1978 Greco SA 800 WR (ES 345)

There were very few Japanese production models of ES-345’s. In 1978 Greco introduced the SA 800, which is a highly appointed copy of an ES-345 built largely to the same specifications as Gibson at the time. Construction is sycamore (English Maple) laminate body, maple center block sandwiched between spruce, a three-piece maple neck, striped ebony fingerboard and split parallelogram inlays. Finish on this SA 800 is Wine Red (WR).

As a 345 all its hardware is gold plated, including it's PU-2 humbuckers. It also features a Greco version of the varitone switch, which alters the tone substantially using a range of capacitors. Tone can go from bypass, to a very thick heavy bluesy sound, to progressively thinner sounds as the knob is rotated.

The PU-2 pickups work exceptionally well with the varitone, making this a serious and versatile blues machine. PU-2’s are excellent and one of my favorite Maxon made pickups. These are original to the guitar, dated February 8, 1978 matching the February 1978 serial number on the guitar.

One very desirable feature of the varitone on this model is that it is mono rather than stereo, which doesn’t require two amps or any special cables.

I found an original magazine ad (see pics) from October 1978. The last catalog that shows this model is from 1981, while it is missing from 1980 catalogs, so it was only offered for a few years and I’ve yet to see one dated past 1979.
Condition overall on this guitar is very good, with a few chips, dings, some buckle-rash on the back and aging of the hardware as can be expected given it’s age. The binding on the neck has cracks, mostly on the treble side which I have gently sanded so it is smooth to the touch and appears to be stable as I’ve had this guitar for quite a few years.

This guitar has been completely gone through: pots were replaced, frets level, crown & polish; harness pulled to clean switch, jack and varitone, fretboard cleaned and oiled, body and neck cleaned, neck/truss rod adjusted for relief, action intonation set. No buzzing or dead spots anywhere on the neck and a fresh set of D’addario 10-46 strings installed. Sounds amazing through a good amp. This is one of my favorite Greco models.

The guitar will come with one of the optional original aluminum frame hard cases this model came with.

This guitar is located in the US.

I am a serious collector of high-end Japanese guitars, with an emphasis on 335's. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions or visit my website to see my collection or learn more about vintage Japanese guitars. https://www.guitarsofjapan.com/