Some Teisco History from North Carolina

Between 1965 and late 1977, Teisco guitars and amplifiers could be purchased new in North Carolina stores. Among the stores carrying Teisco products were Lowe's, Rose's, KMart, Belk, Walgreens and Sky City. Teisco items could also be found in other stores that sold tv's, appliances and hardware.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

More Teisco Check Mate Amplifiers from the 1960's

Over the past 50 years or so, I have seen and/or played through at least 22 different numbered amplifiers offered in the Teisco Check Mate line. Those are CM- 8,10,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22, 23, 25,30,45,50,60,66,88,100 and 480. My first amp was a new CM-14 in 1966. My second was a CM-22 purchased used in 1971 for $50 in like new condition. My third Check Mate amp was a CM-10 I bought new in 1976 for $15 to use as a practice amp. I am trying to confirm all of the Teisco Check Mate amp numbers ever produced and the different styles and configurations in order to display them on this site. Here are a few more to add to the amps I have already posted.


Monday, March 14, 2016

1970's Ad Featuring A Teisco Spectrum 5

In the early 1970's you could still find a new Spectrum 5 in my area. The last new one I saw back then had a price tag of $45. That was about half of what they sold for ($89) in the mid -1960's in our stores. I regret now that I did not buy one but I already had several guitars and amps at the time.


Monday, March 7, 2016

Teisco Check Mate CM-66 Amplifier

The CM-66 was introduced to the United States during 1968. From then until 1976 I saw a lot of CM-66's in stores and played through a few as well. Over the years not only did the appearance of the amps vary but there were other variations as well. Examples of some of those would be the number of inputs and speakers. Also the speaker sizes varied. Sometimes there was only one speaker. This was common with a lot of the Teisco amplifier models over the years. The department store chains must have bought Teisco equipment by boxcar loads. From what I have read on the internet, Teisco  products stopped being shipped to the US between 1969 and 1973 depending on what site you read. I bought one of the last CM-10 amps sold by our local Rose's store in late 1976 for $15 to use as a practice amp.


1969 Christmas Ad For Teisco Del Rey Spectrum Guitars


Teisco Del Rey Guitars From The 1960's