Keep in mind, Ford made Lincolns, Mustangs and Pintos, among other things. Conceived by pioneering luthier Irving Sloane—crafted and refined by Waverly. We were impressed by the range of features and ease of use. 70´ headstock same label “johnny Guitar) the neck is from heaven !!! They have led guitar innovation from the get-go, some notable modern upgrades include Their trademarked Min-Etune robotic self- tuning mechanism which can tune in under 2 seconds and is featured on some of their popular electric models. If memory serves, they were retailed by a music store in Canada… Some had maple leaf logo on fretboard or headstock. It’s a bolt on neck so in some ways I’m thinking it may not be that great but I’ve seen quite a few Greco bolt on les Paul’s go for quite a bit on ebay and could be easier for a luthier to set up correctly if it needs it. I can’t seem to find anywhere that has any information or history about this guitar. The inside has Atlas made in Japan. Glossy maple neck with gold-inside-black “Yamato” logo only on headstock (lefties commonly have maker only on h/stock), Gotoh-style (but nowhere near the quality) chrome tuners. Itâs fast, accurate and easy to use. It is a Sakura model S9-12 12 string sitka top and Indian rosewood back and sides made in 1971. I think it is a variant of Hondo 2. Hello fellow guitar info and research fanatics!! the black one in particular is a screamer, for sure. Hi Ed, if you go to the home page here there’s a contact form. There is a gag order on the parties involved in the ‘lawsuit’ guitars, and trying to get info out of them is like pulling dinosaur teeth. The gear had not been ground concaved around the gear edges. Armin Gropp, Germany I never truly learned to speak Japanese, just bits and pieces, but I got very good at using sounds, hand gestures, body gestures, etc.  Take for instance the Apollo brand; we know from looking at one Apollo catalog from the 1960s that Apollo guitars were being made by Guyatone, Kawai, and Zenon, all within the same year!! she was def made by memphis.. I also have a SADA hand made classical, I don’t see it listed here. It sounds sweet. Such memories. Only found a few examples of their guitars in existance, but beautifully made (may be 70’s more than 60’s tho). A friend of mine just brought me one of these, it was his brothers who is now deceased and the headstock is broken off, he wants to fix it not to working order but just as a keepsake. They slipped right in and were a perfect fit with the slight exception that the screw holes did not quite line up. Guitar tuning devices operate in various tuning modes. Just wanna say thanks. I do restorations and found it a while back while researching a model’s provenance/history for someone. Because of you I’ve found my old electric guitar brand a PYRAMID. Label says, Made in Japan. I have had an old Dixon acoustic guitar sitting in storage for years now. Don’t kick me, but I’m considering modding this with Schaller minikeys, 51 RI SCPB pup and Telebucker routed into the neck, and a decent 4-saddle bridge – all black hardware. Its beautiful and in good shape and they said it was more than likely made in the 70’s. i like it so much and its sound is like a rare vintage bass…do you have more info about HB? Has anyone heard of them? It was an acoustic guitar that took nylon strings. I don’t see the name listed. Please help me!!! Thank you. And hey, if you have pics, I’d love to put a link or post them. So I looked down the the length of the neck and saw no bowing at all. Any body have any info? Maybe they had some parts from them as well. Easy to play. Sure, I’ve seen that same information. Seems like a lot of effort has gone into sustaining the ‘flow’. Hi there, you can contact me direct on the home page here, and then maybe send me some pics? Hello from the USA… sorry but I don’t know too much about the copy-era guitars. Just wish I had more info but I can’t find anything on The Philadelphia Music Company In . Hi, I am in France, I own a Cortez Double Neck from 1976. Like Ibanez, PRS also ran into some legal trouble when they made a ⦠It is about 45 years old. I have heard anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Was imported here in sweden in the 80:s but theres is information about them that go back to the late 60:s. Som sources say they are by Shiro Aria. To be truthful I was skeptical that any set of tuners would be worth such a high price but these do not disappoint. It has Made in Japan stamped on the neck plate, but that’s it, no serial number. It is a copy of a Gibson Hummingbird. I,m 61 years old I got a Apollo guitar when I was young I still have it I,ve looked at 100,s of picks of Apollo guitars and have never seen another one like it. I think the Musician brand name was used by Guyatone. Excellent site, consider yourself bookmarked ð. I just noticed my mistake. I wish I could remember what brand it was! oh shoot how do i add pic to this? It was also branded as “Checkmate” in the USA, which I saw for sale on Reverb or Ebay. Hi . I have a Sound of Science Japanese acoustic, it has gold gotoh machine heads. I have just discovered and purchased a ‘President’ hollow body Guitar made in Japan. Not sure what the body is, light colored and heavy; two pieces of wood joined about 1/4 of way down to top of bridge. listed, that means more research or proof is needed.  Yeah, that’s right, beer cans. I still play with it just for the fun of it. One of the original tuning pegs recently failed and so I decided to replace them with a set of Sloane Classical Guitar Machines with Stippled Bronze Baseplates and Ebony knobs. ‘Made in Japan’ and hand inscribed serial number on back. I never gave my Amena bass a second thought, until someone asked me what my first bass electric guitar was. Sorry, somehow missed the whole “japanese” theme! That guitar of yours is probably mid to late 70s. Can you educate me a bit? I’ve got an 1980Amena HummingBird acoustic guitar and i’m wondering what it could be worth?? I just purchased a weltron electric, hollow body at a yardsale. A tremendous effort to complete this listing and a zillion of gratefull thanks. In Cape Town, South Africa, I have just acquired (in original faux grey alligator hardcase) a very old “Wizard Prezident” (with a z) archtop acoustic guitar with single pickup, a rosewood-looking arched back, relatively cheapo looking black spray finish on the front, f-holes trimmed with white enamel, and black scratch plate. Condition is fair to good. of only picking up my guitar(s) on rare occasions…damn, feels like I’m ‘totally’ starting over. Do you have anymore info on the Esquire? I have a very decent ES with a love nametag . and it´s the best sounding strat i have ever heard ( allthough it has a plywood-mahogany body ) greatings from germany, Great and useful site!  I’ll be happy if we can figure out the market, the importer/distributor, and maybe even the store where the name originated. sometimes you can tell who made it by the shape of the headstock and inlays… it appears to me that hondo II is now called “k tone” and is still made in korea… their es 135 knock offs are on ebay cheap, and a gas to play. Still own a SG 12/6 guitar with that name, they also made a great Rickenbacker 4001 copy (neck through!). Also, a million thanks goes to the excellent work of Michael Wright, who was writing and researching these guitars when people were just as likely to throw them in the trash. Hey man, sounds like a 70s brand name if it’s a copy guitar. however, unlike the hondo, it has no intonation issues, and plays and sounds great with the original “dimarzio” style distortion buckers. Presidents and Diplomats were common cheap guitars in the late 60’s and 70’s in New Zealand. Turning the tuning key away from you will tighten the string and raise its pitch. I have a Sakura S-09-12 12 string guitar That I can NOT find any info about it!! I pulled a Hawk solid body strat out of a skip today, and despite this, and missing strings, was amazed how good it sounded, pick ups very quiet etc- any further info on ‘Hawk” yet? As with any good research, primary sources are the best. They were sourced from Hagstrom in Sweden (who subcontracted Landola in Finland) and from Crucianelli in Italy. I never heard of that Gilbert name on a Japanese clone guitar, but I bet there’s some others here who could comment. they said it was maybe made in the ibanez factory or another factory whose name i don’t remember.  Maybe someone can actually LEARN something about that guitar that’s been sitting in a closet for the past 50 years and maybe that guitar can get fixed up and handed down. What do i have? Great site btw. In the 70’s you also had Orfeo (once saw a great Strat copy) and Custom, which was related to Ibanez I think. i have a Jedson hollow body with the words dana on the headstock , CROWN AND CROWN PROFFESIONAL-CROWN CITY IMPORTS PASSADENA (HENCE CROWN) THE CROWN CITY I have looked at several different models you have listed here on your site….so much info, thank you…but still have come up short. No more wobbly string posts to cause tuning problems. It had a body and neck of mahogany as well as a rotary pickup and tuning pegs that were both customized. I found out that F. Hasimoto MG. was handmade in Japan by MasterLuthier Mahura gakki. When I started seriously researching all this stuff, I found a ton of internet misinformation and hearsay. I was immediately smitten with it just by the overall look of it. I have had a MIJ Sterling Les Paul for about 6 months now.. Great site…very informative. I have just discovered I have an Anson Strat copy but can find little information about these guitars. Seller 100% positive. In the 2000’s That had risen to about £100 and by 2015 it is now abut £250-£300.  So, I figured I’d give it a shot! After selecting a chord, click or tap the play button under the guitar to listen to the chord. hey man thanks for such a informative site i would like to donate a picture of PYRAMID guitar which i bought today.  Way back in the 1995 the early legend of guitar research, Michael Wright, published a short list like this in his book Guitar Stories Volume One. Let me know how to get a digital picture to you either on this website of another way. Finally the headstock broke off. And a really nice link to the Ochanomizu area in Japan where guitars are sold: http://www.musictrades.co.jp/webnews/english/2009/09/take-a-closer-look-at-ochanomizu-musical-instruments-town-in-tokyo-earning-20-billion-yen-annual-sal.html. Zsolt, Hungary. Fun page…and very informative to boot…tha’s a winning combo folks. Each set includes a pair of 3-left/3-right tuning machines with mounting screws. thanks pietro. Volume and tone knobs are smooth clear plastic It is very much in the style of an old Gibson L series archtop, with tailpiece and bridge. They copied Gibsons Dove guitar. It was an international hit, becoming the song for which the Vapors are best known. Anyone encounter “Northern” brand guitars? Made in Korea. If anyone has any information, I’d like to know it! The top of the guitar, also called the soundboard, plays a crucial role in producing sound. It had single coil pickups and a fixed bridge when I got it. At first, Japanese factories were tasked with building cheap emulations of American designs. By the way it plays and sounds great after all that time, somehow still my favorite Guitar among the others I own ….. NO NO NO idea when it is from but it sure is a machine. hello, that was interesting reading, thank you! Hi all,  And when they aren’t cheap and everyone thinks every old guitar is worth a boatload of money, then I’ll move on and start my beer can collection again. Thanks . Makes playing much more fun. I have an old acoustic Festival, has a made in Korea sticker on it, nothing else. The shamisen or samisen (), also sangen (ä¸çµ, both meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian.It is played with a plectrum called a bachi.. Hi, I just bought a ZENTA stratocaster off ebay here in Cornwall U.K, bargain price of £15, currently in pieces as I stripped it down, cleaned and polished most of it, now waiting to build it back up again in a couple of days, on the back neck plate there was a half a stick left , a word which ended in …es 5000. The original tuning heads were serviceable but I did not particularly like the bright and gaudy gold finish nor did I care for the constant tuning issues. I have a “Johnny guitar” it’s essentially a jazz bass copy.  I’m focusing on 50s and 60s Japanese electrics, but there will be some sneaky 70s names in here, some Korean models, and maybe the odd acoustic brand too. Anyone who also has a Wizard Prezident archtop guitar is welcome to contact me to compare notes. any info on this one would be much appreciated.. thanks Edd. Will be keeping the logo and neckplate identifier, though. It is made in Japan and a quality instrument. See the homepage for the links…. Great sustain, very versatile soundwise, in great condition. It was Leased to the parent company of Aria who had previously outsourced work in the Matsumoku region up until 1987 when Singer offered for sale the actual Factory (Buildings) However it was offered at too high a price and the Doors were forced closed. I appreciate your help and thank you in advance Hope this adds some more value to your site! Build the pedal that redefined overdrive. CALIFORNIA 1966-1973, very cool list. ‘National’ logo and broken diamond inlay on headstock are mother of pearl? I have tried to get info on this guitar online but reach dead ends as these guitars had mysterious production issues. Can not find any information, but more rounded, not so sharp the Philadelphia Music company.. Great condition 'm very glad that i can find on it information wise, was that it was international. A “ johnny guitar ( just like your´s bass ) but guitar ( s ) on rare,... 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