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: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Wed 12 Jun 2013 10:39 AM 
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I just found a "DIA" branded version of the 1202T that is in very good condition, albeit covered in dust and gunk from sitting in a pawnshop for years. While the body is fantastic, the wiring is pretty much decayed and rotten from age. The pickups have been repaired, but the rest has to be replaced. Any sources for a 1202 wiring schematic? I'm able to piece together a pretty good idea of the schematic, but a few details are curious. I will post a drawing soon.

Also, any ideas when/where this guitar was sold under the DIA brand? Dia seems to be a complete mystery to the internet. There is some documentation for the more common Aria Diamond 1202T version, but alas no schematic. It does not have any label inside and does not look as if it ever had one.

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Fri 14 Jun 2013 06:42 AM 
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A lot of these instruments were sold with out brand name indications. Different badges were put on by the distributor who ordered them. DIA may have been a distributor, or even a music store brand.

The wiring looks to me to be standard 2 pup 2/V 2T (LP style). There are hundreds of diagrams available on the web. This is the first one a Google search found. It looks right to me. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... g&dur=7660


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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Sun 16 Jun 2013 11:24 AM 
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I pulled the harness and carefully examined it. The wiring itself was pretty rotten after 40+ years, so I replaced it with new "vintage" 22 AWG shielded pushback wiring. The pots were falling apart so they got replaced with new 500K CTS pots. I was able to reuse the switch, capacitors, and jack. Putting it back together was a real pain - sort of like building a ship in a bottle. Now to reassemble the rest of the guitar.

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Tue 18 Jun 2013 06:31 PM 
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All done!

Actually you're never really done. I had to shim the neck .030 at the heel and remove the height adjustment wheels on the bridge to get the action down to where it could even be considered "high" - still about .110 at the 12th fret. I need to make a shim that raises the whole neck up a bit in the pocket (and still adds some angle) so I can make the bridge adjustable again. Suggestions are welcome.

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Tue 18 Jun 2013 09:48 PM 
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I always prefer a full pocket shim. They help prevent a neck hump that can come from a partial shim. Some people claim tone voodoo too. To make one, measure how much you want to raise the neck at each end of the pocket. Then cut a piece of wood to fit the pocket that is as thick as the thickness you need for the bigger measurement. mark the smaller measurement and use a plane to create a smooth and flat (but angled) surface. Use a hand drill to drill out the screw holes for the neck bolts. It may take a bit of trial and error but in the end you have the best fix.


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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Wed 19 Jun 2013 02:55 PM 
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RSBBass wrote:
A lot of these instruments were sold with out brand name indications. Different badges were put on by the distributor who ordered them. DIA may have been a distributor, or even a music store brand...
"DIA" short for DIAmond maybe? The design around the name certainly echos that.

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Wed 19 Jun 2013 05:34 PM 
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Barry wrote:
RSBBass wrote:
A lot of these instruments were sold with out brand name indications. Different badges were put on by the distributor who ordered them. DIA may have been a distributor, or even a music store brand...
"DIA" short for DIAmond maybe? The design around the name certainly echos that.


Dia shows up on several lists of brands that Matsumoku guitars were sold under, and there are plenty of old "anyone heard of Dia?" threads out there on various forums, mostly pertaining to acoustics. Dia acoustic guitars seem to be much more prevalent than the few electrics I've found. These electrics are typically Dia branded Les Paul and SG clones, but there's no real notion of whether they were a store brand, a specifically non-U.S. brand or what. These threads on Dia electrics that I have found tend to originate from places like Europe, Australia, and South Africa, which makes it even more curious as to how my specific guitar ended up hanging in a little Mom-and-Pop pawnshop on the northwest side of Houston, Texas.

It's a difficult, trash-filled Google search since you pull up so many hits for diameter, dia de los muertos, diagram, etc. You have to be really specific and creative on your search terms and exclusions.

It's a great guitar and while its Matsumoku heritage is unmistakable, I just can't help but wonder "where did you come from?"


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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Mon 01 Jul 2013 01:00 PM 
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I made a full pocket shim that really did the trick. I dropped the action down to a playable 0.700 at the 12th fret and I was able to reinstall the bridge adjustment thumbwheels. It plays perfectly now - for me.

One issue is that I was going to mock up the shim out of some hard pine I had laying around and then recreate it in a tonewood like mahogany or maple, but it worked out so well that I don't want to change it. Problem is that the pine is unfinished.

I may mix up a little Tru-Oil and some amber pigment and carefully paint it on with a No. 0 brush to get it to match the neck a little better.

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Mon 01 Jul 2013 03:27 PM 
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Wow! That's some major lift there! Pity things got so out of whack but happy to hear it's working out for you now. :up:

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 Post subject: Re: Dia 1202T
PostPosted: Tue 02 Jul 2013 06:43 PM 
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Good job. It doesn't look bad. I would leave it and play her.


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