The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

If this brand name isn't familiar to you, don't be surprised. El Degas were a brand of Japanese imports sold in Canada during the late 70s and 80s. They were primarily a copy line, or at least thats what you most commonly see of their stuff today. For example one of the shops in my area has a very nice Gibson J200 copy in stock at the moment. The label inside the sound hole gives no manufacturer, just stating its a B&J product and made in Japan. In fact the serial number wasn't completed! It only has the first 2 numbers, 20, and the rest was obviously never stamped onto the label.

However, in the last couple of years I've learned that they did get more ambitious at times, even offering a neck thru body guitar. And an El Degas guitar I had a chance to look at makes me wonder if at least some of their product was from Matsumoku. It was roughly the equivalent in concept to the lower end Thor Sounds or their Vantage equivalents: a bolt neck guitar intended to look like a neck thru. The neck plate merely said Japan on it, with no indication of a manufacturer, but it seemed to me like something that could have come out of Matsumoku. The body contours weren't a duplicate of an Aria or a Vantage(or an Ibanez Musician for that matter), yet there was just something about it that seemed similar to those cousins.

I should also add that there were other (apparently) Canada only imports under the Mann and Raven names at around the same time. However I read a comment someplace online from an Ibanez collector that thought the Manns were most likely Fuji Gen Gakki products, as they were very similar to the lower end Ibanez copies of the '70s.

Got to look at another acoustic El Degas product today, this time a mandolin. Again no indication of the actual manufacturer, and this one didn't even have a serial number, the space on the label for the serial being completely blank. Hopefully an El Degas electric will turn up again one of these days and I can see if there are any indications its an Uncle Matt.

For what it's worth I did a search on Yahoo Japan and read a few things about Matsumoku and searched for any relationship between him and these El Degas guitars. Came up empty. I can check with a few other people though if you'd like me to look into it for you.

You might find some interest here.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/El-Degas/

http://www.wholenote.com/products/manumain.asp?i=693

MULLY
I'm going to Tokyo this weekend. I'll check with one of the shops on these.

Sounds like the right man is on the job! Talk about getting the story from the horse's mouth! I imagine the shops there would know best!

BTW, I put a link up to Mully's page up on the Music Links page. Lots of pics of cool pro instruments. Not your normal Guitar Sinner or Marrs fodder, that's for sure! Some gorgeous wallpaper too! Check it out!

Later!

LAdies and gentleman, I promised you way back in March that I would check on those El Degas guitars.......I did but I totally forgot to post here about it. With that said, no one knew anything. I'm a total slug for slacking like that on you guys. Forgive me!!
MULLY

I've got an El Degas SG copy. It's got a bolt-on neck and a "post-lawsuit" headstock (i.e., not "open book"), but otherwise it's a straight copy, visually & functionally. Basic TOM/stoptail bridge setup, of just-adequate quality (plastic saddles ). Grover tuners are obvious replacements--originals long gone. "Proper" pickguard shape. Cheapo "top hat" knobs, but the 3-way seems pretty sturdy (better than moder Epi's). I haven't opened it up to see if there are any markings on the pups, but they're chrome-covered humbuckers with a lower perceived output than the ones in my CS-350.

The demi-semi-transparent finish shows that the body is actually a five-layer laminate, with thin layers of mystery wood (might even be mahogany), on the top, back and in the middle, and thicker layers of (different?) mystery wood between.

The neck is a wide/thin C, very similar in feel to the aformentioned Cardinal but a little thinner, and a little flatter on the back. I believe it's one piece, and probably mahogany. The bound (cheap rosewood??) fretboard is flat, which is rather interesting with the not-quite-flat bridge radius . Nice fretwork, though.

If I remember correctly (it's not in front of me now), the neck plate just says "Made in Japan".

All in all, I would guess that this model, at least, is not from Uncle Matt's hands.

(BTW--I know this isn't the For Sale forum, but I'd entertain reasonable offers...).

The plot thickens. I found out a while ago that B&J were still active in Canada, but didn't think much about it. This morning I was in one of the local shops, and a delivery guy came in with a package. The box said it was from B&J, along with the statement "A Kaman Company." Whether Kaman owned them while they distributed Japanese made El Degas instruments is another question.