Greco D-80P Resonator Guitar 1990 BRUGT

The Greco D-80P is an unusual Japanese-made electric resonator from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Greco is far better known for its electric guitars from this period, but the D-80P was a regular catalogue model rather than a later conversion or one-off. It combined a traditional spider-bridge resonator system with a factory-installed magnetic pickup and conventional volume and tone controls.

This 1990 example in Natural has the characteristic large resonator coverplate, paired f-holes and round-neck construction. The back is arched rather than flat, while the neck is a three-piece maple construction with a rosewood fingerboard. The combination makes the D-80P feel considerably closer to a conventional acoustic guitar than many traditional resonators, which doesn’t make it any less cool!

The resonator itself uses a single cone with a spider bridge. A lipstick-style magnetic pickup is mounted immediately in front of the fingerboard, with master volume and tone controls positioned on the lower bout.

Acoustically, this particular guitar sits somewhere between a conventional resonator and a hollowbody acoustic, with plenty of the metallic attack associated with a spider bridge but a rounder overall tone dues to the wood (maple) body. It plays great, and the frets are effectively like new.

Condition is very good for its age, with standard playwear and some light tarnishing and ageing to the metal hardware. The D-80P remains a relatively uncommon model and is an interesting, very rare and very usable alternative to the more traditional National and Dobro-derived resonator designs.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Model: Greco D-80P
• Year: 1990
• Country of manufacture: Japan
• Instrument type: Round-neck acoustic/electric resonator guitar
• Finish: Natural
• Body style: D-size / round-shouldered acoustic-style body
• Body material: Maple
• Back: Arched maple
• Soundholes: Twin f-holes
• Resonator type: Single-cone
• Bridge system: Spider bridge
• Saddle: Bone
• Coverplate: Chrome-plated metal resonator coverplate
• Neck: Three-piece maple
• Neck joint: Set neck
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Fingerboard radius: Approximately 12″
• Scale length: Approximately 25.5″ / 648 mm
• Nut width: Approximately 43 mm / 1 11/16″
• Frets: 22
• Fingerboard markers: Pearl-style dots
• Pickup: Greco lipstick-style magnetic single coil
• Pickup position: Neck / end of fingerboard
• Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
• Tuners: Gotoh enclosed tuners
• Hardware finish: Chrome
• Strings: 6
• Orientation: Right-handed