1967 Teisco ET-312 and Checkmate Amplifiers

These images are from a 1967 mail order catalog in my collection and are presented here for historical purposes only.

Teisco Instruments At K Mart in March 1972

1972 Teisco ET- 200 Tulip Guitar

Checkmate 66 Amp and Teisco Guitars - Christmas 1970

1971 Teisco Guitars and Checkmate Amp

During the 1960's and 1970's, I saw and played many guitars made by Teisco and many different Checkmate amps. The amplifiers might be numbered anywhere from 8 through 100. Also depending on when they were made, the same numbered amp might look different or the speaker(s) size might vary in different years. Here are the Teisco electric guitars and one Checkmate amp sold by Radio Shack in 1971. We did not have a Radio Shack Store in Mount Airy until the late 1970's. I did see one of these amps either in Winston-Salem or Greensboro.
 If anyone has a better photo of the amp to confirm the correct number, I would appreciate it.

Teisco Spectrum Guitars

I believe the highest price I ever saw on any of the Spectrum line was $89.95 new in stores.

1968 Teisco Guitar Ads

1966 Teisco Guitar Ad

Teisco Guitars come to Burlington, NC in 1965

This is the earliest newspaper reference I have found for Teisco guitars in North Carolina.

Teisco Guitars Come to North Carolina

Between 1965 and late 1976, Teisco guitars and amplifiers could be purchased new in North Carolina stores. Among the stores carrying Teisco products were Lowe's, Rose's, KMart and Sky City. Teisco items could also be found in other stores that sold tv's, appliances and hardware. I saved up  $100 in 1966 in order to purchase an electric guitar and amplifier. The guitar was a Teisco Del Rey ET-210 and the amplifier was a Checkmate 14 with a 6 X 9 oval speaker. The amp had 3 inputs, with tremolo speed, strength, volume and tone controls mounted on top of the amp. The amp also came with a foot switch to turn the tremolo on/off. The sound from this little amp was crystal clear. On each end of the amp there was a chrome aluminum strip running along the top and front of the cabinet sides. After 1966, the CM-14's I saw had the controls mounted on the front. Some of those had either an 8 or 10 inch round speaker.