This guitar was made in 1974 by master luthier Hiroshi Tamura, who together with his brother Mitsuru, learnt the art of making guitars in Spain in the 1950s.

In the 1960s the Tamura brothers opened a workshop in Kochi, and started making guitars which rivalled the Spanish made guitars.  They won numerous awards, some say even more than Masaru Kohno.

The Tamura brothers made a small number of guitars each month. They took their time to make these high-end guitars.

This guitar was $45,000 Japanese Yen back in the days when the basic salary was about 70,000 Yen a year.  That's a whopping 8 months wage before tax!  If you put that in context to today's wage and think of how much you would earn in 8 months, it will give you an idea of how valuable this guitar is.

The Tamura brothers passed away in the mid-1980s. Their guitars have become collector's items and are very hard to find.  The value of these guitars goes up by the day.

Specifications:

Top: High-grade solid cedar

Back: Solid Rosewood (looks like Brazilian rosewood as it is darker than Indian rosewood)

Sides: Laminated Rosewood

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebonised Rosewood

Nut width: 52mm

Scale length: 660mm

Action: 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm on 1st and 6th strings at 12th fret.

Enhancement: - Upgraded and modified braces for more resonance and sustain.

- Elliptical sound port for better tonal clarity, crystal clear trebles and deep basses.

Condition: Please refer to the photos for general condition.  It has some minor signs of normal wear due to its age, but none that will affect the sound.

The guitar comes with a brand new foam hard case.