2004 Greco Zemaitis Pearl Heart GZ2600IF
I bought this in April 2016 from a dealer in Melbourne Australia. I just loved playing this guitar. Really light weight, I loved the neck and the big frets, sounds great (but not as good as the 335), and people in the audience were always squinting at it wondering what the hell is that thing? I sold it in February 2024 because I was no longer playing in a band and had no need for five electric guitars.
Tony Zemaitis was a guitar builder in London from the 1960s until he retired in 2000. He only built about 10 guitars per year and each one was an individual custom job. No two guitars were exactly the same. Ron Wood (Rolling Stones) was one of the earliest rock stars to use a Zemaitis guitar, while he was still with The Faces. Later they were used by Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, James Honeyman-Scott and some others but they were always a rarity because so few were made. Genuine Zemaitis guitars sell for a lot of money because of their rarity.
This is one of the early Zemaitis copies made in Japan by Greco under licence from the Zemaitis family, as opposed to the originals made by Tony Zemaitis in London or the later ones that are now made in Korea.
An ebay ad for an identical guitar said:
- Features a one piece Honduran Mahogany body and neck (as opposed to the recent Generation II guitars with Nato bodies and neck, not made by Greco) and is factory fitted with a pair of DiMarzio Custom PAF's along with extensive and ornate abalone body binding and finished in 'piano black' nitrocellulose lacquer.
- The bridge and tailpiece were designed by Tony Zemaitis for perfect intonation, ultimate sustain and tonality. Made of Duralumin and handcrafted beautifully with engraving to match all of the metalwork.
- Featuring DiMarzio DP103 PAF pickups. The pickup mount rings are also made of engraved Duralumin to complement the bridge.
- Zemaitis Method Set-in Neck
The neck joint is a critical part of a top-quality guitar. Tony Zemaitis only ever used glued-in joints. He experimented with various types of set-in neck joints with the aim of achieving the best possible results and designed a special technique where the neck was set further into the body than mainstream construction methods. The Zemaitis neck joint enables the neck and body to have more surface area in contact. This increases the durability of the whole guitar as well as enhancing string vibration, tone and sustain. - Neck / Scale
25" scale with in Honduran mahogany construction as used by Tony Zemaitis for strength and stability. It has an ebony fingerboard with binding, precision frets and the perfect shaped neck for playability - all undertaken by experienced craftsman in the Zemaitis shop. - Electronics
Without compromise, Zemaitis uses the best high quality low-noise components and wiring components available, include a dedicated 'pot' design. All of this ensures smooth control and durability for your Zemaitis guitars. - Hand-Polishing
The finish is another key quality of the instrument. Tony had a special hand-finishing technique involving multiple coats of hand-applied lacquer and rubbing-down by hand in-between each coat. - This process takes 4-5 times longer than a typical 'spray finished' factory-guitar but it gives you the wonderful look and feel of a hand-built vintage guitar. Zemaitis continues this art of hand-finishing where master craftsmen hand-polish each individual guitar.
- Hand-polishing gives the guitar a silky touch which is unlike anything else - when played. Tony also chose this method because you get a very strong but thin coating. This enables the natural acoustic qualities of the wood to come through - so you get a better sound too!
FEATURES
- Body: 1-Piece Honduran Mahogany
- Body Shape: Single cutaway
- Neck: 1-Piece Honduran Mahogany
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Frets: 24 Frets
- Scale: 25"(635mm)
- Tuners: Schaller M6
- Pickups: DiMarzio Custom PAF x 2 (DP103/ZDS07-2)
- Controls: 3 Way Selector Switch, 2 Volume, 2 Tone
- Bridge: GZ-BR (Zemaitis Original Solid Duralumin)
It has a beautifully engraved metal tailpiece, pickup surrounds, input jack, truss rod cover and headstock logo, as well as a quite decorative bridge.
