DOWNLOAD: Music_Emporium_1975_Catalog
Products covered, with vague text, no specs (or prices), and moody photography/impressionistic illustration, include: 1975 Martin D-18, D-28, D-35, etc; Gibson Les Paul bass, Triumph, Signature, ES-335TD-SV, ES-345TD, among others; Gibson J-200, Blue Ridge 12, and J-55; Dobro 60D, 33, 90, and 35 resonator guitars; Guild F-50, F-40, D-50, F-212XL, among others; Fender Telecaster, Telecaster Deluxe, Thinline, Precision, Jazz, and Telecaster Basses; the Bradley line of directly-imported MIJ ‘Lawsuit’ guitars, including the Doubleneck, FV-60, ES-775, TE350, JB60-W, ST50-N, LP65-N, and LP54; Amplifiers and PA from Acoustic, Ampeg, DB Sound (look similar to Heil, which is also represented), Gollehon PA from Grand Rapids, MI, including their 8218/M, 8218/A, MR-90 Horn, 8220/M and /A models; AKG, Shure, and Maruni Mics; ARP and Moog synthesizers; and a pile of guitar effects pedals that no one can afford anymore.
A possible overall explanation? It’s the Whole Earth Catalog Effect. If yr not familiar with the Whole Earth Catalog (h.f. WEC), and you have any interest whatsoever in American culture of the 1970s, get a copy of an early edition and check it out. It is one of the most seminal documents of the era, as well as being an early precursor of the peer-to-peer information exchange style that we now experience in the form of….yup… the internet. There were about a billion (or googleplex…) copies printed and you can find if for a few bucks at most community book sales or used book shops. Anyhow, WEC was such a powerful and ubiquitous presence among the more liberal and artistic elements of American Society in the 70s that we start to see its editorial and visual style reflected in actual catalogs of the era that were directed at a similar demographic. For another example of this phenomenon, check this…
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The only really interesting bit as far as the equipment offered is the BRADLEY line of guitars. Bradley was apparently the house-brand of directly-imported Japanese-made guitars which ME exclusively sold.
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thank you for saving this history
I just bought a bradley strat in the Netherlands.
I just bought a Les Paul Bradley Electric Guitar at music store in 2018 and sounds very good from Virginia
I just bought a Bradley-logo'd Strat - from Japan. Looking into it, it's in every detail (incl internals stamps and production markings) a 1987 Tokai Gold Star Sound TST-55SWR in original condition. It has the Made In Japan sticker that Tokai used exclusively on export guitars, so it seems it was at least intended for shipment to the US. It's not the first one I've seen for sale in Japan, so it's possible it's part of a batch that was never actually delivered and sold as-is in Japan instead.
It would be interesting to get a closer look at a Bradley Strat that actually made it to the US. The other Bradleys I've seen online seem to come from other sources than Tokai.