RARE Vintage 1980 Cortez 25 Pro “Single Cut” Copy MIJ Matsumoku

TOP QUALITY SET-NECK LP MADE FOR WESTHEIMER CORP. BY LEGENDARY JAPANESE MAKER MATSUMOKU.

 

I love set-neck guitars, although there are certain advantages to a bolt-neck. But a glued-in neck communicates “quality” and this shouts quality, all the way down to its flamed-mahogany cap! Up for sale is a really fine 1980 Cortez 25 Pro (“Les Paul” copy) made by the legendary Japanese guitar factory Matsumoku. I think this is a 25 Pro, which was top-of-the-line in 1978 and which had the same inlays and trim. However, if I zoom in on the lo-rez ’78 catalog page, the 4 Les Pauls shown all seem to have bolt-on necks; this has a glued-in neck, just like the Gibson original. There is no model number or name on this guitar. This guitar was featured in my Vintage Guitar Magazine column back in 2019.

This is a remarkably well-made guitar. It’s unusual to find these, period, much less in as good shape as this is. These were obviously positioned as cheaper than a real Gibson Les Paul. As a result, a lot of kids got them and beat the you-know-what out of them.

Fortunately, this one never got bashed or abused, so It’s really clean, although there are signs it was well played (see “Condition” below). What’s more, it’s unusually beautiful. The body is mahogany, as you’d expect, but the cap is 3-piece lightly flamed MAHOGANY, not the usual maple. Most ‘70s Japanese Les Paul copies used an “arched” top—put some wood strips down the middle and press the edges to the side. I can’t tell if this is arched or actually carved. Since it’s Matsumoku, the odds are it’s carved.

This is all original except the lead pickup. The neck pickup is original. I don’t know if it’s Japanese or American. Westheimer bought Mighty Mite at some point right around the time this was made, but I’m not sure exactly when that occurred. My catalog notes say that the bridge pickup is a DiMarzio Steve Morse, a replacement for sure (see the pic of the control cavity). I don’t know if I ID’d this pickup myself when I got it or if the information came from the seller. I googled the DiMarzio Streve Morse DP200 pickup and it looks identical to this. In any case, I cannot guarantee that this is a DiMarzio Steve Morse.

Cortez was the high-end guitar line of Westheimer Corp. The company was founded as Westheimer Sales in 1958 or ’59 to import bongo drums from Japan. In 1959 or ’60 they added guitars, becoming one of the first importers of Japanese guitars to America. His own budget brand was Kingston, but he also imported Teiscos. It was Jack Westheimer who added the “del Rey” to the name.

Westheimer saw the turmoil in the Yen-Dollar relationship in the early ‘70s and was one of the first importers to move to sourcing guitars in Korea. He hooked up with a Korean guitar-maker Yung Park and they adapted the Cortez brand to become Cort. The SN on this guitar is #0710444. For Matsumoku, the first 1 or first 2 digits indicated the year. They were not making guitars like this in 1970 so this is a 1980; Matsumoku closed in 1987. Westheimer’s focus was on Korea during the middle ‘70s on, but obviously he continued to source high-end guitars from Japan, including this puppy.

Specifications

·       SN #0710444  (1980)

·       Overall length: 39-1/2”, lower bout 12-1//2” wide 

Per viewer request: guitar is 10 pounds, 1.8 ounces without case

·       Looks like 3-piece mahogany body (hard to tell) with 3-piece arched or carved flamed mahogany cap

·       6-ply line purfling around top

·       Glued in 1-piece mahogany neck with adjustable truss rod

·       22-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with “slate” block inlays

·       24-1/2” scale with 1-5/8” nut width

·       One either Japanese or American (Mighty Mite?) neck pickup and 1 replacement (probably) DiMarzio Steve Morse DP200 bridge pickup

·       Nickel-plated stop-tail and bridge with brass saddles

·       3-way toggle switch for N/B/Both

·       2 volume and 2 tone controls

·       Nice hardshell case; I think I bought this and it’s not original, but I don’t recall; 5 latches all in working condition

Condition

Very Good to Excellent cosmetic and playing condition, based on its age (55 years), with signs of use and flaws noted below (also see pictures). This guitar was played but not abused. I’ve photographed every ding or rash I could see (see in-hand description below). This is exactly as I got it years ago. I cleaned and strung it up, played it a couple times in my office, took some pictures and put it in the case. Everything is original except the lead pickup and I’m pretty sure the case.

·       Will need new strings and oil the fingerboard (use fingerboard oil intended for guitars)

·       Frets can use cleaning

·       I’ve sprayed the pots to make sure the guitar plays and successfully tested it on a little ‘60s Supro tube amplifier; it works fine

·       Almost no fret and fingerboard wear

·       There’s a large round mark or “stain” on the first position marker; I have NO idea what made it; it doesn’t detract from the guitar IMHO

·       Dings on the front and back, all minor, none through the finish, mostly minor dents (see pictures)

·       A few dents on the back may be nascent belt-buckle, but don’t qualify as being a lot of “rash”

·       There are a few light scratches in the top-coat here and there but nothing abusive and they might buff out

·       Sides are pretty clean

·       Three minor dings through the finish on the back of the neck, one behind the nut and the worse one treble side behind the octave, which you should never feel

·       Very minor edge rubbing through finish on rear edge of HS probably from leaning against a wall

·       Minor pitting to tuners due to age but they work fine

·       Tarnish and wear to the brass saddles; may polish up if you care, and wear to plating along edges of the bridge

·       Worst damage to hardware is loss of chrome plating on top of hardtail (see pics)

·       It wasn’t the neatest solder job when the lead pickup was changed out, but it works

·       When I took the control covers off it was clear that not all these screws were original since they were all different, but they’re functional

·       I’m not sure if the strap buttons are original or not but they are very heavy duty

·       Case is clean, essentially new, with all latches working as intended

Please examine the pictures closely; I’ve shown any flaws in the pictures. Actually, if you look at the front/back studio shots you can see this looks really good from a stage perspective; the close-ups exaggerate the flaws.

As I said, this is a relatively rare guitar, especially in this condition. The majority that come up for sale are either bolt-neck versions, considerably plainer than this guitar, or really beat.

This is my second listing on Reverb; I’ve not figured out how to estimate international or offshore shipping so I have to restrict this to the Continental US.

PROVENANCE is available for institutional buyers; please inquire.

This guitar is from my private collection. I am not a musical instrument dealer. All my instruments were purchased for my own use, to play (rarely) and to research and to write about in my books and guitar history columns in Vintage Guitar Magazine.