Greco History: The Legendary Rise from the EG-360 to Fender Japan (1960s-1980s)

Greco history runs from a 1960s guitar brand to the Japanese copy era’s biggest name, and then to the founding of Fender Japan in 1982. This article follows it era by era: the EG-360, the Narumo model and the Order-Made System, the Project Series, the Super Real years and the Mint Collection. For which Greco to buy today, see the Greco Brand Guide.

Prefer to watch? This article is based on my own video below.

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Greco History at a Glance

1960s: Where Greco History Begins

Greco’s history reaches back to the early 1960s, when the company sold both acoustic and electric guitars. Its early lineup even included an inventive model called the “Shrike,” which featured a patented, boomerang-shaped, L-split coil pickup.

The “Greco” name itself originated in America, born through a New York–based guitar maker called Goya. The Japanese side later took over the name. Exactly who founded or registered what—and when—remains somewhat unclear even today. But from 1968 onward, Greco had firmly become a Japanese brand: Kanda Shokai ran it, and Fujigen built the guitars. This is where Greco took shape as the brand most enthusiasts know today.

Because the early ownership of the name is still debated, the commonly cited timeline in the Greco guitars entry on Wikipedia is a useful companion to this part of Greco history.

The First Catalog and Early Models

The very first catalog was titled Greco & Arai Diamond Electric Guitars, with the KF190, a Telecaster-type guitar, on the cover. It was likely designed from a photo alone, without the makers ever holding a real one. Its 3-on-a-side headstock oddly matched Fender’s own Telecaster prototype.

The EG135, an ES-335 copy, was similar—a full-hollow body dressed up to look like a semi-acoustic. But one early standout was the violin bass copies, the VB200 and VB300. Greco led the field on these, and the superior quality made them Fujigen Gakki’s biggest hit of the era.

1971: The EG-360 and the Copy Era

In 1970s Japan, American guitars like Gibsons and Fenders were extremely expensive. Young players were falling in love with overseas rock bands, but buying a genuine American guitar simply wasn’t realistic for most. Greco answered that demand by building guitars that captured the Gibson and Fender styles at prices Japanese players could afford. This is why the Les Paul–style EG series and the Stratocaster-style SE series caught on—placing Greco alongside Tokai, Burny, and Fernandes as defining names of the Japanese copy-guitar era.

The EG-360: Japan’s First Serious Les Paul Copy

Released in 1971, the EG-360 was essentially the first serious Les Paul copy made in Japan. Earlier “kinda Les Paul-ish” attempts had been poorly made and expensive, and never caught on. The EG-360 was different: priced at an almost unbelievable 36,000 yen, with that instantly recognizable silhouette. It became a massive hit and launched Greco to the top of Japan’s domestic electric guitar world.

Underneath, however, it differed from the original—using a hollow arched-top body and a detachable bolt-on neck. It looked the part, but in sound and construction it was a very different animal.

The Narumo Model and the Order-Made System

After top guitarist Shigeru Narumo saw the EG-360 at a music show, he requested a custom version. Greco built a special EG-360 with a solid carved body, back contour, block inlays, semi-open humbuckers, and a set neck—the first “Narumo model.” From 1972, it became a regular product, the EG-800, lasting until early 1977.

The flood of modification requests that followed eventually choked normal production, prompting Greco’s revolutionary Order-Made System: customers chose from base patterns and specified their own details. Orders poured in from across Japan and overseas. These premium, near one-of-a-kind builds demanded high quality, which in turn pushed Greco’s craftsmanship even higher.

The Brian May Connection: The BM900

In the late 1970s, a customer used the Order-Made System to ask Greco to recreate the Red Special. After a Japanese magazine featured the resulting one-off, inquiries exploded, and Greco officially released the production BM900. Notably, the guitar was actually used by Brian May himself—visible in the music video for Queen’s “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy.”

1976: The Project Series

Launched in 1976, the Project Series represented Greco at its absolute peak—the equivalent of a Gibson or Fender Custom Shop. It marked a clear move away from cheap copies toward high-end models built on the strength of the Greco name itself, aiming to surpass the quality of the brands it referenced.

High-end Les Paul–type and 335-type models included the EG-1200, EG-1350, EG-1500, and SA-900, alongside Stratocaster-influenced models like the SE-1000 and SE-1200. As was standard then, the model number matched the price: the SA-900 cost 90,000 yen, the EG-1500 cost 150,000 yen—well out of reach for the average player.

The Pickups That Defined the Series

Japanese pickups, specifically Maxon, were evolving fast. The U-1000 humbucker spawned several versions, topped by the rare and expensive U-4000, fitted to very few models and still little understood today.

For single coils, the series used Maxon Excel PU-119 units—built in a traditional Fender style, delivering a bell-like chime and clear, cutting tone that keeps them in high demand. The top SE-1200 received the DiMarzio FS-1 Fat Strat pickup, which for Japanese players at the time was actually the more expensive option.

1974–1979: Greco’s Own Designs

Alongside the copies, Greco built a run of originals: the RW-700 Ron Wood model (1974), the double-cutaway MR series from a Mick Ralphs order (1975), the neck-through GO series (1977), the Mirage (1978), sold overseas as the Ibanez Iceman, and the fusion-era Boogie (1979). Most were wound down after 1982.

1979–1982: The Super Real Years

The Super Real series is considered Greco’s masterpiece—a thorough recreation of vintage guitars that defined its golden age. The catalyst was competition: in 1978, Tokai released its LS series with vintage accuracy good enough to rival real vintage models, openly declaring builds like “a recreation of the 1958 model.” To answer, Greco made a bold call—scrapping its entire existing EG lineup and starting over.

Greco took original 1960s guitars apart, rebuilt the line around them and gave it its own Maxon-built Dry-Z humbucker. The Super Real EG and SE models were highly praised but made only from 1979 to 1982.

1982: Fender Japan and the Mint Collection

The Founding of Fender Japan

The biggest shift came in 1982, when Kanda Shokai and Fujigen partnered with Fender to found Fender Japan. They could now build Strats under the official brand—but it also meant Greco’s Fender-style replicas were on their way out.

A persistent rumor held that early Fender Japan guitars were just rebadged Greco SEs. People involved have denied this. According to former Fujigen managing director Mr. Nakata and Mr. Sugimoto (now head of Sugi Guitars), a Greco SE1200 logo was swapped just once for show displays and catalog photos out of necessity—but the guitars that actually shipped were built from scratch, reworking specs and blueprints with cooperation from Fender’s headquarters.

Winding Down the Original Models

Alongside the partnership and the changing music trends of the 1980s, Greco’s original models were wound down—the Mirage, GO, GOB bass, GO II, and GO III. In 1984, the entire MR series dropped out of the catalog.

The Mint Collection

Also in 1982 came the Mint Collection, which carried on the Super Real spirit and supported Greco through the 1980s. With Fender Japan handling the Fender side, production centered on Gibson-style models. But from around 1980, Gibson began pressuring Japanese copy brands, forcing detail changes: a redesigned truss-rod cover, dropped “Super Real” headstock text, and on some models, omitted fret-edge binding or non-nitro finishes. Unavoidably, the series drifted away from being a faithful copy.

Greco Today

Today’s Greco puts its own character front and center rather than coasting on nostalgia. The wide lineup includes historical models updated to modern specs, beginner-friendly instruments, and archtop-style guitars—all made in Japan, with easy-handling necks, lightweight bodies, and reliable parts.

For today’s models and which Greco to buy, see the Greco Brand Guide.

Final Thoughts

Greco went from a cheap EG-360 to custom orders, a custom-shop-level Project Series and the obsessive Super Real, and its makers ended up building Fender Japan. Few Japanese brands shaped the copy era, and what came after it, as much. That is why Greco history is, in many ways, the history of Japanese guitars themselves.

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