Help Iceman's marriage thrive.... his wife is having a GAS attack

So my beloved says to me tonight she says, "I still wish I had gotten that Martin 12 string that I borrowed from Schmitt when I was still there."

The antennae twitched and the light bulb popped on that one. She has her original Yamaha FN-595E to this day and still plays it but what sort of husband would I be to limit her so?

Maybe I should have posted in the WANTED section but I was not sure as I assume I am not asking for a Westone.

The wish list would order as follows....
1) Quality for the price
2) acoustic-electric
3) medium or smaller neck
4) vintage if possible

I have only begun a cursory search for information online and am unfamiliar with where to focus efforts. I am looking for ALL opinions but if MIJ's are out there that have the same reps as Matsumoku does with Electrics I am all ears. All I have been researching so far are Takamine and Yamaha.

Come on all you Dr. Phil wannabes....help a brother out.

....and if anyone happens to have said beast lying around and it could possibly be available.....

Matsumoku made very nice acoustics in their heyday and before, in the late 70s... there are some Westones about - I haven't seen too many, but Vantage and APII both made them and they are very well regarded by those who have them, and as an added benefit, they're generally not hellishly expensive.

Oh, I agree; you MUST help your wife with her GAS; it will have benefits when you have yours!!

Gotta buy a guitar to please the wife, hmmmm.......that's a problem I'd like to have.

The Westie Acoustics are pretty rare in my experience. Recently I researched MIJ Ventura Guitars/C.Bruno (importer) from the 70's.

Apparently, like a lot of the imports, there was a wide margin of quality, entry level to quite good. But some of their higher end pieces look pretty good and Uncle Mat MAY have had some of that contract.

A good place to research them is: http://www.catoosatrading.com/ventura_guitar.html.

Since you're already familiar with Yomamaha all I can add is Caveat Emptor!

Dan

danagos wrote:Gotta buy a guitar to please the wife, hmmmm.......that's a problem I'd like to have.

Since you're already familiar with Yomamaha all I can add is Caveat Emptor!

Dan

Thanks for the link Dan. Two points of clarification. "Wanna " not "gotta" (it is a pretty sweet problem to have as problems go, no doubt about it), and Caveat Emptor always to me in these situations. Her Yamaha is a beautiful player with a tone you would not expect from a thinline body like it has but she did play many dozens of acoustics before she found her baby.

I am not against looking into a Guild or Martin or Taylor's mind you, but there is something uniquely satisfying in hunting down one of these "odd" brands and watching a friends jaw hang slack when you blow their preconceptions out of the water after they finally get around to asking to try it.

Keep the suggestions coming guys. Thanks!!

This went the other day on UK eBay not a 12 string & not electric but it shows the quality of a Matsumoku acoustic, there's also an interesting link that may be useful, I almost bid for it, it looked so nice & I don't want another acoustic.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230589438738&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

If you decide to push the boat out on a modern for you beloved, (carn't believe I just said that) they don't come much better than these http://www.maton.com.au/acoustics/messiah-12-series.html there are stockists in the US though probably no where near Minnie-SO-ta, but they show up on eBay from time to time.

Maton are Australian made from some very nice woods and are fabulous guitars; the price, however, normally indicates this!! I had one many years ago and stupidly sold it to fund "the next big thing".... which was a poxy Ovation in this case, which wasn't a patch on the Maton; not even roughly....

*sigh*

We do stuff like that when we're young, don't we!!

corsair wrote:Maton are Australian made from some very nice woods and are fabulous guitars; the price, however, normally indicates this!! I had one many years ago and stupidly sold it to fund "the next big thing".... which was a poxy Ovation in this case, which wasn't a patch on the Maton; not even roughly....

*sigh*

We do stuff like that when we're young, don't we!!

That's right Corsair

Your right about Maton guitars too, I wouldn't normally go for a signature Guitar but in my usual way, ''must have it now'' couldn't find a Maton Messiah & as it was that Tommy Emmanuel had put me on to Maton, not personally you understand, I went for a TE1 that was available at the time & have been more than pleased with it ever since.

http://www.maton.com.au/acoustics/te-series.html

Maton are probably the best off the peg acoustics around, they make wonderfully custom jobs too.

They made dam good electric guitars as well, as can be seen by the prices they go for, they don't hang about when they show up on fleaBay either :!:

They do play nice, & sound perfect, my friend has one & hardly plays it. Paid $1,599.00 couple of years ago.

I wonder if some of the Gun Luthiers from uncle Mats went to Maton, Fender, ect...

Would explain the quality of the product yeh?
Cheers,
Richie..

Googled a search for a SW-35 and it all comes back Japanese. Apparently they do not leave the country too often. Any other mij's I should hunt that may be more accessible?

Those Maton guitars are amazing but perhaps a tad outside the pocketbook right now.

How about a Takamine, my old man had one & it played great. Do not know much of the history, but as a good playing Guitar I was impressed.
Cheers,
Richie..

THEBARRON wrote:They do play nice, & sound perfect, my friend has one & hardly plays it. Paid $1,599.00 couple of years ago.

I wonder if some of the Gun Luthiers from uncle Mats went to Maton, Fender, ect...

Would explain the quality of the product yeh?
Cheers,
Richie..

You could have something there blue/cobber/mate, sorry.... Barron, never thought of that, so I may be able to put the TM1 in with my Westies after all.

L.o.L..

THEBARRON wrote:L.o.L..

That seem to have hit the button Barron, don't usually have a good laugh on here

But, no, I was deadly serious.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Maton have been around for a little longer than Matsumoku was; Maton snr. I'm sure was building guitars in the 60's..... I cannot remember what model mine was but it was beautiful to look at and sounded divine; well rounded tone... just lovely!

When we move back to Aussie, I shall make it my business to own another....

corsair wrote:I have a sneaking suspicion that Maton have been around for a little longer than Matsumoku was; Maton snr. I'm sure was building guitars in the 60's..... I cannot remember what model mine was but it was beautiful to look at and sounded divine; well rounded tone... just lovely!

When we move back to Aussie, I shall make it my business to own another....

Yes they were making fine guitars in the 60, an archtop needing restoration went for £420.00 the other day.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200587173403&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp3984.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D200587173403%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

TheBarron's thoughts about Japanese Luthier's moving to Oz in the late 70's & early 80's makes sense. As we know there was a lot of upheaval in the Japanese Guitar trade around that time & Oz always welcomed skills with open arms.

Have to spare a thought for those in Japan at the moment, its all so sad, mind I hear they've started building new home's already.

What's this, off to Aussie stuff

If you can find one an older Yairi might be the ticket. They don't hold their value all that well, but are great guitars. I got a 1986 DY-74 a few years ago at the banjo center for $400 and it's a great guitar.

fish wrote:What's this, off to Aussie stuff

I thought everyone on the board knew about me and mine doing "the world"; we're only here in Jersey for another year and then it's off to places new - at this stage the Turks and Caicos Islands maybe - but when my eldest daughter reaches high school we shall settle in Oz for as long as it takes for all 3 children to finish high school before we resume the adventure!

All that stuff you hear about Kiwis not being able to fly is naff.... we can catch a plane with the best of them, eh!!

This must be what you are speaking of.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Maton-EM425C-Electric-Acoustic-12-String-Guitar-/250788739443?pt=AU_Musical_Instruments_Instruments&hash=item3a642c7973

The 325 series models here are running about the same for a 6 string.

Let me Know when your here Corsair, would love to catch up for beer/jam mate.
Cheers,
Richie..

Iceman wrote:This must be what you are speaking of.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Maton-EM425C-Electric-Acoustic-12-String-Guitar-/250788739443?pt=AU_Musical_Instruments_Instruments&hash=item3a642c7973

The 325 series models here are running about the same for a 6 string.

There's quit a difference in price between the A, AA & AAA Sitka Spruce soundboards, Ice that one as you may have seen has an ''A'' top on it, but they're all good.

That one look's like a mat finish, have to say I prefer shiny,

Pity Corsair isn't in yet OZ to pick it up for you, pity its $1500.00 too.

THEBARRON wrote:Let me Know when your here Corsair, would love to catch up for beer/jam mate.
Cheers,
Richie..

No worries, bud; may be a while if we go to the T & C , but if not we'll be back in Australia next year, probably Northern Queensland again because we like it up there!!

Contacted him about shipping and he claimed he didn't even know what UPS is. Lives out in the bush aways apparently and only wants a local sale. Asked him why he put it on ebay globally then and he didn't have much of an answer.

Checking into one of these now.....

http://www.maplestreetguitars.com/show_item.php?dep=05&cat=141&item=EG523CDX12-HB

Saw a video on youtube by Sigler and it looked promising. Also ran across this......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0XT9mOQKe0

The one and the same?????

Won one of these on e(vil)bay today. http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=2417&sid=526

Should get here middle of next week. GAS attack neutralized!!!! Thanks for the nod, Richie. Thanks all for your opinions. Really wanted one of those Maton's but I just could not reach one. All the Westone searches came back Japanese so it seems they rarely leave the East.

Will post a report soon.

Looks like once again the good guys came out on top!!

Your welcome Iceman, glad I could contribute to my Westone Brothers somehow....... even if its not a Westone, the thoughts there.
Cheers,
Richie..

Would be worth the drive Corsair.... keep in mind Q.L.D may not be the same place that you remember mate, she got hit real bad with the floods & then cyclone YASI came along and stuck the finger in. check out some of the utube clips. Not as much devastation as Japan, but still up there in points.
Cheers,
Richie..

Yeah; I watched that unfold from afar, but apparently Mackay didn't get touched badly by either, so that's all good... for us anyway; not so crash-hot for the people to the north and south!

UPS says it arrived in Minneapolis this morning so it should get to me by 10:30 tomorrow.

Im sure she will play real nice Iceman, let me/us know how she goes...
Cheers,
Richie..

Thanks again Richie!!