no pic, unfortunately) to one other Domino LP clone from 1980 on a Japanese vendor's site in Google's cache, but they did not respond when I sent an inquiry about it as they no longer export to the US. So apparently these do indeed exist in the home country, but also in very small numbers.

My question to you guys, who've apparently spent much more time on the historical end of these than I have:

Has anyone else seen (or owned) a Domino/Greco, or have a better idea of what the story is?

I've run this by an indie dealer in Japan who specializes in Grecos as well as with Noriko at Ishibashii, but haven't gotten much more info than I already have - despite them both knowing passable English, unfortunately, the language barrier seems to be still somewhat of an issue in getting the finer points across via e-mail. The indie guy thinks it's impossible that Greco would do this, but Noriko seems to think it was in fact a name used for an export line (although she never confirmed if Greco actually did export Super Reals or not - everything I've read says they didn't).

It's late right now, will provide more details in later posts, and apologies in advance that I don't have a website w/more info up at the moment.

Feel free to ask any questions in the meantime - any info or speculation is appreciated!
 
This person says Domino was the third brand of Hoshino (Ibanez) and I suppose he means the second brand of Hoshino was Cimar and the first brand of Hoshino was Ibanez.
So it's maybe a Hoshino brand but sellers aren't known for their accuracy as they just want to sell the guitar and tend to call strange brands Ibanez's so maybe it's a brand that Matsumoku made http://www.musiker-board.de/vb/e-baesse/150464-japanschaetzchen-aus-den-70ern-80ern-2.html.

http://www.j-guitar.com/sp/sea/view_detail/s18260112.html

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.j-guitar.com%2Fsp%2Fsea%2Fview_detail%2Fs18260112.html&lp=ja_en&btnTrUrl=Translate
 
Thanks for the info and linkage, japanstrat....ironically, the Japanese site is the very same one that didn't respond to me! :D

I wish they had a better picture of the headstock, because when I zoom into it in the full guitar shot, it looks like it also has a differently shaped plate which could possibly be covering a 1979 Greco logo:

z_logo05.jpg


Until just a few months ago I was also always under the impression that my SRC was an Ibanez/FujiGenGakki/Hoshino product, and didn't know anything about Matsumoku or Kanda Shokai until I read more of the history that others have so kindly posted in recent years. I often wonder if there are any factory workers from back then that are still in the business that would know more details of the construction procedures of the Super Reals from that era.

For what it's worth, shortly before my SRC was stolen, I did remove the pickup covers and changed the bridge pickup to a zebra Duncan Custom. I still have the original in storage somewhere, so hopefully whenever I come across it again I'll be able to check the serial numbers and maybe we'll get a better idea of what it's provenance is...I'm still shaking my head in disbelief that some guys on here actually have the charts with the serial #s and other tech info...thanks guys!
 
well it isn`t an impossible dream to come acroos the very guitar your dad owned, though it may be highly unlikely...but stranger things have happened. It`s not until the past few years that Grecos have garnered as much respect as they now do so who knows if that guitar is still in existance. You would certainly be able to find another of the same model...and probably of the same year.
Of all the MIJs I`ve seen in person and on line I don`t recall any Dominos but there were literally dozens of brands made by just a few factories as far as I can tell. Lots of speculation on the web as to who made what but unfortunately record keeping dosn`t seem to have been a prioity back then for many builders...guess they never dreamed some of their work would be selling for thousands all these years later.
Still...I wish you the best of luck in finding what you`re looking for and I`ll certainly keep my eyes open for anything labeled Domino and if I see something I`ll let cha know.
 
SuperRealCustom,

I bought a guitar several years ago that sounds like yours and currently have it for sale. A potential buyer pointed out to me that according to this site post, your guitar was stolen. Please private message me or email me so we can discuss this. I need to hear from you ASAP. If this was your guitar, I would rather you have the option of getting it back as I lost my Father's guitar like this also. Please respond.
 
Was able to get in touch with SuperRealCustom and talked over the phone about his guitar that was stolen. He is a first class guy. Soon his guitar will be reunited with him, 23 years after it was stolen. I am happy to have been a part of this and wish him happy pickin' and Merry Christmas.

Thanks Super Real, you made my month!
 
Very cool story, nice to hear this happened. And please post some pics of the guitar if you can!
 
I'd love to post some pics but I'll leave that up to the true owner SuperRealCustom when he receives his axe. It was shipped out today so hopefully he has it by mid week.
 
linsteve297 said:
I'd love to post some pics but I'll leave that up to the true owner SuperRealCustom when he receives his axe. It was shipped out today so hopefully he has it by mid week.

Hey everyone:

The last dozen days of my life have been rather surreal, to put it mildly, so my apologies for the delay in getting this post out - right now I'm recovering from a severe case of bronchitis that hit me smack in the middle of it all, so another round of apologies in advance if I get too loopy or forget anything!

As I detailed in my original post 5 years ago, a guitar that was very near and dear to me was stolen from my apartment in Gainesville, Florida on July 7, 1989.

On December 12, 2012 - 23 years, 5 months, 4 days, and over 1000 miles later - that same guitar arrived in my apartment in New York City.

It's been 5 days since then, and my jaw is still on the floor.

Needless to say, I was, and still am, utterly and completely stunned that my Domino would return home 8,558 days after it vanished, and still be in largely in the same condition as the last time I touched it....but it's really true!

I've had an automated search for Domino guitars running on eBay for the last several years, and I'd get a hit every few days, but all were the aforementioned ones from the 60s.

Last week, one matching mine appeared in Jacksonville, Florida, a city about an hour from Gainesville (and ironically, where I'd also moved to a few years after the theft).

The listing date was December 3rd....the same day my father would have turned 70 years old.

To later discover that the seller had gone through a similar experience with his own father's guitar.....and was an upright Southern gentleman who shared the same name as my own father (Steve)....and whose only concern was doing the right thing and getting it back home to me, was truly mind-blowing - and I know both our fathers would both be immensely pleased.

As you see earlier in this thread, Steve's first instinct was to join the forum as linsteve297 and immediately post a note trying to reach me, not knowing at the time that it was me who'd contacted him on eBay and referred him this thread - and then he got back to me on eBay saying he'd been here trying to reach me here - and that speaks volumes.

I can't begin to thank Steve/linsteve297 enough for being such a GREAT guy - the world needs more folks like him out there as a shining example of how we all should treat our brothers and sisters, especially in the less-than-optimal times we live in today.

A lesser man could have easily made things difficult and tried to keep the guitar, but silliness like that was the farthest thing from Steve's mind. We worked out an agreement amongst ourselves that we were both happy with, which ensured he got back everything he put into her, and then some (at my insistence). Actually, "worked out an agreement" is a bit of an incorrect use of words. There was no work, and he actually didn't feel the need to negotiate anything, even telling me if I was there in town right now, he'd say "come over here and get your guitar, man!" He actually felt bad, like I was buying my stolen guitar back from him, but I didn't see it that way at all. I felt he needed to at least be compensated for everything he'd spent, as well as the shipping - and some extra on top of that, because I think good people aren't rewarded for doing good things often enough.

Bless you brother, for giving me my best-ever Christmas present early...and for a second time!

I'm also so incredibly thankful and fortunate that Steve was such a respectful caretaker to my Domino. From what I understand, she was in terrible shape when he bought her a couple years ago at an estate sale, apparently after spending several dusty years corroding and molding in a tattered Gibson case somewhere in northeast Florida. Basically, he did everything I would have done to fix her up and nothing more, which was swapping out rusted screws and broken pickup surrounds and upgrading the original tuners - total crap from the beginning - to a similar set of gold kidney bean Grovers.

For all the time she was gone, and all the bad ways I thought she might look if were she to ever return, she was in remarkable shape. Possible scenarios I'd envisioned were bumper sticker over-coverage, amateur repainting jobs, all the terrible things that happen with never using a case.....and more ominous stuff like neck breakage, botched practice repair jobs, being dragged behind an ATV at a redneck wedding reception, "Death By Townshend" followed by being used as campfire kindling, or being simply burned to a cinder in a crackhouse fire....you name it, I probably thought of it.

Luckily, none of that happened. Like me, she's acquired lots of dings, nicks, knocks, scratches, and bruises over the years, but none so deep they damaged her beauty or character; instead they've actually enhanced her in the best possible way. I'd even put my own share on her before she left - which are how I initially ID-ed her from the eBay pics - and that she's still solid and operating with most of her original hardware is a testament to the quality of Kanda Shokai/Greco craftsmanship and materials during the "Super Real" era. Trust me, it's NOT hype, folks, true "lawsuit guitars" can easily go toe-to-toe with their vintage Gibson cousins when put to the test of time.

I'll post some pictures shortly, which for now will consist mostly of what Steve sent me when I made my initial inquiries through eBay - he also said he has pictures of her from before the cleanup, so I'm looking forward to getting and posting them when they arrive. When I'm feeling better, I'll try to set up some "beauty shots" with my DSLR.....stay tuned!

P.S: I also want to thank Ned, our administrator and host here on TokaiForum, for putting this wonderful site up....as you can see, it was part of what helped me establish the timelines and proof of ownership of my Domino to Steve, and a donation has been made via PayPal to say thanks!

P.P.S: For the record, since my original post I've done some more research on the Domino/Greco connection, and best I've been able to piece together, all signs do seem to point to my guitar being a factory second Greco EG-800. Seems Steve even lifted the "Domino" nameplate to have a peek underneath, and noted in the eBay listing it looked like the Greco logo had been routed out. I need to touch base with him for more details on that - if it's possible to do without damage, I'll pop it back off and take some pictures if he hasn't already.
 
what an amazing story!
I'm glad you got your guitar back,
and keep us posted on the greco routings on the headstock
 
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