The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Thanks for the advice Barry. I used alcohol and the ink came right off. The stickers were a bit more difficult but they peeled easily and the residue came off with alcohol and a little elbow grease. Needed a little titebond where there was seperation of the neck and fingerboard but otherwise looks great. Now just waiting on the Gotohs.............

Excellent! Glad it worked for you!
Don't forget to show us the finished product, eh?

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Well, i just got the Gotohs and strung her up for the first time. WOW! I am just floored every time i play this gem. Amazing tone - just incredible, i've never owned an acoustic that has so many tonal varieties ( almost more like a classical). I can't say enough about this guitar, it really is a special instrument. She'll get as loud and bright as you want, and responds amazingly well to soft playing as well. I'm so stoked! The action is a little high up on the 12th fret so i may crank the truss rod a 1/4 turn, but other than that she's prefect. The finish cracks and dings just add to the mojo, they don't bug me a bit.
The only info i could find is in the "Lyle hollowbody Bass" thread in this forum and vintageaxe where i found it was the top of the line Lyle in 1970. I've always wanted a really nice Martin or Taylor - looks like i found her!

I am glad she worked out for you. Looks good. Now how about getting her some matching bridge pins. I think she is worth it

Oh yeah baby! Now you're cookin'!
(But like RSBBass says, get a new set of pins on her )

Looks lots better and I'm glad that she sounds so good. If and when you decide to do a bit more work on her, a little rubbing compound and polishing compound, followed by a good quality wax, should bring up the lustre! And if you're really ambitious you can tackle those dings too. Lots of posts here on how to do that.

Ya know, the overall design is not too dissimilar from my Vantage VW150. If it sounds as good as that one, you've indeed got yourself a prize!

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Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
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Yeah, i'm getting new pins today. I have several but they are a little too large for this guitar. Would look alot nicer, huh?
The vw150 is very similar Barry. Nice tight grained spruce on top and mahogany sides, back and neck.

I forgot to comment earlier on the the back of your headstock.
That "gusset" reinforcement (for want of a better term) at the bottom of the headstock, is for me at least, an unusual feature. I don't recall seeing that on any Mats guitar.
It's hard to tell if it's glued on or carved in. Or is it a repair job?
Anyone have any more info on this? Looks like it would be more appropriate on a 12 string.

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It is definately original and not a repair job. It was also carved from the original piece of wood and not glued on either. There is a Aria AR30 acoustic on ebay right now with the exact same feature. I'd post the link but i'm not too computer savy. Am i wrong to assume all Arias and Lyles were Uncle Matts? Either way, i'm really happy with my 1280.

Sorry to double post but the Aria is actually a GR30, not AR30. DOH!

I believe that "gussett" is called a volute. It was very common among Martin guitars. My recollection is that several Aria models, especially Martin copies have the volute. I own an Aria GR-30 that has it. It is actually a copy of the "Gallagher" guitars.