RARITY - JIN-ICHIRO MATSUNAGA No20 1980 - YAMAHA GC82 CLASS CLASSICAL CONCERT GUITAR - SPRUCE/BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD

YOU ARE LOOKING AT A WORLD CLASS INSTRUMENT PRICED AT THE BARGAIN LEVEL. CURRENTLY MADE IN JAPAN BRAND NEW GUITARS OF THIS CLASS ARE PRICED MINIMUM $12000USD.  

While searching internet you won’t find much information about this luthier. Because his guitars are truly very hard to find, logical conclusion is that he was working mostly by himself. My findings suggest that he started making guitars in early 1960s and continued until 1990s. It is unknown if he was a former associate of any world-famous Japanese luthier. Yet until today, his guitars are very highly regarded not only in Japan but also in Americas, Europe and Australia. Based on my observations of his serial number system, I am sure that Jin-Ichiro was making no more than 25 guitars per year.

His guitars are the best proof of how great luthier he really was. As it was true with many other less prominent Japanese luthiers, who had no strong ties with international importers, Jin-ichiro had to price his terrific instruments at much lower level if compared with similar grade guitars made by Japanese elite luthiers (Masaru Kohno, Sakazo & Toshihiko Nakade, Mitsuru and Hiroshi Tamura, Yamaha etc.).

This guitar was priced 200 000 yen in 1980. If exactly the same grade guitar was made by a more famous luthier (including Yamaha’s best), it would have been priced at least 300 000 yen.

In 1980 all 200 000 yen Japanese made classical guitars were made with solid (figured or straight grain) Brazilian Rosewood b/s or other similar Latin America Rosewoods. There have been some 200 000 yen models made with non-solid (figured or straight grain) Brazilian Rosewood double backs and/or double sides.

For some makers 200 000 yen models were the top of the line (e.g. Ryoji Mastuoka M200, MH200, Takamine 20). Yamaha’s top models were GC30A, GC30B (priced 300 000 yen). Masaru Kohno’s top model was No50 and Sakazo Nakade’s No.5000 (priced 500 000 yen). Some custom models made Japanese elite makers were priced up to 800 000 yen.

Less prominent luthiers had to accept far lower prices for their equally great instruments. In 1980 it was not very difficult to find in Japan a very high grade instrument made with solid figured BR b/s priced 150 000 yen (e.g. Takeo Koba No15, Hakusui Imai No15). However, in just few years prices of most of these guitars had gone up by 50% on average. By 1982 very few 200 000 yen models (Ryoji Matsuoka, Takamine) were still made with solid Brazilian Rosewood b/s. 

As of today, French polished classical guitars made by Japanese elite luthiers with solid Latin America or African Rosewood b/s are priced minimum $10000USD. If they are made from long seasoned woods the price is much higher. Priced $9,999USD, Yamaha GC82 is a great example. Yamaha GC82 or similarly priced Kohno Maestro guitars are not the highest priced Japanese models at all. Yamaha GC70 is priced $18000USD. Some custom made instruments are being priced up to $20000USD, which is still below what leading European luthiers charge for their very top models.

As a matter of fact, this guitar doesn’t sound much different from Yamaha GC70. If you take this Jin-ichiro Matsunaga No20 guitar to any high-end US guitar store you will not find equally great brand new “hand made in Spain” one for less than $15000USD.

If you believe that any currently made in Japan guitar sold in USA for $2000USD is something more than student grade instrument, you must have a huge wallet.     

This truly magnificent instrument offers immense volume and super response combined with very romantic tonality, great sustain, deep cello-like basses, strong piano-like trebles. Despite its super volume all notes are super clear and very well separated. 

The overall condition of this guitar can be described as “excellent for its age” with rather minor signs of use. Its body bears only a few very minor cosmetic imperfections. These are a few very light scratches and a couple of tiny dents on the very surface of the finish of the soundboard, all noticeable only from a very close distance and only if looked at from a certain angle, hence none of these is visible in the pictures. What you can plainly see are "bear claw" marks within this very precious tight grain, high mountain grown Yezo Spruce. This 50 years old soundboard alone is worth at least $2500.   

These “bear claw” marks are in fact the areas of healed wood tissue injured by frost bites, which is common occurrence among the trees grown in high mountains. Such trees have very narrow yearly growth rings, which makes their wood highly valuable for use as tone wood for soundboards. 

SPECIFICATIONS:

Top: Solid “Bear Claw” Yezo Spruce/original asymmetrical bracing system based on 5 braces fan/shellac

Back & sides: Solid Brazilian Rosewood/shellac

Neck: Honduras Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebony

String Length: 650mm

Nut width: 52.25 mm

Strings: Augustine Imperial Red HT/MT

The guitar’s action is set to 3.20 mm under E6 and 2.70 mm under E1 with still some extra room on the saddle. The second saddle sets the action at 3.50mm E6 and 3.00mm at E1.

Guitar will be shipped in original Takabe hard shell case in very good condition.

THE ONLY PURPOSE OF THIS CASE IS TO PROTECT THE GUITAR DURING SHIPMENT. I WILL NOT PROVIDE ITS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OR MAKE ADDITIONAL PICTURES, NOR I WILL ACCEPT ANY COMPLAINTS. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS CASE YOU WILL NEED TO BUY A DIFFERENT ONE.     

WHEN YOU BUY ANY GUITAR, YOU MUST ANTICIPATE TAKING IT TO YOUR LOCAL GUITAR SHOP FOR FINAL ADJUSTMENTS CALLED “SETUP”. DEPENIDNG ON YOUR PLAYING TECHNIQUE, THIS SETUP ON USED GUITARS MAY INCLUDE NEW CUSTOM-MADE NUT AND SADDLE. IF YOU HEAR STRING BUZZ IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT GUITAR IS DEFECTIVE. IF YOU PLAY HARD ENOUGH ALL BASS STRINGS WILL BUZZ OVER THE FRETS, UNLESS THEY ARE SUSPENDED VERY FAR FROM THE FINGERBOARD. UNLESS YOU PLAY QUITE GENTLY, YOU CAN’T HAVE LOW ACTION AND NO BUZZES. KEEP IN MIND THAT CELLO-LIKE BASSES ON HIGH GRADE CLASSICAL GUITARS HAVE THEIR NATURAL “BUZZ”. 

Real Value of Japanese Vintage Guitars

The key to understand value of vintage Japanese guitars is to acknowledge galloping price inflation throughout the late 1960s and 1970s with its peak of 25% in 1974.

During 1960s and most of 1970s model numbers of Japanese guitars were strictly connected with their prices in Japanese yen.

The same class guitar sold in 1970 for 100 000 yen (labelled as model 10), would be sold for 150 000 yen in 1972 (labelled as model 15), 200 000 yen in 1974 (labelled as model 20) and 300 000 yen in 1978 (labelled as model 30). Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised that two Yamaha GC10 guitars made 10 years apart are two instruments of totally different class. The same rule applies to all guitar models made by all other Japanese makers.

Japanese inflation slowed down in the 1980s. By the early 1980s and during following decades model numbers were no longer strictly associated with their prices. Some Japanese guitar makers introduced model names instead of model numbers. For several economic reasons, since 1980s Japanese made guitars were becoming more and more expensive, while their exports slowing down. Today (2025) Japanese highest end classical guitar models are priced at $20000USD level.