Up for sale, a 1990 Greco JS-600 John Sykes Special Rock model Custom "Black Beauty" electric guitar in 100% original condition and in perfect working order. From the tail end of the Mint Collection era of production, this Special Rock model (previously dubbed Rock History and Rock Spirits in the official Greco catalogs) was crafted in Japan's famed Fujigen factory. A staple in the ‘80s riff realm, Sykes is most notably known as a guitarist for both Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. Featuring John’s signature aesthetic with chrome pickup surrounds and hardware, this lawsuit-era LP truly delivers the goods, with incredible attention to vintage Gibson spec. And while no legal action was taken against Greco for these guitars, Gibson did commission the same factory to make their "Orville" line of instruments which were produced concurrently with this model and exclusively sold within Japan.

Clearly a direct response to the '68 Les Paul Custom, this model features a carved maple top, mahogany body, long neck tenon, "Screamin" PAF pickups, braided pickup leads, full-size pots, and a hand-carved bone nut. It's an extremely lively and powerful sounding instrument, and the craftsmanship is evident in the great playability and classic range of Les Paul tones. The bridge pickup has a complex and detailed sound, with a touch of growl, sweet midrange, and rich, round bass response. The neck position humbucker delivers more girth and fullness while still offering plenty of clarity, and it's an ideal sound for saturated lead lines. Weighing 9lbs 8oz and balancing well on a strap, we've had this Greco professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with low action, solid intonation, and 10-46 strings.

The neck has a medium C shaped profile with modest shoulder at the nut, gaining more heft and roundness as you travel up the fretboard, measuring .845” deep at the 1st fret and 1.010” at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard features pearloid block inlay and stock fretwire just shy of medium jumbo. These frets are very similar to what Gibson used in the late '60s, with identical width and a bit more height and crown. There is light wear exclusively beneath the plain strings on the crowns of frets 1-5, and virtually no wear further up the fretboard. The guitar plays well up the straight neck with a responsive truss rod and a 12” fretboard radius. The scale length is 24 3/4”, and the hand-carved bone nut measures 1 11/16" in width. On the headstock, the guitar features a small volute, multi-ply binding, chrome Gotoh tuners, and clean pearloid inlay that very closely mimics Gibson's split diamond look.

All of the electronics work as they should, with original full-size pots that date to ‘90, as well as the same high quality braided pickup leads seen on any Gibson. The chrome hardware shows only light surface patina, and a set of original reflector cap knobs rounds out the plastics. The multi-ply binding has lightly aged, and the clear coat has some very minor chipping on the binding along the edges of the fretboard, not distracting to the palm in the slightest. The Ebony gloss finish shows its fair share of dings and finish scratches. In contrast, the neck profile sports a clean gloss finish.