The Westbury 'RS-22' is the newest model manufactured by Westbury Guitars since 1981 and, without a doubt, has the same historical impact for collectors and players as the vintage models. The History of Westbury Guitars Many people think of the history of American guitars in terms of American manufacturers, but the tradition is much richer.
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Electra History

YEAR APPROXIMATE LAST SERIAL NUMBER PRODUCED 1953 1000-1500 1954 1500-2200 1955 2200-3000 1956 3000-4000 1957 4000-5700 1958 5700-8300 1959 -1969 This chart displays the first and last serial numbers of guitars produced in each year from 1960 to 1969 (inclusive); no corresponding model names or numbers are available.

These pages are dedicated to the Electra MPC line of guitars Guitars (1976-1983).

Electra guitars were imported from Japan by the Saint Louis Music (SLM) of Saint Louis, Missouri from 1971 to 1984 (most MPC models were made by Matsumoku of Matsumoku , Japan) . Matsumoku has made many popular guitar brands over the years including; Aria, Westbury, Westone, Epiphone, Vantage & Vox to name but a few.

Electra MPC Timeline

1975-76

Tom Presley was hired as the Product Manager (also involved in marketing) to begin MPC project. John Karpowitz was then hired to design & build Modular Powered Circuits (MPC) modules. In 1976 The MPC guitars debut.

1978

Outlaw MPC & Outlaw MPC Bass (both named after the band 'The Outlaws' who were Electra endorsers at the time), Semi-Acoustic MPC (ES-335 style), X910 'Derringer' MPC (Explorer) all debut. Gibson style headstocks are also changed this year to the more familiar wave or fan shaped ones most MPC fans are used to.

1979-80

The Contoured Ultima MPC Les Paul, Vulcan MPC (a Les Paul copy with a Tele curve on upper bout), Leslie West MPC (sort of a Les Paul Special) all debut in this time frame.

1981-84

Ties with Matsumoku are further solidified in 1981 and decision made to merge SLM Electra brand with Matsumoku's Westone brand. At some point in the early 80's, some production is moved to Korea. MPC Ultima X960 debuts in 1981. In the fall of 1983, Electra brand becomes Electra-Phoenix. By early 1984 it became Electra-Westone and by the end of 1984 it is just Westone.
St. Louis Music Inc's reason to abandon the Electra line were; overall, the MPC were not a great marketing success (seems unbelievable with the success Electra's are now enjoying :-)

1985-NOW

Electra Westone became Crate which is still around.

Whatsapp for mac os x 10.8 5. Dating your Electra: Matsumoku made guitars have serial number in which the first one or two digits represent the year of manufacture. A guitar with a serial number that begins in '0' or '80' would have been built in 1980 (this is just a guideline and DOES NOT apply to all Electra models but seems a safe bet for 1977-1981 guitars).

The Electra MPC's claim to fame was, and is, on-board effects (more commonly referred to as effects modules). No stomp boxes required. If you want to use an effect (wah, phase shifter, etc) , all you have to do is flip a switch on the front of the guitar, and turn a knob (also on the front of the guitar) to adjust the intensity of the effect. Twelve different modules were available in all.

Peter Frampton Electra brochure

Over the years major musicians endorsed the MPC line, such as, Peter Frampton, Leslie West (signature model), ELO, Allen 'Free Bird' Collins, Chris Squire (MPC Bass), The Outlaws (signature guitar & bass), and Rick Derringer (X910 model is also known as the 'Derringer' model). Despite these endorsements, the Electra line still disappeared while the SLM went on to produce Westone & Crate products. Today, SLM distributes Crate, Ampeg, Alvarez & Austin products. So as you can see, it's a misconception that SLM disappeared or went bankrupt..they just changed.

The first school of thought was that the Electra MPC line were shoddily manufactured gimmick guitars. Now, twenty five plus years later, they are finally starting to be recognized for superior craftsmanship and playability. For years many Electra's languished in pawn shops while buyers focused on vintage Fenders and Gibson's. Now, there seems to be a resurgence in both their value and reputation for quality.

Electra MPC's in Print

Local Used Guitars For Sale

Guitar Player Febuary 1994 - Not very flattering, 1 paragraph in an article named 'Treasures & Turds' written by 2 guys (snobs) who probably wouldn't know and Electra guitar if it bit them in the a** ;-)

Vintage Guitar August 1994 - Excellent 3 page article on MPC's and Electra history by Michael Wright. Available as a back issue from Vintage Guitar for a mere 2 bucks!

Vintage Guitar Price Guide 5th Edition (1996) - Half page of text. Not bad info, but not 100%

Vintage Guitar September 2001 - Here he goes again! Incredible 4 page article by Michael Wright with tons of amazing ads and pictures. VG has sold out of this issue :-(

Westbury Guitar Serial Number Identification

Westbury Guitar Serial Number Decoder

Thanks to all the extremely helpful people who have provided the information and photos to make these pages possible! Page first created Aug 1998 by Mike Cantrell, transferred to Mike H Feb 2001. Page expanded and run Feb 2001- Jan 2005 & Nov 2005-Dec 2005 by Mike H. Page transferred to X189player Dec 2005.Pages updated and transferred to John Thornburg Jan 2006