This is a rare Greco copy of an ES-345 finished in wine red lacquer and made in November of 1978.
In 1978 Greco introduced the SA 800, which is a highly appointed copy of an ES-345 built to the same specifications as Gibson at the time. It includes a maple body, maple center block sandwiched between spruce, a three-piece maple neck, striped ebony fingerboard and split parallelogram inlays.

As a 345 all its hardware is gold plated, including it's PU-2 humbuckers. It also features a Greco version of the Varitone switch, which alters the tone substantially using a range of capacitors. Tone can go from a bypass, to a very thick heavy bluesy sound, to progressively thinner sounds as the knob is rotated. The PU-2 pickups work exceptionally with the Varitone, making this a serious and versatile blues machine. PU-2 are an excellent Maxon made pickup.

The SA800 in 1978 was offered in Sunburst SA800S, Wine Red SA800WR and Walnut SA800W. The standard tail piece was a trapeze style, but a stop tail piece could be ordered by adding the letter 'STP' at the end of the model number, which makes this guitar an SA800WR-STP.
I found an original magazine ad (see pics) from October 1978. The last catalog that shows this model is from 1981, while it is missing from 1980 catalogs, so this model may have only been offered for a few years. All examples I have seen, have been made in 1978, except for one made in 1979 I recently acquired.

Condition overall is excellent, with a few chips and aging of the hardware as can be expected given it is over 40 years old. This guitar is all original except for its pots, which after multiple cleanings were still scratchy. Replacement pots are the same specification as the originals, and the original pots will be included with the guitar. Pickups are a matched set dated 17th October, 1978 and original to the guitar. Vintage Japanese made 345's are a rarity, with very few production models offered across all manufacturers.

I’ve gone through the guitar completely and it sounds amazing through a good amp. Plays great, needs nothing. The varitone on these is monotone, so no special cables or multiple amps are needed, which makes it much easier to simply play. This is one of my favorite Greco models.

The guitar will come with a non-original hard case. If you would like one of the optional original aluminum frame hard cases or a brand new case, I can provide one at additional cost.
This guitar is located in the US