The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Just got my recently acquired HB35 back from my friend who is a tech at the local guitar shop. He did a bang up job. He said it is one of the nicest guitars he has ever played. It is amazing. I just bought it on a whim as I had a no name no serial number copy that I bought for $60.The guy was asking $250 with no case. It was in mint shape too. I gave that to my stepson when I bought the Washburn. The HB was $400 with original very tacky case. I took my time on the case repair and it turned out great. Not quite mint but very very nice considering it's prior condition. Have a look on my Photo bucket site under HB35.....tnx....JJ

http://s1117.photobucket.com/albums/k594/Mckmijit/

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If the rich get going run for cover. If the poor get going run for cover.

Looking at it there is no doubt in my mind that is a Yamaki produced HB35. One of the first ever made iow.

Telltales are the bridge and headshape coupled with the tuners down to that "hazing" going on with the clearcoat at the head(very typical Yamaki made guitars)
Further,the tri-bolt pickup setup asf asf asf.
Speaking of which,those OEM pups might or might not be to your liking. If you look under members treasures there´s a post in there on my Daion 555 Headhunter. Also a Yamaki produced semi.
To my knowledge Yamaki used only one sort of pup,which in turn has been claimed to have been made by Goto. To cut a long story short they´re not exactly voiced for a semi but more so tend to lean towards "heavy metal" territory.

If you decide to replace them for something else down the line don´t forget to replace the pup frames as well. If she´s anything like the 555 it should sport a kind of bumblebee capacitor and metal braided wires BETWEEN the pots. The ones leading from the pups...will be all plastic as far as insulation.
Capacitors and pots are top notch,so nuthing much to bicker about there.

According to Yamaki nomer the serial she carries would make her an -83 vintage.

Couple of tips on that bridge btw.

As i guess you´ve noted there saddles are locked in place by allen setscrews on each side of the bridge. Make sure these are tightened down for maximum performance.
Doing so will first of all clamp the saddles 100% solid vs the bridge which will add in the dept of keeping tune. Massively even.
By altering which screw you torq down by how much you can also move stringpack a minor bit to each side-which might be something to consider for personal prefs.

To alter independant saddle height you need a 1.5mm allen key.

http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6616

My Daion 555.

http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6781

My Daion Power MkXX.


As you can see they carry the same bridge as your Washburn. Just sans the Daion text.

Hi Racing: Thanks for the info on the Washburn. I just love the pickups. They have spank like a good Tele pickup yet they also are very musical. Truth be told it is a great player. To have found one in such great condition is a bonus. Now that it is setup, I just can't keep my hands off it. It has such a full driving tone. The pickups measured way hotter than expected too yet they sing like a bird. I am seriously loving this guitar. My tech figured the pups may be Di Marzio. I don't GAF cus they are my sound. Thanks so much for your help with the SH1000 too. It was stripped of the boosst system by previous owner and as you pointed out the studs for the bridge are wrong. I am going to put some black Gibson type on her and then add adjustable saddles in black as well. It should look cool. I also chucked the brass nut as it was not worth the efort to bring it up to snuff. Yes I kept it just in case. I love a nice low action so am just going to make it a player and not restore it. The volume pott is toast too so it is hard to tell if the current pickups will stay. Will know when the parts arrive in a couple of weeks and I can give it a good ride. I still have yet to play her set up. One of the pickups is non original any ways so it wont choke me up to try a new set. If you have tried a few let me know what you consider a good replacement set. Thanks again pal ....JJ

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If the rich get going run for cover. If the poor get going run for cover.