MADE IN 1972 BY TAKAMINE - ARANJUEZ No5 - KOHNO STYLE CLASSICAL CONCERT GUITAR | Guitars for Sale in Alpharetta GA | 7124841175

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MADE IN 1972 BY TAKAMINE - ARANJUEZ No5 - KOHNO STYLE CLASSICAL CONCERT GUITAR

Location:

Alpharetta, GA

Description:

I do offer the 2 days returnpolicy described at the bottom of this page.ARANJUEZNo5 1972Thisguitar was made in 1972 by Takamine workshop under the supervision of MasaruKohno workshop. Aranjuezguitars line was founded by Masaru Kohno in 1968 (soon after he took overTakamine and delegated his pupil Mass Hirade to manage the company). At firstthese guitars were named Yamato and had identical design label as you can seeon this guitar. Aranjuez guitars were designed exclusively for Japanese market.They were made by Takamine workshop under Masaru Kohno’s supervision until 1977.In 1978-1979 they were still made by Takamine however Kohno stamp was absent ontheir labels. In 1979 Takamine discontinued their Ramirez style Elite line and startedmaking models with identical design and construction as Aranjuez brand, whileAranjuez line was discontinued for at least few years. The Aranjuez brand was resurrectedin the late 1980s and made by Ryoji Matsuoka workshop. Their headstock was likeon Mathias Dammann guitars. After the closure of Matsuoka’s workshop (2014)Aranjuez guitars are again made by Takamine co. under Masaki Sakurai’s supervision.Thesecret of Aranjuez guitars is that they have always offered exceptional valueto the player on a budget. Top Aranjuez models sounded better than many guitarssold by leading Japanese makers at 2 times higher prices. Since theorigin of this brand the very top models were assembled and finished at Kohno’sworkshop. The bodies of those top models were made by Takamine or Matsuokaworkshops, while soundboards were made by either Masaru Kohno himself or one ofhis associates, perhaps by Masaki Sakurai. Currently the very top Aranjuezmodel 725 is still being assembled and finished personally by Masaki Sakurai andis priced 250 000 yen, while it sounds better than many other guitars sold inJapan 350 000 yen. ThisAranjuez No5 guitar was priced 50 000 yen in 1972 yen while it sounds on pairwith many guitars from that era priced 100 000 yen. From the earlythrough late 1970s the top of Aranjuez line was model 7 assembled at MasaruKohno workshop. The second from the top was model No6. Both models 6 & 7 were“all solid woods” construction. Although I have never seen or heard about one,I am confident that both models were already made in 1972. Therefore model 5 certainlywasn’t the top of the line even though its headstock closely resemblesheadstock used by Masaru Kohno on his top of the line models. I have sold severaland seen hundreds of Aranjuez guitars yet never before seen one with such aheadstock. Whatis also very important to mention is that while all Aranjuez models of 1970s hadCedar tops, all Kohno models had Spruce tops. Regardless of what some sellersbelieve and claim in their listings, Masaru Kohno wasn’t making Cedar topguitars until 1985. Those Kohno’s Cedar top models were made in very limitednumbers (perhaps by special order only), their soundboards look very dark,rosettes and bridge decoration are different from those used on regular Sprucetop models.Thistruly majestic guitar offers exceptional volume and response combined with veryromantic tonality. Its trebles are super sweet, round, yet very crisp. Bassesare deep and full of overtones, yet relatively clean. All notes are wellbalanced, note clarity and separation fantastic, sustain amazing.I am sure thatevery experienced player will agree that this guitar beats many “hand made inSpain” $5000+ guitars available on US market. Takamine C132S currently sold for$1950USD is sounds like a “child’s toy” if compared to this Aranjuez 5 1972guitar. This guitar remains in practicallymint condition, without any sign of use. Only with a magnifying glass or falcon’seye one can find a mark on its body. Original tuners also looked like new butwere hard to turn and were replaced by brand new Gotoh set. Specifications:Top: High Grade Solid Cedar/cashew lacquerBack and Sides: Non-Solid Latin America Rosewood /cashew lacquerNeck: MahoganyFingerboard: EbonyTuning Machines: high grade gold platedScale: 660 mmNut Width: 52 mmNut & Saddle: BoneStrings: Savarez Cristal Normal Tension Current actionis set to 3.80 mm under E6 and 3.20 under E1 with still extra room on thesaddle (about 3.00mm on the E6 side and 2.00mm on the E1 side).Itwill be shipped in a used original hard-shell case that is fully functional butwith serious deterioration on the outside. This case is free. RealValue of Japanese Vintage GuitarsThe key to understand valueof vintage Japanese guitars is to acknowledge galloping price inflation(devaluation of Japanese yen) during 1960s & 1970s. This inflation sloweddown in the 1980s.During 1960s and most of1970s model numbers of Japanese guitars were strictly interconnected with theirprices in Japanese yen. By early 1980s and during following decades modelnumbers were no longer strictly associated with their prices. Some Japaneseguitar makers introduced model names instead of model numbers. Others werestill using model numbers with the addition of letters and/or other symbols. It is then important tounderstand that two Yamaha GC10 guitars made 10 years apart are two instrumentsof totally different class. The same applies to any other Japanese maker/brand. The logical way to estimatethe true class of any given Japanese made instrument is to compare its pricewith the average annual salary of wage workers in Japanese private sectors.This salary was: 450 600 yen in 1965 - 825 900 yen in 1970 - 1 868 300 yen in1975 - 2 689 000 yen in 1980 - 3 163 000 yen in 1985 - 3 761 000 yen in 1990 -4 107 000 yen in 1995 - 4 082 000 yen in 2000. Any guitar priced 100 000yen in 1970 (labelled as No10 or No100) would be priced 200 000 yen in 1975(relabeled to No20, No200 or 2000), 300 000 yen in 1977 (labelled as No3, No30or 3000) and 500 000 yen by 1985 (labelled as No50 or 5000).Starting in 1977 MasaruKohno introduced his new models No40 priced 400 000 yen and No50 priced 500 000yen. By the early 1980s Kohno started using model names instead of numbers andwas steadily raising their prices without changing model labeling. His very topmodel 50 became model “Special”, and a decade later it became model “Maestro”.Naturally, all other Japanese guitar makers were doing similar pricing(labelling) upgrades.Knowing all of that, youcan bet on that Masaru Kohno No50 made in 1982 is practically the same gradeinstrument as Kohno No20 made in 1972, or Kohno no 30 made in 1975.In the early 1970s thelowest Ryoji Matsuoka (all plywood) model was 10, followed by (solid top)models 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and (all solid woods) models 100 and 150.Models 50, 60 and 80 were made with non-solid figured Brazilian Rosewood(double) back and sides and top model 150 was the only one made with solidfigured Brazilian Rosewood b/s.In 1980 the lowest Matsuokamodel was (all plywood) 20, followed by (solid top) models 30,40,50, 60 and allsolid woods models 80,100,150 and 200. By 1990 the lowest Matsuoka model wasM40 and the highest was M300. By 2010 the lowest Matsuoka model was M50, andthe top model was M270. You can bet that RyojiMatsuoka model 50 from 1980 is of the same grade as model M100 from 2000, model100 from 1980 is of the same grade as model M150 from 2000, model 150 from 1980is of the same grade as M200 from 2000 and model 200 from 1980 is of the samegrade as model M300 from 2000.It is important to mentionthat if modern era luthiers are using 40+ years old woods to make an “allsolid” wood classical guitar, its price is minimum $8000.All vintage guitars madewith Brazilian Rosewood are especially precious, including those made straightgrain varieties and those with non-solid b/s.Because response and tonalproperties of Spruce soundboards are improving over time, long seasoned Sprucesare far more precious than long seasoned Cedars. It is not very difficult tofind out what are current prices of such guitars made by the world’s leadingluthiers.ReturnsIf you are not happywith your purchase, you may return the guitar for a full refund of originalpayment less any shipping costs. All you need to do is:1. Notify me within 48 hours after receiving the guitar. 2. Pack guitar the same way I do it, using the same box and materialsand ship it back to me within 24 hours after "return notification". Naturally if you expectto receive a full refund, guitar must be returned in the same condition as I shippedit to you. P.s. If you'd like to check my modest playing skills click on the links below:http://youtu.be/ExVwfhLy1gQhttp://youtu.be/XNdeSWxb2nUhttp://youtu.be/mecVgriaKJ0http://youtu.be/O9ErnhZhDxwhttp://youtu.be/ceVTybPnq7chttp://youtu.be/Zyz8eZeTSRQhttp://youtu.be/T8bkPi4jhsshttp://youtu.be/W1FaCjodgZM

Category:

Guitars

Posted:

January 2 on Americanlisted