Welcome To Matsumoku Guitars and More!

          Hello guitar lovers! I have decided to create this blog dedicated to the history of vintage Japanse made guitars. My main focus will be from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. In that considerably short span of time, Japan was making some of the best production line guitars on the planet. While Gibson and Fender were going through turmoil which led to dropping quality, Japan was pushing out incredibly innovative and solid guitars. Guitars that were made on a production line for realtivly cheap money, but with bindings, coil splits, boosts, neck through, quality pickups, beautiful bursts as well as stunning natural stained guitars with stringers and more. Most came with brass nuts as well as bridges, and many even came with brass volume and tone nobs. 

           My first exposure to Japanese made guitars was an acoustic Goya brand guitar that had belonged to my Dad. It was a smaller body parlor guitar. I got it in about 1978 when I was about 9 years old. I had just started taking guitar lessons in between hockey and all the other things kids did,  It had a wonderful booming sound for a smaller bodied guitar. I played on and off for 4 or 5 years but then 13 hit and I realized girls liked musicians and I liked girls. I also started leaning towards heavier music like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. 

          With the heavier music in my head came a desire to get an electric guitar so in 1983 I went with my aunt to the music store and there it was, a brand new 1983 BC Rich NJ Series Bich in ultraviolet color which was a flip flop type paint. As most know these were made in Japan as well under the direction of one of the earliest affiliations with the Japanese market by a man who was a true craftsman as well as a guitar genius, Mr Bernie Rico. 

            From these early exposeures to Japan made guitars grew a desire to own more and more as well as learn more about the various compains and brands of the time. For many years Japanse made guitars were part of a know secret to many excepet collectors like myself. They didnt get the credit they desrved because everyone thought USA or its junk. Now with rising costs of USA made guitars people are begining to realize the wonderful quality and quirkiness that is the Japan made guitar. 

             With this page i hope to enlighten people to the quality and craftsman ship that can still be had for very resonable as well as shed light on various makers and models. I hope you enjoy my page. Thanks for stopping by, Anthony.

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