1975 Takamine F400S 12-String Acoustic Guitar

Vintage Martin lawsuit copy, solid top 12-string, made in Japan

The quest for vintage solid tops may have ended, as this guitar is definitely an upgrade from the F-385 that I picked up a few months ago. This will require some TLC though. The body has warped and con-caved at the soundhole and one of the braces inside the body has also cracked. I wanted this guitar so bad, that I bought it knowing that I'd have to put some cash into it and I even took the train down to Oceanside to pick it up...

As soon as I got back home, I took the guitar to Clay at Beach City Pawn and Guitar to assess the damages. I was relieved to hear that giving the wood some moisture would help the body go to back to something resembling its former shape over time. After only 4 days of this treatment, I can already see the difference and I plan on taking new measurements on Saturday. There is also a crack on the bottom edge of the body, but it looks like it may only be in the clear finish.

This is something that will definitely have before and after photos, like the Yamaha FG-200 that I found last year. That one didn't really have any structural damage, but it was still in bad shape and now it looks and plays great. Hopefully, this will have a similar outcome. Clay also noted that the action wasn't bad, even though the body had sunken in so deeply and the bridge and neck are both in good shape. Hopefully we'll have good news to report in a couple of months.

Thanks for looking, more high-resolution photos here.

1978 Takamine F-385 12-String Acoustic Guitar

Vintage Japanese Martin copy from the lawsuit era. Some cosmetic defects, but still rock solid

Sticking with the made in Japan theme, this beauty was yet another thrift store find. Its amazing what people will give away. After parting with the 1995 G335 a couple of summers ago, I'd been looking for another Takamine 12-string and was very fortunate to have this one fall in to my lap.

It plays nice and easy, but it definitely needs a setup and some intonation work. I always set up my 12-strings with extra light strings and usually add this in on recordings to accentuate certain sections with arpeggios, just slightly in the mix.

Something occurred to me as I was taking the photos of this guitar; the date is stamped onto one of the braces around the soundhole, just like the old Carlos acoustic guitars featured here. The Carlos models that I've owned had a date stamped there from 1980-85 and the font on the stamp looks identical. The big hole in that theory is the fact that Takamines were made in Japan until at least the mid-80s and Carlos guitars were made in Korea. Of course, some of the early Jasmine models were made in Korea, so maybe it's not a completely crackpot theory.

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1995 Takamine G335 12-String Acoustic Guitar

Sweet little 12-string, made in Taiwan, not to be confused with the current G Series

This is actually the guitar that started all of this madness, when I picked this up a little over a year ago. I bought a Takamine G334 6-string brand new back in late-1994 and when I saw this available at a great price, I couldn't pass it up. Even with some dirty old strings, it sounded and played nice enough.

Fitted with D'Addario Acoustic XL strings, it sounds really bright and plays a little easier than the Fender solid top that was featured here a couple of months ago. Like the Fender, this is also a quality guitar. This one has nice tuning keys that bear the Takamine name, but were made by Ping.

The finish is a little hazy, which is something that I've never seen before. Looks like someone may have tried to clean it and messed it up. Other than that and a couple of small nicks, it's in perfect working order.

12-strings are always popular models and this is one of the better ones that I've played. The only one that was better was a high-end Guild and that's really no contest... Still, I've never had a Takamine, or even a Jasmine for that matter, that wasn't a good player. Great guitars for all levels. 

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2000s Fender GD-47S/12 Acoustic Guitar

Killer solid top 12-string acoustic, made in Korea and upgraded with Grover tuners

Today we showcase a beautiful 12-string that just come from the original owner and is still in like-new condition. This one was upgraded with gold Grover tuning keys when it was first purchased from Guitar Center and that just ups the quality.

The Fender logo on the headstock is inlaid with abalone, as are the fret markers and abalone also surrounds the soundhole.

A solid spruce top is the main feature of this beauty, giving it a full sound and a strange thing to note...there is no pickguard.

When I changed the strings, I noticed that the saddle was made of bone and not plastic, so when I put on that new set of D'Addario XLs, they really sang. These go for as much as $500 on eBay and despite Fender's so-so reputation in the acoustic market, this is a real nice one and will be taken in to the personal collection.

Thanks for looking, more high-resolution pictures here.

1990s Ibanez Model No. PF5-12 12-String Acoustic Guitar

Vintage budget line 12-string guitar, Made in Korea, solid guitar to use at church or the beach

The serial number seems to indicate that this particular box was built in 1992, but it's tough to validate Ibanez acoustics from this era. Even though this guitar is bare bones all the way, it plays nice enough for what it is, I had it set up with D'Addario Acoustic XLs and the brights really sounded pretty.

I held on to this guitar for nearly 10 years, before I upgraded to a nicer Takamine from the same era and even used it to record some tracks. These made in Korea models don't seem to pop up as often as the newer Chinese-made guitars, but $150-200 should be the most to put out for one of the Performance Series guitars.

Thanks for looking, more high-resolutions pictures here.