Up for sale, a 1984 Greco model RR55 LP custom in excellent condition and in perfect working order with an Alpine White gloss finish, 100% original save for a professional refret. Taking its cues from Randy Rhoads’ famous ‘74 Les Paul Custom (hence the “RR” model designation), this is a particularly rare Greco, with special care taken to recreating the small mods Rhoads made to his instrument including gold speed knobs and Schaller-style tuning machines.
It's incredible the attention to detail executed by Greco at the Fujigen factory on their Mint Collection series instruments like the RR55. They simply nail the small touches of vintage GIbson models, with details like a long neck tenon, patent numbers on the bottom of the ABR-1-style bridge, and perfectly shaped small headstock volute setting the Greco guitars apart from many lesser "lawsuit" instruments. And while the Greco guitars were never subject to any actual legal action, they still are considered under the umbrella of what's commonly referred to as "lawsuit: instruments, due to their reverence and accuracy to their USA-made counterparts.
Tonally, the pair of original "Screamin" PAF-style humbuckers (wound in-house at Fujigen, metering 7.6k ohms at the neck and 7.8k at the bridge) deliver a great array of traditional Les Paul sounds. The bridge position has a rich growl and cut with great note attack and harmonic complexity, while the neck pickup is fat and round, retaining excellent clarity. Weighing 9lbs 13oz, this RR55 is well-balanced on a strap and offers plenty of natural sustain and punch. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Greco RR55 is setup with 10-46 strings, low action and accurate intonation.
The neck has a chunky C-shaped profile carve with full shoulders and notable heft in the higher registers of the fretboard, measuring .860" deep at the 1st fret and 1.040" at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard features pearloid block inlay, refretted with pristine medium jumbo fretwire. The guitar plays cleanly up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The bone nut measures a full 1 11/16" in width. The headstock sports an inlaid Greco logo and a vaguely diamond-shaped pattern, with multi-ply binding and gold Schaller-style tuning machines with the Greco "G" on each gear.
All of the electronics are original, working exactly as they should with untouched solder joints and full-size pots that date to February of 1984. The long neck tenon is visible in the neck pickup cavity, a structural bonus that increases sustain and resonance. Hardware includes the ABR-1-style bridge and corresponding stopbar, both of which have consistent patina across the gold plating. Plastics include the original quartet of gold speed knobs and original black pickup rings. The neck pickup ring has a small chip missing beneath the top treble-side screw, but is entirely stable. The multi-ply black pickguard is also included (currently uninstalled).
The Alpine White gloss finish has gracefully yellowed, framed by multi-ply binding which also shows some ambering. Cosmetic wear is limited to some requisite pick scuffing across the strum path, some light finish scratches in the clear coat on the body as a whole, and a couple isolated lines of finish checking on the back of the headstock and at the neck heel, most notably extending from the treble side edge of the nut (all of which is purely aesthetic). The gloss finish on the neck profile is otherwise pristine.
The original brown faux leather gigbag is included, along with the original Japanese user manual, and the original pickguard.