Orpheus 12-String Electric Guitar

1970s Orpheus 12-String Electric Guitar


Orpheus – a little known brand of guitars

Over the years, the Orpheus brand is a name has been used on several lines of guitars in different parts of the world: from Bulgaria to the former Soviet Union, to the United States and Japan.
Through research, we found that in the late 1960s through mid-1970s, Coast Wholesale Music Company of California imported a line of electric guitars made in Japan under the Orpheus name. It is suspected, but not proven, that these electric guitars could have been made in the highly respected Matsumoku factory of Japan.

Luckily, we found this Orpheus 12-string hollow body electric back in May 2019 at Centaur Guitar in Portland, Oregon (BTW: The guys at Centaur really know their stuff when it comes to 1970s made in Japan guitars, so give them a call or stop by). Since I already owned a mid-1970’s Univox Coily, I recognized that the build and the pickups were very similar. The body, the neck, the triple edge binding, the cherry burst finish, and the pickups all resembled other guitars we’d seen from Matsumoku.

Built by Matsumoku Industrial of Japan (we think, we’re not sure!) and imported to the U.S. by Coast Wholesale Music Company of California, this 12-string semi-acoustic hollow body electric from the 1970’s is a rare bird.

Ultra-thin cutaway electric guitars from an old Coast Wholesale Music Company catalog.

What do you think? Leave your comments below, thanks!

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Hashtags: #Orpheus #MIJ #Matsumoku #Tesico #Lawsuit #Guitar

1965 Murph 12-String Squire in Candy Apple Red

A very rare sighting of a Murph Squire 12-string electric guitar!

As seen on Ebay, this Squire 12-string is in pretty good shape for its age. The Murph Squire 6 and 12-string guitars were built by Murphy Music Industries – a company started by WWII veteran Patrick Murphy – in the San Fernando, California in the mid-1960s.

More…

Here is the original Ebay listing:
VERY RARE MURPH 12 STRING SQUIER GUITAR.Made in Cal. USA guitar.Candy Apple Red

Here is more about Patrick Murphy and Murph Guitars:
Murph Guitars Website

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Mike Campbell’s 12-string Rickenbacker

Mike Campbell and his 12-string Rickenbacker

The best $150 Mike Campbell ever spent!

Mike Campbell talks about the solid-bodied Rickenbacker 12-string he found shopping through the old “Recycler” advertising newspaper, driving to Anaheim, and later discovering it was built on the assembly line with George Harrison’s guitar in the 1960’s.

Click the link to watch the video.

YouTube Link:  Mike Campbell Tells About His Rickenbacker 12-string

Classic Album: Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Hashtags: #mikecampbell #tompetty #heartbreakers #tpath #rickenbacker #12string #georgeharrison

Murph Guitars


Almost Famous

Here’s the story of Murph Guitars. It’s the story of how Patrick Murphy, a WWII Navy pilot from Detroit, who moved to California in the 1960′s – and for a brief period – became a designer and manufacturer of some groovy electric guitars.

The story is told here by author Michael Wright of Vintage Guitar Magazine (www.vintageguitar.com).

Find Out More

More about Patric Murphy and Murph guitars at the fan website dedicated to the history Murph Guitars.

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