The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Q&A, discussion, and information for the labels covered by The Guitar Gallery (Specifically and exclusively guitars made by Matsumoku up to 1987)
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 Post subject: 2596 skylark parts
PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 01:15 AM 
Hi all, I have been online for about 6 hours now and just came across this website. I stumbled upon a middle skylark guitar and have been going crazy trying to find out about this make. Anyways the short story is this, the guitar was thrown in on a deal I made with a guy who was selling a bunch of junk. The guitar is in great shape only 1 knick up top but the problem is only the wiring stuff on the back is there and the pickups in front. nothing else no bridge no tuners no nothing else. Now here is my delima, my son has been begging for a guitar (he is turning 9 in 9 days) so does anyone know where to find parts for this guitar, or can I take it into a shop and they can find parts that fit? please help!! and yes I know nothing about such things I'm a mother not a musician so please forgive my ignorance on subject.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 02:55 AM 
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Virtuoso
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wow, what a cool mom!!!

we'd be glad to help if we can. You should indeed be able to find a bridge that works, possibly locally if you have good music stores areound with guitar parts. If not, they're available online.

You can see what the original bridge looked like in these pics of my Skylark: http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=1467(I think you saw that already)

Image

The tuners should be easy to replace with standard aftermarket tuners (you want 3x3 tuners, which are made for 3 on either side of the headstock). Older tuners used small holes, but these should be standard modern size.

Image

The bridge is what you'd call a 'hardtail strat bridge' or a 'string-through hardtail strat bridge'. Hardtail means it's screwed directly to the body of the guitar (instead of being on a pivot with a tremolo arm- the famous whammy bar which is so useless so much of the time). Strat refers to the Fender Stratocaster, a classic guitar, but this kind of bridge has been used on many many other guitars too- mainly it means there's a saddle for each string to allow for height adjustments. String-through means the strings go through the bridge and are anchored on ferrules in the body (the six little tube holes on the back)

Here's a couple examples from online sources. they vary, but you get the idea:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... ridge.html
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... ridge.html
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge2.jpg
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbri ... tstrat.htm

the only issue I see is that the Skylark may have a narrower width than standard Fenders used- it's an issue of American guitars with English measurements and Japanese guitars with metric- there's usually about 1/8" difference. My guess is that your Skylark will need 'import style' spacing rather than 'US style' spacing. I'll measure my Skylark tonight and give you an exact dimension, but my guess is the narrow ones will fit your Skylark better:

http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges ... rrow_strat

You can find the best deals online, but that may not be quick enough for you. Check these out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Top-Mount-Hardtail- ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/GOLD-Hardtail-Elect ... dZViewItem

That last one is nice because it gives exact dimensions, which is what you need for a fit. Also, try an ebay search for the words 'gold hardtail strat bridge' and you'll find more options.

These repairs are something you should be able to do yourself if you're handy with a screwdriver. Let us know how it goes, we'd be glad to help with technical stuff.

BTW, as you have guessed, the Skylark is not only a great guitar, but quite rare. It does, however, have a rather chunky neck (like an acoustic steel guitar) and I would wonder if your son's hands are big enough to deal with it. The string action can be adjusted so it is low and easy to finger, but it's something to consider.

He'll need an amplifier sooner or later; I'd highly recommend the Roland Microcube, which is small, can run on batteries, is relatively cheap and sounds GREAT! http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=480196 Another excellent (and cheaper) option is a headphone amp- I really like this one that Guitar Center sells: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=151703 It's really nice to be able to practice with headphones on without bothering anybody.

Keep us posted! Let us know how it goes! You'll find that the Skylark, like other Matsumoku guitars, was made with not only high quality, but a lot of soul, and players of these guitars are really fanatic about them. The community here is really passionate about these guitars and always ready to help out people who care about them.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 03:45 AM 
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Virtuoso
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OK, I measured- and then realized you could have taken the measurements on yours just as well... but the important part is that it has 10.5 mm string centers- so those ferrule holes are 10.5mm apart, which means the total spread of the strings is 52.5mm, or about 2 3/32". So it looks like the Stew-Mac bridge is correct, among others.

The mounting screw holes of the original skylark bridge are probably much closer than any of the aftermarket bridges, as that original bridge was really small- but that's ok, you could mount a larger bridge in the same location with new holes, and still line up perfectly to the ferrule holes.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 10:35 AM 
wow! thanks for all the info, i guess i will have to call around to some local shops! I tell you it was frustrating finding this guitar online, then after finding this site I realized why I had such trouble, glad I found you all though, you seem to know a lot about this instrument thanks


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 12:21 PM 
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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 12:28 PM 
Image

Image

Image


okay i think i did the pics right here they are.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 03:48 PM 
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Very nice!

Check out this thread: it's an Aria Pro with nearly identical body laminations:

http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewto ... 4d59cd4a72

The Electra X150's were pretty identical too.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 04:39 PM 
Yeah, unbeleivable, you have to wonder if all these guitars were turned out all at once and then marked according to who wanted to buy them, they are just too similiar, I'm just kinda glad I lucked into something nice for once! Boy I better buy that powerball ticket, huh?!


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 04:57 PM 
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You've probably already read the Skylark story, but it was a line that Matsumoku was going to make for some american dealer chain that backed out on the deal. That first test run of Skylark guitars was instead sold to JC Penneys, who sold them through their catalog, while they lasted (it has been argued that their motive was more to make their catalog look good than to sell guitars).

The Matsumoku factory had a number of different materials it used, and it would manufacture guitars according to what the resellers ordered. Some, such as Saint Louis Music's Electra, were very carefully designed and improved. Others such as Aria Pro II tended to be more standard configurations. Vantage tended to be more chaotic and you get the idea they sold whatever the factory sent them.

The pickups and wiring are common to Aria Pros and Electras of the time, and the body shape is very close- there are many subtle variations of a double cutaway, and this is another of them. The laminated body was very popular for a time (around 1980) and you can imagine how the SKylark was designed- the client says 'we want a guitar in three pricelines, with the same body shape but different colors, wiring options, and body construction'. And the factory puts together these models based on the best of what they were doing for their other customers at the time.


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PostPosted: Sat 18 Feb 2006 05:47 PM 
I'm really surprised that this many of these so called "cheap" guitars have survived in such good condition. I also am shocked at what some people pay for them. I plan on fixing this one up and keeping it, who knows maybe i'll have the next great rock star on my hands. Music is a great outlet, and I think every child should learn to play something. (except drums we tried that! head ache city) haha


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