The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

I've looked through the site at every model that sort of applied to mine but still can't really identify the exact series it belongs to. I have what looks to be a Les Paul with a bolt on neck. The headstock has an inlay sort of like Gibson type of crown but looks more like a leaf than a crown. The truss cover reads custom. The neck plate reads Made in Japan, Matsumoku L780074 . I'm assuming it's built in 1978. Its is a Cherry burst with a 5 ply bound body, block inlays, bound neck and headstock. 2 humbuckers, 2 vol., 2 tone, 3 way toggle and a 2 way split coil tap switch. Like I said, I can't find this model on the main pages and was wondering if anyone has seen one of these before or do I have a unicorn. I've had this guitar since the mid 80's I bought from a friend who was the original owner that gave up guitar playing. Any help identifying this guitar would be much appreciated.

Welcome Joeglow.
Pics would certainly help. Is it a straight up LP copy or is it slightly different?

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

Thanks for the welcome and response.








Hope these help a bit.

Wow, very nice.
I believe you have a '78 LC-430. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariapro ... trans.html
I'm not familiar with birch but a quick google search turned up pics of birch and maple that resemble yours. I think the 550 is a set neck though.
Also, the emblem is tight to the name rather than centered. Not sure how much that really means but I think its a 430.
That is known as a "Transition" headstock. If I understand correctly, after Aria became Aria Pro II ('77?), they moved away from copies and this headstock was used on their own designs from '78 to '79.
I don't think your pickguard is original. The knobs might not be either. Are they notched?
Either way, she looks great. Feel free to post close ups.

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

You're right, the pickguard is not original. I think the cream one broke. I honestly can't recall. The knobs are original as far as I know. The guitar plays extremely well. Action is amazing but the pickup out is kind of wimpy. They're not a high volume output, even with a lot of gain, they are weak. I'm keeping this guitar but was curious to what they are worth. Do I need to worry about gigging with it and something bad happening like it getting stolen bc it's valuable and I didn't know better?

Both pickups are weak? That's kind of odd for that time period, huh?
Has it always been that way? Do you know if they have any markings on the underside?
These don't turn up every day but I wouldn't really call them rare. There are a few PE body guitars that go for mad money but I don't know about this one. I would guess $500 or less.

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

Beautiful guitar!

Clean the contacts and re-flow the solder on the toggle switch, and see if that gives you a healthier output.

je

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...doing bad things to good Vantages since 1985...

1981 AV-320
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Gorgeous guitar!
As Squid Head suggests, try a few squirts of contact cleaner in all the pots (NOT WD40!) Guitars of this vintage tend to build up some oxidation on the wipers which can throttle the signal quite significantly. It's the first thing to check and usually restores the output. The original pickups were more than capable of curling yer toes!

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