1980 Aria Pro II TS-500, Matsumoku began to go its own way < Back 1980 Aria Pro II TS-500 004263 The TS-500 is the mid-range model with all of the toys, but the regular grain woods. An extra 10,000 Yen would have got a choice of the premium woods, but still you needed 80,000 Yen to get the thru'neck version. Of course we all want one of these, but they are very rare and expensive now - the 500 with the set-neck gets all the functionality, and a pair of excellent Extra III (aka Protomatic III) humbuckers. These were evolutions of MMK53, and we know them the best from Westone Thunder II models. And Noel's Epiphone Riviera. Many children of the 1970s will probably have drooled over these in a guitar shop, up there on a hook next to a Westone Prestige, and sadly way way out of our price range. Even though they were actually pretty affordable compared to the big US brands, most of us needed to slum it with a Westone Concord, or in my case, a Satellite G65 from Woolies. 40 years later, and that opportunity re-appears! The specification on these is vast. The two humbuckers can be split into single coils with dedicated mini-switches; a third mini-switch will reverse the phase of the bridge pick-up when both are selected. A final mini-switch will activate an active booster circuit which has its own volume control. You'll make good use of this control as the boost is enormous. We have a master volume and a tone control; and the final control is a type of Varitone function with a variety of high and low passes to get some interesting tones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9e9ZmcKO90 There is an enormous array of tones once the switches, the varitone and the booster is configured - so much to play with, and lots of genuinely useful tones. It's a guitar to be creative with. The neck is a double octave affair with a nice thick rosewood board on a maple neck. The body has a strip of maple flanked by wings of ash. The matching headstock gives this a real 80s look. This is an earlier 6 in a line model - the TS range became 3 by 3 as the earlier headstock migrated to the more expensive RS range. While the general direction for most of the big guitar plants in Nagano was to emulate as closely as possible the Fenders and Gibsons, Matsumoku never lost the spirit of adventure and looked in more exciting directions such as Alembic for inspiration. This example has just arrived from Japan, and has just been serviced, and now we can offer it for sale in excellent condition. Price Availability £875 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups Protomatic (Extra) III (Alnico) Selector 3 way Toggle Bridge Matsumoku Design Board Rosewood 3.53kg; 7lbs 12oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

The iconic Thinline, built on the same line as the Fenders, but with added luxury < Back Greco TE500N Price £1,600 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! By the time this 1979 Greco TE500N was being produced, the Fuji factory was producing MIJ Fenders. Lawsuit shenanigans were avoided by restricting Fuji to marketing Greco versions in the home market only - these are legitimate and non-contested models; built to the exact same standard as export models. So this is a Fender without the decal. This one is better though. The wide-range pick-ups produced by Maxon were, in their time, good sounding units. Current Fender wide-ranges sound pretty good too, but Monty has taken them to new levels with these - launched to an eager audience and long waiting list in 2021. I managed to get a set for this TE500N. As expected, they take the guitar to a whole new level. No re-issue, or even original issue Thinline is going to sound as full, as warm or be a versatile as this one. Anyone familiar with MIJ Fenders of this era will recognize the neck profile, and the balance of the guitar - they are delicious and dangerously addictive. Now this one is at a supreme level - watching blues virtuoso Ron Sayer Jr bonding with it a few weeks ago was unforgettable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouk6yJaWZ9Y Replacing the saddles with solid billet brass units adds a new dimension to the way the sound emanates and decays - the original bent steel saddles are here and can be restored to their positions if need be, but the combination of saddles and pick-ups here is a sweet spot I feel deserves to be a fundamental characteristic of the guitar. This is a rare sight outside Japan - this one was a loyal servant to a busy musician from new, and is in perfect condition to continue on for another 40 years. The patina is real, not confected; the original tuners are rebuilt and in rude health. It has recently received a very in depth luthier and master builder set-up. It's glorious. Details The Look All original Headstock All original Neck Perfectly dressed and prepared frets on original board Pick-ups 2 x Monty's Guitars Wide Range humbuckers Bridge Gotoh Solid brass saddles Controls 3 way original selector, master volume and tone controls Gallery ← Previous Next→

Greco SE-500B, Sweet spot of sweetspots < Back Greco SE-500B G750607 In the final months of Strat production before Greco shifted across to Fujigen, Matsumoku produced some absolute stunners. Now with single piece necks, a more faithful radius, and less of a shoulder than the Harayama laminate necks, these still feel sublime – especially when they have been played in like this one. The maple fretboard on this one has a lovely visible grain, even a little bit of birdseye on the upper frets. The frets are still in abundance – slick and level. There are one or two dents and nicks on the black body but nothing through to the wood. The scratchplate is gloriously faded to cream and the original PU-100 pick-ups are typically bright and snarly – very articulate and love a decent valve amp clean or driven. Maxons are becoming more and more respected as more folk discover their charms. A 3-way switch on this one, but the parallel sounds are very easily found, the DM-30 switches are very forgiving and don’t require matchsticks for this. At 3.5kg (7lbs 11oz), the SE-500 feels like a premium model – a universally popular weight for these. A 9.5 radius, 41mm nut and lovely C profile neck. The weak point of the 500 models was always the tuners – they were the equivalent of the Economy Tuners today, and these ones were a little tired after 50 years. In their place is a set of brand-new SD-91 Gotoh units – solid and dependable, the main characteristic of these SE-500s. The ciggie burn is a sign of a good guitar – so good that you forget about it until you smell the over-heated lacquer. Different days… Imagine the cost of a lightweight mid 1970s black Strat with the word Fender on it – it will be a good one as the bad ones were skipped in the 80s. If it has to be a Fender, then spend the necessary thousands, but if you want a genuine vintage guitar that feels like it has been your best mate for 40 years, then spend hundreds instead and welcome this one into your life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqO3O5l7JNY Price Availability £795 Sold Recommendation New friend for life Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1975 Pick-ups Maxon PU-100 Selector 3-Way Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Maple 3.5kg; 7lbs 10oz Modifications SD-91 tuners Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1974 Greco TE-350 (Upgraded), Sensibly upgraded war-horse < Back 1974 Greco TE-350 (Upgraded) Pre-serial number These Gneco Teles are getting very thin on the ground now - even more so in this condition. This one dates from early 1974, and has the famous laminate neck that if you've yet to discover, I highly recommend you have a go on one to find out what the fuss is all about. We alternate between keeping these totally original, or treating them to subtle but sensible upgrades to get the absolute best out of them. We always leave the neck pick-up wherever possible - these Maxons are divine. We have upgraded the bridge plate to a new Gotoh unit with the titanium barrels - the flat edges allows more comfortable playing, and the aperture allows a modern pick-up to be fitted. For this TE-350, a Monty's Guitars 50's Broadcaster unit was fitted, and it gives the old girl a proper set of lungs. This is a Matsumoku built Greco (Gneco) , these skipped across town to Fujigen 1 year later. Keeping it in this condition and with regular use and servicing, this TE-350 is unlikely to ever lose value. This one has had a recent re-fret so has many years ahead of it without that requirement. Fresh frets on these necks give them the feel of a much more expensive guitar. It has a few little scratches and dinks, but nothing unusual or out of place on a guitar that has seen this much life. We often get the question "how does it compare to a real one?", and for some folk, unless the Fender name is present, it just won't do. These old warriors beg to differ and in our experience, sit alongside "real ones" and are called for duty usually for their neck pick-up. A 50 year old Fender is likely to cost a small fortune and unlikely to be used for live work. None of this stress exists with these Grecos. They are still sensibly priced to be obtainable, and relish being put to work. OK, so this one was sold before it even hit the market, but I have more on the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfj1Ex-OKmg Don't knock them until you try them! Price Availability £1,295 Sold Recommendation At least another 50 years in front of it. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1974 Pick-ups Maxon & Monty's Selector 3-way Bridge Gotoh Ti-TC Board Maple 3.88kg; 8lbs 9oz Modifications Bridge plate, pick-up and electronics Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1983 Bill Lawrence Challenger 1 BCOR-55, The charm of simplicity < Back 1983 Bill Lawrence Challenger 1 BCOR-55 B30548 This is a really great example of a Bill Lawrence BCOR-55 which features a solitary S3 Black Label pick-up. Bill Lawrence's heart was in pick-ups and he had Moridaira host them in their fine quality instruments.We are putting this one at early 1983, and all original including the Lawrence stamped saddles. The maple fretboard is unusual - most are rosewood. The location of the volume control is also unusual - most catalogue photos show it close to the pick-up, but there are no signs that this is not how it left Moridaira. The neck is super skinny and has a slight V to the profile. Very unusual but perfectly comfortable. At 3.29kg (7lbs 4oz) it is as light as it is simple. Under that empty scratchplate are routings for HSS should the mood take you later, but who could argue the charm of such simplicity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAZvA_uV4lw Price Availability £££ Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1983 Pick-ups Bill Lawrence S3 Black Label Selector N/A Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Maple 3.29kg; 7lbs 4oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Aria Pro II JPJ-3, Massive versatility from these great pick-ups < Back Aria Pro II JPJ-3 4030032 Back in 1983, ESP were making signature models for contemporary rock stars - Masayoshi Yamashita was one such chap - the ESP PPJ-160 was a special order from ESP for a few years. Matsumoku produced their own version of this configuration - the JPJ-3. The first appearance in any brochure was in 1986 by which time the pair of Precision-style pick-ups were angled. This is an early model These basses were the spiritual successor to the Westones that had ceased production, but were still in demand. The JPJ-3 was the proper wild one - using the same pick-ups as the older Concord II and Thunder basses - amusingly but accurately titled Hard Puncher, this one punched and kept kicking. 3 pick-up basses are rare - a few boutique builders offer them with Strat control philosophy and a few folk have customised their favourite basses to try and just need one bass for a gig, and ended up with a scratchplate full of switches and a good memory to remember how to get sounds on the fly. This is the original evolution of the JPJ-3 and benefits from a significantly more intuitive and useful control philosophy - 3 Volumes and 1 Tone; therefore all the possible combinations and everything in between. Tipping the scales at 4.37kg (9lbs 10oz) this is a medium weight but well balanced bass; in fantasttic condition and ready for work. We use early iterations of the JPJ-3 as the basis for a dramatic rebuild with modern upgraded components and switching options, but this one is perfectly fine to to live on as Matsumoku designed it first time round. We can upgrade it if the next owner prefers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdBrOc97nDs Price Availability £575 Sold Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1984 Pick-ups 2 Hard Punchers, 1 Super-Boomer Selector N/A Bridge High Mass Board Rosewood 4.37kg (9lbs 10oz) Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Greco TL-500N, Proper no-nonsense Tele - before the Fender accountants arrived... < Back Greco TL-500N D801328 Telecasters from Matsumoku and Fujigen from this era are always hidden gems. They were slightly in the shadow of the exciting new designs emanating from Hayashi and Toshio at this time - but there is always demand for a traditional Tele and so these models continued in production. It could be said that the less you write about a Tele, the better it is - these Fujigen built guitars from 80 and 81 are the last they built without the oversight of Fender management and bean-counters. The build quality of these TL guitars is as good as it got. They will oulast us all. The pick-ups in this are Maxon PU-T5 - the vintage output, and to our ears slightly sweeter than the high powered DiMarzios that were often fitted to these 1980 Teles. I have the original bridge plate here, but have decided to fit a new Gotoh semi-cutaway unit as they always improve the playability. The original plate will be included in the sale, but unless the next owner objects, the new Gotoh unit will stay on the guitar. The semi-cutaway design is so much kinder on the palm muting. I have also changed the knobs to Charles Guitar items which feel great and are a better pairing with the new bridge unit. The finish is still sound, but has had a bit of rough handling - we see evidence of a previous respray in the wrong type of black, but the right type for removing again. This is no mint factory fresh model - it has seen some life, but most importantly, plays perfectly, and is set to do so for another 45 years at least. We have other mintier Grecos here if that is important - this one just wants to be played. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHxXdLYuvzg Price Availability £995 Sold Recommendation Enjoy as it is; pick-up upgrade feasible, but not necessary Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups Maxon PU-T5 Selector 3-way Bridge New Gotoh In-tune Semi-cutaway Board Maple 3.60kg; 7lbs 14oz Modifications Bridge plate, and knobs (Charles Vintage) Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Short scale, angry when you need, furious at all other times < Back Matsumoku Ibi JKL No.2 Price £2,600 GBP | SOLD Add to Cart Chat with Us Missed out on this model? Talk to us for a rebuild! I'm assuming you've already read the description of the red one - that gives the background to these Ibi JKLs. My rock-star buddy had "settled" for a Telecaster, and despite the obvious delights of a decent well set-up Tele, I could see he wished it was something else. These Concords defintitely had the Tele in mind with their twin singles laid out like that. After evaluating a lot of different pick-ups, I settled on Jaime's amazing Creamery creations - opting for clarity and power, and a 2 speed gearbox on the bridge. To keep the purity of the look and the specific sound I wanted here, a tapped single coil is the correct answer to the question that a splittable humbucker can never answer properly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxcz7vHCJI The original neck pick-up on these Concords were always surprisingly soulful and powerful - this P-90 style replacement takes that sound and solidifies it, fills in the gaps, and delivers something I have not heard anywhere else. Good, that's the whole point. The bridge pickup in low gear begs for a loud crunch setting on the amp and is like throwing glass bottles at a wall. Bang the tone pot to change into high gear, and it's like throwing a crate of glass bottles at a wall. All in a good way, of course. All you can do is play it to see what this delivers - there really is very little else out there to compare it to. I can do something similar or identical to your Westone / Vantage / Matsumoku guitar. Or I can find a suitable donor instrument for you. This one can be for sale - any excuse to build another one!!! Details The Look This guitar retains the orignal finish complete with 40 years of parking knocks. The same shape scratchplate is used, but now features a yellow stripe and is cut to suit the Creamery pick-ups. The output jack is now at the bottom edge. That yellow headstock completes the new look. Headstock The tuners are upgraded to Gotoh SGS510 in black - the highest quality locking tuners suiting the look and feel of the guitar, and allowing fast string changes. Neck This is the original neck with the original skinny frets - just tidied up. Pick-ups A Creamery Tele-P90 for the neck position and a Creamery Tapped Tele for the bridge. Bridge A Gotoh FX6 in black gives this guitar stability, great intonation and more sustain than the original. Controls 3 way toggle with master volume and tone pots - a push push on the tone changes gear on the bridge pick-up. This thickens up the middle position as well as the obvious changes at the bridge position. Gallery ← Previous Next→

Aria TE-400 Backaroo, Punching well above its weight < Back Aria TE-400 Backaroo E780363 This butterscotch entry-level beauty is the sweet-spot of MIJ teles for many as it retains the slightly more substantial neck profile of the early 70s Harayama models whereas TE-5 and 600s, and the TL series Grecos were getting skinnier and skinnier. This entry level model retained the early style pick-ups which is ideal at the neck - these short fat Tele pick-ups are the secret sauce for blues solos. The bridge units were always a little weedy in comparison - very brittle and icy. Usually I replace these bridge units by putting a suitable modern version into a Gotoh semi-cutaway bridge, and get the best of both worlds, but add a chunk of cost. Not everyone has that budget, so this one has a rewound bridge pick-up meaning we can retain the bridge plate, just add rewinding cost, but most importantly, rewind it to an inductance that delivers a traditional Tele output. Take a listen to the demo to hear how plucky and eager this one is. It can sit alongside a refined gentrified modern MIA Tele and be there for when things need to get a bit nuts, or more fun. This one kind of makes you venture out the comfort zone a little. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70MjmkLT7Ng Arias, even the entry level models, were strung through the back, not top loaded like the early Grecos. This feels like an "old pal" Tele, sounds better than a regular Tele when a modern just isn't raucous enough. We could use this as a basis to extend further into modernization - a set of Gibson (yes really) frets would be a great idea; and a set of modern SD-91 tuners would cure all the little foibles that mark this out as an entry level Backaroo; but before we do any of that and increase the price, just make sure these characteristics don't give it the "mojo" you'll adore. All of that stuff can be done later. Price Availability £795 1 at Ketteringham Hall Recommendation Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1978 Pick-ups Maxon Selector 3-way Bridge Original Aria Board Maple 3.95kg; 8lbs 11oz Modifications Rewound bridge pick-up Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

Short scale, powerful and dynamic with a twist < Back Matsumoku Ibi JKL No.1 Price £2,750 GBP Add to Cart Chat with Us The whole idea of DreamBuilds started here. I am fortunate enough to be very good friends with a fascinating professional musician who has an incredible imagination and passion for guitars. I recall the initial conversation: "I'm into short scale - like a Junior, but better. Like that Swinger I had ages ago, but not that short. Like a Mustang but not an offset. But different. And make it sound amazing. Do a couple because I'm putting thick strings on one of them. Let's go nuts on these." A fair few accomplished players spot one of the Concords that I keep here, they pick it up and reminisce. "Wish I still had mine" is often heard. OK, let's see how good they can be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-js-D-Ys8 After some careful routing, two 1953 Häussel P-90 pick-ups were fitted with a dummy coil hiding between them. A 5-way switch and a push-push tone pot engage the pick-ups to get traditional and more interesting tones. A set of light gauge acoustic guitar strings complete the unusual specification. Gotoh locking SGS510 machine heads are the perfect size and feel for this "shorty" and the sustain and intonation is enhanced by the remarkable FX6 bridge. This is a very purposeful build - it delivers a very specific set of tones, some ideal clean and some especially good and useful when amps are driven. It's a guitar that had a nuts brief, a nuts approach to specification, a nuts donor instrument and the result is perfectly nuts. This is a guitar built with fun in mind. It will likely take your playing and imagination in very different directions. The guitar in the pictures is still in regular studio use, but can be found here at the Hall between shifts. Any scratchplate wearing Westone / Vantage / other Matsumoku built guitar from the era can be recreated like this. Is this one for sale? Sure, as long as I build another one quickly! This one comes with decent provenance. Details The Look This guitar retains the original finish complete with 40 years of parking knocks. The same shape scratchplate is used, but cut to accommodate the new electronics. The output jack has made its way to the bottom edge. The headstock is now black Headstock The tuners are upgraded to Gotoh SGS510 in black - the highest quality locking tuners suiting the look and feel of the guitar, and allowing fast string changes. Neck This is the original neck with the original skinny frets - just tidied up. Pick-ups 2 x 1953 Häussel P-90 with Häussel dummy coil. The 1953 is slightly underwound and the lightness and brightness suits this application perfectly Bridge A Gotoh FX6 in Chrome gives this guitar stability, great intonation and more sustain than the original. Controls the 3 way toggle vol/tone arrangement has been entirely replaced with a 5 way blade, full size 250k volume and tone pots; the latter being a push push arrangement to put the dummy coil in series or parallel with the P-90 in positions 2 and 4. Gallery ← Previous Next→

1980 Aria Pro II ST-600D, Immaculate powerful Strat < Back 1980 Aria Pro II ST-600D B800256 This immaculate ST-600D looks like it has leapt off the page of the '81 Collection catalogue - looking fantastic with its natural finish and black pick-up covers. By the late 1970s, 600 models from Greco and Aria (Fujigen and Matsumoku respectively) would start to part ways specification-wise. While the Greco SE-600 would continue with the evolving PU-119 pick-ups, the guys at Matsumoku decided to equip their 600s with FS-1 pick-ups - the high output DiMarzio clones. The DCR reading from these pick-ups is 12.78, 11.56 and 12.78. They really pack quite a punch, and need the volume control backing off a notch to get a chimey Strat sound. With a decent amount of overdrive, Gilmour solos can be done with more confidence than a standard 5-6k pick-up. Despite the high DCR reading, these pick-ups are not at all muddy and trying to be humbuckers; they are still Stratty, just more of it. Being part of the pre-CBS tribute range, (post CBS models were Greco SE-450 and 700) this retains a 3 way switch - the in between settings can be found with some dexterity. Unlike earlier models and all Fujigen pre-CBS models, this scratchplate is cut for a standard size selector switch so a 5-way from OG or CRL is a direct replacement. We'll leave this decision to the next owner - some folk value originality veru highly, especially on immaculate examples such as this. It is a 3-piece Ash (Sen) body with a good thick poly clear finish - no crazing, just a few little knocks to tell you it is over 40 years old. The neck is a C profile - not the super-slim necks adorning Fujigen builds that MIJ JV guitars have. This feels decidedly more American - luckily doesn't cost as much an American! Like all more premium models, there is a distinct ring and sustain when playing unplugged that indicates how well this will play amplified. For a small headstock, natural pre-CBS Strat style guitar, this is just about as good as it gets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kooql0TOqX4 Price Availability ON SALE! Click Buy button to reveal latest price. Sold Recommendation convert to 5-way - the power of these pick-ups needs exploiting Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1980 Pick-ups FS-1 Selector 3 way Bridge Vintage Tremolo Board Maple 3.8kg; 8lbs 6oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38

1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic, Possibly the best Olympic on the planet < Back 1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic 13847 From the era when Epiphone and Gibson were direct competitors - the Emperor fighting it out with the Super-400 - this rivalry would bring the best out of each other. This is a genuine 1938 Epiphone Masterbuilt Olympic , with unusual but original block inlays (5) , full f-holes , the 15.25-inch body and original bridge piece . The pick-guard is a later replacement (most originals were replaced in the first few years), but everything else is original and in fantastic condition. The block inlays may suggest this is a Regal built Apollo or a Howard, but this is a bona fide Olympic; just an unusual specification. The cherished life that this guitar has led is obvious as soon as you pick this up. There are polishing marks, a few swirls from a dirty duster, nothing else. There is none of the normal wear on the rear of the neck, and no cowboy chord frets. There are 5 or 6 parking knocks on the upper bout of the body, but nothing else other than the discolouration of the label, to suggest that this guitar is 85 years old . These Masterbuilt Olympics have a well-deserved reputation of sounding amazing - this one doesn't disappoint. A full sound, slightly enhanced upper mids, and clarity from the lower register. It chords well at the upper end of the fretboard, and begs the question "should we put a pick-up on this?"; but realize that this is the spirit of the guitar, and we refrain from that. Although a K&K or a Benedetto would let this guitar reach the audience without needing to sit still by a mic. This Olympic has mahogany back and sides with an Adirondack Spruce top . Adirondack matures famously and after 85 years, this guitar proves the point - I doubt it has ever sounded better. This is the wood that makes the early 30's CF Martins so revered. Most Olympics, Triumphs, Spartans and Blackstones were busy instruments - bought my musicians who used them to earn a crust. Many were worked to death, most others are scarred battered survivors that have been under the knife, patched up and refuse to give up. They were made in quite large numbers and are not especially rare even today hence they remain fantastically accessible. This one must be one of the finest available today. It has been in hiding - a proud possession and safeguarded friend. It's not even on Wiedler, but we have submitted the details. The opportunity offered here is to acquire one of the best possible examples of a guitar that has matured so gracefully that the first assumption is that it is a re-issue, and not 85 years old. This guitar comes with a hard-shell case and will be restrung with either Light XL Chromes or GR-112s (or a specific type of your choice). Price Availability ££££ Sold Recommendation Collector's dream, or just buy it and play it. Buy as Is Buy to Upgrade Specifications Year 1938 Pick-ups N/A Selector N/A Bridge Rosewood Original Board Rosewood 2.2kg; 4lbs 14oz Modifications None Weight ← Previous Next→ Latest Videos Play Video Play Video 03:39 Play Video Play Video 02:20 Play Video Play Video 04:44 Play Video Play Video 05:31 Play Video Play Video 02:04 Play Video Play Video 03:57 Play Video Play Video 02:11 Play Video Play Video 03:38