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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1973 Takamine Model No. F360 Acoustic Guitar

Sweet vintage Martin copy, a little beat up, but all original

These Takamine lawsuit models have been an interest of mine for a while and I've finally found a couple at good prices. As luck would have it, I've ended up with possibly some of the first and last of these Martin copies that the company made. 

Takamine experts state that 1984 was the year that the lawsuit was threatened, so 1984-85 should have been the cutoff. The first model that I picked up was a 1987. The history also shows that 1975 was the first year of major distribution to the US, so this one predates those models.

My first guess would be that both of these guitars were not only built in Japan, but also purchased there and then somehow made their way here to So. Cal.

This one does have some issues, the frets show major wear, the last owner said it was mainly used as a beach guitar, so the salt in the air probably caused the tarnishing. There is also some slight warping by the bridge, but I filed the saddle down real low and that helped the action alot. 

It stays in tune so far and there isn't any buzz, so it works for me.

Just set her up with some D'Addario Custom Light strings last night, plays and sounds great.

Thanks for looking, more high-resolution photos here.

 

1987 Takamine G330 Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Classic vintage lawsuit model, Martin dreadnought copy, modified with a pickup for plug-and-play

This is the first of these Takamine lawsuit models that I've been able to take home. I'd really been looking forward to grabbing one and it's as advertised, super sweet. The only thing that it's lacking is a solid top, but I was told that one of the previous owners was a guitar tech and it is setup beautifully. The action is real low, which makes it easier to play, and what appears to be a bone saddle gives off a nice tone.

An under the saddle pickup was also installed at some point, so this one has the added acoustic/electric feature. On top of playing and sounding great, this one is still in real tip-top shape. The only blemishes are some real small, barely noticeable marks on the top of the headstock and there is minimal wear on the first three frets.

Now that I've been able to jam on one of these, I want to find an old F series Takamine lawsuit model even more. Those generally go for at least $400, I was able to get this one for a little less and it's definitely worth every penny.

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1986 Takamine GX-100T Electric Guitar

Vintage lawsuit guitar, a rare solid-body electric made by one of the most-respected names in acoustic guitars

This is a very high-end copy of a Gibson Explorer, it was so nice that Gibson threatened Takamine with a lawsuit and they stopped making electric guitars altogether, from what I've been able to dig up.

The pickups look like Seymour Duncans and it's a possibility, they made the pups in the old Ibanez guitars. On top of that, this model also features neck-thru construction. Plays like butter too.

If you find one of these in even decent shape, you should pick it up, they generally go for between $500-$800 on most auction sites.

Thanks for looking, more high-resolution pictures here.