The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Definitely in need of some TLC. Not positive it is even Japanese. May be early Korean.

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/162982839

I'm pretty much convinced the "The Cat" line is not entirely / if at all Matsumoku. Even though they were all made in '86, they do not say Japan or Matsumoku anywhere. I have owned one (still have the neck) and have studied pictures of them compared to other gen 2 RS models. I believe the neck is Mat. The quality of the build is just too nice. The bodies are made of laminate wood (plywood) and the shape is slightly different than other RS models. The build quality was also a little less than stellar.
It did have a 45 in the bridge position though.

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

Correct. Normally the Japanese models had "Made In Japan" or "Product Of Matsumoku" on the neck plate. That's why I suspected it was early Korean.

My first ever electric was "The Cat" in red with HSS around 86-87...........no indication of MIJ on it and I came to the same conclusion - betting it was mostly if not entirely MIK. They do tend to get advertised as MIJ , so plenty of people buy on that basis and most likely it's innocent misinformation on the seller's part. I still have mine for sentimental reasons.

I think most people see Aria Pro II and immediately think its Japanese/Matsumoku. Whether they just don't know or they're trying to cash in on the name, who knows?
I'm not knocking The Cats at all. I probably would still have mine if it were a right handed guitar.
I bought it off a forum member here and played it upside down for a bit but the upper horn (now the lower horn) was too tight to the body to get to the higher frets comfortably.
A fellow member on another forum was looking for a left handed body so I gave it to him and kept the neck. I picked up a righty RS body (I think its an '83 Special V) and slapped that lefty neck on it.
It's a pretty mean guitar.
I still have my first guitar as well. Its a piece but it aint going anywhere. As a matter of fact I'm putting it back together now.

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

The good thing is Shiro Arai & Co. were and are still active in QC much like PRS with their Indonesian SE series. I have a Chinese PE-STD that is fantastic. I also have a Korean Aria MAC and it is also fantastic. On par with Matsumoku? The jury is still out.