I don't know if this is the proper board for this question, but it is the best I can figure out.
I have the opportunity to buy a remarkable looking guitar which supposedly sounds good. It is Japanese and from the 70's, supposedly, which I know can be either good or bad, depending on what it is.
It is supposedly called a Matsumura. I can't find any record of such a company; Matsumoku, yes. There is a prominent Japanese guitarist named Matsumura; if that is coincidental I do not know.
This guitar is a twelve string hollowbody with a beautiful headstock and a body that looks like a fat viola, including a neck that appears not to taper at the top end, which might be great for me because of my arthritis and stubby fingers. It is black with at least one f-hole; there is a large white pickguard covering much of the other side. It reminds me of a 1953 Buick.
I guess I want to know if, in case I buy this, I am just going to have to turn around and sell it again. I could get a Chinese twelve string hollowbody for the same price. But this one is over thirty years old and apparently has held up, plus I love the design (have only seen viola shaped basses before).
I need to drive some distance to see this, and if I am wasting my gas, I sure would like to know. Thanks!
Matsumura is a fairly common Japanese family name.
Usual caveats - make sure you get to play it and hear it working before parting with any hard-earned.
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Good post, Alan. keep to mind that there are MANY "one offs" made by students in the apprentice luthier trade. Most often, these are extremely well made as they are what luthiers get graded on. Anyone have a Vandernoot???
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
As cat say, there are many luthier built one-offs (anyone got a Chouard?).
The other end of the scale is the brand name of a store chain that may never make it outside of their home country (anyone got a Justin guitar - other than me, of course).
The quality ranges from masterpiece to better-used-as-a-bird-house.
The bottom line is how much you like it and how much you are willing to part with. Whatever you do, don't forget to barter the price down, if you can.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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This thread relates to a lot of older ones...it's a question asked over and over again. My own way of buying a guitar is how it plays. They vary in quality even among production models. Forget the brand...buy what works...and look at a zillion of 'em. One will be good. I found an Epiphone acoustic that plays like a tight six string. I keep .009's on it. It's a lucky production fluke...and you won't be shook by the ankles for it, either.
If you are lucky...you may well end up with someone's one-off masterpiece...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
