Switched-On Box

With its range of tones and innovative features, the Teisco Spectrum 5 will push your buttons.

- TERRY CARLETON

MANY COLLECTIBLE ODDBALL guitars are dubbed Holy Grailer. This month, I'm going to revisit one of the best by Teisco and share the journey I've been on for the past 15 years or so that I've owned it. The Spectrum Five was different from Teisco's typical 1960s output. As is well known, the Japanese company was among the Asian and European guitar makers that brought odd shapes and innovative electronics to the U.S. market during that decade. But while Teisco and its late-'60s parent company, Kawai, were saturating department stores with entry-level guitars under a myriad of nameplates, they came to believe their newfound market share might put them in a position to compete with the Gibsons and Fenders of the day. That's where the Spectrum Five comes in.

WEIRDO FACTOR