However, we do know that these guitars were likely built by Kawai, Teisco, and/or Guyatone (other manufacturers are possible as well). Unfortunately, there is very little documentation or early catalog literature on the Kingston brand, so it is nearly impossible to date their guitars or group them into series. It’s obvious that quantity trumped quality when it came to producing the guitars, and it isn’t surprising that the electronics have some issues after all these years. By the mid-1960s, however, Westheimer was no longer importing Teisco (or Teisco Del Ray) guitars, and he turned his attention back to the Kingston trademark, but added electric guitars this time. Westheimer’s electric line at the time was built in Japan by Teisco and branded as such before the name changed to Teisco Del Ray. At first, Kingston guitar models were limited to acoustics that were similar in style to Harmony’s Stella line. by Jack Westheimer, who was an early pioneer of importing and distributing Japanese instruments during the late 1950s and 1960s.
Kingston guitars were built in Japan and imported into the U.S. What you have yourself here is a vintage/modern guitar-player pack, and all for 20 bucks! It sounds like you have given this guitar more attention in the past few months than it has seen in the past 50 years. I’ll probably open it up soon to clean the electronics a bit and see about shimming the neck to lower the action. Besides those marks, the finish is great. The owners used a camera strap with metal clips instead of a guitar strap, leaving some marks in the finish around the strap buttons. Still, the short scale and light strings make it easy to play anyway. Action is a bit high at the moment, and adjustment is limited to bridge height unless I shim the neck (no truss-rod adjustment is obvious).
The whammy bar works and provides a nice warble in a limited range. Intonation is difficult since the bridge is a bar of metal with grooves cut into the top. Both pickups and associated switches work, and the volume and tone pots function without noise.
There is a little crackling if the cable is touched while connected, but otherwise, the electronics seem solid. I’ve put new strings on it and, other than some dust and grime gathered over the years, the guitar is in great shape. I’ve tried researching Kingston guitars, but can’t come up with much. On Father’s Day weekend, I found this guitar at a local garage sale in Bellevue, Washington, for $20-including gigbag, cables, spare strings, and a little Danelectro amp.
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