THUMB Acoustic by Terada

Oyaji has been in Japan for a few days enjoying the nice weather before the summer heat hits. A tour of the main guitar stores in the Tokyo area was uneventful with very few interesting old Japanese guitars up for sale. Yesterday however at the Yokohama Ishibashi there was something. An old acoustic with some cloudy lacquer and THUMB in large round font like an old Martin.

Thumb headstock

Martin headstock font

It was labelled as "Junk" since the high E string sits low in the nut and buzzes on the first fret in open position. Other than that the action was perfect and there were no fatal body blows to worry about. Since it came with a hard case it was hard to say no to this oddball so now I am have a new Thumb. I always wanted an acoustic in this Martin style but never found one that was affordable or sounded good. A trip to Ray's Guitar Spa in Singapore should sort out the nut and then it will be good to go.

Tokai Custom Edition - what year is this?

And what kind of pickups should it have?

Any ideas at all? 22 fret model with gold hardware and likely veneer-top.Serial number 12726

Deep in the Heart of Texas

PGM guitar are amazing. I've had some Navigators, Tokais and Grecos that had a lot going for them but so far the classiest Fender copies I've tried are PGM Van Zandts and Moon guitars.

Best wishes to BB King

BB King is one of the greats of all time. A guitarist who can say so much with so few notes on the guitar and sing straight from the soul. Thanks to BB King for all the great music.

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That is more than a little creepy but can't beat the tone! "Soapland" also has a very different meaning in Japan than just the reference to soapbar pickups,

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Go have a look for yourself.



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1980 Greco Super Real Series Information Catalogue Volume 12

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