A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Posted: **Sat Oct 05, 2024 6:33 pm**

Ok, this is a huge find for me. My dad originally got me a Synsonics Terminator for Xmas of 1989 after having started on a plastic toy guitar with fishing line for strings in 1988. I played this thing til the fretboard un-glued itself from the neck. I even played it for a talent show in high school with an American flag taped over the speaker to avoid embarassment.
I've been looking for one of these for ages and finally found a mint one locally with the box and manual. I did a quick string swap and setup, conditioned the neck etc. and she plays. Its definitely not great, but better than I remember.
Brings back great memories. Here are some pics and a quick tune I just recorded.

[attachment=3]SynTerm01.jpg[/attachment]

Posted: **Sat Oct 05, 2024 7:50 pm**

That speaker sounds fantastic (ha).

Posted: **Sun Oct 06, 2024 6:26 am**

This is a fantastic post on so many levels.

It is amazing that you found this guitar in such good condition, in the box, with the "case candy." You must feel like I did when I found a 6 switch Atari 2600 with imitation wood grain, in the box, with all the original contents. The nostalgia meter is high.

The beginner guitar with inbuilt speaker concept has been around since the Sears Catalog Silvertone days. I remember seeing guitars like this in the Sears catalog in the early 80s, though they had a Les Paul shape. It's fascinating to see how the concept evolved both stylistically and from a marketing perspective. The Synsonics Terminator looks very similar to the earlier Teisco designs, with the single coil pickups and trem, though it's cosmetically dressed up for the 80s. That box should be in a museum that preserves iconic 80s designs.

The implicit tie in with the Terminator film is amazing. If this guitar was indeed made in 1989, then that must mean that it's referencing the original Terminator film, not the juggernaut that was T2, which only appeared two years later in 1991.

In an amazing twist of synchronicity, I recently purchased a T-120 Samsung VHS tape at a thrift store which somebody used to record the local channels in NYC around Christmas 1989. They left the tape recording in between White Christmas, I Love Lucy, and The Nutcracker, so all the seasonal commercials and local news broadcasts are there. This tape is a time machine back to Christmas 1989. At the very end of the tape is a segment from a Channel 13 fundraising drive showing Itzhak Perlman performing selections from Mozart. That is real shredding.

As far as your demo . . . I mean, c'mon. Everyone here knows you could string some cat whiskers up to to a cigar box and a broomstick and still melt our face. You're AGF's own Itzhak Perlman.

Posted: **Sun Oct 06, 2024 9:06 am**

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 6:26 am This is a fantastic post on so many levels.

It is amazing that you found this guitar in such good condition, in the box, with the "case candy." You must feel like I did when I found and 6 switch Atari 2600 with imitation wood grain, in the box, with all the original contents. The nostalgia meter is high.

The beginner guitar with inbuilt speaker concept has been around since the Sears Catalog Silvertone days. I remember seeing guitars like this in the Sears catalog in the early 80s, though they had a Les Paul shape. It's fascinating to see how the concept evolved both stylistically and from a marketing perspective. The Synsonics Terminator looks very similar to the earlier Teisco designs, with the single coil pickups and trem, though it's cosmetically dressed up for the 80s. That box should be in a museum that preserves iconic 80s designs.

The implicit tie in with the Terminator film is amazing. If this guitar was indeed made in 1989, then that must mean that it's referencing the original Terminator film, not the juggernaut that was T2, which only appeared two years later in 1991.

In an amazing twist of synchronicity, I recently purchased a T-120 Samsung VHS tape at a thrift store which somebody used to record the local channels in NYC around Christmas 1989. They left the tape recording in between White Christmas, I Love Lucy, and The Nutcracker, so all the seasonal commercials and local news broadcasts are there. This tape is a time machine back to Christmas 1989. At the very end of the tape is a segment from a Channel 13 fundraising drive showing Itzhak Perlman performing selections from Mozart. That is real shredding.

As far as your demo . . . I mean, c'mon. Everyone here knows you could string some cat whiskers up to to a cigar box and a broomstick and still melt our face. You're AGF's own Itzhak Perlman.

Thanks dude, this is a tremendous find and I’m over the moon. I did some digging and this one came right after the teisco ones you mentioned. I’m not sure of the sears/service merchandise relationship but I would see them either hung up in the store or in the catalogs. These were apparently made between 89-90 then had the bridge swapped out to something more Fender-like. I will say, I thought it was going to play like utter crap but aside from the saddle screws digging into my palm when picking it’s not bad. I’ve played plenty worse guitars so I feel pretty darn lucky to have started with this. I say that now, showing up to play with a guitar that had a speaker on it was embarrassing. That made me push my practicing to the max especially with how competitive things were in the late 80’s early 90’s.
Still, can’t thank my old man enough and I did FaceTime him so he can watch me open it just like he did that Xmas morning back in 89.

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