# Odessy Guitars Canada



## Loudguitars.com (Jan 29, 2011)

I have been thinking about A Odessy for some time now, I believe they were a very well made Canadian guitar?

I had a PRS style set neck years ago and in a low time had to sell it but would love to find another, any links or leads would be cool.

Thanks


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## Iluvstrats (Mar 4, 2011)

I think there might have been two Canadian guitar companies named Odyssey. If you are referring to the one that existed in the late 70's early 80's (Atilla Balogh Luthier) then yes they were very well built guitars. I have only come across 2 over a very long period of time. I have a neck thru model (sort of PRS style). It has an ebony fretboard, brass hardware and stock Seymour Duncan pickups...very well built and versatile sounding guitar. I would post a picture but am a newb and haven't figured out how to yet. A friend of mine has one for sale, but it's an Explorer Style. Gorgeous guitar in excellent shape, but I prefer more traditionally styled guitars...but tempting all the same.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

I knew Atilla Balogh and Joe Sallay as great friends in the late 70's. Joe, who owned Iron Music on Granville, was a also a partner with me in a number of ventures and Atilla made the most exquisite guitars ever. I owned several of Atilla's guitars and basses and have to say I have never come across anything that could compare. Unless otherwise requested, he or his crew of expert luthiers hand carved every detail in the necks (always ebony fretboard with laminated neck thru body), and body design to individual customer spec. A customer could stand by the luthier carving the neck, instructing him on every stroke of the shaping process. Unless otherwise speced, he hand machined his own hardware (with the exception of machine heads) from bridges to tail pieces out of polished brass mostly. All components were of the best quality available at the time.

Joe marketed Atilla's guitars through Iron Music and when the company began to falter, they came up with a cheaper to produce but still high quality version with bolt on necks called the Atilla line. They still made a limited quantity of the high end Odysseys but only on special order.

Atilla passed away in the 80's and the company died with him. IMHO his work would put Paul Reed Smith to shame. His materials, design, workmanship and the love put into his work is of the like that will never be seen again.

I just found this online from Ken Lindemere who was a founding partner in Odyssey Guitars...

"Odyssey Guitars was a Vancouver based company started in 1977 by Ken Lindemere (me), Joe Sallay, and Attila Balogh. Joe and I had a retail music store in Vancouver and Attila ran a small guitar repair shop. We did repairs on site and used Attila, who had previously worked as a finisher in a high-end furniture factory, for any refinishing work. Over a period of a couple of years we became friends and eventually decided to start Odyssey. Basically Joe handled sales and Attila and I did most of the design and production. By 1979 we had another 5 people working for us and were producing an average of about 50 guitars/basses a month.

The Hawk guitar and bass were lower-end instruments ? natural maple with a flat finish, very basic electronics with low-cost pickups that Larry DiMarzio wound especially for us, a 3 piece maple neck (lacking the veneer stripes), lower cost machine heads, rosewood fingerboard, plastic covers instead of brass, etc, and a different body design ? but used the same basic neck-through-body construction as the higher-end Odysseys. These retailed at CDN$595.

There were 3 basic Odysseys in both guitars and basses, all the same body shape and electronics (Dimarzio PAF?s on guitars and Bartollini on the basses, 2 tone, 2 volume, pickup selection switch, phase switch) but made from different woods, and generally with either a red or tobacco sunburst high gloss catalyzed lacquer finish. Since we also did a lot of custom work the electronic configuration and finishes sometimes varied, and we also made several with active electronics and built-in 6-band graphic equalizers. We used Schaller machine heads and machined all the knobs, strap buttons, cover plates, bridges, and tailpieces from solid brass. The bridge sat on a brass block imbedded in the body. All the guitars had 24 frets and a 24-3/4?scale. The necks were 5 piece laminated maple - basically 3 3/4" maple boards separated with mahogany veneer strips. The Model 300 had a flat-faced mahogany body, unbound ebony fingerboard, and retailed at CDN$895. The Model 200 had a carved ash body, unbound ebony fingerboard, and retailed at CDN$995. The Model 100 had a mahogany body overlaid with a carved figured maple top and ebony fingerboard. Both the fingerboard and body were bound. It retailed at CDN$1295. We also made a few semi-acoustics with basically the same design as the Model 100, but with a hand carved (hollow) spruce top. The pickups and tailpiece were mounted onto the through-the-body neck and the bridge was an ebony archtop style bridge. The arrangement stopped any movement of the pickups and therefore eliminated feedback problems at high volumes, and the floating spruce top and bridge produced an archtop type sound.

I sold out my shares in 1981 to take advantage of another business opportunity and Odyssey closed its doors the following year. Attila went to work for Ayotte Drums and was killed in a freak accident in 1987 when a sanding machine fell on him as he was working alone late one night. Joe started a small wholesale musical instrument company and is still living in Vancouver distributing guitars, strings, etc. After spending 20-odd years managing an industrial distribution company in Vancouver I now live in Santiago, Chile.

It?s nice to know that some of the instruments survived are still being played and enjoyed.


This is in addittion to my previous posting. This guitar is the top model -Carved Top Series 100- Model # G100TS. TS stands for Tobacco Shaded. The 100/200and 300 series comes with Tobacco or Wine Shaded sunburst finishes. The -Carved Ash Series 200 -is similar but instead of using choice maple Attila used ash and the series 200 has no binding. The - Mahogany Series 300-Has the same body shape as the two previously mentioned models but lacks the binding and carvings on the top also the electronics are more simple. The Hawk Series 400 is Attila's economy series made of select maple and has clear natural finish. The hardware and electronics are somewhat simplier then the previously mentioned models. The semi-acoustic Series500 spruce top binded TS/WS finish and Series600 are with choice of noble hardwood with heringbone binding with TS/WS finish and both model with 7 band graphic equalizer. All of these guitars are made as 4 string bass guitars also. The Series500 bass model is fretless. All the models are neckthru constractions. All of these guitars are fantastic and priceless treasures."


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## Iluvstrats (Mar 4, 2011)

Thanks bluzfish for sharing your personal experience with Atilla Balogh and Joe Sallay....that's some excellent insight! Must have been cool knowing those fellows. The info on Ken Lindemere is greatly appreciated as well. I searched this forum and found other posts on Odyssey, so there are others out there that own or did own these guitars and that's great. The more information the better. I really like Canadiana, guitars and amps. Below are the links to my Odyssey.
http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/fivestringtele/Guitars/OdysseyFront.jpg
http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/fivestringtele/Guitars/OdysseyBack.jpg
http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/fivestringtele/Guitars/OdysseyHeadstock.jpg


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## danspiel (Mar 22, 2012)

Hello! Beautiful guitar. I collect Odyssey's and I created an Odyssey fan/resource website.

www.odysseyguitars.ca

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Wow. Thanks for the excellent link. It's so great to see the varieties of Odesseys again. What excellent guitars and basses.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

In case anyone is interested, an Odessy for sale in Calgary on Kijiji (not mine).

Canadian Made Attila Odyssey Guitar


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Now, that's the real deal. They don't make guitars better than that one - only different. Someone with a fast $1200 is going to be very happy.


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## Bustard (Dec 26, 2008)

There's one here a little cheaper model but the price is less too.

http://www.usedvictoria.com/classifieds/musical-instruments


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks for that link. That is the later bolt on neck. If you ever come across one of the set neck models it would be nice to know. These are great guitars.


Bustard said:


> There's one here a little cheaper model but the price is less too.
> 
> http://www.usedvictoria.com/classifieds/musical-instruments


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## Retepreham (Feb 19, 2014)

Hi not sure if anyone is still monitoring this thread but I have an odyssey neck through, I have had it for over 20 years and was given to me by my uncle who had it for years before me, I don't know much about it, the serial number doesn't have the 2 digit before the number to signify the year it was made, I think it is a hawk series, but again not sure, has the DiMarzio PAF pups and brass hardware, I think it is a tobacco sunburstburst, only because I read they did the tobacco TS. I have seen the odysseyguitars.ca website, sent in messages no reply not sure if the guy is still active with the site, so I am checking other avenues, I am interested in getting an appraisal for knowing the value before I try to sell it, any help is appreciated, thanks.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

in case anyone is interested, I noticed this on Kijiji

Odyssey Guitar Collection | guitars | Calgary | Kijiji


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## Lee Clayton (Jun 21, 2017)

Looking to purchase an Odyssey Guitar, please email: [email protected]


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