Description
In Store – Masaru Kohno No. 5 1968
Classical Guitar
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Tony Elder / Steve Jackson
Black Dot Music
Est 1985
Guitar work undertaken by Gladesville Guitar Factory, Sydney January 2018
(service details below)
Details
• Year: 1968
• Country: Japan
• Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
• Top: Solid mastergrade Spanish Cedar
• Scale Length: 660mm
• Finish: French Polish
• Nut Width: 52mm
• Case: Yes
This is a rare early Masaru Kohno. Masaru Kohno, born 1926, in Mito, Japan, was
a renowned guitar builder. He started building guitars in 1948, but only really
became a Master after training with Arcangel Fernandez in Spain in 1960. It is
known that because of the language barrier and the fact that he did not master the
Spanish language, he learned mainly from paying attention and copying what he
learned. Kohno was a very good student, in 1967 he won a highly appreciated
‘Gold Medal’ at the Elizabeth’s Concourse at the ‘international Guitar Building
Competition’ in Belgium. He made guitars for Julian Bream, Oscar Gighlia and
Sharon Isbin, among others.
This guitar is the number 5. The Number was synonymous with the value in Yen at
this time. (50000 Yen) The ‘5’ was at that time the lowest priced Kohno model, but
still completely made by the master, meaning Concert quality. This guitar features a
Spanish Cedar top and Indian Rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and
Indian Rosewood bridge. The guitar has a nut width of 51mm and a scale length of
662mm, it is in good condition with relatively little wear for a 50 year old guitar,
although it has several small dings and dong. The playability is very good with low
action. The guitar travels in a very old original case of good quality. This is a
concert quality guitar at the price of a medium/high level quality student model
Description:
Masaru Kohno (1926-1998) is arguably Japan’s most important luthier, and of
course one of the most played, concertized and recorded of the 20th century. Top
players of Kohno guitars include Julian Bream, Oscar Ghiglia, Sharon Isbin and
Shinichi Fukuda, among others. Although Kohno began building guitars in 1948, it
wasn’t until returning back to Japan in 1960, after a 6-month trip to Spain (where
he apprenticed with Arcangel Fernandez) that he established his successful
workshop. His international debut came in 1967, when he was awarded a Gold
Medal at the “Concours International de Quatuor a Cordes et Rencontres
Musicales Internationales de Liege” in Belgium (of interest, Daniel Friederich was
another of the top winners at this competition).
This particular guitar was built right from this period, in 1968. This has the classic
sound from this era: clear, woody, and even a bit dark for a spruce. Condition is
excellent with some repairs/restoration (crack between sound hole and bridge
fixed with spruce splice and cracks either side of fretboard filled (with CA) by
Gladesville Guitar Factory, Sydney. Original French Polish finish on the top, back
and sides have been restored (by Gladesville Guitar Factory). The guitar is in
concert-ready condition with comfortable set up and easy playability.
