MADE IN 1978 MORRIS TF60 - ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC MARTIN D45 STYLE ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Morris TF60 acoustic guitar

This guitar was handmade in late 1970s by best Morris luthiers at their Matsumoto workshop. It was a part of their newly launched Morris TF series with new Martin style logo. TF series were replacing produced in earlier years W series.

The unit you are looking at, was a more luxurious early version of model TF60. In following years model TF60 was made with 3-piece single layer “laminated” backs and nickel-plated tuners.

The construction and looks of this wonderful guitar are based on Martin D45 blueprint. I won’t however call it a “copy” of Martin D45. The word “copy” suggests a product of somewhat lower quality than the “original”, while this guitar can easily beat many brand-new Martin guitars.  

It offers impressive volume and superb response. Its sound is ultra-rich. Basses are deep but very “clean”. Trebles are metallic but very sweet at the same time. All notes have their unique colors, all are super clear and super well separated.  When chords/arpeggios are played guitar releases a bounty of overtones and harmonies. With its current action it plays ultra-easy.

This guitar was priced 60 000 yen in 1978, when starting yearly salary of Japanese College Graduate was around 80 000 yen.

Despite its age overall condition of this guitar can be described as excellent. Although its tuning keys have lost a bit of their original luster and its finishes are not super clear anymore, its body doesn’t bear any conspicuous scratches or dents. Neck is straight. Frets are leveled.

Specification:

Top: Thin plate of very tight grain Solid Spruce with reinforcing ring of wood glued underneath the sound-hole /Martin style X bracing with not scalloped braces /ultra-light gloss finish

Double Back: 2 (not glued together) plates of Brazilian Rosewood “laminates” /ultra-light gloss finish

Sides: Brazilian Rosewood “laminates” /ultra-light gloss finish

“Laminated” is quite unfortunate term regarding Japanese made guitars. These "laminates" were made from 2 layers of solid wood glued together with natural resins. They were made so well that they performed as good as solid woods while being far less expensive in guitar production and far more resistant to cracking in regular use.

Neck: Mahogany with 2-way truss rod

Fingerboard: Brazilian Rosewood

Nut width: 43mm

Scale: 655 mm

The action is set to 2.30 mm under E6 and 1.8 mm under E1, with still extra room on the saddle.

This guitar will be shipped in used archtop hard shell case in still good condition on the inside, but rather poor on the outside.

Some info related to this guitar

Moridaira (Morris Guitars)

Founded in 1967 by Toshio "Mori" Moridaira, the Moridaira factory produced high-quality guitars, including the infamous Morris badged guitar. Moridaira also produced badged guitars for Hohner including Coronado, Futurama, H.S. Anderson, Lotus (some) and Sakai.

The Morris Guitars company has been building quality handcrafted instruments in Nagano, Japan for a long time. Mr. Toshio Moridaira, the founder, was the first distributor in Japan to carry both Fender and Gibson lines. In 1964, due to his working relationship with Gibson, Mr. Moridaira was able to visit the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. An employee at Gibson nicknamed him “Mori” at that time.

In 1967, he founded the Morris Guitars company. He named it Morris, taken from the nickname given to him a while back. Morris produced copies of dreadnought and small jumbo models based on Martin and Gibson designs. Since then, Morris Guitars have enjoyed an outstanding reputation in Japan and other countries for making high quality guitars.

In 1974, Morris introduced their guitars at the NAMM show. In 1978, Morris introduced the Tornado line, thin body acoustic-electric guitars inspired by the Ovation design. Up until the early 80s, the U.S. market saw a variety of guitars that Morris imported from Japan.

In 2001, after a lengthy absence, Morris Guitars re-entered the U.S. market. They participate in the annual Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. Morris Guitars currently offer a wonderful line of fingerstyle guitars with a middle price range. Custom hand built models are also available. Today, Morris Guitars are played by some of the world’s finest fingerstyle guitarists. Our products are available through a small number of dealers here in the U.S.