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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PostPosted: Fri 28 Dec 2012 01:30 PM 
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Power Chorder

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Hey there

I posted a topic in another part of the forum but not the good one I guess.

So here is my Country guitar I just got few days ago. I'm fond of Mats guitars and I own few of them. This one looks a lot like it but I'm sure... any input would be great!

Pickups are BWT-20, the neck is in one single piece of wood, the bridge looks a lot like the one in the first Vantages... the previous owner told me he got it from a guy who bought it in France in 1977 or 1978.

It's a real pleasure to play thanks to the great neck and the pickups, but I think I'll put another bridge!

And here is my first topic with some pics...

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9657

Thanks

Greg


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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 12:00 AM 
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Virtuoso
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In my humble opinion not Matsumoku made, but i'm no Torch.
Hows she play?

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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 01:13 AM 
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Power Chorder

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She plays great. I own 6 or 7 Matsumoku guitars and this one compares to them easely. The only drawback is the lame bridge with these saddles... i may put another bridge on it to improve its stability. The pickups are really good too.

This saddle was found in some Electra guitars... and I could find pics of another Country guitar that shows a neck wirh 3 pieces of wood. These hints tend to make me believe it's actually some sort of an early Matsumoku... but again I'm not sure as I can't find a picture of it in a catalogue, or similar shapes in other guitars.

Here are two screenshots, an Electra with the same bridge and the other Country guitar wiith the mat-like neck...


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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 01:32 AM 
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Power Chorder

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Oh and the heel of the neck says SV300... would it be a mention of the model name?

That guitar is a real mystery to me! Its peculiar shape don't ring a bell to no one. In some french forum a guy believes the Country brand was produced by the Fujigen factory (Greco...).


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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 02:33 AM 
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I can't quite put my finger on it but I still say not Mat. Torch be danged. . . :D

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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 10:42 AM 
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Unless some sort of information manna drops from the skies I doubt we will ever know the source of this one. Hardware was rarely made by individual factories for there guitars only. For instance you will find Cort guitars (known to be MIK) with MIJ bridges. Also, Electra sourced its guitars from a number of factories. In some cases, according to Tom Presley, of Electra, even the same model would be sourced from more than one factory in the same year.

I kind of doubt it is "early" Matt, as the design and build quality screams 80's to me.

Some times the guitar is clearly identical to one from a known factory. If not you fall back on looking at a number of factors. Here the neck is a one piece. Most, but not all, Matt's with a natural wood finish had laminate necks. Also the neck joint on bolt neck guitars tended to be either contoured to the body or curved, the "smooth heal". This one has an interesting "V" shaped contour on the heal. The pups are neither MMK's or DiMarzio, which would have been most common on an 80's Matt. Once again hardly diagnostic.

All and all, I tend to agree that it is probably not a Matt. That said it could be and it looks like a nice guitar. Thanks for bringing us this mystery.


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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 11:50 AM 
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Power Chorder

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Hello

Thanks so much for your input. Actually, apart from the overfall feeling of the guitar, my speculation about an early Matsumoku origin roots from the Torch Harrison page "Who made my MIJ guitar!?" Http://torchharrison.hubpages.com/hub/J ... 50-to-1980

But it's the only place on the web that clearly associates "Country" with Matsumoku. On some fench forums the brand is associated with Fujigen factory (Greco, pre-Ibanez...). Some people mention a "Country Professional" brand too. The same pickups are actually found in some Grecos... But nowhere could I find any guitar with this very peculiar shape... found out some other Country guitars on the web with quite original shapes too, including a weird strat-like with the lower horn turned upside-down (look at the pic enclosed: all these mini-switches and their disposition on the tablemsound like a Matsumoku crafrmanship, isn't it?).

it's cool even if it's not a Matsumoku one, I just would love to know more about this guitar, mainly WHEN it was produced... the bridge suggests something quite old, and the previous owner told me his friend bought it in 1977 or 1978.

I'm playing this guitar these days at home, tesring my new pedals, and I must say I'm impressed, as I have been with the Mats ones I already have :)


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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 11:55 AM 
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Virtuoso
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greguti wrote:
...The only drawback is the lame bridge with these saddles... i may put another bridge on it to improve its stability....
Do it! These bridges are rubbish. I've replaced 3 of them. You can find inexpensive string thru models just about everywhere on the Web. String spacing is 10.5 mm.

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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 12:13 PM 
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greguti wrote:
But it's the only place on the web that clearly associates "Country" with Matsumoku.

Exactly.

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PostPosted: Sat 29 Dec 2012 12:19 PM 
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Power Chorder

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I just browsed dozens of pages of Ibanez catalogs from 1971 to 1985 and couldn't find nothing related yo this shape...

Maybe a Kawai high end series ? Or a Greco ? I owned a Greco Supersound strat but it definitly didn't feel like this one.

BtW, I already bought 2 replacement bridges :) I even fantazised to add a bigsby to it, but it wouldn't be a serious move, right?


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