Members bobbymeanswell Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I found a strange guitar in my in-laws basement recently. My wife claims to have played it when she was a kid. It's called a "Targa". There is little other identification on this thing. Web searches have resulted in a handful of (other) Canadian guys looking for information on their own version of Targas. In my websearches, I have seen two versions of the guitar and a single version of a bass. It's vintage appears to be late 70s early 80s. Its actually not a bad guitar, but it seems like no one has ever heard of it... Has anyone every heard of these guitars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sylvesterlowery Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 The headstock looks kinda like a late 70's Cort( or Cortez). Probably Japanese made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I think Sears sold them in the 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yzfou Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I bought one a year ago and never could find out who made or how much it was worth. But i'm pretty sure Cort had something to do with it. The first picture is the one I had, the others are Cort. [/img] [/img] [/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FUBTAG Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I was going to say JC Penney sold them -- but I recall it was a department store catalog item .. whether it was Penney's or Sears.... I remember wanting one way back when... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bobbymeanswell Posted March 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Yes, I did have the impression that it was a department store type thing...especially considering I found it in a my mother-in-law's home. I think it does however have a superior sound and feel than most of the 'affordable' type guitars available now-a-days. Everyone I've found on the net who has one seems to love 'em. I've just started playing it and I'm pleasantly surprised so far. It's interesting to see how many are floating around, and how they all seem to appear in Canada (I'm in Toronto). Thanks for the info eitherway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thespen Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 I know this is an old post but I'm grasping at straws here... I've been looking to buy an old neck through Targa forever now and can't find them anywhere! Do you guys have any ideas where I could come across one for sale? I never see them on craigslist or kijiji, and there has been maybe 1 or 2 on eBay in the past few years so I'm at a loss. Any help is appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imxo Posted November 28, 2010 Members Share Posted November 28, 2010 thespen, check out kijiji - there is one for sale in ajax. If you hurry up, it could be yours. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nitefire Posted June 5, 2013 Members Share Posted June 5, 2013 actually the line was started in 1958 by my uncle on my mom's side a well known canadian r&b musician in canada his name is Robert Bruce he's retired from playing because of his age but he still builds gutars from time to time, i still own and play one of the first ones he made each of the original ones were custom made and have what's called a power sword built into their pickup system they also have a metal rod that goes down their solid wood neck if you need id on one i might be able to help you but i'd need a clear pic of both front and back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nitefire Posted June 5, 2013 Members Share Posted June 5, 2013 the targa in that pic is a real targa although someone has removed the powersword sticker from it that should be between the pickups its value is about 14 hundred dollars they are collectors guitars my uncle robert bruce in canada started the line in 1958 that guitar in the pic is similar to mine it should have a small metal plate on the back of the neck or inside where you put the battery for the powersword that has its year on it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarrenH Posted March 28, 2017 Members Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hi Yzfou, I just came across a Targa guitar identical to yours in Toronto, unlike the one with the more intricately carved bottom that tends to show up in Google searches. Did you learn anything more about this guitar in the years since? They seem pretty scarce but have an exceptional build quality. Thanks DH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bastardblackband Posted August 27, 2017 Members Share Posted August 27, 2017 I have an all original near mint targa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lbpesq Posted November 30, 2019 Members Share Posted November 30, 2019 Not made in Canada. Targas were made by Cort and rebranded “Targa”. The pickups were “Powersound”, manufactured by Cort, not “Powersword”. I have two Targas and a couple of Alembic-style Corts. The headstock and truss rod cover plate on the Targas are identical to that on my Cort 6/12 Double Neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teletime Posted September 2, 2020 Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 I have a Targa guitar, I got it used around 1998 , very good build brass nut and bridge and position markers , looks like an ebony fretboard as well ,the small bezel around the LED light was missing and I have not used it much at all since I got it , I just like the way it looks , it works but sometimes it cuts out not sure if it's the weak 9 volt battery or a short somewhere , it is all original and in really nice condition otherwise, no major dings or scratches, looking to sell it for a resonal offer plus shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElmoZappa Posted February 13, 2023 Members Share Posted February 13, 2023 These's a guy on FB Marketplace right now, trying to sell a bolt on one for hundreds. I did a bunch of searching and there's Shane guitars out there with three pickups and a locking trem, for under a hundred. Clearly the guy was reading the comments made by "Nitefire", and thought he struck paydirt. Nope, just dirt. But if there's anyone that wants to buy a budget guitar made in Korea, in the late 1980s, for a bunch of money - then you go on with yer bad self. But people that have a clue about the low quality of Korean guitars from the 1980's, know what I know. Not with a ten foot pole. But, I hope he gets a hundred for it. He was misled by the false information in the above comments by this Nitefire person - I just wished the guy luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted February 13, 2023 Members Share Posted February 13, 2023 They're are many more different models if anyone's interested. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lbpesq Posted February 24, 2023 Members Share Posted February 24, 2023 (edited) The Shane Targa guitars are completely different from the Targa guitars being discussed. And there is no truth to the claims spread by Nitefire. I’ve even seen Nitefire claim on another site that her uncle was building neck-thru active instruments in the early 1960s, ten years before Alembic essentially invented active electronics neck-thru instruments. The two Targas and their two sister Corts that I have are very well built high quality instruments. They rarely come up for sale, but are usually quite inexpensive when they do because people know nothing about them. I’m attaching pics of my Targas along with a pic of my Cort 6/12 Doubleneck with the same headstock/TRC. Bill, tgo CB624938-5C72-43C4-80C2-60F1D0886A38.webp2DA247B5-4CCF-4F2C-BDDB-762906637520.webp4B5E6447-BF65-4B0D-95E6-053CB30DC264.webp Edited April 24, 2023 by Lbpesq 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 24, 2023 Moderators Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/13/2023 at 4:40 AM, 1001gear said: They're are many more different models if anyone's interested. I actually did own one of those^, once, many years ago....most 'unreliable' vehicle I ever owned...but a hoot to drive on the mountain roads here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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