Cameo Les Pauls?

[DalyTek]

I just picked up an old Les Paul copy (if you can actually call it a LP Copy..)

It's a Cameo, made in Japan. Bolt-on neck, dot inlays, flat top.
The body and neck are both bound (nicely too.)
Has the Gibson Les Paul headstock shape.
Says Cameo written in gold, and a weird little pattern in the center of the headstock (not the butterfly that other Cameos had.)
Has 2 chrome humbuckers (the neck HB is unlabeled, the bridge HB is an Epiphone '57 I believe.) TOM bridge and stop tail.
It has open-gear tuners with some kind of engraved pattern.

Here's the real kicker though....it's front-routed. It has the standard LP pick guard (the one with the metal bracket) but then has another pick guard under it that runs along the body to house the controls.

The controls are strange too.
It has your standard 4 knob layout, with the 2 volume, 2 tone (although 3 of the knobs SAY volume and only 1 says tone)
It has 2 slider switches to turn each pickup on and off. (WHAT???)
Also the output jack is mounted to this front pick guard plate.

Sorry for the crappy pics, my wife is visiting her sister in NC and took our camera, so all I have is my camera on my phone.
Anyway, anyone know anything about this guitar? It sounds fantastic, and plays wonderful.
The paint is cracked all to hell all over the body, but it gives it a cool vintage vibe I think.
Any input would be appreciated, as this is a weird one!

[SkyNet3D]

The controls look a bit like this one:

[jimmyq]

YouTube - Cameo - Word Up

YouTube - Cameo - Word Up

[DalyTek]

OK, jimmyq, I watched that whole video from beginning to end and did not see any mention of my Les Paul-ish guitar in there at all!

SkyNet3D, yes, kinda similar to that one, but that one in your picture still has the top 3-way selector switch, which is rear-routed. This is a strange one, but I am really digging it.

[hardangerfjol]

well hey, interesting axe...like the state of the finish too !

i own a couple of ibanezes, love em but hate the bolt on necks and have been
changing that with only the 4 holes to refinish.

have you been to vintaxe.com, they have a bunch of information on obscure
axes...

enjoy, h.

[last.train.home]

wow it looks cool, kind of reminds me of a kay

[last.train.home]

wow these cameo guys made some great guitars check this

MyRareGuitars.com >> Guitar Articles >> Fiddling While Rome Burns (1967 Cameo 1402T Guitar)

[Ol' Crooked Fingers]

Originally Posted by DalyTek

OK, jimmyq, I watched that whole video from beginning to end and did not see any mention of my Les Paul-ish guitar in there at all!

Haha, no. But that stupid song was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the thread title

[DalyTek]

It's definitely a unique guitar, I can give it that.
But honestly, I like the look and the design and layout is really cool too.
It sounds really good, and I love the feel of the neck.
The pick guard that holds the controls is broken, so I am thinking of getting some kind of blank material to make my own replacement.
(I think it'll be kind of hard to find a pre-made one for this guitar lol.)

I didn't even notice till this morning that this guitar has a single dot for the 12th fret marker. I think that's a little odd too.
I'd really like to find out a model and/or a year for this guitar, if anyone has any ideas where to look?
(I already checked out vintaxe.com as hardangerfjol suggested, but no luck there...)